High Holy Mass of Contradictions

I got it into my head yesterday that I needed yellow flats. This morning I was browsing online shoe sites, trying to find the ideal pair. I'd narrowed it down to a few, of which the lowest-price pair was $35.

Then Karsten and I randomly stopped in a thrift store on our way to a party, and I found yellow shoes. Not quite flats, but low wedges, so they're almost better, because flats actually make my size-11 feet look huge. (Well, they are huge, but they don't have to be so obvious about it.) 

And they were only $6. Yay!

Goodwill had their irregularly scheduled 50% off of everything sale yesterday, which we never miss. Normally, though, we're big on the Berry Road location, but we were just there last weekend and had some concerns that there wouldn't have been enough new stuff. So like the intrepid adventurers we are, we set out for the Madison location to see how things shook out there.

It was packed, of course -- it always is for these sales. And weird things happened -- they always do while thrift shopping. But I had one especially weird encounter which I will recount for you here.

While I was perusing the book section (and having unusually good luck finding interesting stuff), a scraggly hippie dude came back there and started looking, too. He saw the stack of books on my cart, noticed one on organic gardening and said in a disappointed, nay, almost irritated tone, "Oh, I see you're looking for the same books I am. You like organic gardening?" I felt like saying something like, "No, I was here first; you're looking for the same books I am" but that would have been petty and also stupid, for clearly we could not have been looking for exactly the same sets of books on exactly the same topics. Our shopping may have been an intersecting Venn diagram but it was unlikely to be a complete union of both sets. (Whoa. How geeky was that?) For example, I was finding interesting titles on product design and development, marketing, and so on. Yes, perhaps we both like organic gardening, but how likely is it that our similarities go deeper than that? I'm putting my money on "not very likely," but we'll never know.

Anyway, I smiled half-heartedly back at him -- I don't like to encourage chit-chat while I'm doing serious shopping anyway, even if I'd gotten a good vibe from him, and went back to looking. Well, Dude was not to be discouraged. He actually leaned over in front of me to read the spines of the books I was looking at. So I made an exasperated sound (hey, I know I sound like a bitch here, but this is thrift shopping, people -- there have to be rules!) and moved away to a different shelf. I gathered up a few titles and as soon as I placed them on the stack on my cart, Dude got a panicky look and made a beeline for the section where I'd just been. I kid you not. This continued for several more iterations before I had made a cursory review of all the shelves and just gave up. At the end, I may have been just picking up books he might be interested in, just to piss him off; I really couldn't say for sure.

On the off-chance that Scraggly Dude is a reader of this blog, here's a message: get a grip. They're just books.

Oh... and I got yer organic gardening book right here, asshole. :)

It's my coworker Thomas' birthday today. I mean, I know mine was only two days ago, but the 25th? Yowch. I have another coworker, Pat, who's birthday was yesterday, too. And my office-mate, Andrea, had a birthday on the 20th. That's definitely the first time I've known of that many Christmas-time birthdays in any workplace. We had a cake on Wednesday for Andrea and two cakes on Thursday (most folks were due to be out on Friday) for me, Pat, and Thomas. Complete with singing birthday candle.

A lot of people ask about the whole "do you only get one present for both" thing, and the whole "do people wish you happy birthday and merry christmas" thing, and the answers I give are probably pretty much the same as anyone else you've ever known with a Christmas-time birthday. So instead I thought I'd offer some tips on how to properly celebrate MY birthday. 'Cause you know you want something else to celebrate at the end of December every year.

How To Celebrate Kate's Birthday

1. It is important that you begin the day with a good cup of coffee and something wonderful to eat. French toast is always fun (even if it veers from the nearly vegan diet I strive to keep) but a more authentic French breakfast is even better. I'm talking about croissants, people, and only the best. We're lucky enough to have a locally-owned French-style bakery and cafe called Provence -- we go to the one at the main library downtown all the time (it's a pleasant 20ish minute walk from our house) but since we had to do our grocery shopping for the party, we chose their original and larger location in the hip Hillsboro Village neighborhood. I had a fabulous croissant, a bowl of fresh fruit, and some wonderful Dancing Goats coffee. Try it, you'll love it!



2. Optional: go wander through a good grocery store. Seriously, I love natural/whole foods stores. Hell, I just love thinking about food at all. We chose Wild Oats -- if you have a Whole Foods or an independent store or a co-op near you, that'll work, too. (We also ran into one of our neighbors (we're talking about a store that's clear across town from our neighborhood, but that's how much demand there is for an upscale/natural market in or around our area -- investors take note!) and found out that he was planning to attend the party after going to the Predators game, so we ended up having a hilarious conversation about hockey and fang fingers and throwing various dead animals into the ice rink. Hockey is weird.)



3. Have something really tasty and indulgent for lunch. We chose the locally-owned Couva Calypso Cafe for their famous "loaded black bean nachos" and fruit tea, yum.
   
   
4. Thrift shopping is practically a must. We chose Goodwill. Pick your favorite. It is, of course, one of my favorite things to do ever.
   
   
5. Bake something. I chose to make gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and I decorated each one with a variety of festive sprinkles. All vegan, and quite yummy.



6. Take a romantic shower with the love of your life. Try not to run out of hot water.



7. This is important! Don't skip dinner. You'll be drinking a lot. I planned to eat later, but was always too distracted to eat much during the party. Big mistake.



8. Open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (my favorite champagne!) and make a toast with the love of your life. It doesn't much matter what you say, but it must be heartfelt and in the moment. I believe mine was something like "To you and your patience with my indulgences."



9. Throw a party. You should probably start planning this ahead of the actual day. Be aware that but a tiny fraction of the number of people you invite will be able to make it, and even some of the people who say they're coming won't or can't -- at this time of year, just seems like people just never know what's going to be happening at the last minute, and it's just as likely some will get sick right before the party. That's to be expected. Still, it's good to have WAY more food and drinks than you need, and you'll do just fine with, oh, say, the 27 people who do show up (out of probably 127 invitations). In our case, Aunt B and the Butcher were arriving just as a group of neighborhood carolers were standing at the bottom of our front stairs singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and then "Happy Birthday." It was a very nice touch, but probably not a necessary ingredient for your own party.


Other ideas if you have time:


10. Write a song. Actually, I didn't get around to it this year because of all the running around, but it's been a fairly consistent tradition since I was a teenager.



11. Visit kittens at the animal shelter. Again, I didn't get a chance this year, but this is always a fun thing to do, and kittens are just right for birthdays.



12. Live-blog the birthday celebration. I wasn't up for it, but you might be!



13. Volunteer where you're needed. Since it is, after all, the Christmas season, there is always a need. One year I helped out at a food pantry, sorting cans and other food into batches for distribution. That was fun, and it felt good. Maybe next year we can do toys or something fun like that.

By now, if you've followed my instructions, you've had a pretty good celebration of my birthday. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy day. It worked!

Karsten and I went to a mall yesterday.

Let me just say that again.

Karsten and I went to a mall yesterday.

We set foot in a mall maybe twice a year. But I saw in the Scene that there was going to be a Health and Fitness Fair at Cool Springs Galleria, and it sounded potentially interesting. So we went.

The fair was underwhelming, actually (although I did find out about Team In Training, which raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society -- I'd still like to find something more targeted at melanoma*), but we made the best of our time at the mall, enjoying a quesadilla in the food court, and Godiva chocolates afterward.

Oh, and I got a makeover at the Benefit counter at Hecht's! The consultant did a pretty good job, but I think I looked a little like a ho (I said that for you, binghead) when she was done. I had to pop into the nearest restroom afterwards and mop off about half of what she applied, but then it looked quite nice. And I admit, I learned a trick or two, and this Dr. Feelgood product that they have is really quite impressive for troublesome skin like mine. I was also pleased with the results of the BeneTint cheek & lip color (she only used it on my cheeks) -- it had a really natural glow. Oh, and their brushes feel heavenly, but that's because they're sable. (The consultant claimed that they're cruelty-free, but I'd love to find a non-animal-product set of brushes that feels that good.) Anyway, their stuff is definitely priced out of my current cosmetics budget. I may figure out a way to work Dr. Feelgood into my budget in the future, though. Surely I can make do with fewer shades of lipstick in exchange for the appearance of smoother skin. :-)

Karsten had fun browsing in The Buckle. I think something like five people have recommended that store to him, including, if I'm not mistaken, nightfly. It was a great recommendation -- he definitely found some looks he was into. Now if only they'd go on a really, really good sale... like 97% off, or something. (We're used to paying thrift store prices for clothes, remember?) But yeah, I'd totally love to see him in something like this. Yum.

After leaving the mall, we were all psyched for clothes, so we went thrift shopping. We each found some good stuff, but get this: I found a Burberry wool coat! I immediately thought "eBay!" It was $20 and I couldn't decide, given the condition it was in (a few marks, no stains or anything, otherwise pretty good), if it would sell for much more than that. I bought it just in case, and checked eBay as soon as we got home. While the winning bids for Burberry coats are all over the place, I think it's safe to guess that the lowest I should get for it is at least $40 or $50. Yay!

Take that, Cool Springs Galleria!



* Whoa. I just searched and found this page which is a walk that was taking place in Lemont, Illinois -- where my sister lives. How weird. Doesn't seem as if it's still taking place though. I'll have to keep looking.

Whee! Today is another 50% off everything sale at Goodwill. We got there at 7 AM and just came home half an hour ago.

For clothes, I focused on this season's trendy color combinations of rosy pink, black, tan, and gray. I got two work-appropriate cardigans, one light pink and one dark gray; two somewhat casual long cardigans, one black and one gray and black; two casual 3/4-length warm cardigans (hey, my warmth depends heavily on cardigans in the winter): a tan one from J. Crew and a vintage one in light gray; a rosy pink Banana Republic pullover sweater; a pair of stretchy black Old Navy pants; a black and white diagonal stripe sheer blouse from New York & Company, and two slips, one of which is a cute rosy pink color with lace trim -- I could almost wear it without a skirt over it. Or at least peeking out from underneath a black skirt. I also found a lightweight sleeveless Prospirit workout top that will be perfect for next summer.

Karsten got a short-sleeve batik print shirt from Indonesia, a black Irish linen shirt from Banana Republic, and several children's books (he uses the artwork in them for various art projects).

We also found one of those Homedics foot baths that looks to be in good condition (although I haven't tried it out yet) and a nice digital bathroom scale to replace the non-digital one we had.

The total? $39.70.

I love the smell of bargains in the morning. (Although I can't say the same about the dressing rooms. Tres whiffy!)

We received word from our apartment property manager yesterday that they were doing some work this morning requiring us to move our car from the lot by 8:00 AM, so it seemed like a good morning to go out for ( breakfast. )

( Then thrift shopping. )

Alright, now this is kind of ( embarassing. )

( Workout. )

( Lunch. )

( More shopping. )

( Dinner. )

( Live music. )

And then it was back home. And now I'm getting sleepy. It's been a good, long day.

Last week I was complaining to Karsten about being bored with my work wardrobe. Not only bored, but I can't help noticing that there are interns at my company that are wearing more stylish and interesting work clothes than what I'm making do with. I lamented that it may be time to make the switch from my entirely-thrift-store-bought wardrobe to one where I start buying one good piece at a time and build a real professional wardrobe.

So, with a heavy heart, on Friday I started doing a little research. I checked some of the big retailers online, like bananarepublic.com, nordstrom.com, macys.com, and so on. Mind you, I've only paid retail prices for, oh, about two garments ever in my life. So I was getting pretty depressed at the prices and what it would mean for my budget if I were to start having to pay a lot of money for each piece. We're talking pants -- on clearance, mind you -- for between $40 and $80.

I also took a lunchtime run by a few of the more trendy independent stores in town. I liked some of what they had, but I was very unimpressed with the prices. Even on the clearance rack, we're still talking about $30 to $50 for a pair of pants.

Then on my way home Friday evening, I stopped in at Goodwill. I don't know what made me think it would be worthwhile on a Friday at 7:00 PM to bother with a thrift store (my usual approach is not to bother with thrift stores past mid-morning because most of the stylish stuff has usually been cleared out by resellers and other savvy shoppers), but the car just sort of steered itself.

( I found... )

Originally published at The Bee Hive. Please leave any comments there.

Last week I was complaining to Karsten about being bored with my work wardrobe. Not only bored, but I can’t help noticing that there are interns at my company that are wearing more stylish and interesting work clothes than what I’m making do with. I lamented that it may be time to make the switch from my entirely-thrift-store-bought wardrobe to one where I start buying one good piece at a time and build a real professional wardrobe.

So, with a heavy heart, on Friday I started doing a little research. I checked some of the big retailers online, like bananarepublic.com, nordstrom.com, macys.com, and so on. Mind you, I’ve only paid retail prices for, oh, about two garments ever in my life. So I was getting pretty depressed at the prices and what it would mean for my budget if I were to start having to pay a lot of money for each piece. We’re talking pants — on clearance, mind you — for between $40 and $80.

I also took a lunchtime run by a few of the more trendy independent stores in town. I liked some of what they had, but I was very unimpressed with the prices. Even on the clearance rack, we’re still talking about $30 to $50 for a pair of pants.

Then on my way home Friday evening, I stopped in at Goodwill. I don’t know what made me think it would be worthwhile on a Friday at 7:00 PM to bother with a thrift store (my usual approach is not to bother with thrift stores past mid-morning because most of the stylish stuff has usually been cleared out by resellers and other savvy shoppers), but the car just sort of steered itself.

( I found... )

But far more importantly, I found out that they were having a 50% off of everything sale the next day, and opening at 7:00 AM for the occasion.

So Karsten and I got there yesterday morning right at 7, and we were there until after 10, hunting, trying on clothes, hunting, trying on clothes. And I got 62 articles of name-brand (Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Benetton, Express, Gap, Limited, etc), stylish clothing, most of them appropriate for work, plus a hip Hawaiian-style shirt for Karsten, plus some children’s books (he uses them for art projects), plus a new Ralph Lauren 100% cotton sheet for our non-bed, for just under $150.

Let’s do the math real quick, shall we? A work wardrobe of five pairs of work-appropriate pants, a skirt, and, let’s just call it 40 shirts and sweaters and such. (Not all of the 62 items were work-appropriate, but definitely more than half were.) Even if I were buying these on deep, deep clearance, and the pants and skirt were, let’s say $15 each and the tops were, let’s say $10 each, that still adds up to $490. And my grand total of $180 for both shopping trips was well under half of that. Whee!

Anyway, I spent the next few hours at home trying things on again, looking for outfits in what I bought and what I already own (there were lots!), and then clearing out the less interesting pieces from my closet.

Now I just have to get to the laundromat and dry cleaner (only three of my new pieces are dry-clean only — I made an effort to avoid those except where it seemed really worth it) and then reorganize my closet.

Oh, and Goodwill is having another one of these big sales next month.

Share This

Finally! A decent haircut.

I've been cutting my own hair for years now -- I trim it every few weeks. A few months ago, I changed the shape of it a bit to make it graduate in length from front to back, but a natural looking blend has been hard to get right. I think I finally made it work this morning, but the real test is when I wash and style it tomorrow.

Still, I have the satisfaction I always feel when I finish cutting my hair that I just saved myself a good $60-100. (I don't do cheap haircuts. I'm happy to do my own haircuts and I'm far from a salon professional, but I swear those people who work at Supercuts and the like have no clue what they're doing. The last few times I caved in and went to one of those places, I walked out about ready to cry.)

So I went thrifting. And found a Coach purse. For $3.99.

Technically, it's a carryall tote. I looked around on the web and educated myself on the varieties and styles of Coach bags. I bought it planning to sell it on eBay (I once found a Kate Spade handbag in a thrift store for $6 and sold it on eBay for $60 -- and this one seems likely to beat that profit margin by quite a bit) but after looking it over, I'm tempted to keep it for myself. It's gray (kind of a greenish- or bluish-gray) twill with black leather trim, which is ideal for my gray-and-black wardrobe (though I do try to avoid leather even if it's secondhand). And let's be honest: how often am I going to have the opportunity to carry a $300-$350 purse? :-)

So now I think I'll take it with me on my business trip to Atlanta this week and see what I think of it. Then I may sell it anyway. We'll see. :-)