Monthly Archives: December 2011

December 11, 2011

REI Soho

By simply three cents

It’s about time. An REI in my backyard!

It’s taken over the historic Puck Building which has angered some people, that big business has taken over. But, what’s better – an empty gorgeous building, or a retailer that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the island?

No more traveling to East Hanover, New Jersey or Tempe or Tucson, Arizona to wander around one of my favorite stores.

I stopped by the store a few days after the grand opening and the store was gorgeous. The loft space was incredible. The staff was helpful. And there was so. much. stuff!

It was about an hour before I checked the time and realized that I had been wandering for nearly an hour! I had stopped by with the intention of picking up just a few things but the sheer space (it’s three floors!) kept me looking at everything, and then some!

Do you know there are portable toilets for sale? Like fold it up and stuff it in a bag when you are done kind of portable toilets. (Was not, and will never be on my to buy list).

Can’t wait to go back to check out their classes and outdoor activities planned for the local area.

Have you been? Are you going to go? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Leave a comment | posted in shopping

December 10, 2011

It’s all in English?!

By simply three cents

During our recent trip to DC, I realized it was easy.

Easy being able to visit memorials and being able to read the plaques without the help of a translator – as well as having a complete understanding of the history – because it’s my country’s history.

Going into a museum and understanding what I was reading as it was in my native English, was exciting! I knew what I was seeing, reading and had probably learned about it in school.

The boyfriend hadn’t been to DC since he was a kid. He remembered there was a huge whale in the Museum of American History. When we saw it, he said he remembered it to be much bigger. I guess when you are much smaller everything seems so much bigger.

Another example of the awe of young kids was when we passed several groups of school kids peering into a huge (huge doesn’t even seem big enough) fish tank in the Museum of American History. I smiled when I heard one of the kids say ‘how beautiful.’

It made me reflect and wonder how much of ‘that’ I miss when visiting museums and other memorials in other countries. There have been countless times I’ve been in a museum and it’s only in the native language of the country – there isn’t an English translation so you have to guess or revert to pictures and diagrams to understand what’s going on or hope for a stranger’s kindness and a small understanding of English to understand.

In those situations, I become that kid again because that’s almost my level of understanding, if that, in those foreign museums and memorials.

On the flip side, as an adult, I can continue to read, and learn, about that history, in order to gain a better perspective about the world around me than I could have done at six or ten years old.

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in observations

December 9, 2011

For Shame!

By simply three cents

Boy did I goof. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the boyfriend and I went to DC for a weekend trip back in October. And boy did I mess up. I overpacked. The horror!

I broke several of my packing cardinal rules.

Problem 1: packing the night before

Problem 2: packing after dinner (and wine) with girlfriends

Which led to problems 3 and 4…

Problem 3: Not packing outfits that worked with the shoes

Problem 4: Not packing for the right weather

Not only did I overpack, but I packed for frigid weather. That weekend we were there, the weather was gorgeous.

I also packed non-practical outfits. Yes, on our departure day I wore my tall boots so I did not have to pack them, but I had not taken into consideration that the jeans I packed – did not work with those boots. Which means, the boots could only go with limited outfits. Thankfully, I had packed my trusty Converse to go with the jeans. While the boots paired with my leggings, I only packed one thing that actually looked normal with leggings, being leggings. The rest of what I packed made the leggings look like pants. Big no no.

On top of that, this was the boyfriend’s first trip to DC since he was a kid. Did I remember the camera? Of course not. Do either of us have smartphones? Nope.

So at the Lincoln Memorial, we did what any tourist who comes to a place unprepared, we bought, oh yes we did, a disposable camera. Stop laughing.

Let it be known I only was recently weened off of disposable cameras in the past few years, so I had no shame. Though it was hilarious looking around us – not one single person had a disposable camera. People had smartphone cameras, small digital cameras and high-tech cameras. Not us. We had the very desirable Fuji QuickSnap.

Hey, it did the job. Well, we don’t know yet because I just finished the roll and mailed it to be processed.

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in packing, travel, travelogues

December 8, 2011

Shhhhhh

By simply three cents

The boyfriend and I went to DC for a weekend trip back in October to visit old friends.

We took Amtrak down and we were pleasantly surprised when we accidentally found ourselves seated in the only quiet car on the train down.

Hallelujah!

I had a book to read and plenty of magazines to catch up on and I was excited for the silence in which to read. there were several people who needed to be continuously reminded that this was the quiet car.

Because the train was full the boyfriend and I were not seated next to each other. I had been behind on checking my voicemail, and later received a few calls during the ride, so I simply wanted to listen to them.

As I dialed, I felt like his eyes were boring holes into my head as he must have been fearful that I was going to <gasp> make a call. If only the poor guy knew we were on the same quiet loving team. In fact, he was so keen on his quiet that when the conductor came around collecting tickets, I could see my seat partner exchange a look with the conductor and then nod his head to me.

Just to piss him off, I checked my voicemail twice, during the two hours I spent sitting next to him. I was never going to make a call, but with plenty of reading material in front of me, I wouldn’t have wanted to!

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in train travel, travel, travelogues

December 7, 2011

It’s Just Water

By simply three cents

Why must people keep their umbrellas raised when walking under scaffolding? WHY? You aren’t even getting wet and there’s so little room for the width of the umbrellas!

Same goes for people who keep their umbrella raised as they walk down the steps into the subway.

And I saw a woman going from an office into a waiting car — with a guy holding an umbrella over her head for the walk from the building to the curb. I thought for a second, maybe she just had her hair done, but the office she was leaving was a doctor’s office according to the nameplate on the door.

I want to tell these people that they won’t melt if they get a little wet. They can’t be exposed for ten seconds to the elements?

Leave a comment | posted in WHY Wednesday

December 6, 2011

12 days of gifts courtesy of BootsnAll

By simply three cents
You may recall my Indie Travel Project from BootsnAll. Now…now they are giving away 12 days of gifts!

Today is day two. I loved yesterday’s giveaway and I am excited to see what the next ten days of giving brings.

Check it out!

Leave a comment | posted in shopping

December 5, 2011

A Penchant for Pens

By simply three cents

Continuing my downsizing streak, I have made heaps of progress. One of my places of progress was the junk drawer. While it’s not totally ‘junk’ I was able to eliminate a little bit. Including pens.

For some reason the boyfriend and I have a ridiculous number of pens. So I went through and downsized. I must have downsized once before because most of the pens were organized in a little bag. Of course there were still pens in other drawers, or loose even in the junk drawer.

So I took a stand. I was going to eliminate pens. I don’t like black ink, so I got rid of those. I got rid of pens that don’t write, and I got rid of pens that I don’t like their shape.

For someone so particular about her pens, we have a lot. I gave the boyfriend a chance to ‘save’ any pens that he felt were near and dear, so he rescued a few. I found the whole situation kind of funny. Pens don’t take up a lot of space, but I was hell bent on eliminating them.

I wouldn’t want to start counting pens, nor would I want to ask anyone else to do such a thing, so I am leaving the unofficial focus group to shoes, and shoes alone.

Leave a comment | posted in apartment living

December 4, 2011

Unleashing my Inner Imelda Marcos

By simply three cents

The other night I was on a downsizing rampage and scrutinizing the number of pairs of shoes I own.

I felt like my number was too high so I texted 10 friends asking how many they have. As the results began to come in, I was more and more curious, and continued to add members to my unofficial focus group. I added another ten friends, and another ten friends.

Here’s the original text I sent to 30 female friends.

How many pairs of shoes do you have? All in. Flops sneaks heels sandals boots everything…

I got some confused texts back and here is the follow-up text I sent clarifying why I was asking:

I’m getting rid of stuff. Down to shoes I can’t get rid of and I’m just under 50. That is insane. I wear the same 2 pairs each season. That should be 8. 10 tops.

22 have since responded with a number. Several friends responded with ‘not too many’ or ‘a lot’ and since there was not a number attached I am only including the 22 who provided me with an actual number – be it ballpark, or exact.

What can I tell you about the ladies who gave me an actual number?

They live in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. They live in suburbs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. They are single, married and they co-habitate.  They are teachers, salespeople, marketers, bankers, editors, executive assistants, recruiters, personal shoppers, accountants and stay-at-home moms.  They are 29 – 37 years old. They are my friends.

Out of 23 replies, including myself, here are my observations from my extremely unscientific poll:

  • Friends who started their text back to me with ‘I’m not the best person to ask’ were respondents on either the high-end or low-end with their number of pairs of shoes
  • We, as a whole, seem to wear the same few pairs over and over and openly acknowledge it
  • Two friends with the same name responded with exactly the same number: 50
  • A friend who said she had 20 pairs, said she had no idea I was such a ‘shoe whore’
  • Another friend with 20 pairs, replied that her 3-year-old daughter had more shoes than she did
  • My friend with the highest number of pairs topped the chart at 75 and my friend with the least said she owned a mere 15
  • Some of us (myself included) own a lot of flip-flops, somewhere between 10 and 20 pairs

What’s interesting is that I found no correlation with the number of shoes owned and whether you live in the city or the burbs. I found no correlation with married women versus single women, nor ladies with children.

If I take away the highest and lowest numbers which are 75 and 15, the average number for 21 people is 34.4 pairs of shoes. If I put the 75 and 15 pairs back in, and include those two friends for a 23 respondents, the average  number rises to 35.3 pairs of shoes. This still puts me about 15 pairs more than average in my unscientific poll.

Note: I am no mathematician but I’m sure there are other ways to sort these numbers if you find math fun. I just wanted to know if I had too many shoes, and after seeing these results, I think yes. I am also comforted by my friends who own more pairs than me.

What’s your number? Does it make you want to donate a few pairs of shoes, or go shopping for a few more?

4 Comments | posted in observations

December 3, 2011

Cyber Monday Winners and Losers

By simply three cents

Cyber Monday is the online shopping equivalent of Black Friday. Since I am not a fan of crowds and early morning wake ups and there’s nothing I absolutely must have, I did not feel any urge to go shopping on Black Friday.

But of course I wanted to check out the deals offered from my favorite retailers on Cyber Monday from the comfort of my computer. I was bombarded with emails promising big savings and my Facebook feed was overloaded by retailers trying to entice me to check out their wares.

I only checked out stores I like but even then there’s bound to be some winners and some losers. Here’s my recap.

Winners 🙂

Magellans

This amazing travel store offered an amazing deal. If you spend over $50, you get free shipping. If you spend over $100, get 20% off your total purchase. I had no problem spending $100. In my excitement, I goofed and ordered two things in the same color. Instead of calling and editing with a person who would probably be overwhelmed, I just redid the order, called customer service and asked them to cancel the first, which they happily did, and since I did it quickly, my card doesn’t even get charged twice.

A+

Stash tea

Long a favorite online site of mine, Stash had a very small discount on a tea set I have had my eye on for a while. It wasn’t the greatest ‘deal’ but I got suckered in by the site and also added a full price item to my order. You dangled free shipping, and voila, an order was placed. 

A

Ebags

Another favorite of mine and a customer service superstar. The PacSafe I had been eyeing was discounted 25% with free shipping. I must have been so excited that I accidentally clicked ‘place order’ twice. One simple phone call, not a long wait, and just one PacSafe is en route.

A+

Losers 😦

Ann Taylor Loft

Oh Loft. Poor poor Loft. Your site went down…on Cyber Monday. In fact your site goes down every.single.time. there is a sale. You kept adding fuel to the fire by posting images of clothes (that people couldn’t buy) on Facebook, which only enraged your customers.

Your day was like a train wreck and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I was so intrigued that I monitored your Facebook feed throughout the day and boy, are people passionate about their clothes. 

Your online shopping site is normally annoying because you can only click on one item at a time instead of opening different pages to shop more easily. It was especially annoying on Cyber Monday because the site was slow and at some times failing to load properly.

Also, the way you manage your online inventory is problematic because you are usually only left with sizes 0, 2, 16 and 18, which leaves out the rest of us who fall somewhere in the middle.

On my way home I even stopped at your store in Times Square (G-d help me) because I wanted to pick up another pair of your Marisa petite black pants that I love. The store was insane (probably filled with the people who couldn’t get online) and I get easily frustrated with shopping anyway so I gave up and left empty handed.

I also realized that even with your 50% off sale, the pants were still a whopping $20 more than I paid when I paid ‘full price’ and a 20% coupon a mere month ago. Raising your prices to ‘discount’ them? Fail.

You need a new server, a new social media team and a new e-tailer strategy. And know that your customers are smarter than you think.

Loft, I will continue to shop with you because your petite pants fit me perfectly without a visit to the tailor but I will not waste any more of my time on your website. 

F (and I still don’t have a second pair of the Marisa pant)

Converse

Oh Converse, I’m already a huge fan with my off-white high-top and grey low-top Chucks. I wanted (note: not needed) another pair of low-tops and a pair of slip-ons. I think you may have raised your prices, to say that there was a sale. I don’t recall Chucks being $55.

So if you were raising prices to discount them, that’s a no no. Your free shipping offer was nice but I think you normally have free shipping offers on regular shopping days so I declined to place an order.

Like I said, I don’t need another two pairs of Converse, I merely wanted them. And if you’re upping the price so you can reduce it to still more than the normal price, well I can wait.

D

Pottery Barn

You and your no coupon policy annoys the crap out of me.  The item I want, two of them actually, are $79 each. I was willing to spend the money had you offered me a coupon so I could feel like I wasn’t paying your inflated full price. 

I commend you because you FINALLY offered free shipping (because this item is only available online) but I can wait you out Pottery Barn. I’ve had my eye on this for months. I’m sure it will be discontinued soon. But I will take my chances and I will wait.

D

Recap — To my winners, you rock and I will always be loyal. To my losers, I still love your products, but you failed on Cyber Monday, in my opinion. I have not received anything yet, so hopefully my three orders (from the winners) will arrive on time and intact. I am hopeful.

For the record, free shipping is the cost of entry for Cyber Monday so that should be a given.

Readers — Did you encounter any winners and losers in your shopping excursions on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday or in the weekend between? Share your story in the comments below.

Leave a comment | posted in shopping

December 2, 2011

Where I Have Been

By simply three cents

While this may not include every single small town I have set foot in, I would say this is a pretty exhaustive list for my travels up to this point.

I also realize that I am severely lacking travels in Asia, Africa and Australia, as in none. That’s what a wish list is for 😉

Travels

EUROPE                                                                   

England: Bath, Cambridge, Isle of Wight, Leeds, London, Salisbury, Wiltshire

France: Paris

Belgium: Brussels, Bruges

Italy: Rome, Milan, Sienna, Tuscany, Greve in Chianti, San Gimignano, Florence, Fiesole, Bologna, Venice, Brescia

Scotland: Edinburgh

Netherlands: Amsterdam

Ireland: Dublin, Galway, Killarney, Cork, Limerick

Spain: Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Grenada, Malaga, Marbella, Puerto Banús

Switzerland: Zurich, Lucerne

Denmark: Copenhagen

Croatia: Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar, Split, Plitvice Lakes, Zagreb  

Bosnia-Hercegovina: Mostar

SOUTH AMERICA                                                     

Argentina: Buenos Aires, El Calafate, Tigre, Ushuaia, Martillo Island, Beagle Channel

CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN       

Bahamas: Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

St. Thomas

St. Martin/St. Maarten

Puerto Rico: San Juan, Fajardo, Culebra, Culebrita

Costa Rica: Alajuela, Arenal, Monteverde, San Jose

St. Lucia: Gros Islet, Rodney Bay

NORTH AMERICA

Canada:  Niagara Falls, Toronto, Vancouver

Mexico:  Cancun

United States:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Washington D.C.

I’ve only seen the Airport:
Detroit, Frankfurt, Houston

1 Comment | posted in in and around the world