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Review: ColcaSac for iPad 2

by on April 27, 2011, in Apple, photography, shopping, technology/yes I am a geek

Review: ColcaSac for iPad 2

I knew that I didn’t want a traditional case for my iPad 2, especially since I had ordered a SmartCover (which, by the way, is AWESOME). I was trying to find something that would look good without being bulky and not break the bank. And then I remembered reading about the ColcaSac on tuaw.com last year, which is handmade out of hemp. (Ok, I remembered the cute llama logo and the hemp, and had to do a bit of Googling to remember the name of the company. But seriously, look at that logo! A patchwork llama!!)

I ordered the Uintah and received it just a couple of days later—in this really awesome recyclable packaging. It’s made specifically to fit over the iPad with the SmartCover on it, so it’s nice and snug but not too difficult to get the iPad in and out. I’d definitely recommend the ColcaSac iPad sleeve (or another version of it) if you’re looking for a snug, lightweight, natural and environmentally friendly way to tote your iPad or iPad 2 around.

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And the winners are…

by on February 23, 2011, in around town, shopping

Because I know everyone is dying to hear how my shopping expedition went, I thought I’d share the stores where I had luck findings some things.

First off, I went to the Green Hills Mall to check out JCrew, Macy’s, Express and Banana Republic. They all let me down horribly. Express is my go-to place for work clothes, but the Express at this mall is so awful I left after one lap around the store. It’s crowded and loud, with racks in random places making it impossible to reach certain shelf areas. I’ll stick to the location in Murfreesboro, thanks. It’s bigger, anyway.

I went to JCrew and Banana Republic specifically looking for sale pieces or khaki and utility pants, and honestly I was surprised they didn’t have anything worth looking at. All of their khakis and utility pants were the skinny style, which I get is in right now but WTF am I going to do with tapered-leg cargo pants? That’s just stupid.

So I left that mall and headed down to The Avenue in Murfreesboro where I had much, much better luck. I found several cute things at Ann Taylor Loft, which seems to be a place that I can only shop at every other year. Last year they were full of pastels and old lady clothes, this year it’s earth tones and better-fitting items. I also found a few tops at New York & Co., which I’ve never really been able to shop at before. I used to think their materials looked cheap, but they seem to have improved. I got a few things on sale there that I think will be good for either work or a weekend. Oh! And I found a button-up shirt at American Eagle, which I used to love in college but always assume I’m too old for now since they tend to specialize in daisy dukes and shirts that look like bras.

I still hadn’t found the pants that I was looking for, though, so Monday night after work I headed over to Old Navy. Now, I’ll admit that I’ve never been able to wear their pants unless they were lounge pants, but my sister sent me a 30 percent off coupon so I decided to try my luck. Their pants still don’t fit me for shit, but I ended up buying four tops and two pairs of lounge pants for a really decent price.

Now I just need to find some damn non-denim, non-skinny-leg pants and I’ll be set through the spring and the summer. I guess I’m going to have to head to REI or order online to get the kind of pant I’m looking for, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Except for the whole returning crap that doesn’t fit right thing with online shopping. These are the style of pants I’m looking for, if you’re curious.

Oh, and I still plan to stop by Forever 21 and The Gap at some point since I can usually count on them for inexpensive tops and accessories.

God, how girly was this post?!

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Getting myself together

by on February 17, 2011, in jump aboard the crazy train, shopping

I hate shopping for clothes. Hate, hate, hate it. I suppose if I had an endless supply of money and any kind of fashion sense it wouldn’t be so bad, but even then I’d probably still dread the mall. I don’t care which mall you go to in the entire country, it will feature the worst of humanity.

Over the past couple of years, a lot of my once-nice work clothes have faded, worn out or somehow—and I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I ate an entire sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies for breakfast today—don’t fit anymore. I woke up this morning and realized that despite doing laundry this weekend, I literally have nothing to wear to work except t-shirts and a few other raggedy tops.

And while at my best I know I’m no trend-setter, I also know I can do better. I promise I don’t enjoy looking like a slob. It just comes naturally, and I don’t have the energy to shop for new clothes that aren’t Threadless t-shirts more than a couple times a year. But I decided that this weekend I’m going to have to suck it up and venture out into the world of jeggings and vests to try to find a few pieces that don’t make me look like a mentally challenged platypus on stilts while simultaneously making sure I retain the ability to pay my bills.

Some friends have given me tips on places that I’ll be most likely to find what I’m looking for, and thank god my sister Emily always has her cellphone on her because like every other time I’m in a clothing store I’ll be frantically texting her pictures of me making weird faces in random outfits to determine if I’m on the right track or need to just give up and head for the nearest bar.

This is going to be interesting.

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Adventures in hair-drying

by on July 20, 2010, in jump aboard the crazy train, shopping, WTF?

About two or three years ago I figured out my hair actually looked decent if I wore it left down, as long as I used a diffuser on the hair dryer and finished it off with some Aveda Air Control hair spray. This was a great discovery for me, someone who had worn her hair pulled back in some form or fashion since high school, but it also meant I had to get a decent hair dryer.

I had been using the same Revlon dryer for probably 10 years, and it just wasn’t really cutting it anymore. It took forever to dry my hair, the diffuser was crap, and it was just… old. So I set out trying to find the perfect hair dryer for under $50.

After trying and returning one or two, I finally found one that I considered perfect: The Infiniti Nano Silver by Conair, a ceramic dryer that was $49.99—just within my budget.

This dryer is amazing. No matter the length of my hair it allows me to dry it in about 10 minutes, and the diffuser is the best I have ever encountered (and I have been around the diffuser block, my friends). It sends enough air through the diffuser so that my hair is dried without becoming limp (a problem often encountered with diffusers that don’t have vented fingers or enough holes in them), and it cuts down on the frizz that is the curse of the curly-haired. The length of the fingers also lets me add lift to my roots, which is a huge plus with my fine-but-not-thin hair.

I was in love. For about a year and a half. Then one day (in February 2009, if I remember correctly), the motor started making strange sputtering noises and I smelled smoke. I thought maybe it just overheated, but the next day it would barely blow any air at all.

I was heartbroken, but figured it was such a great dryer I would buy another one, hoping mine had just been defective.

That one was great, too, lasting almost another year, until the same thing happened in January of this year. Sputtering, refusing to blow air, smelling like something was burning on the inside.

Confused, I removed the back panel thinking maybe I just wasn’t cleaning the lint trap often enough. But nope, it was clean.

Now I was pissed. I emailed Conair explaining that one hair dryer going bad I could understand, but two was odd. I received an email back saying someone would contact me within three days to resolve the issue, but I never heard back.

I set out again to try to find a different dryer, one that hopefully wouldn’t crap out on me in a year’s time, but again I came up empty handed. It really all came down to the diffuser, and none that I found—even the ridiculously expensive ones I looked at—had the amazingly vented diffuser with the long, vented fingers I knew held the key to my hair’s success. So begrudgingly, I bought another one. Although this time I wised up and ordered it off Amazon, which at least meant I got the dryer for $40 instead of $50, with free shipping.

But still. It was MY THIRD GODDAMN HAIR DRYER in two years. I felt like a fool. Well, actually I felt like an addict.

So imagine how pissed off I was this weekend when, just a mere seven months after purchasing it, the thing shit the bed. Again. In the exact same way.

Am I doing it wrong? Is it possible that despite making it through life as a pretty intelligent person, you know, making mostly As in school, getting a bachelor’s degree after having been a double major—even completing some post-graduate work!—and possessing what I like to think is probably more common sense and problem-solving ability than the average bear… I have lost the ability to use a fucking hair dryer correctly?

Maybe using it on low heat for 10 minutes or less once a day is abuse. Maybe I’m supposed to sing some kind of hair-dryer hymn before I use it and then when I’m done, bathe it in the tears of children and set it to rest in a box made of solid gold that’s lined with only the finest French silk.

I guess we’ll find out. In a fit of anger Saturday I dashed off a complaint on Conair’s Facebook fan page, and yesterday I received a message from Susan Bloch in Conair customer service asking me to call her so that she can “assist [me] with my hair dryers.” Apparently she’s not in today, though, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what her solution is.

In the meantime, like the goddamned punching bag that I am, I’ve ordered another Infiniti Nano Silver. It’s only $30 on Amazon now. Fingers crossed!

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The most expensive home I've ever owned

by on October 6, 2009, in happy happy joy joy, photography, shopping, technology/yes I am a geek

The most expensive home I've ever owned

For our anniversary Ian got me the Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home to carry as my daily bag, as I’m now carrying my Canon XTi with me pretty much everywhere I go. I have a 4 Million Dollar Home that I love, but for daily use it was just too small (I couldn’t carry a full wallet, my Flip camera and my braces case all in there together, and there’s no way I would be able to carry an extra lens with any of that stuff).

The 5 Million Dollar Home gives me more room without being bulky or making me feel like it’s obvious I’m carrying a camera. Dimensionally, it’s actually a bit smaller than the purse I would carry on a daily basis. And I get a couple more pockets than I had with the 4MDH, which is great. I love pockets. A lot.

Crumpler recently updated their MDH line, too, adding another clasp and–most excitingly–velcro silencers. Anyone who has used a previous iteration of a MDH knows how loud and tough the velcro can be. While it’s great to know the velcro holds secure, the silencers are great for when you don’t want everyone in a 2 mile radius to hear you RIIIPPP open your bag.

I took several pics of this bag (can you tell I’m excited?), which you can see here.

If you’re in the market for a bag for your camera, I would 100 percent recommend Crumpler. They aren’t cheap, but they are definitely worth the money. I drug the 4 Million Dollar Home around with me pretty much everywhere over the last few years, in all kinds of weather, and it protected my camera and gear wonderfully. And still looks pretty much brand-new.

You can’t beat that with a stick.

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Kind of like buying a new couch and then putting a sheet over it

by on July 15, 2008, in Apple, computadores, shopping, technology/yes I am a geek

I am in love with my new iPhone 3G. I love all of my Apple products (in addition to the iPhone, I have two iMacs, one iBook, one Powerbook, one Power Mac—on loan to my sister, who also bought my other iBook—one Mac Classic, one iPod Photo, one iPod Shuffle, one iPod nano and a MacBook I use for work), but not since my iMac DVSE have I felt such a strong bond so quickly with one. I think it’s the amount of time we’ve already spent—and will spend—with each other. Don’t worry, Ian approves. He thinks I’m crazy, but he likes the phone, too.

But because I take it everywhere with me, I need a case for it. The last thing I want to do is cover up its beauty, but the last+1 thing I want to do is drop it and kill it. I mean, let’s just be honest here: iPhones ain’t cheap.

I especially want to get one before Friday morning, when I’ll be flying to Chicago for a quick trip home to see family. The idea of my newborn iPhone being naked in the airport makes me a bit nervous, but good cases are scarce these days. I’ve narrowed my preferences down to three different cases: the Griffin Nu Form, the Contour Flick and the Incase Slider. Now, the Incase and Contour cases apparently aren’t available right now, and I haven’t been able to find the Griffin one in stock in a store (although I haven’t really looked too hard).

When I worked at Apple, the Contour case was the one we recommended to iPhone (the original, I worked there over the holidays last year) owners, but Incase is a popular brand, too. (And recommended by two bloggers who I trust in terms of technology judgment.) So I could order the Griffin one and get it in a few days (with free shipping), but I might like the Contour or Incase one more. But those might not be available for a few more weeks.

What’s a geek to do???

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It spoke to me

by on March 30, 2008, in Art, but in our house we never get bored, shopping

So as you can see from one of my recent posts, I’ve been on a search for art for my living room. We got a new couch and new coffee table, and with that came a new theme. I think of myself as a pretty laid back, earthy chick, and I wanted my new art to reflect that. I didn’t want to decorate with art from a big box store that anyone at any given moment could have, but I also don’t have the funds to drop a few thousand (shit, or a few hundred) on art from a private collection. And honestly, I am just not an art snob. I just wanted to find something that spoke to me.

I asked you, dear Internet, for advice, and BadBadIvy inspired me to give Etsy.com another chance. The site can be a little overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re looking for (and if you don’t have several hours to peruse everything they have to offer), but everything is handmade–and there is just so much talent out there, it’s totally worth it.

I discovered Chaanda’s Etsy shop, and was blown away. Her paintings were exactly what I was looking for. I contacted her to see what was available and to see if she would reproduce one painting that she had already sold (she will!), and Saturday I bought four of her paintings. They are gorgeous, and are inspiring me even before they’re here in my home.

So the moral of the story is, folks, go check out Etsy.com if you’re looking for something you just can’t seem to find around town (it’s not just for art, either). And even if you’re not looking for anything, go check out Chaanda’s shop—she’s super talented (and nice!) and you might see something that inspires you, too.

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Where can I find affordable canvas art/paintings?

by on March 27, 2008, in but in our house we never get bored, quandaries, shopping

So along with the new living room furniture I would like to put up some new art. I like the canvas painting look, modern is good but I’m not too picky as long as I can find something in my color scheme (earth tones).

I ordered this canvas from Urban Outfitters, but where else can I go—either online or to an actual location—to find art of a similar style? Or even if it’s not the same style—where can I go to find paintings on canvas for, say, less than $100?

Please, dear Internet, help me decorate my living room!

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Sonofabitch

by on March 27, 2008, in but in our house we never get bored, shopping, stupid assholes

So today I left work early to come home and work while waiting on my new couch from American Signature. My second new couch, since the first one they tried to deliver to me a week ago was damaged. I was so hopeful. And then I was sorely disappointed.

The second couch showed up damaged. Again. In a different place than the first.

I don’t know who Inspector #3 is, but he/she should be fired. I don’t know how you miss a gaping tear on the front of the couch. Especially when there’s white stuffing pouring out of it.

So after a lot of bitching, cursing and me trying really hard not to cry on the phone to the customer service rep, we have a replacement couch—our THIRD—coming on Saturday, April 5. I told them they got two tries to get it right—I am not leaving work any more for them. I also told them (when they asked why I wasn’t happy after all with them sending someone out to try to repair it) that I paid for new furniture and if I wanted damaged stuff I would have gone to Goodwill and gotten me a couch for $20. And I wondered why they couldn’t deliver undamaged goods after two tries. The customer service rep. wondered that, too.

I also wondered why I didn’t just tell them they could refund me my money and come pick their fucking couch up from my front porch—because that’s where it would be waiting if they didn’t get me a new couch asap—but I knew the answer to that. It’s the only couch I found that I liked the color and style, and price. But it’s not that cheap. So I don’t want to chalk this up to a you-get-what-you-pay-for lesson.

But shit. We spent several thousand dollars on bedroom furniture two years ago at American Signature, and this couch (and coffee table also ordered) aren’t exactly cheap. Shouldn’t I be able to expect to receive an undamaged couch the first time? Hell, it shouldn’t matter how much we paid for the stuff. It’s advertised as new and undamaged, that’s what I want to receive. Someone obviously isn’t doing their job. Either that or the delivery dudes have a serious vendetta our for their customers or their employer.

But I think I’ve been very nice up to this point. I haven’t demanded a discount, I haven’t called anyone any bad names and I’ve barely raised my voice. All I want is my couch, new and unharmed, delivered to my house on a day that I don’t have to work. But come April 5, if a damaged couch shows up at the house, some serious shit is going to go down.

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It's about time

by on March 26, 2008, in but in our house we never get bored, shopping

Our new couch comes tomorrow!! Hells ya! It was supposed to come in last Thursday, but it was damaged. Even after all the persuading the dude at American Signature tried to use on me, I didn’t take it. Sorry, I paid for a new couch and I want a new couch. And last I checked, new couches didn’t have huge ass rips down to the stuffing on the top. I don’t care what you’ve heard, you can’t hide that shit by sticking the couch in a corner, either.

So tomorrow the new couch comes, hopefully this time not damaged. A week and three days is a long time to go between sitting on the floor or watching a 13″ TV in the bedroom. I’m too old for this crap.

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