That's right. It's a wedding cake.
Thanks to the Official Star Wars Blog (yes, this exists), some amusement for the fans on this gloomy Friday: the Tauntaun groom’s cake, complete with Luke Skywalker spilling out of the so-cozy warm entrails. The mind reels.
I’ve always been a little fascinated by the bridal industry. So much money spent and so much fuss made for a single day in your life! Recently, I was lucky enough to have the chance satisfy my curiosity by attending a discussion on bridal trends and the bridal industry and behind-the-scenes tour at Kleinfeld, New York’s destination wedding salon and the setting for TLC’s series “Say Yes To The Dress.” Kleinfeld owner Mara Urshel and bridal fashion editor Juli Alvarez of the recently closed Modern Bride spoke on the trends and the business of this high-stress industry.
First of all, just going into Kleinfeld is quite a trip. Even though I know I have in the past mocked the existence of a tv series about nothing but women trying on wedding dresses, I have to admit that I have in fact seen the series. As with all reality TV, the participants (who have to apply) are selected to up the drama quotient. I invariably end up thinking either a) “Wow, your friends suck!”, b) “Wow, your mom is a b****!”, or c) “Dude, CALM DOWN.” It is quite something else to actually walk into Kleinfeld and see the dresses in person.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you, gentle reader – like me, and like Kai – have too much stuff.
Once you’ve sorted and sifted, perhaps with the help of Kai’s Clutter Chronicles, you’re probably left with a pile of things – clothes, books, toys, housewares, CDs – that you just don’t need or use anymore. What do you do with it?
Don’t trash it just yet. Besides the eco-green factor, there are plenty of non-profit organizations out there that can make great use of your unwanted, but still serviceable, possessions. And for some of the stuff that’s broken or obsolete (like old iPods, cell phones and computer equipment), there are good ways to recycle it instead of dumping it your garbage can. And, of course, let’s not forget that your charitable donations can help you reduce your tax bill!
‘Tis the season … for shopping headaches and annoyances. Yes, folks, the holiday gifting season is upon us.
I love my family, I do. But finding gifts for my “no drinking, no dancing” born-again in laws? Impossible for this wine-imbibing city girl. Tracking down the right baby gift for my friend’s new daughter? The only time I ever look at baby items is when I’m trying to figure out if my cats will fit into infant clothes (don’t judge me, I work from home – the hours get boring).
And while I scoot through the infant section of my local department stores at light speed, I do need to find a little something for my friend’s wee one. So I was thrilled to discover Funkoos, a great little start up company offering something no one else seems to be able to:
High quality, 100 percent organic baby clothes featuring mom-approved details like enclosed embroidery. Even better, the company is dedicated to fair trade compensation for all of its employees, and gives money back to the environmental charity One Percent For The Planet.
DING! We have a winner. Just check out how adorable this is:
Super cute little patterns (like the monkeys on the boy’s outfit) and super soft, breathable cotton. My friend will be so pleased that her little one will be sporting such stylish, green baby clothes.
You can see the entire line at Funkoos.com.
That’s one difficult present down. Up next? The fun-unloving in-laws.
Nothing like a bright tartan print to perk up your winter!
We, um, won’t count the number of winter jackets I own. But suffice it to say that after filling wardrobe holes over the course of the last several years, I don’t have a reason to buy winter coats this year. This has of course not kept me from shopping for them. What I don’t have, aside from an excuse to buy more coats, is a coat in one of this season’s great plaids. Admittedly, there are a lot of ways that plaid can go bad. But some of these coats are gorgeous, rich, and interesting — just the little something different your winter wardrobe needs. After the jump, some of the best of this season’s offerings.
I'm going to get around to toilet training the cat soon, I swear...
My crusade against clutter begins! Over the last few days, I’ve been reading organizational advice on the internet. There is a LOT of it. Some of it is helpful, some not so much. (“There should be a place to put away every item.” Gee, you think?) I haven’t thrashed my way through all of it yet, but I’m realizing that I’m going to need some specialized solutions in addition to the general advice.
I own the same stuff that everyone owns. Clothes, pots and pans, glassware, random Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, CDs and DVDs, and so on. I’m assuming that the same general advice that works for everyone will be just fine for dealing with this stuff. Then there are my own special clutter issues that the general rules don’t necessarily address. In the interests of dealing with everything effectively, I’m going to list them here:
How do you say no to this face? A stuffed emperor tamarin.
Welcome to November! The ramp up to the Christmas season has begun. In support of my gift-giving efforts, I spent some time this weekend with the World Wildlife Fund’s gift catalog. WWF has been one of my favorite nonprofits for many years — they do great work on wildlife conservation all over the world and make intelligent use of their money, which is more than you can say a lot of “environmental” groups. WWF’s conservation funds go where they’re most needed.
Although WWF has a whole slew of feel-good gifts, my favorite section by far is their animal adoption center. For contributions of varying amounts, you can symbolically adopt one of 100 species of wild animals; for a contribution of $50 or more, you get a stuffed animal in addition to your adoption certificate and information about the animal. I have for some years very much enjoyed this catalog because it is the source of some of the funniest stuffed animals I’ve ever seen. Every year, I desperately want to “adopt” at least three or four just because the stuffed animals are so irresistible. Are you passionately devoted to okapis? You can finally get your own stuffed okapi and put money toward WWF’s efforts to preserve wildlife.
Notice: This pig has not been vaccinated!
Everyone’s talking about the swine flu these days, it seems. Whether it’s a discussion of the late vaccines, New York’s speculated defense because of the spring outbreak, or arguments over vaccination side effects, everyone seems to have an opinion. On the Today show the other day, I heard the decision whether to get vaccinated for the swine flu referred to as “such a personal decision.” Well, yes and no. It’s personal in the sense that any medical care is personal, but in several meaningful ways, vaccines are less personal than any other medical decision you might make. Vaccines aren’t just about you not getting sick — they’re about you not passing it on to other people who might also get sick. Vaccines are about public health.
I know that lots of people aren’t planning to get the swine flu vaccine when it finally becomes available, and I think that dialog is frequently missing a key point. Here it is: even if you’re not likely to die from the swine flu, you might come into contact with someone who is. And sure, those people should be vaccinated, but let’s be real. The vaccines are coming much later than anyone had hoped, and lots of people even in high risk categories haven’t had it yet. Even when the vaccines are widely available (probably several months from now), there will be a few people who for one reason or another get missed. And vaccines aren’t perfect.
Curses, foiled again!
I know I’ve mentioned I’ve been trying to get some sequins into my wardrobe for several seasons now. I finally psyched myself to up actually purchase the Gryphon lovely at top (with a fabulous 25% discount code thanks to Retail Me Not!) last week. And after all that? Turns out it doesn’t work on me in the size I ordered. ARGH! After two seasons? What to do? Order it in an XS and hope it will fit across my shoulders? Get something else entirely? I still haven’t figured that out, but I came across a few possibilities that I thought I’d share with you. More sequins after the jump!
Is anyone else fascinated/staggered/terrified by the proliferation of membership only online sale sites lately? There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the crises faced by the fashion industry in the “new economy” — is this going to end up being one of them? Back when we did our membership only sale site roundup, I had experience with only four fashion-oriented sale sites. Now? Gilt alone has four different sale sites, including one for vacations, and I’m a member of at least seven other sale sites, specializing in items from beauty products to home goods. Even one of our perennial favorite stores, Revolve Clothing, has started its own members-only sale site (Reverse). Several of these sites have launched only within the last few months.
