RSSArchive for August 2008
I Am A Value Villager
August 28, 2008
If I won $5 million, I couldn’t go back to spending $80 for jeans- and I don’t even want to talk about $400 jeans. I might drive to Value Village in my Nissan Altima – well, no, I don’t really notice cars. Would I arrive wearing a $2000 watch? Possibly, though I’m really loving this Eddie Bauer watch I’ve had for a year.
I bought it because it has a light beam that shines out the front and it has a magnifying glass. I thought it would be a good way to search for ingrown eyelashes on dog eyelids. Strange, I know, but it works. It’s also a good watch. Solid, no fuss or frills, a little menswear, great work watch. Here’s how the magnifier works:
Well, I’d be wearing $200 perfume.
Value Village is a used clothing store, but not just any thrift store. They first opened in California in 1954 and have since taken on a commitment to “provide the best shopping experience and selection of any thrift store in the world”. It’s certainly the best I’ve been in.
So, yes it is used clothing. Yes, much of it, you would never even consider, no different than any other store. Yes, it might smell like a used clothing store. Wear extra perfume and think about the big money you’ll save.
That’s 3 minus points. Here are 9 for the plus side:
1. They have fantastic sales and coupons, with a promo of some sort on almost all the time. The coupon calendar at the end of the year? At $1.99, I buy two.
The cords are Old Navy Bootcut , very light beige. My belt from I don’t remember where.
Isn’t this pattern on the shirt great? I know it’s wrinkled, but I don’t iron. Hey, I get peed and bled on at my work. Who in their right mind would iron?
2. Clothing is not just randomized, or worse, in bins. That makes me crazy. It’s all sorted according to type, size, and color in a system that repeats throughout the store. You can go through the place in 30 minutes once you get that it’s a very consistent landscape.
You can see where the T comes from. The pants are Bluenotes bootcut jeans. The belt is VV too, though I don’t know the make. The belt might be a bit much but I think it works in a Christian Lacroix sort of way.
3. AE, Gap, Banana Republic, Aeropostale, … The place is loaded with this stuff and it’s all less than $10. Sometimes the item has just been washed too many times and you wouldn’t buy it for 25cents. More often, it’s only gently used.
The zip fleece is a dark chocolate brown. The tank cost $5 at Ardene. The rest was less than $5 all together. OldNavy shorts.
4. I have learned about myself that I get bored easily and quickly, regardless of whether the item cost a fortune or not. If I paid $4.99 and wear it once before I decide I don’t like it, there is not a moment’s guilt in putting it in the clothes donation bag. And I don’t get aggravated when my kids do the same, but I sure do if I paid $40 and they decide it’s too tight after 3 wearings.
Gap shirt and great lined-waistband stretch work pants. Here’s a closeup of the shirt, sheer light cotton but not transparent. The belt is from whatever the Northern Reflections mens’ store used to be called years ago.
5. There is no better place for children. They can go off on their own with no fear of what they’ll bring back. There’s no arguing over what they want. At $4-9 for most items, they can have anything they want. In days gone by, my children left their clothes in puddles and their shoes in trees. Was I really going to buy matching little ensembles when the top would have goop on it before they were in the car? Are baby clothes not just a way to keep vomit off them?
Roxy Board shorts ; Old Navy racer back tank was new,cost $10.
6. It’s the best place for pants. 100 pairs, all your size, all pre-shrunk and broken in, Club Monaco, GAP, Garage, JCrew, Ralph Lauren, Old Navy, more Old Navy, all cheap. Pick out 10 pairs, cart them to the dressing room. You’ll find a great pair at least once a month.
This is one of those items I’m drawn to for some strange reason, but I know it’s as ugly as it is nice (some of you might say more so). I put it here because it (along with the header photo) provided the color palette for this website. My brother hates the color of the navigation bars. I’ve read that some degree of color blindness is common among men.
7. If your teens are into vintage or retro, or need a costume for a party, this is your destination. As preteens, mine have become painfully discerning about their clothing, so we have a deal : we look at the VV first. Most often, they find 3 items there that they didn’t know they wanted, and are so grateful that I bought them that they no longer need the original. I am so grateful that the whole bundle cost $22.
This photography gig is killing me. I cannot show you how gorgeous this shirt is. It’s washable silk, really beautiful. It’s the find you stuff in your shopping cart under all your other finds and don’t let it out of your sight till it’s in your car.
Here is a closeup of the fabric with truer colors. It must have cost a fortune new.
8. On the days I find 4 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, a cool belt, 3 books, and a set of serving trays, I buy them all. There’s no choosing this over that.
You’ve heard of Isaac Mizrahi at Target. This is Liz Clairborne at Value Village. Good work shirt. It’s a silk/cotton blend, very light with a slight sheen.
This is Banana Republic at the VV.
9. Hey! It’s good for the planet ! We all have too much, we buy too much, we consume too much. It’s a way to give a little back and get some for you at the same time.
>> cspics
-->If I won $5 million, I couldn’t go back to spending $80 for jeans- and I don’t even want to talk about $400 jeans.Value Village is a used clothing store, but not just any thrift store. They first opened in California in 1954 and have since taken on a commitment to “provide the best shopping experience and selection of any thrift store in the world”. It’s certainly the best I’ve been in.
Read moreThis Month in O, September 2008 : Great Finds, Great Advice!
August 25, 2008
September 2008’s issue of O, The Oprah Magazine is called Get Your Life Back, with features entitled Too Busy To Live and Oprah’s Cure For Feeling Overwhelmed. Now you know why I bought it. Time is the one thing I have the least of and that Oprah doesn’t have any more of than I do. And, she couldn’t buy more if she wanted to.
Those phrases capture the problem for most of us women who are trying to make some changes and figure it all out. WHEN??? Just when are we supposed to do this??
Everything in this issue was terrific. Here’s the short list :
1. Tons of beautiful things I actually would buy and could buy! Many finds under $100 . Handbags, jewelry, wine, furniture even. Fabulous stuff. I think they actually went out of their way to fit into real budgets for the millions of us who really do like Target.
2. The article about Willa Schalit, with her strong and healing presence , empowering women in Rwanda not with charity, but with fair trade. Lovely items, on sale at Macy’s or online.
3. Real life advice on real life questions (questions I actually have!), about money, relationships, speeding morning routines, and health. This is advice you could use, not read and forget. Many myths (like “Will it harm my family that so much of our food is microwaved?”) are deflated with straight up talk.
4. The Yes, You Can section, where O’s creative directore Adam Glassman styles 40-something women is really interesting. The women look real, or as close as modern magazines get. He demonstrates how we can look sexy, or arty, mix prints, and more, without looking ridiculous.
Am I the only one who hopes wide-legged pants is a fancy that will soon pass? Maybe I have an aversion because I remember “baggies” when I was in Grade 9. These look exactly the same. Everything looks good if you’re 5’10” and a size 2, but here’s my whole point : WHO IS???
5. 3 10-minute weight workouts that work arms and legs together. I ripped them out and stapled them together. I’ve been doing a set each day. There’s not even time to sweat! These are good moves that will make a difference. Several are done with eyes closed; presumably, that’s for the balance challenge, without sight to corroborate that upper and lower body are making the right choices at once. There’s also a 10min. Cardio and Yoga plan.
6. The article “Just Say What You Want, Dammit” . A topic every girl and woman I know (including me) could work on. The article was decent, if the examples were a little extreme. The advice was basically “Keep trying”. Because speaking up is such a weak point for so many of us, I just like the reminder to be kept on the front burner.
I can’t read the minds of others and cannot expect them to read mine. It’s not that they won’t. It’s that they can’t. And yet, most of the time, what you do want is just fine with everyone else, and you could have had it with ease if you’d just said something.
In keeping with the theme of the magazine, there are no long, reflective articles to get through. There is one but it anchors the whole featured section on saving time. The rest is snappy but very engaging.
Even Oprah gets overwhelmed (how could she not?). She writes about re-centering herself, getting back into each moment. My brain is almost never in the now. I live in the future. The closest I seem able to get to the present in by acknowledging all the things I have. So much is right in most of our lives that we need to spend more time celebrating that.
What else? I was not even a bit nervous to let my 12year old daughter read the entire magazine. I was pleased that she read it! This never happens.
There’s a Merle Norman ad with a lovely grey eyeshadow for a winter (if you ignore the green).
I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a magazine so completely. I think you will too.
-->September 2008’s issue of O, The Oprah Magazine is called Get Your Life Back, with features entitled Too Busy To Live and Oprah’s Cure For Feeling Overwhelmed. Now you know why I bought it. It was worth every cent.
Read moreBook Review : Play Like A Man Win Like A Woman
August 22, 2008
-->The traditional, male way of doing business is not better than ours. Nor is it worse. It may be out-dated. It may not be productive or imaginative from a woman’s perspective. In fact, it may often be ethically and morally wrong. It is still undeniably real and it is a language that women need some functional understanding of to leverage the male corporate establishment.
Read moreTop 100 Women’s Health Blogs
August 19, 2008
Health and time … what woman doesn’t relate? These are two of the biggest concerns and interests in the lives of so many women. What if someone could hand you a list of terrific sites about every aspect of health and well-being over 40? It would save you hours and bring something greatly valuable to your life.
Kelly emailed recently to tell me that AGT had been included in Nursing School Search’s list of Top 100 Women’s Health Blogs. I’m sincerely honored.
I am also grateful to have that list because it has done the legwork for all of us. I’ve spent a lot of time at Google Blog Search and other blog directories looking for a list like that one, but been discouraged by the sheer number of results and not finding sites that I felt were written with me in mind.
This list is compiled precisely for women over 40. The topics include nutrition with 11 great blogs, exercise with 10, as well as physical and mental well-being, blogs discussing infertility, pregnancy, and child-rearing, and just being fabulous over 40.
On behalf of all of us, thank you, Kelly!
-->
Health and time … what woman doesn’t relate? These are two of the biggest concerns and interests in the lives of so many women. What if someone could hand you a list of terrific sites about every aspect of health and well-being over 40? It would save you hours and bring something greatly valuable to your life.
Read moreProduct Review : Lise Watier Plumpissimo La Base and Le Gloss
August 17, 2008
This is a pretty good product, but buy it for the right reason.
Lise Watier Plumpissimo Lip Gloss
I bought it to satisfy my fetish for the perfect bronze-peach gloss. To spend $20 on lip gloss, the product has to be special or I have to be feeling weak. In this case, it was both.
I broke one of my personal makeup-buying rules here because I bought the product in the evening. After 4PM, the light is so flattering with its softer yellow wavelengths that many borderline products will look good. If something looks good in AM lighting, with its harsher, bluer wavelengths, then it will look good anytime. An exception would be choosing lip color that will be worn in the evening, where you need deeper pigments for it to be visible.
This product comes in 5 colors. They are each very good, all pure, pretty colors. Good pigments are hard to find cheap. I bought Bronze but there are 5 others. They all shimmer. It takes a day’s search to find great lipgloss without glitter. I’m not versed in sparkle technology, but there are those glosses where the glitter complements the color of the gloss and seems to enrich it (like Chanel’s Glossimers) and others that just create a white/gray 1960’s frost effect ( I see Cover Girl Wet Slicks here). This one is somewhere between the two but leaning more to the good side depending on which color you buy.
I like a product that is creamy, not oily/slippery/thin/watery. Though this gloss feels more oily when applied, it has decent durability. It is scented of orange and cinnamon, but mildly so IMO. I guess this is what is supposed to do the plumping, but I’ve written before ( in Product Review : Maybelline Volume XL Seduction Lip Plumper) that I don’t think plumping products based on tingle work, at least not so as anyone else would notice. Either that or I have un-plumpable lips which is entirely possible. This gloss came out 3 months ago. I’m not sure why. The whole lip plumping thing has been done, unless someone comes out with a new gimmick.
I don’t care for brush applicators. You’d think they would work well, like a built-in lipbrush, but they don’t. With time and use, the bristles start going off in all directions and it’s just a mess. In this case, the bristles are quite long, perhaps to avoid that problem. Problem is the brush feels too long and the bristles are a little floppy and hard to control. I still like sponge-tips best, especially with gloss, the beauty of which is that precision is not necessary.
La Base is an accompanying product with the same type of brush application. It is positioned to “redefine contours, enhance lips, and hold lipstick color longer”. Once again, I must have uncooperative lips. Though it is very comfortable, I would not agree that it accomplished any of the above goals. It is also $20.
I don’t dislike Plumpissimo. I’ll use it all up and have gotten compliments. The reason-to-buy here is the color.
Because I love hearing what other women think, and appreciate nothing better than an honest review, here are some opinions from others, at I’m A Beauty Geek, Chick Advisor , and Kiss and Makeup.
-->This is a pretty good product, but buy it for the right reason.
I bought it to satisfy my fetish for the perfect bronze-peach gloss. To spend $20 on lip gloss, the product has to be special or I have to be feeling weak. In this case, it was both.
Peel The Cleaning Slave Label Off Your Forehead
August 14, 2008
So the house is expected to look a certain way and it’s up to you to get it that way? So many of us have designated ourselves as the sole cleaners of our homes. Everyone else is reading or interacting with a screen while we haven’t sat down for two hours, trying to get laundry/lunches/more laundry looked after.
Read more-
A Greener Tea
Web Maintenence by Rick Beckman
