From The New York Times March 12, 2009:

For Spring Clothes, a Lost Season?

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I highly recommend clicking on the link and reading the reader comments. It's eye-opening. I have severely cut back on my shopping, even though Brian and I are both still working and everything is fine for us, for now. But it just makes sense. We already have pretty healthy savings accounts, we're just making them healthier. If we buy things, they are needs, or at least intelligent wants, like supplies for a vegetable garden, or in my case, maternity clothes. We are making a trip to Value Village this weekend, I hope. I hope Bremerton isn't too picked over.

So in short, no I'm not getting that Burberry coat. Someday! Just not now.

When the Whole World Mumbles

File under "novel" research...

Some things that please me today:

+ these shiseido oil-blotting papers. Oh my god they are miracle workers. They are, how you say, my holy grail of mid-afternoon shiny face fixing.

+ my latest manicure: cut fingernails nice and short and applied two coats of Chanel "Splendeur" last night while watching "Jeopardy!" So pink they're almost red.

+ the cup of Peet's I just poured for myself. Brewing coffee at work on my desk is satisfying.

+ thinking about taking Kona to dog school tonight.

+ I just finished cleaning up and organizing my project file on my work computer; moved all my projects from last year into a separate directory and have a fresh clean one for 2009.

+ The book I am reading: "A Writer's Life" by Gay Talese.

+ Carrying my old Botkier Trigger this week, a sturdy metallic pearl white leather handbag that was manufactured in the United States before the designer outsourced their factory to China.

+ Things on their way toward me in the mail: a set of two hurricane lamps to hold the unscented beeswax pillar candles I got for 75% off; a framed print of The Empire of Light II, and the Mystic Eyes eye shadow quad from Chanel.

So that said, I'm clearly now on a spending freeze.

Thanks Ann, for telling me about The Slog.

I like this blog written by an Irish web development firm. Nice design & content. They just came out with a twitter app that not only tells you someone stopped following you, but also tells you the last tweet you posted before they dropped your ass. lol.

BTW I have never used twitter.

People with kids are not happier in general than those without kids.

As I always say every time I get my period, ah! Another month of freedom! Another month of disposable income!

This story also made me wonder about all the research/evidence about how people with pets are happier than those without pets.

So, no children and three pets -- I guess we must be OVERJOYED!

The puppy and the cats are totally chilling together. It's only been what, two weeks? I am the puppy whisperer.

This blogger is going to lose weight eating real food only. Nothing processed or canned or packaged frozen meals or etc. Something to aspire to, certainly. I think we do a good job of that. Our freezer contains a tub of peach sorbet, some whole wheat waffles, and um... tater tots. And ice cubes.

The Farmers Market in my town finally reopened this past Saturday. I plan to make it a regular weekend trip.

Though I'll have no need to buy any $5/lb tomatoes. I now have nine healthy tomato sprouts. I am going to have so much lovely fresh fruit for free this summer.

The "baby" carrot lie.

I can't stand "baby" carrots. They don't even taste like real carrots, and they are not immature at all, rather they are chunks of unattractive full-grown carrots that have been cut to uniform size, peeled, rinsed, packaged, and sold at an incredibly high markup.

Real carrots on the other hand, are sweet and delicious, cheap, and so easy to prepare that it's totally absurd that people gravitate toward the stumpy, overpriced alternative.

Do yourself a favor, buy some big orange whole carrots in bulk, and a stalk of celery too, while you're at it. Spend three minutes rinsing, peeling, and chopping. Now you have a couple days' worth of snacks. Better, cheaper, and fresher than the prepackaged versions.

Watch this: Frozen Grand Central Station. Pretty cool.

My first time in France, in 1996, my friend and I saw some French art students doing this exact same kind of public performance art in the street. They all started walking in slow motion, then froze. I doubt it was filmed or documented anywhere.