Who Doesn't Love

Chris Walken?

Note to Self...

if you can't wear eye make-up because it irritates your eyes, you probably should also say "no" when your asthetician asks if she can put the bilberry seaweed task mask over your eyes.

Jimmy Choo!

(for H&M)...

So today I went in to the city for a haircut (sadly, Misin is no longer with Frederic Fekkai... so I had to use a new stylist, who shall remain nameless-- it's okay, but when I asked her to make it shorter I got push back... last time I checked it was my $$$, not hers, so why, pray-tell are you telling me no???) ANYWAY... I also had an appointment for a facial at Bliss (shout out to Melanie-- thank you again for the wonderful birthday gift certificate-- YAY!!!), and I also met up with 410e9th for lunch at of all places the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridian.

After all of these festivities, I was left to wander the city, aimless (as I had called the fam and they weren't at home). I walked through Bendel's (fab accessories these days, by the way), I toyed with going to Saks (our happy place), and then thought: "I'll go to H&M", it was a block closer to me than Saks and right around the corner from where I'd parked the wagon. I'm guessing somewhere in the back of my subconscious I had recalled that Jimmy Choo was doing a guest line there, but at the time I had no idea.

I walk in and it's a mad house. There's a DJ in the corner and women everywhere. This was a lot like when they had a Stella McCartney line a few years back (except then they didn't have enough clothes and it was a total madhouse... this time they did have TONS of clothes, but there were even more people...)

Let's just start by saying the line is very sequin and bedazzle heavy. But who doesn't like a little bling? There are leather one shoulder dresses, suede dresses, lots of black sequined evening wear, pants, lots of leather handbags, two different kinds of belts, a really cool lucite (read: PLASTIC) evening clutch and a really cool fur vest (very Sonny and Cher). Sadly, the fur vest is faux fur. I would be okay with it were there not leather pieces in the line, but if you're going to have leather, then use real fur. But that's just me.

I'm walking around and all of a sudden I see a roped off area with: SHOES! Turns out you have to get in line to go to the shoe area and basically they will let 40 people at a time in to try on shoes and you only have 15 minutes to pick out the shoes, try them on and pay.

WOWZERS! Luckily, waiting in line went pretty quickly, but then again so did the 15 minutes of try-on time. There are tons of stacked heel/stilletto shoes, two different kinds of flats and one amazing pair of faux-cowboy boots. The faux cowboy boots are just the bottom part of a boot-- so they're more like booties. They're snakeskin print with studs and jewels on them. They are so completely over-the-top gaudy that they are FABULOUS. They are also real leather. I would have bought a pair (despite the $149 price tag) but who wants a bootie? I want a full boot. I'm sorry, and no offense to gay men or lesbians, but booties can only be properly pulled off by gay men and lesbians, as I am neither, the booties had to stay behind. As for the rest of the shoes? The leather wasn't up to the same standard of quality you would expect from Jimmy Choo and unfortunately neither was the fit.

There was one pair of stilleto heels with cool cutouts and an ankle strap thingie, but the ankle strap was too big for my ankles and just didn't sit right. None of the sizing was right either-- size 7s all ran very big but size 6 was way too small. There's also no half-sizing. I think I could have gotten past the quality issues if the price point were better, but really you can still find a real pair of Jimmy Choos on sale for $149 and up if you go to Off Fifth or the Neiman Marcus outlet on a good day, so who wants to pay that at H&M?

Sadly, I kind of felt the same way about the clothes. Though the Husband liked one sequined baby doll dress, (and I loved that it was made of modal-- super comfy), the cut of it was a little bit Golden-Girls-on-a-Cruise. The leather one shouldered number? Didn't fit right on top and the quality of the leather used didn't match up with the $249 price tag. The belt? Couldn't get it off once it was on... I actually had to get it off over my head (for some reason, I couldn't get it unbuckled).

I am keeping a really nice midnight blue scarf. After all, one can never have too many scarves. So that's my review in a nutshell--- let me know your thoughts!

BTW, I also have to say, I really like the Stella McCartney for Gap Kids line that's currently in stores. The quality of those items is great, but again the price point could be a little better. The kids stuff is more expensive than her women's wear line was at H&M! But, what can you do. I guess it's inflation, even in the toddler clothes market.

Bingo, Anyone?

So I'm listening to my iTunes library on shuffle and up comes a Chris Isaak song. This made me think, "hey, let's see when the next concert is..." well, there's nothing scheduled in our area in the near future, but, for all of you Wisconsin folks out there.... nothing says New Year's Eve like Chris Isaak in concert at the Potawatami Bingo Casino in Milwaukee!! Woo-hoo!

So I'm Kind of Excited About

Fantastic Mr. Fox.

High Line!

Yesterday Miss B. and I visited the High Line and environs with Thisbe and the Wee Kraken! It was really cool.

Check out Miss B.'s Stella McCartney for BabyGap tuxedo jacket!

Circus!

On Saturday, after the garage sale, Miss B. and I headed into the city to join our friends David, Emily and Max at the Big Apple Circus!!

Maclaren Recall

FYI Moms and Dads out there: Maclaren is recalling all of its umbrella-style strollers that it has sold in the US since 1990. Click here for the MSNBC article with details. Apparently, you will receive some sort of cover for the side hinges in the umbrella mechanism which can cause harm to children's fingers... this is with reference to the Triumph, Volo, Quest, etc.

Garage Sale!!

Today we had a garage sale! Which basically meant that we wanted to try and get rid of a lot of moldy crap that had been filling up the storage room off the garage. (Let's not also forget the multiple boxes of stuff left over from our kitchen remodel)...

My ad had said 9-1pm so I headed out a few minutes before 9 to get set up. As I open the garage door, two women barge right in! (This is, after all, the nature of the "early bird-ers" who get up at the crack of dawn to be the first people at the sale)... I barely had the chance to move my car off to the side out of the driveway and begin moving goodies out of the garage onto the driveway before I started making sales.

Ovwerall I only netted about $70 but, it was $70 in exchange for pure crap, so I'm happy. The best victory of the day? The man who paid me fifty cents for five gallons of paint (previously opened) which was at least 4 years old. I was going to have to wait for County Haz-Mat disposal day to get rid of them, but instead, this guy hauled them off and gave me money for it! How cool is that?

I also met my neighbor from down the street (and his Puggle, Enzo). Yes, Virginia, there are Puggles.

I had three women visit (one was a repeat customer from last year's garage sale) who bought a bunch of things and also had a fun conversation with me about our Ghost, Anna.

Then there was the Filipino woman from down the street who just kept buying things (much to her Husband's dismay). Just when she would close up her change purse and put her latest finds in a tote bag, she would look in another box and find something else she liked.

Then there was the Mexican gentleman who not only bought an old remote control (for a quarter).... god knows what it was for, and really, does he have the same item at home? Probably not... but he also went away with a Martha Stewart Entertaining book. Random!

Finally, towards the end of the day, the Husband had to go to the office and Miss B. and I had to get ready for our trip to the circus. So, I closed up the garage door and put up the following sign:



Ironically, later on in the day I did find a quarter on our front stoop! (Who knows what was taken, but apparently, the honor system can work!

Finally, before Miss B. and I left for the circus I sorted out the remaining items into the (x) Lupus Foundation donation pile and (y) the curb. The Husband got home a few minutes after we left and someone actually pulled something off of the curb and paid him $1 for it.

Then, today, much to our shock and dismay the garbage men actually took away the rest of the stuff that we had put out as trash (this is a big deal because usually they give us an attitude about actually taking garbage in bags in our cans, let alone loose stuff in cardboard boxes!)

Overall? Success!

I Just Have To Say

I love TV5 Monde. We're watching On N'est pas Couche and there was this guy on for like 30 second who looked so familiar.... who is he? A French Comedian... where had we seen him? He's one of the Gendarmes from National Treasure: Book of Secrets. How random is that?

What to Watch...

Today's New York Times had the following headlines: "What to Watch Thursday:
Housewives and an IKEA Field Trip". I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I realized that it wasn't the Housewives who were going to IKEA.

The Shore, Storm King and the Yanks

So we've had a few adventures over the past two days....



















Yesterday, after lunch, Miss B. announced that she wanted to go to the Beach. So to the beach we went.
















We event went so far as to visit Sandy Hook!




















Then, today we ventured beyond Jersey up to the Hudson Valley to visit the Storm King Arts Center with Melanie and Andrew!










It's a really impressive facility, however, like most things in Upstate, the weather isn't always cooperative.


As soon as we started picnic-ing, the sun went behind the clouds and stayed there until closing time.


But Miss B. had fun anyway.... and got an Alexander Calder stickerbook too boot. How cool is that?





After Storm King we also hit up the Woodbury Commons outlet mall. I mean, after all, we were in the neighborhood!




Finally, congrats to the Yankees! Sure, this is something like their 5 billionth world series win, but regardless that just never gets old!

Governor-Schmovernor

So, to quote a fellow New Jerseyan from this MSNBC article: "I voted for Chris Christie because he isn't Jon Corzine."

Let the revitalization of New Jersey's economy via trips to Dunkin Donuts and IHOP begin!

More from the Annals of People With Too Much Time on Their Hands

The Wagon was finally returned to us today, from it's exile in Levittown, PA where BMW had sent it (unbeknownst to me) to be fixed. Thankfully, they flat-bedded it there and back (or so they said), but it did arrive, in front of our house, this afternoon on a flatbed. Then, seemingly as an attempt to make-up for the fact that they had taken the Wagon to Pennsylvania, it appeared that it had been detailed while it was gone. HOORAY!!!!!!! While the detailing was not a 100% job (Why does there appear to be some sort of coffee-grind-ish substance in one of my cupholders? and they didn't even attempt to clean out the cargo space....) it was thoroughly and completely vacuumed, dashboard wiped down, exterior detailed and tires shined. That's a $199 value to you and me. (or at least a $99 savings since that was what I had planned to pay them to detail the interior anyway).

After the wagon was returned Miss B. and I went to the Crate and Barrel outlet looking for an end table for the family room. Instead we left with a Type A personality's dream: A plastic storage box (and we also got three Christmas ornaments and two Christmas box/basket-y things for gift giving). Yes, I'm always in all my glory when I get to put things in plastic storage tubs and today's tub has been filled with Halloween decorations (to hopefully be reused again at a Halloween Fete next year).

After that we hit up McCaffrey's (only because it was on the way home) and got some foodstuffs in preparation for the Junior Leaguers who were coming over to discuss potential ideas for our provisional class project.

Upon making it home, I made Pizza Bagels for Miss B., participated in a conference call for my pro bono case, made two quiches and a dozen blueberry muffins. I also managed to repurpose an end table that we had bought years ago at Pottery Barn. It had been sitting, sullenly, behind the piano for no good reason. (Mostly because it was really too tall to properly sit adjacent to any of our sofas.... that is until I realized it was just the right height for our PB sectional!) It fit there, and I was hopeful that our small table lamp would fit (which it did) but then sadly, it turns out the lightbulb that I bought was the wrong size so it blew out immediately. Who knew there was more than one size of just "regular" light bulb. If it's that standard bulb shape with a standard (i.e. Type "A" base) I just figured they were all the same size. Apparently, I was wrong.

The ladies arrived at 7:15 and Miss B. helped to entertain us all (and she handed out left-over Halloween candy) until the Husband got home a short while later. Our meeting wrapped up at 8:30 and then the Husband and I tag-teamed Miss B. at sleepytime. Once our sleepytime events were completed it was on to making burgers and fries because nothing says healthy living like seared cow flesh after 9pm.

Then we cleaned up the kitchen (during the process of which I uncovered one of my decoupaging books which will of course, likely spur another fit of useless crafting). Just hopefully that fit of useless crafting won't be tonight.

Opera!

Happy Halloween! And an anniversary shout-out to the Mom and Dad! Happy (gasp!) 39th Anniversary!

Today our family celebrated Halloween by going to a matinee performance at the Metropolitan Opera!

What can I say, I'm a geek. Back in college I would listen to the Saturday afternoon Opera simulcasts while doing schoolwork... (nothing says brain food like bad take out from the Ivy Room followed by opera!)...

So we headed out first to brunch at the Grand Tier Restaurant (how cool is it that you get to cut ahead of the ticket holders and go up the Grand Staircase before the auditorium opens!). It was really good-- we got a prix fixe menu including butternut squash soup (with truffle oil and toasted pumpkin seeds) followed by fancy eggs florentine/benedict for me and a scrambled eggs with salmon and salmon roe tower for the Husband. We also got asiago and rosemary roasted potatoes and Miss Sophie shared!

Since it was Halloween, and since we were opera-going Miss B. had to have a sophisticated costume. Earlier this summer I had found this very cool very faux-Chanel jacket at the Gap. I made a hand knit/felted camelia flower pin and scored some great costume jewlery at the Monmouth County ASPCA Thrift Shop. Finishing off the look was black sailor type pants from Old Navy that I sewed gold buttons onto. Miss B. looked fab as a lady who lunches and she got *tons* of compliments!

On to the opera itself! We sat in a box in the dress circle which was really cool-- there are four chairs in the box, so we got room to spread out and you can move your seats around. It was a great space to have with Miss B.

The performance was great (especially since many of the movements of the opera are standard Looney-Tunes fare so they're not only entertaining but also familiar!) and we had a really nice time.

That is, right up until the very, very end when Cynthia, "Usher 11" literally ushered us out of the auditorium-- even going so far as to get extremely rude with the handicapped woman who was sitting next to us in Box 9! The woman needed two canes to move around and here's Cynthia yelling that "you must leave the auditorium immediately!" Geesh! It's not like the place is on fire, we were taking our time, not setting up camp!

ANYWAY. After that we headed out to the fountain at Lincoln Center to wrap up our day!

Real Time at the Met

The opera that is. So far, we're doing great!

Crafts.... end results

Here is the "Boo!" Banner that I made the other night (out of four hideous orange napkins that I got at the VNA Rummage Sale.... )







And lots of ghosts made out of left over fleece!

Tonight's Craft

Because we can't even go one frickin evening without crafting.

Tonight we're sewing on gold buttons to embellish a pair of black pants for Miss B. to wear tomorrow to the Opera. Pictures to follow!

What Did We Do Today?

8am-- physical therapy. (I was a bit loopy from lack of sleep... what else is new). Forgot my wallet, had to sneak back into the house (so as not to wake the baby) by emailing the Husband (who luckily for me... unluckily for him) was awake and on the computer doing work.

11am-- Music Class!

12pm-- Post Office

12:15pm Leave Post Office, realizing wallet is in car.

Then we went to Panera and met up with the Husband for lunch (note: Miss B.'s bagel sailed off our tray and hit the deck. Husband had to come to the rescue when he arrived and buy second bagel-- couldn't risk having to carry tray around anymore to go back and get it myself (i.e. try balancing a drink, sippy cup, salad, soup and hand-holding toddler... you get the picture).

Then we went to the Post Office. Again. (This time, with money). Helped older woman figure out how to use the APC while awaiting Postal Employee to come and empty the APC Receptacle.

Then: Whole Foods. Pumpkins. Need we say more?

Then: Wegman's. Party Food. Pigs in Blankets, apples with caramel dip, yada, yada, yada.

Then: Home and trying to reorganize shelving unit while simultaneously keeping Miss B. occupied and making Tuscan White Bean Soup.

Then: Bathe baby, shower, eat dinner.

Then: Make a midnight run (okay, an 8pm run) to Party Fair to get helium for party balloons. Party Fair is your Halloween Headquarters.

Then: Home to get baby ready for sleepy time.

Then: make cupcakes, straighten lower level/party level, decorate (who knew one needs a talent for using fake spider webbing?) How often is it that you find yourself tieing fleece ghosts to trees in your front yard at 11pm?

Yeah. I need sleep.

New Bumper, Get My Car Fixed, It's Your Birthday!

So, I've been driving around town (somewhat stealthily to not be noticed) in the bright cherry red HHR for the past two days. Ugh. I called up BMW this morning and left a message for John in the Body Shop to check on the status of the wagon.

I got a call back this afternoon and what ho! $300.99 from Geico to "repair" my bumper? Yeah. Let's call in a supplement people. Turns out that once BMW got the bumper cover off of the car they realized that it was too damaged to be repaired. (YES!) So much for that "adjuster" who basically tried to tell me that my car was a) a piece of crap and b) I shouldn't be bothered by the "scratch" that was on the bumper cover. And let's not forget about her supervisor who wanted to convince me that bumpers serve no actual purpose-- they're purely decorative.

ANYWAY. Thanks to the folks at BMW who took the time to actually look at my car and make a reasonable determination. Even bigger kudos to them for dealing directly with Geico, so I didn't have to get into an argument with anyone!

They think that the wagon may be ready tomorrow, or if not then, Friday. Then it's on to take it into the actual service department to confirm that there was no other actual damage from the accident (i.e. alignment, etc.)

Oh, and further on the complaint front, can I just say? The top speed of the HHR is totally like 60. Anything above that and I swear it starts to shimmy.