What not to lose. What not to buy.

1. I recently loss my clip sunglasses and now I can't find my health insurance card. The worst part about both is that I suspect the clips are in the car and the card is in the house, and yet I am no closer to finding either.

2. Lucy has spent the last two days playing with her birthday presents. This sounds good, right? But that means I have spent two days freeing miniature my little ponies from the stranglehold of twist ties and littlest pet shop pets from invisible rubber bands.

But the worst, by far was a package of Crayola ReColoritz. They are black glossy pictures of Disney princesses that you color with greasy crayons. It sounds OK , but they are impossible to clean. Lucy smeared greasy crayon all over her new pink dress yesterday. Today she left a trail of yellow on her work table and the kitchen counter. The crayons break off in sticky little chunks that adhere to pretty much anything. I don't blame the gift giver; I thought this sounded fine when she opened it.

She also got some Pixos which are labeled 4+. There was no part of the project she could do herself, so I spent a good chunk of the afternoon fighting with them. She was thrilled to get them, though after the Aquadots scandal I would never buy them for her myself. They are a huge pain. The two things we made were difficult to assemble and did not stick together. Plus we were pretty careful, but they are so easy to spill.

Get your Holiday shopping started early

I just discovered Indie Fixx -- they cover handmade goods of all types. I will definitely be consulting them to get gift ideas.

And to motivate you, they are having a really great giveaway, so check it.

Testing 1,2,3

So this probably won't be a regular thing, but Lumpyhead's mom wanted pictures, so pictures you shall have.

Cardigan - random brand, Dress - Liz Claiborne, Socks - Chinese Laundry, Shoes - Sanita

This is the first time I have ever worn this dress because it is too big on top, so I was excited to realize I could just throw a sweater on and no one will know (except you, dear reader).

Also, it's a big hair day.

Driven to distraction

To keep myself from dwelling on the big things that I cannot control (i.e. the election) and the little things (i.e. the downfall of the TiVo impersonators and my feelings of technological inadequacy), I've done some window shopping.

It began when Emily Martin (of Black Apple fame) mentioned Wardrobe Remix on her other blog. Now I just sit and stare at the pictures of people in their everyday clothes while my brain fuzzes over. Sweet, sweet peace.

I have actually learned a few things too. Buffalo really needs to get an H&M or a Zara. And I am going to embark on a little wardrobe remix project of my own, which is to wear skirts on occasion instead of just jeans and T-shirts. I don't plan on taking any photos of myself to add to the anonymous fashion parade, but if I do, I will be sure to post about it.

Hi, My name is Emily

and I'm an Etsy addict.

It started innocently enough with a Venus staff fave proclaiming the wonders of busterandboo.

Then I discovered scrabble pendants and placed another order from the delightful HomeStudio-- this time with gold accents so they looked nicer with my Indian jewelry.



Then I got glasses and my hair started driving me nuts, so I turned to the site's headband makers for help. Precocious came to the rescue!


I've been wearing these headbands everyday and I love them.

And I finally gave into my desire to own something designed by Emily Martin of The Black Apple.

Maybe the closest thing I will ever have to a self-portrait. But I bet Emily hears that all the time.

And then I bought these paper dolls because OMG, Stella has a Smiths t-shirt and a cat hat.
I want to frame them for Lucy's room.

It's so easy to scoop up all these things that I would love to be able to find locally, and Cary isn't really satisfied with my justifications: "it's handmade! I'm supporting small business women!"

Bra-dyssey, D.I.Y. style

This post was inspired by Auntlyh's recent bra-buying spree at Nordstrom's. While it contains no graphic details, it is certainly going to be convoluted, and may be of no interest to anyone but Auntly. So, if bra shopping is not your cup of tea, come back soon when I rant and rave about the usual nonsense.

After reading how Auntly went from a 36B to a 32D in 15 seconds flat after visiting a real department store bra fitter, I thought what every woman who read her post thought: "Damn, I bet I am wearing the wrong size."

But unlike Auntly I just couldn't put myself at the mercy of the sales ladies. Because they were going to show me undergarments with price tags that were going to make me cringe, and after they had just measured me I could hardly decline to buy something.

So I set out to measure myself and purchase my bras on the web. The process was comical, but I did learn a few things:

1. I have never really had a set bra size, but lately I've been wearing a 34A. I was actually a 32 band size. Which I would have never believed if it hadn't happened to Auntly first. I thought you gave up being a 32 when you gave up reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret.

2. If you want an inflated cup size, go to Linda's Bra School. The Wonderbra calulator ended up being right on, but it was one full cup size bigger than I had measured myself.

3. It's advisable to buy a bra that fits on the tightest set of hooks because it will stretch.

I decided to head to Marshall's to see if they had some sizes I could try one on in anonymity.

Sadly, I had Lucy with me. I can tell you that the trip did not take very long because there were only two 32Bs and one 32C to try on. The 32B fit OK, but the 32C fit really well. It was made by Wacoal and cost $10 (plus one Groovy Girl Mermaid at $5.99 for Lucy). Sold!

I was still not convinced that I bought the right size, so over the next two days I visited two more T.J. Maxx stores, where I ended up clearing the racks of every size 32C. Hardly a shopping spree, but I now own five bras. I guess I don't have to buy everything online.

I probably never would have tried the larger bras on if Auntly hadn't written about her experience. I would have just kept wearing my two stretched out, ill-fitting ones for at least another year. I also realize that my body hasn't changed one bit. Put me in a t-shirt and jeans and I still look pretty much like a ten year old boy. And as much as I prefer to point, click, and wait for the UPS man, I think it really helped to try them on first.

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Now playing: Rilo Kiley - Smoke Detector

You are all invited for dinner!

It's a happy day in our household because we finally replaced our old kitchen table (given to us free by my in-laws, and purchased circa '73). I guess I owe that jerk from Craigslist a thank you, because if he had sold us his table we never would have ended up with one this nice.
Henry picked out a special meal from foodtv.com for me to cook tonight. We had to wait over a month for the table to arrive because Cary found it in an online shop in Phoenix, but it was definitely worth the wait. Now I just have to get used to hauling out the vinyl tablecloth when the kids want to color or paint -- good thing I saved this one.
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Now playing: Feist - Flight #303

Too wrong to ignore

I don't normally comment on the goings on outside my insular world, but when Cary mentioned that Aquadots were recalled because swallowing even one dot could send a child into a coma because the coating breaks down into a date rape drug, I had to post something. Lucy has been begging me for these, and I have refused on the grounds that I didn't want to chase a million tiny plastic balls around the kitchen.

You can read CNN's take on the story, and just in case you have some in your household, here is the CPSC recall info. According to CPSC, 4.2 million units have already been sold. Yikes.

This Christmas I'm going to get my kids an unpainted hoop and stick.

Webkinz Update Part Deux

I am happy to report that my darling sister-in-law, who is let's say "29," has decided to adopt a Webkinz Unicorn. Now she and Henry are buddies. The only problem is that she gets home so late from her law office that she is never around for him to show her his sweet pad.

I am fairly certain, though I can prove nothing, that she was inspired by the blog.

Webkinz Update

Thanks to Anne for alerting me to an article in today's NYT about Webkinz.

What I Won't Be Doing Today

1. Going to the gym
2. Picking up a mystery prescription at Target
3. Purchasing those weird clips that go at the back of a piece of framed art
4. Checking to ensure my in-laws mail box is empty for the second time in a week (don't ask)

Instead I am spending the day at home waiting for the washer repair man. As I mentioned in my very first post, we have laundry woes. We finally bought a brand new washer and dryer and the first time I used it the washer actually moved during the spin cycle. I went downstairs and it had turned 45 degrees to the left on its own!

So after spending an hour on the phone (mostly on hold) with various Sears representatives on Monday, the earliest I was able to get someone to come out and look at it was Wednesday. A computer called last night to say that I needed to be home from 8-5 today to wait for the repair person. Granted, I might be able to squeeze in items 2-4 on my list if the person arrives at a reasonable time but I am so annoyed because if the original delivery people had bothered to set it up properly -- which might have taken 10 more minutes -- I would be spared from spending the entire day here.

On a positive note, I can finally put hoodies and sweatpants in the dryer again. Now, if I only had a washer I would be all set!

Suburban Apologist, or my Son's Obsession is Rubbing off on Me

Normally I don't feel like a creature of the suburbs. I just happen to live here, and wince as I turn into our neighborhood with its welcoming slab of granite announcing which of the identical developments you are entering. But Henry's latest favorite pastime, and my interest in it just blew all my anti-Suburbanite too cool for the strip mall cred.I am talking about Webkinz. They are stuffed animals that you adopt online and then they appear on your computer screen for you to name, and play with in a virtual room, kind of like doll house, but much more gender neutral. But you can also buy them pineapple and passionfruit, and cook them panini sandwiches, and shop for them.

You can dress them like Pirates and name them and bathe them and buy them a swimming pool. There are also computer games that are child friendly, and books you can buy and read inside Webkinz world. And a cave you can go into and mine for virtual riches once a day. Henry has a Lion that he named Iop(?!), and he checks on him once a day and usually plays with him a little as well. He is so much more attached to the real stuffed animal than he is to any other toy he has had since he was tiny. On some level it is very real for him, and that is how I get sucked in too. "Mom, will you put Iop to bed for me?" This means get on the web, log onto Webkinz, and instruct Iop to get into his virtual pajamas and then go to his virtual bed. It is much easier than putting real children to bed, so I always say yes. And he would know if I didn't do it because he would find him out wandering in the virtual yard the next day and he would give me a hard time.

Lucy has a tree frog that Henry uses on the computer and tonight he made both of the animals dinner.He set the table for them and folded their napkins, and baked both of their entrees in the play oven.

And of course, he wants more of them because in each animals bio it lists a "best friend." He doesn't want Iop to be without his best friend. What's a mother to do? Explain about marketing ploys to a five year old or tell him that his birthday is coming soon?

I didn't buy it on eBay or Vintage Coats 101

I started looking for vintage coats on eBay after deciding that the options available for purchase at the mall were boring.

I got the idea to look on eBay from Ambika at The Fray but once I started searching I was off to the races. There are a lot of really cute coats on eBay, and although I did end up buying two coats (one eskimo, and one pea coat) for next to nothing, the coats that I didn't buy are way more interesting.

When I was browsing I thought this orange coat on the left was very cute, but at the end of the seven day auction, it sold for just over $300! I was priced out of bidding by the end of day two.

I also liked the black coat on the left, though it was a little longer than what I was looking for. It went for a whopping $390!

I acutally think it is pretty great that people are willing to pay that much for something that isn't brand new just because it is aesthetically pleasing. And as usual on eBay, I learned a few things when I was shopping.

1. The cutest coats are listed by an informal mafia of youngish women who also appear to model them for the photos.
2. Vintage coat buyers are snipier than bakelite buyers, and the coat prices were skyrocketing in the last few minutes.
3. Most of the sellers are meticulous about documenting faults in the clothes, but if they aren't then you have to assume the phrase "needs a few stitches" = gaping hole that requires a professional seamstress.
4. Clueless sellers often underprice their items but they may not describe them accurately either. I purchased a Pea Coat described as "New" which was actually an unworn vintage coat. Although the condition was excellent for a vintage item, its leather buttons have begun to decay just from sitting in a closet. Still a great find.