I'm headed to the ANGELA ADAMS SAMPLE SALE right now!
It starts today at 10 am EST for friends and family and tomorrow for everyone else.
You know you are my friends!
Check it out!
http://www.angelaadams.com/
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Star trek and fashion? Yes, it's true.
There's a new Star Trek movie out. Have you heard? Cause the wonderful guy I am dating has been talking about it nonstop - since before I even knew previews for it existed. His is a bit of a trekkie. Now how can I find a way to stay sane - I mean enjoy - my wonderful guy's love of Star Trek in a way that is also interesting to me...?
Hmm.
And the answer [as is the answer to many things in my life] is
FASHION!
People say many things about Star Trek and some people are so into that they go to conventions and things, and well that is not for me; but what I do enjoy is the Costumes!
Who designed for the new movie?
Michael Kaplan *who also designed for cult classics Blade Runner, Fight Club and Flash Dance just to name a few.
I have to admit my favourite Star Trek and costumes were on Star Trek Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager all designed by
Robert Blackman aka Bob Blackman
sublime!
But I always have a special place in my heart for the classic Star Trek costumes designed by the late, great William Ware Theiss who also designed for the classic Harold and Maude.
Sometimes you just can't beat a classic, and sometimes you have to see a sci-fi film because the the wonderful man in your life is super into it, oh and it is supposed to be good. IMAX away! lol
Hmm.
And the answer [as is the answer to many things in my life] is
FASHION!
People say many things about Star Trek and some people are so into that they go to conventions and things, and well that is not for me; but what I do enjoy is the Costumes!
Who designed for the new movie?
Michael Kaplan *who also designed for cult classics Blade Runner, Fight Club and Flash Dance just to name a few.
I have to admit my favourite Star Trek and costumes were on Star Trek Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager all designed by
Robert Blackman aka Bob Blackman
sublime!
But I always have a special place in my heart for the classic Star Trek costumes designed by the late, great William Ware Theiss who also designed for the classic Harold and Maude.
Sometimes you just can't beat a classic, and sometimes you have to see a sci-fi film because the the wonderful man in your life is super into it, oh and it is supposed to be good. IMAX away! lol
Saturday, May 2, 2009
^GREAT* Sale at Macy's!
When I have an amazing shopping experience I like to share it. Yesterday I popped into my local Macy's and it was incredible.
As I walked into Macy's [I prefer the entrance near men's wear] 2 sales associates were talking less than a foot from the front door, a bit odd I thought they will probably ignore me - and boy was I wrong! One of the sales associates said "Hello, how are you today? Would you like a coupon for an extra 25% off?"
Yes I would. I thanked him and he said "Happy Shopping!". He had an amazing attitude, so cheerful and a kind not at all pushy persona. Coupon in hand I stopped by the jewelry counter to see what Givenchy, Kenneth Cole and Alfini are up to - when I was offered another coupon! I let them know I already had one, thank you.
As I tried on necklaces I overheard sales people all offering coupons to all their customers and telling them about the "friends and family sale" basically an extra 25% off for nearly everything in the store.
I found 2 necklaces I liked and one that I loved! So I texted the man in Philly I am dating pics of the necklaces and asked him which one he liked [gotta love modern technology!] and tried to make up my own mind. I had the excellent sales associate "Beth K" put my necklace on hold for the rest of the night while I continues my shopping.
My necklace of choice was an Alfini silver necklace with several chains of different weight/thickness/lengths and had an unusual clasp that was super easy to use. It was $36 so I really had to think about it.
I headed off to shoes where they were swamped and had to rationalize myself out of buying a pair Anne Klein's that were slightly too big and $79.99, sigh - twas not to be.
Then I checked out the perfume area. Normally I avoid that part of the store as I am sensative to certain smells but I had seen the Calvin Klein commercial for "Euphoria" and I wanted to see what it smelled like. Also the ad said if you spend $70 you get a free orchid and I wanted more information. This is the one area of the store where I literally had to track down a sales person and when I did she did not know anything about the commercial AND her keys would not open the perfume cabinet where the larger bottles were kept. I wont print her name here poor dear, she was probably filling in and I don't think this was her counter.
She *did* tell me that after you spend $70 or more on perfume you fill out a form and they send you the free orchid in the mail - that's interesting I wonder how that works exactly. There were 2 versions of Euphoria - one was a "Spring" version which was a lighter and more floral/fruity scent. The orginal Euphoria was a bit too musky for me but the Spring/lighter scent was nice and I might go back and get that one at a later date.
Next I ventured to clothes and implimented my favourite shopping trick; I pick out everything I like in the entire department. Then I take it all to the price scanner and scan my 30-40 items to be sure nothing I picked out is over $100 or whatever price limit I set for myself/my client that day. Nothing was over $85 so I carried my giant pile of clothes to the dressing room. As I try clothing on I am always sure to return it to the hanger [this helps the over-worked sales associates more than you can imagine] and I hand things in 3 places: 1. yes 2. no 3. maybe.
I return my "no" pile to the rolling rack the sales associates leave for unwanted clothing. Then I take my yes+maybe clothes back to scanner to see now that I know how everything fits = how much each item is. There were only 2 items I really liked: a cadigan and a knitted tank that reminded me of Twiggy or Audrey Hepburn - it was black with a light band around the neck that emphasized the shape of the garment and was a calbe knit below. It was the sort of thing that you think might not look good on you but you try it on and "WOW".
The cardigan was more than I wanted to pay and my 10 or 12 "maybes" just didn't work for me so I ended up with just the cable knit top. I scanned it and it was $9.99!
I checked out kitchen wear and saw a Black&Decker rice cooker for $24.99 which made me giggle, not the brand you think of when you think rice cookers.
New shirt in hand, and on hanger, I returned to jewelry and decided that since I didn't get the $79.99 shoes or the $83 silk shirt or the $70 jacket or the $40 cardigan that I would go ahead and splurge on the $36 necklace. I had the coupon after all and I haven't bought anything at all for myself other than things like groceries and cell phone batteries in a really long time.
"Beth K" was happy to help me out. She was surprised when my fabulous shirt rang up as $9.99 but not as surprised as I was when she gave me the total: $17.79!
The necklace I had fallen in love with was also on sale - that combined with the coupon and the great price on the shirt meant I saved $67.43!
*Another great tip about Macy's: if you ask they will let you keep the hanger you clothing came on, and I kept my hanger! Also if your hanger breaks - they are recyclable.
I can't believe I only speny $17.79 at Macy's on 2 such amazing and well made items! This was less than I would have paid at say JC Penny's, TJ Maxx, or Marshall's - all places known for having cheap things and at TJ Maxx and Marshall's it would have been last season's not the beautiful current items I found at Macy's. As "Beth K" said, when "Macy's has a sale - you can't beat their prices."
Happy Shopping!
As I walked into Macy's [I prefer the entrance near men's wear] 2 sales associates were talking less than a foot from the front door, a bit odd I thought they will probably ignore me - and boy was I wrong! One of the sales associates said "Hello, how are you today? Would you like a coupon for an extra 25% off?"
Yes I would. I thanked him and he said "Happy Shopping!". He had an amazing attitude, so cheerful and a kind not at all pushy persona. Coupon in hand I stopped by the jewelry counter to see what Givenchy, Kenneth Cole and Alfini are up to - when I was offered another coupon! I let them know I already had one, thank you.
As I tried on necklaces I overheard sales people all offering coupons to all their customers and telling them about the "friends and family sale" basically an extra 25% off for nearly everything in the store.
I found 2 necklaces I liked and one that I loved! So I texted the man in Philly I am dating pics of the necklaces and asked him which one he liked [gotta love modern technology!] and tried to make up my own mind. I had the excellent sales associate "Beth K" put my necklace on hold for the rest of the night while I continues my shopping.
My necklace of choice was an Alfini silver necklace with several chains of different weight/thickness/lengths and had an unusual clasp that was super easy to use. It was $36 so I really had to think about it.
I headed off to shoes where they were swamped and had to rationalize myself out of buying a pair Anne Klein's that were slightly too big and $79.99, sigh - twas not to be.
Then I checked out the perfume area. Normally I avoid that part of the store as I am sensative to certain smells but I had seen the Calvin Klein commercial for "Euphoria" and I wanted to see what it smelled like. Also the ad said if you spend $70 you get a free orchid and I wanted more information. This is the one area of the store where I literally had to track down a sales person and when I did she did not know anything about the commercial AND her keys would not open the perfume cabinet where the larger bottles were kept. I wont print her name here poor dear, she was probably filling in and I don't think this was her counter.
She *did* tell me that after you spend $70 or more on perfume you fill out a form and they send you the free orchid in the mail - that's interesting I wonder how that works exactly. There were 2 versions of Euphoria - one was a "Spring" version which was a lighter and more floral/fruity scent. The orginal Euphoria was a bit too musky for me but the Spring/lighter scent was nice and I might go back and get that one at a later date.
Next I ventured to clothes and implimented my favourite shopping trick; I pick out everything I like in the entire department. Then I take it all to the price scanner and scan my 30-40 items to be sure nothing I picked out is over $100 or whatever price limit I set for myself/my client that day. Nothing was over $85 so I carried my giant pile of clothes to the dressing room. As I try clothing on I am always sure to return it to the hanger [this helps the over-worked sales associates more than you can imagine] and I hand things in 3 places: 1. yes 2. no 3. maybe.
I return my "no" pile to the rolling rack the sales associates leave for unwanted clothing. Then I take my yes+maybe clothes back to scanner to see now that I know how everything fits = how much each item is. There were only 2 items I really liked: a cadigan and a knitted tank that reminded me of Twiggy or Audrey Hepburn - it was black with a light band around the neck that emphasized the shape of the garment and was a calbe knit below. It was the sort of thing that you think might not look good on you but you try it on and "WOW".
The cardigan was more than I wanted to pay and my 10 or 12 "maybes" just didn't work for me so I ended up with just the cable knit top. I scanned it and it was $9.99!
I checked out kitchen wear and saw a Black&Decker rice cooker for $24.99 which made me giggle, not the brand you think of when you think rice cookers.
New shirt in hand, and on hanger, I returned to jewelry and decided that since I didn't get the $79.99 shoes or the $83 silk shirt or the $70 jacket or the $40 cardigan that I would go ahead and splurge on the $36 necklace. I had the coupon after all and I haven't bought anything at all for myself other than things like groceries and cell phone batteries in a really long time.
"Beth K" was happy to help me out. She was surprised when my fabulous shirt rang up as $9.99 but not as surprised as I was when she gave me the total: $17.79!
The necklace I had fallen in love with was also on sale - that combined with the coupon and the great price on the shirt meant I saved $67.43!
*Another great tip about Macy's: if you ask they will let you keep the hanger you clothing came on, and I kept my hanger! Also if your hanger breaks - they are recyclable.
I can't believe I only speny $17.79 at Macy's on 2 such amazing and well made items! This was less than I would have paid at say JC Penny's, TJ Maxx, or Marshall's - all places known for having cheap things and at TJ Maxx and Marshall's it would have been last season's not the beautiful current items I found at Macy's. As "Beth K" said, when "Macy's has a sale - you can't beat their prices."
Happy Shopping!
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Truth about Cell Phones
Hello blog world. This is a post I have wanted to write for a long time and *now* I have a great reason to publish it.
Cell phones [aka Mobile phones for my friends abroad] have become a staple of modern life. If you travel long distances you need one. If you are in the business world - you *have* to have ones.
There are a few things you need to know about cell phones.
Rule # 1:
The battery always dies first. So when you buy your phone buy the extra battery.
In most cell phones the battery will go bad before any other component will fail. Sometimes the battery is not charged properly, other times - in my case - it simplies dies from overuse. Batteries can only last for so long and after a few months they hold a charge for less time, then less time than that, until finally they will not hold a charge at all.
When you have an extra battery it eases the strain on BOTH batteries and if one does go bad, ta da: you already have a back up.
Rule #2:
Cell Phone models AND batteries are only made for a certian amount of time.
Usually by the time your battery dies, your cell phone company no longer makes your model or cell phone AND no longer makes or sells your battery. So you know what happens next: YOU end up buying a whole new phone when all you really needed was a new battery. It's not just you; nearly every person I know who owns a cell phone has had this happen to them, so the simple solution is: buy the extra battery when you buy the phone. Spend $40 instead of $120.
Another added benefit is that with 2 batteries when you are in the middle of a conversation and your battery loses it's charge and you lose the call - instead of waiting to re-charge your battery you simply pop out the battery and pop in the already charged spare battery. I can't tell you how many times this has helped me over the years.
*Also: go for the extended life battery. The longer a battery holds a charge the better.
Rule #3:
Brand does matter. Go for an LG!
My first cell phone was a Samsung. It was awful. It spent more time as a paperweight than as a useful device. Even with the extra battery.
Before I got another cell phone I decided to ask my friends about their cell phone experiences and I found a surprising pattern: Samsung and Motorola seemed to wear out the fastest, but my friends with LGs seemed to have better quality phones that lasted longer.
So I got an LG and the extended life battery. Any my cell phone lasted for FOUR YEARS. Compared to the 8 months my Samsung lasted I was thrilled. I later found out that four years is nearly a world record in cell phone life spans. My LG finally died of software failure and could not be revived. I got another LG and I love it.
Rule #4:
Your cell phone service provider matters. A LOT.
I got my first cell phone when I was living in DC, and my first cell phone service provider was Sprint. MISTAKE! The coverage area was so small it did not include my own house or my office at work. If I wanted to get a signal at work I had to go out of my office building and stand at a certain spot next to a tree in the hopes of finding one bar - very inconvienent to say the least - especially in the rain. My coworkers with Verzion happily chatted away at their desks while I went out in the snow in hopes of finding that one bar.
Another problem I had with Sprint was the lost calls. If I was on the cell for more than 5 minutes, my call would drop. When I called Sprint's Customer Service about this I was told it was normal for my service area. Normal? I lived in DC not up the mountains or away from cell phone towers. Also, not all of my experiences with Sprint's Customer Service people were pleasant.
The BIGGEST problem I had was that my Sprint service did not extend to the tunnels of the metro in DC. I was on the train for 1.5 - 2 hours each way commuting and Sprint had opted to NOT extend coverage to the tunnels of the DC Metro - the only company that put lines down for so it's customers would have service in the tunnels was Verizon. So while I sat on a packed metro train stuck in a tunnel my neighbors who had Verizon made call after call, while I had the old "service not available". A co-worker of mine at the University in DC also worked for Verizon [he told me about the tunnels and some other really neat facts about the company] and after talking to him I decided that as soon as my 2 years of manditory Sprint service was over I knew Verizon was the way to go in the US.
Another issue with Sprint - and all other cell phone companies was that my parents live way up in the blue ridge mountains in Virgina and there was no cell phone service there at all - unless, you had Verizon.
The moment my contract with Sprint was up I switched to Verizon. I could keep my current cell number and suddenly I had coverage at work, in my house, in the train tunnels, in my parents house and nearly every place I went. *In the US. Verizon does not offer service abroad, so when I went to France - no cell service, but in the US Verizon is impossible to beat.
Another example of Sprint's crappy customer service was my last phone call to that company when I cancelled my account and to join Verizon. Sprint was RUDE. They argued with me - they even yelled at me when I told the reason that I was switching plans was that I wanted better service and a larger service area. Talk about a lasting impression. I'd never go back to them unless I had no other options at all.
With Verizon, if I am going to go over my minutes or text messages - they contact me to see if I want to increase my plan instead of paying per minute or per text for the excess.
My most recent experience was a wonderful one. I called my local Verizon mobile store to see if they still made my battery [my phone is the first generation and they are now on generation 3] and the lovely, kind sales associate said yes, and they are on clearance AND they could ship them to my house AND they could add it to my Verizon Bill AND they had 2 day shipping AND they came the next day [not even 2 days!] AND the sales associate answered my questions while placing the order for me.
I can't say enough good things about Verizon and my LG phone. I've had the best experiences ever, Verizon might cost a little more but it's absoultely worth every cent.
Happy moble-ing!
Cell phones [aka Mobile phones for my friends abroad] have become a staple of modern life. If you travel long distances you need one. If you are in the business world - you *have* to have ones.
There are a few things you need to know about cell phones.
Rule # 1:
The battery always dies first. So when you buy your phone buy the extra battery.
In most cell phones the battery will go bad before any other component will fail. Sometimes the battery is not charged properly, other times - in my case - it simplies dies from overuse. Batteries can only last for so long and after a few months they hold a charge for less time, then less time than that, until finally they will not hold a charge at all.
When you have an extra battery it eases the strain on BOTH batteries and if one does go bad, ta da: you already have a back up.
Rule #2:
Cell Phone models AND batteries are only made for a certian amount of time.
Usually by the time your battery dies, your cell phone company no longer makes your model or cell phone AND no longer makes or sells your battery. So you know what happens next: YOU end up buying a whole new phone when all you really needed was a new battery. It's not just you; nearly every person I know who owns a cell phone has had this happen to them, so the simple solution is: buy the extra battery when you buy the phone. Spend $40 instead of $120.
Another added benefit is that with 2 batteries when you are in the middle of a conversation and your battery loses it's charge and you lose the call - instead of waiting to re-charge your battery you simply pop out the battery and pop in the already charged spare battery. I can't tell you how many times this has helped me over the years.
*Also: go for the extended life battery. The longer a battery holds a charge the better.
Rule #3:
Brand does matter. Go for an LG!
My first cell phone was a Samsung. It was awful. It spent more time as a paperweight than as a useful device. Even with the extra battery.
Before I got another cell phone I decided to ask my friends about their cell phone experiences and I found a surprising pattern: Samsung and Motorola seemed to wear out the fastest, but my friends with LGs seemed to have better quality phones that lasted longer.
So I got an LG and the extended life battery. Any my cell phone lasted for FOUR YEARS. Compared to the 8 months my Samsung lasted I was thrilled. I later found out that four years is nearly a world record in cell phone life spans. My LG finally died of software failure and could not be revived. I got another LG and I love it.
Rule #4:
Your cell phone service provider matters. A LOT.
I got my first cell phone when I was living in DC, and my first cell phone service provider was Sprint. MISTAKE! The coverage area was so small it did not include my own house or my office at work. If I wanted to get a signal at work I had to go out of my office building and stand at a certain spot next to a tree in the hopes of finding one bar - very inconvienent to say the least - especially in the rain. My coworkers with Verzion happily chatted away at their desks while I went out in the snow in hopes of finding that one bar.
Another problem I had with Sprint was the lost calls. If I was on the cell for more than 5 minutes, my call would drop. When I called Sprint's Customer Service about this I was told it was normal for my service area. Normal? I lived in DC not up the mountains or away from cell phone towers. Also, not all of my experiences with Sprint's Customer Service people were pleasant.
The BIGGEST problem I had was that my Sprint service did not extend to the tunnels of the metro in DC. I was on the train for 1.5 - 2 hours each way commuting and Sprint had opted to NOT extend coverage to the tunnels of the DC Metro - the only company that put lines down for so it's customers would have service in the tunnels was Verizon. So while I sat on a packed metro train stuck in a tunnel my neighbors who had Verizon made call after call, while I had the old "service not available". A co-worker of mine at the University in DC also worked for Verizon [he told me about the tunnels and some other really neat facts about the company] and after talking to him I decided that as soon as my 2 years of manditory Sprint service was over I knew Verizon was the way to go in the US.
Another issue with Sprint - and all other cell phone companies was that my parents live way up in the blue ridge mountains in Virgina and there was no cell phone service there at all - unless, you had Verizon.
The moment my contract with Sprint was up I switched to Verizon. I could keep my current cell number and suddenly I had coverage at work, in my house, in the train tunnels, in my parents house and nearly every place I went. *In the US. Verizon does not offer service abroad, so when I went to France - no cell service, but in the US Verizon is impossible to beat.
Another example of Sprint's crappy customer service was my last phone call to that company when I cancelled my account and to join Verizon. Sprint was RUDE. They argued with me - they even yelled at me when I told the reason that I was switching plans was that I wanted better service and a larger service area. Talk about a lasting impression. I'd never go back to them unless I had no other options at all.
With Verizon, if I am going to go over my minutes or text messages - they contact me to see if I want to increase my plan instead of paying per minute or per text for the excess.
My most recent experience was a wonderful one. I called my local Verizon mobile store to see if they still made my battery [my phone is the first generation and they are now on generation 3] and the lovely, kind sales associate said yes, and they are on clearance AND they could ship them to my house AND they could add it to my Verizon Bill AND they had 2 day shipping AND they came the next day [not even 2 days!] AND the sales associate answered my questions while placing the order for me.
I can't say enough good things about Verizon and my LG phone. I've had the best experiences ever, Verizon might cost a little more but it's absoultely worth every cent.
Happy moble-ing!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
