May 15, 2008
I’m ‘fessing up to my $33 outfit transgression today. I’m going to need your *professional* opinions here. A and I were browsing the mall and mostly managed to avoid all shops that I didn’t have gift cards for … except for Papaya. Whoops. Occasionally they have the odd really nice piece on sale, so we checked their clearance racks. As usual, there was a whole lot of nothing, but I turned up this high-waisted, knee length pencil skirt that I couldn’t resist. In the history of pencil skirts, I’m sure I’ve put up better fights.
Sorry the pictures aren’t great; I haven’t figured out how to take better clothing pictures yet, but this is just so you get the idea.
The skirt’s form-fitting, with a few inches of lacing up the back to make it just a bit interesting. I plan to cover up that bit during the day.
(Front waist)
(Back waist)
And the white silky blouse could probably use another button up top to keep the top of the collar closed.
But, blouse tucked into the skirt with black closed-toe pumps and a black jacket to profesh’ it up… what do you think? Did I make a huge mistake here, or is this a viable outfit?
May 12, 2008
Sense was right. Even though I was relieved that PaDucky had taken the initiative to request quotes for taking MaDucky off the insurance policy, I couldn’t help myself: I had to look up other quotes because I’d wanted to compare rates anyway.
Geico’s rates were about $150 less, for the same coverage, and even better, the deductibles were only $500 for each car. I was really tempted to switch on over without further ado.
Luckily, I called my repair shop to ask about ease of service and transactions with Geico first. It turns out that while I have the legal right (it’s CA law) to go to any repair facility of my choosing, my preferred repair shop is “not longer a direct provider for Geico” because they had difficulty doing business with them. The guy that usually helps me said that they’d stopped working with Geico a couple years back because they charge premium prices for their work and Geico doesn’t like paying them. I understand the principle of that, obviously, that’s how they pass the savings along to the customer. It’s just ironic because they were the cheapest of three quotes for my car repairs from the accident last year!
I asked him what not being a direct provider meant to me as a customer. He explained that while other insurance companies allow them to take the photos, email them, and proceed with repairs, Geico requires the adjuster to come to the facility to take their own photos, and then to return again when the car is torn down if/when there is more extensive damage. Basically, not being a direct provider means that we’re looking at an extra 50% time premium. Nooo buddy! I don’t think so. If I’m going to have to use their services in the next six months, I want to use my own shop, and not have to wait three weeks instead of two. Aside from being impatient, I also never opt for the rental car benefit, so we’d be down to one car instead of two.
It looks like I’ll be sticking with Mercury for now, even though they’re a bit more expensive.
May 6, 2008
Since LnT has officially declared bankruptcy, and I’ve been dragging my feet about spending my $50 gift card from American Express, I’m making a list of things I could get tonight. I definitely want a vegetable peeler. Call me insufferably Asian, but in our household, not only do we not use the dishwasher to wash dishes, we use knives to peel our vegetables. Well, guess what. My arthritic hands have had enough of that. I’m splurging on a veggie peeler.
But what else? I know I’m going to need household items when I move out, but I don’t want to buy a bunch of stuff now when I don’t know when and where I’m moving. After all, I’m also smack dab in the middle of decluttering.
I could get a duck down comforter for $50, with a 20% off coupon.
I could get a Brita water jug and additional filters for $32 (or $22 for the Atlantis version) plus the cost of filters.
I could get a 17 piece cooking set for $50, including:
- 2 Quart Covered Saucepan
- 3 Quart Covered Casserole
- 6 Quart Covered Dutch Oven
- 8″ Saute Pan
- 10″ Deep Fryer with Assist Handle
- Ceramic crock with 7 nylon tools
- Dishwasher safe
I could get a whole lot of towels or a sheet set. The towels make more sense because they’re not size dependent, and there’s a part of me that thinks I might finally upgrade from my twin size bed someday.
Oh, and the reason I’m not using this for a vacuum like I’d planned? Visiting BF meant that they had the opportunity to give me their extra vacuum! Yay! Free vacuum!
So far, towels, and the Brita water filtration system seem the most sensible. Or … the comforter….I’ve never had a nice down comforter before. But what’s up with the duck thing? Is that normal?
What would you suggest?
April 30, 2008
What do you guys think of this one? It’s $24, at Ebags, with a $5.50 shipping charge.
The dimensions are 14″ x 6″ x 9″ but I’m not entirely sure what the material is … it’s listed as croc embossed PVC.
Features:
Flap top open with magnetic closures
Cotton twill lining
Interior includes back wall zippered pocket as well as two front wall open top pockets
Croc wrapped handles
Exterior front wall pocket with magnetic snap closure and buckle
Drawstring side ties allowing for expansion if needed
Silver hardware accenting and bottom feet to protect from wear
Strap drop 4″
While I’d much prefer not spend real money, the stores I’m looking at simply don’t have the selection and this is pretty close to what I want. I can’t be sure without actually touching it, but that’s not an option 😛 They do have free returns though …
After confessing to carrying around a bright pink mini-messenger bag, I’ve shamed myself into admitting that it’s time to find a grown up bag. The problem is that I want to find The Perfect Bag that will suit every need and circumstance, and thereby prevent me from having to buy another bag for at least five or ten years. Not too big, not too soft, but juuuust right.
This could take a while. I spent an hour looking at bags at Macys.com to get an idea of the shapes and sizes I like. While I knew there were a few features that I liked, I haven’t ever committed to an actual list of requirements, and keep ending up with a variety of low-end, good-enough-for-now bags.
Loves
1. A flap, or zip top to ensure the safety of the contents, from thieves and the rain. I hate it when my planner gets soaked because I’ve got an “open face” bag.
2. An outside zipper pocket for keys, iPod, lip balm or phone. Whatever I happen to want easy access to at the moment. Preferably not completely flat against the side so that the item doesn’t have to be forcibly stuffed into the pocket, nor will it create an unsightly bulge.
3. A wide bottom. Preferably at least 5″, if not a little more.
4. Lightweight. I’m already going to be lugging a bunch of stuff around IN the bag, I don’t need to start off tipping the scales with the bag alone.
5. Of course, this is contradicting the previous item, but I’d like the material to be leather, or something that looks very much like it. I know leather’s not the only quality material, but a nice leather will wear well through the years.
6. Between 13-16″ in length, and at least 8″ in height. I should to be able to fit a folder in there to keep my paperwork from getting beat up.
7. Sleek lines.
8. Longer straps so the bag can go on my shoulder.
Hates
1. A ton of buckles, chains, trendy little clip ons, prints, or any other faddish sort of thing. I want this to be a classy timeless bag.
2. Hard straps with an inflexible material inside. I had a really nice leather bag a few years ago, but the materials used inside the straps were hard which made them look nice, but they cut into my shoulders horribly, until they gave into the constant use and just broke. Then the straps looked awful because the leather bent and creased around the broken bits. It looked like chunks of pipe inside a sock.
3. Easily damaged material, inside or out. I’m hard on my things, and expect them to stand up under heavy use and travel. It also drives me nuts when they use a really cheap poly/nylon fabric inside, either as lining or for the pockets, and it frays or spontaneously develops holes.
4. Center divider pocket. Can’t stand ’em.
So what might this most awesome of bags look like? I really like the Diane Von Furstenberg shape and size, from the Runway Luggage Collection, but can’t see spending $100 on a nylon tote bag. On the other hand, is it unlikely that I’ll find a bag that’s light enough for my taste (no more than a pound), in the size I want, in leather?
These models from Talene Reilly are very close to what I’m looking for, but I think they all have that center protective pocket that I don’t like. Oh, and they’re 4x as much as I’m willing to spend.
The first one is Sydney. She’s 15″ x 14″ x 4.5″ with a 9.5″ handle drop. The second one is Reese. She’s 16″ x 13″ x 5″ with a 10.5″ handle drop. Actually, I think Reese may not qualify because I can’t tell if the top closes securely.
And this is what their interiors look like.
Edit: Since I wrote this post, the Diane von Furstenberg bag has been reduced to $45. I think it’s still a bit pricey. I’d use a gift card, am I setting my standards too high and price point too low?
April 29, 2008
Continuing the spending trend, I ordered a universal car charger for my phone from Meritline yesterday using the coupon code: NSUCT4OFF.
Originally priced at $6.99 with the $4 off, it came to $3.24, and I’ll get 1% Fatcash and 2% Citi TY points on the transaction. I went with the cheaper universal charger even though it requires me to supply the data cable connection to the phone because the more convenient charger was $11.
I wish I had waited, though, because that one went on sale today for $10.99 with a 60% off. All of 40 cents more, but I would only have to carry the single charger, and not the charger plus the data cable. Hrm. Should I exchange it?
Oh well. I’m not willing to pay more [postage plus restocking fee (15%) plus difference in price] for convenience.
On a happier note, I bought myself a lovely treat at Trader Joe’s last night. In addition to the usual half gallon of milk and a dozen eggs ($1.99, $1.49), I picked up a package of sweet pork italian sausage and a package of fresh pesto tortellini ($2.99, $1.99) to make sausage and onion pasta for my lunch tomorrow. The fresh, refrigerated pastas are a bit pricey, but it’s still cheaper than the sausage and pepper pasta I was craving from Macaroni Grill ($11?). I’ll let you know how it turns out!
April 13, 2008
Since Ma and PaDucky are champing at the bit to replace our microwave, I’ve been doing a lot of research online about microwaves using MoneyDummy‘s discovery: Consumer Research.
It doesn’t seem like there’s much consistency in microwave quality between brands, and there definitely doesn’t appear to be correlation between cost and quality. Since that’s the case, I’m just looking for a product that satisfies our needs in terms of size, power and features, and a better than average sense of satisfaction from previous buyers. There’s not much else I can do about it. Oh, and availability from a merchant for whom I can redeem Thank You points. Spending as little out of pocket as possible is crit-i-cal.
I’ve finally settled on redeeming $100 for 10,000 TY points for Bed, Bath and Beyond. They would have to order the Sharp R-305KS and have it delivered to my home in about 5 business days, but the advantage of ordering in store, instead of online, is that they’ll allow me to use their 20% off coupon on the purchase in-store. I’d already tried to have them do a store to store transfer, but the employee who tried calling other stores didn’t have any luck, apparently they don’t carry it in this region. Unfortunately, that’s the drawback to BBB, in my opinion, they don’t have in-store pickup for many of the products I looked at, unlike LNT.
Comparison shopping revealed that Amazon.com has the same product, with free shipping, for $99. BBB has it listed for $120. With the coupon, plus $11.95 shipping (nope, couldn’t weasel out of that charge either), the oven will cost $108, plus tax. Using the $100 GC, I should only be out of pocket about $20. I was shooting for 100% “free” via GC, but I won’t redeem more simply because I can’t redeem for a 1:1 ratio on less than a $100 GC. I believe the next step down is $50 for 6000 points, and that’s just a waste of 1000 points. Also, I practically never shop at BBB so there’s no reason to tie up more money there. I’d just gratuitously waste the excess GC later on stuff I probably don’t need. Unless …. I might need stuff for the new apartment next year …..
