Rue la la

Rue La La is an exclusive online destination of premier brand, private sale Boutiques that are open just two to three days each. Joining is free, but you must be sponsored by an existing Member. Brands include Frye, Gucci, Natori, Betsey Johnson, Vera Bradley, and more!

To join, visit http://ruelala.com and click the link for "referred by a member" and enter in my e-mail address -  khargraves (@) yahoo (.) com.  (Remember to remove the formatting and spaces). 

Or, if you prefer,  post a comment with your e-mail address and I will send you an invite.

Island time

A while back, I visited Barbados for a vacation. While we were there, we rented a little car so we could explore the island. One morning, we headed out early and lo and behold, what did we come across? Traffic. Now, Barbados doesn't really have a highway system so this traffic was nothing like traffic jams we have here in the US. In Barbados it's more of a single lane road with smaller roads perpindicular to it. People live on the perpindicular roads and are trying to merge into the traffic, which moves fairly slowly indeed.
So there we were, trying to turn left (towards Bridgetown - we were in St. Lawrence Gap) and faced with traffic. Matt and I just kind of looked at each other in frustration, but almost as soon as we arrived at the intersection, someone let us go - and they didn't just let us go, they let the 5 or so other cars behind us go as well. I was amazed. And it wasn't just the road we were coming in on, every time a road merged, someone stopped and let ALL the cars onto the road. I'm thinking to myself, "Don't these people have to get to work?? They're going to be late!" and I actually started to get all worked up about it. As we continued to sit in traffic I began to see that this is just another facet of "island life" in motion - the laid back, "not in a hurry" kind of attitude that I love - Why is it that I don't mind waiting a few minutes for a cocktail in a bar in Barbados, but home, if the bartender hasn't started working on my drink within 5 seconds of my ordering it, I start to get upset. I am so impatient.

Here in the US (at least in New England), IF someone lets you go they hurry up and get on your tail so that no more than one person is allowed into traffic. God forbid the guy behind you also gets to turn onto the road. Sometimes nobody will let you merge into traffic and they don't even look at you -- it's like people have this feeling that if they don't look at you, they can ignore you. Now, I admit, I am completely guilty of all this as well. We are in such a hurry that we forget sometimes the common pleasantries and courtesies we owe each other. Why are we so concerned with "not letting people get ahead of us" or "getting there first"? Are we all always running late or could we take a few seconds and allow someone to go in front of us? I know I can, and I will start to (try to) improve my level of impatience while driving. While sitting in traffic, I can pretend I'm back on sunny Barbados, on Island Time...

Years grow shorter not longer...

So as many of you know I'm (kind of) a big Jimmy Buffett fan and while most people kind of think that it's all about the margaritas and mayhem, it's really about more than that. Don't get me wrong, the icy cold salted margaritas are great, as is the party in the parking lot when Buffett rolls into town. The parrotheads flock to the parking lot hours early, setting up tents, tiki bars, mock beaches complete with mini pools, and so much more. We spend the day dressed in tropical shirts, wearing flower leis and grass skirts. We drink margaritas, umbrella drinks, and coronas, laugh, and everyone is happy. We have no worries or troubles. We have "escaped" into the place we'd like to spend our time every day. After the parking lot we head into the concert where we sing every word to ever song and it never gets old. Truth be told, the concert ends far too soon and we head back to the parking lot to our cars waiting to take us back to our everyday lives.

But it's in our daily lives where the fact that you're a parrothead really shines through. Jimmy Buffett is first and foremost the ultimate dreamer. His stories tell a song, and speak a truth that we just seem to all understand. His lyrics remind us that we are on this earth only for a short time and we should all enjoy the ride. The years do seem to grow shorter, it's no lie, in a blink of an eye, it goes from New Years to Summer to Christmas. As a child you think that life goes on forever and the days seem to never end. Somehow, as adults in this hectic world, we lose sight of that. Have we just lost our childhood innocence? Is there away to get it back? I think that the music and escapism of listening to Jimmy Buffett kind of gives us that .. if only temporarily.

The trick, I think, is figuring out how to keep that feeling permanently -- Not feeling the need to "escape" but enjoying every minute and every day you have here -- because it'll be over before we know it.

Be Fierce!

Today, there is more hope than ever for people facing breast cancer. However, there is much work to be done to find promising new treatments, increase awareness about the importance of mammograms, help all women get access to screenings and care, and connect those impacted by the disease with the information, day-to-day help, and emotional support they need to wage their battle against breast cancer.

I believe that hope for a world without breast cancer starts with me. That’s why I'm walking in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Providence on Oct. 19. Not only is this my opportunity to join my community to fight back against breast cancer, it is a way to inspire hope by raising funds and awareness to help those facing the disease and save more lives.

And you can be a part of it, too. Please visit the Team Fierce page and join my team or visit My Page to make a donation.

All donations, no matter how small will help!

Everyone's got an inner BAD gal...

If you wear black eyeliner (and these days, who doesn't) you know it's tough to find perfection in an eyeliner. Ok so "perfection" is pretty strong of a word for makeup -- but Benefit's BAD gal black eyeliner comes as close to makeup nirvana as possible without being totally weird. Seriously -- You can throw out all your old pencils that pull and tear your skin or disappear by lunchtime -- this one glides like butter over your lid and stays put all day. You like to smudge it? Smudge away -- it is perfect for the smokey eye look that everyone's all into right now. This thing's got Rock n Roll with staying power -- You won't be disappointed.


Benefit BAD Gal - $18

Puppy love

So we've decided on a Polish Lowland Sheepdog. Their polish name is Polski Owczarek Nizinny, or PON for short.

The litter was born on March 14 and if all goes well, we're getting the puppy on May 14th.

Still need a name but hopefully that will be evident once we see him. We don't know which puppy we are getting yet - the breeder is going to select one for us. We're pretty sure it will be a male dog though.

Guiltless Designer Shopping!

Love the fancy brands but hate spending a ton of money? Join the Gilt Groupe !

Launched in November 2007, Gilt Groupe brings the invitation-only sample sale to all of America, through our website. Gilt Groupe’s sales, which are exclusively online, provide members access to coveted fashion and luxury lifestyle brands at sample sale prices. Every sale is designer-specific, and held over a one day period.


Gilt Groupe’s team of buyers hand selects both established and up-and-coming designers relevant to members, from American designers like Zac Posen to Italian designers like Alessandro Dell’Acqua.

As a preview, Gilt Groupe’s production team creates a reel to introduce each designer brand to members and makes additional background information available through our website so that members have the opportunity to fully experience that particular brand.

Membership is by referral only and there is no fee associated with joining!

I am a member at Gilt -- if you'd like to join, simply visit http://www.gilt.com/account/register
and use my e-mail address finzup_kt@hotmail.com as the referrer.

Just like when Harry Met Sally ... only better.

OK I never thought I'd be blogging about blush. Seriously -- I love makeup, but out of all the makeup I own, I generally consider blush to be my least favorite item. I never even used to use it. But that all has changed - bigtime!

I've seen the light. I've been using Nars blush in Orgasm. Silly name for a blush, right? Well - not really. The color is a peach hue - and when applied on the cheeks, it gives you a glow that looks like you've just spent hours romping in the hay - I called it the "JFF" - Just f**ked flush!

I don't stop at my cheeks either - I put a little bit on one side of my nose, and on the line of my forehead, too. I don't know if anyone has looked at me and said, "geez, that girl looks like she just had some serious fun" but for me, it's worth it.

Nars Blush in Orgasm is $25

Totally tubular

Do you remember laughing uncontrollably? Hard to remember sometimes, in these hectic days of running around, "getting stuff done", working, and fixing this and that.
Sometimes you wake up and realize you cannot even remember when you've had such fun.

I'm not trying to get all depressing here.. so I'll get to the point. This past weekend I went to Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, NH and went tubing. Yes, tubing. What seemed like an overpriced thing to do to "fill the day up" actually turned out to be something awesome.

On the outside, it seems pricey - $18 for 2 hours or $24 for the whole day. So we figured that as long as we went down the hill at least six times, it'd be worth it for the all day pass. We got our tickets and headed towards the pile of tubes. We each grabbed one and headed towards the lift line. (Yes, they even cart you up to the top of the hill -- making that $24 a bit more bearable).

We got to the top and found that a few steps away was another lift. Thinking it'd be less crowded, we headed up there. The lines were about the same, but it didn't matter. It took less than five minutes to wait in line and get to the top. Now -- there were three tracks ajacent to each other. You could go alone, or in groups. Some tracks were "too fast" for 3 adults to go at once, so they limited it.
My first journey was solo. I brought my tube to the top of the hill, sat in it and waited for the go-ahead from the teenager working on the hill.

"Spin or straight?" the kid said to me with a blank stare.

I looked nervously around -- what should I do? Finally I realized I was taking way too long, so I just said "spin". I have no idea WHY I said spin -- I hate to spin. But it was too late to change my mind. The kid spun my tube around and shoved me off - fast. Let me tell you, if you've ever felt like you were heading down an icy slope in an old Yugo with no roof or no working brakes - you know kind of how it felt. It was scary; but it was fun. Although I screamed my head off (I *think* I might've swore ("ohhh shiiiiiiiiiit") too - probably a big no-no at a family friendly location - but it couldn't be helped.) I had a blast. The wind whipped through my hair as frantic thoughts of flipping the tube over and bashing my head in ran through my head. When I reached the bottom, I instantly ran back to the lift line for more.

The second time I went in a group of two. I went with my sister. We each sat down at the top and when faced with the "spin or straight" we both emphatically said straight. We flew. If going alone and spinning like a whirlygig was fun, than going in twos and flying was like fun on steroids. As the day went on, we rode alone, in a group of two and even in a group of three. We rode sitting in the tubes, sitting ON the tubes, and also on our stomachs face first.

Whichever way we went, we smiled ear to ear and laughed like idiots. It was truly fun and something I need to remember to do everynow and then.

Shameless plug.. forgive me!

Who doesn't like a bit of healthy competition?

I love Ebates. Seriously, I do. My next check is going to be $135 (yes I'm painfully aware that I shop a lot). But now there's Big Crumbs.

Will they steal my love away from my beloved Ebates? We'll see. One thing really cool that Big Crumbs has that Ebates doesn't - Big Crumbs offers you cash back on ebay purchases.. and I do shop quite a bit on ebay...

Only time will tell if Big Crumbs will steal my heart (and pay me back!)

Imbibing on the Holiday

Here's a cocktail that is great for Thanksgiving...

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Wild Turkey
1/2 oz Applejack
1 tsp Rose's lime juice
4 oz Cranberry juice

Mixing instructions:
Fill highball glass halfway with ice, add ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Of course you can also make it as a martini (which is what I would do. For the martini use:

1 1/2 oz Wild Turkey
1/2 oz Applejack
1/2 tsp Rose's lime juice
1.5 oz Cranberry juice

Add all ingredients to martini shaker. Mix and strain into chilled martini glass. YUM.

Ridiculousness reinterpreted

The dictionary defines the word ridiculous as: causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable: a ridiculous plan.

I beg to differ.

I'd like to propose a new definition of ridiculous:

Let me give you a tiny bit of back story on this one. Last week, my bf and I went into the Sports Authority (in Warwick, RI if it matters to you) to look at a paintball product he saw on sportsauthority.com for $89.99. We bring with us, a coupon from the newspaper that was for $25 off $100 or more. So we figured he'd buy his paintball thing and we'd buy something else for $10 and be able to use the $25 coupon. Simple, right?

Not so much. So we get to the store and the exact same product was $119.99. So doing some remedial math, I realize that even with the $25 off he'd still be paying more than if he ordered it online.

More backstory: The Sports Authority brick and mortar store is not affiliated with their own website (go figure, right?). If you ever shop at Dick's Sporting Goods online you'll notice that the products (inventories, pictures, descriptions, and prices) are the exact same. So it's not hard to figure out that Sports Authority's website is one that is not really their own. They've just sold their logo to a sports website. That bothers me some, but then I guess there are other brick and mortar stores that sell out as well (i.e. Target).

OK, so then I realize that the Sports Authority does price matching. We go up to the desk and ask if they do match online retailers. The woman (looking extremely DIS interested in us) says that 'yes' they do online price matching. Here's how our conversation went from there:

Me: Great! We found this item on Sports Authority.com for $89.99 and you sell it for $119.99. Can we price match it?
SA: Yes but you need to bring in a print out of the price from the website.
Me: { Politely } Well, we're here right now in the store. Can you just go online and verify the price for us ?
SA: No. We need you to bring in a print out.
ME: { incredulously } Are you kidding? You don't have Internet access in this store?
SA: Nope. You need to print it out and bring it in.
Me: { Leaves the store, muttering } That's ridiculous.


As we walk to the car, I get angrier and angrier. Thoughts going through my head that further substantiate that Sports Authority is the epitome of ridiculous:
If it's really true, what the employee said, then it follows that you could print out anything from anywhere and they would honor it without verification?

Lets say I'm sneaky. Lets say I go to SportsAuthority.com and edit the html of the page before printing it. Let's say I make the paintball thing cost $29.99 instead of $89.99. I hit print.
I waltz into my local Sports Authority store, and they will just honor it, without verification??
I find it difficult -- no, wait - that's not right. Actually I find it impossible that they do not go online and verify price matches. This means, that the customer service clerk was a complete liar; they must verify price matches. Seeing as how they price match online retailers, they would definitely have an Internet connection available.

So either the Sports Authority is ridiculous because they will accept any printed piece of paper with a price on it
or
they're ridiculous because they'd rather have customers leave their store and buy from sportsauthority.com (where someone else earns the profit) than help them out.

Either way - Ridiculous !

Jessica Simpson Tried to Kill Me Today

Boy do I love shoes. I really do. Especially the platform sandals with lots of sexy straps. I kind of like how tall they make me feel. I don't think they're that difficult to walk in - they do have a platform after all.

So tonight, I'm in Nordstroms. Completely sober, mind you, and I spot a sale rack. Instantly I'm drawn to these platform sandals. I put one on. My size. My color. A good price. Now I'm happy. But then something happens.. my foot starts to wobble a bit; then I can't stop it. I twist my foot and my ankle touches the floor, while I'm still standing. Ouch! I almost fell and knocked down the size 8 sale rack at Nordstrom

I take the shoe off, a bit sad, looking at it with contempt until now completely reserved for rival Red Sox and Yankees fans. I look at the brand and see "Jessica Simpson" written in nice cursive letters. I make a mental note to stay away from all things Jessica Simpson from that point on. I don't take the attempt on my life lightly!

So, I work through the pain in my ankle, and continue to shop. Now, I'm not kidding you one bit when I say that on EVERY damn pair of shoes I looked at after that, what did I see? "Jessica Simpson". All cursive and cutesy. Beckoning me to stick my clumsy foot in it and try it in. Go ahead, try them on; You know you want to. I swear the shoes call to me.

They're sexy, edgy, fun, flirty, AND dangerous; probably not unlike the *real* Jessica Simpson; but that's a story for another day. In any event, I find myself completely loving them for some reason, despite their sheer lack of any sort of practicality whatsoever. I didn't buy them but still, someone needs to stop this girl before she actually manages hurts someone! Next time the Nordstrom's shoe rack might not survive my attempts to try on sexy shoes. Maybe ultra high heels should come with a warning label. Now that is most definitely a blog for another day!

Craptastic!

Have you ever been so excited for crap?

I have. Repeatedly!

So there's this website -- www.woot.com they sell all sorts of random stuff - radar detectors, headphones, kitchen computers, camera memory, screaming monkeys, etc. They do one item per day until it's gone. Sometimes they have what's called a "woot-off" where they sell one item after the other for a random amount of time (a few days usually). Anyway, at some point during the woot off - in between the dry but strikingly unpretentious chardonnay and the plastic green frog that can detect leaks (aptly named "leak frog") there's an item that comes up for sale called a "Bag of Crap".

Just try and get one of these guys! They usually last, oh about 10 seconds or so and they cost $1 plus $5 to ship. You can buy 3. So, for a measly $8 you can look forward to waiting up to three weeks for a bag of.. well, crap.

Don't get me wrong, I'm the first one running five different "wootbots" while continually refreshing the page every millisecond, hoping, praying for the coveted Bag of Crap (BOC). I know I'm not alone (the "server too busy" message tells me so). So why do we do it?

Well, a teensy tiny percentage of crap buyers actually get something good. One time a lucky wooter got a Wii. Several more people have gotten things like Roomba's (now who doesn't want a robotic vacuum cleaner?? for $8!!), Robosapiens (scare the kitties!), and a host of other cool things.

Of course for every "good" item there are about 600 crappy items. I've seen people get used coffee makers, answering machines with messages from mexican inmates, broken glassware, jesus bandanas, mexican action figures that don't actually move... (I guess they're really just plain old mexican figures). It's almost worth the $8 just to get some crap to talk about.

Yesterday I won my third bag of crap. My past 2 craps were nothing to write home about (a phone for deaf people, an ugly furry owl keychain that my cats won't even play with, 2 camera bags (actually every bag of crap comes with a "bag" and up to 3 "craps"), an insulated pub glass and the aforementioned mexican (non action) figures.

Hopefully in 21 days time I'll be posting about my new Robosapien robot that can sense my presence and conduct my evil bidding, but if not, well it'll be interesting anyway. W00T!

Right out the window

I have to vent. I just don't know about people and thier manners these days! I don't understand how difficult it is to RSVP for an event. It's not like the person has to do anything other than to e-mail, call, or write!
Recently, I've had the amazing (aka heinously stressful) job of planning my sister's bridal shower. I mailed out professionally printed invitations (old fashioned "snail mail") to each event. On the bottom of the invite it was clearly marked 'RSVP by [date]' with a working phone number.

As the date got closer (and the 'RSVP by' date had passed), I wondered why not everyone had responded. We called people up and asked them if they intended on coming to the shower. I got responses such as:
"Oh, I can't attend, I'm working that day."
Ok so how am I suppoed to know this?
"Oh, I really meant to call you but I'm trying to get a babysitter."
A phone call letting me know this would be appreciated!
"Yes, I'm coming. "
I'm not a member of the psychic friends network so how the hell would I have known this?
"Yes, I'm coming and I'm brining a friend and her child"
#$%^& (blood vessels bursting)
ANSWERING MACHINE.
So I leave a VERY NICE messaging asking for a response by x date. Of course none arrives.

What the hell is wrong with people? Where has etiquette gone? Do people realize that brisal showers cost money? We had to provide a headcount in advance. We were charged on that headcount. If more showed up, we were billed more of course.

I came up with a few theories as to why people don't rsvp:

1) They don't know what RSVP means. No excuse in my book. If I were to receive an invitation with four letters on it next to a phone number, even if I didn't know what the letters meant, I'd call that number. The number is there for a reason.
2) They decide they can't go and don't bother to call.
3) They decide they can go and don't bother to call.
4) They plan on RSVP'ing but put it off until later and forget
5) They lose the invitation
6) They are ignorant assholes and plan to show up with their kids unannounced because they are entitled to.

The shower was in March. The bachelorette was in May - same kind of thing. I guess people just don't rsvp anymore. It just annoys me and I needed to vent. Please people -- when you get an invitation RSVP right away! Forgetting is not an option. If you lose the invitation, call the host/hostess of the party. Parties cost money and it's just the courteous thing to do.

There is no excuse!

Ok I feel better.

Talk amongst yourselves

Ok question to think about -- is the NBC TV show 'Deal or No Deal' really a game show, or just a blatant display of American greed?

Is there any skill involved in this alleged "game" show or is it just having the smarts to know that 50/50 odds are terrible when it comes to a large sum of money? I mean you're pretty much guaranteed a prize of some sort just by being on; so IMO it's something more of a lottery prize. (get picked to be on the show = guaranteed winner). It then just depends on how greedy you are as to what prize you get.


I hardly watch the show because I can't stand it (but I must confess that when I do watch it, I get hooked -- I must know how it ends)

So I'm curious what people think!

Kick me!

So I'm the type of gal that goes on various types of 'kicks' -- it maybe a food (my "Mexican food kick" certainly didn't do much for my diet (or my love life!!)), or an activity (like my "staying up late playing Cake Mania" kick -- don't laugh I know I'm not the only one!), or a task (like my recent "constantly search for cheap vacation deals, even though there's no possible way I can travel right now" kick), or an article of clothing (like my "obsessed with underwear" kick -- I seriously bought an insane amount of underwear in like a 2 week timespan.. nuts!!)
Basically, I find that I LOVE something, and then I suddenly cannot live without it - I feel compelled to constantly do/eat/buy whatever my current "kick' is. In a matter of time (something usually around a month or two), the kick is over .. and sometimes I even laugh at my obsessions --- like I see the Cake Mania icon on my desktop and chuckle - God I was so tapped playing that silly game until like 3.. ok 4 AM !!

My new kick is Coach. I hope it's not just a kick though -- I've always loved Coach. My first Coach bag was a beautiful green Optic Hobo with ladybugs on it (courtesy of the best BF ever). I LOVED that bag but would never spend that kind of money on a bag; he did - and I was hooked. Anyway, fast forward to about 2 years later, and I seriously cannot get enough Coach! I have bought wristlets, scarfs, charms, bags, and am considering dropping some serious dough on not one, but TWO bags, a wallet, and a(nother) charm.
Do I need all this stuff? Is this just another "kick" that I'll be remembering fondly -- my "love affair with Coach kick" ??
Right now I'm in the middle of it so, of course, in my mind, this is so NOT a kick -- it will never end. I will own and carry my Coach babies forever (or at least that's how I justify the spending?).
So where is this blog entry going? I'm not sure -- I guess I'll find out if this is just another one of my kicks (like the "getting sloshed on washington apple martini" kick) or something that will last longer. I hope it's the latter!

Shower me with love

So my sisters wedding shower was last Sunday. It went off without a hitch. I can't quite explain the level of stress I was under prior to the shower. Nothing went wrong, a few people even indicated it was the BEST shower they had ever been to! One woman even said I should become a party planner (a secret dream of mine for a while now). It was tropical themed (anyone who knows me or Kara wouldn't be surprised at that, I'm sure) and you felt the "sunny warmth" even though there was snow on the ground outside and it was 30 degrees F. When you walked in you were hit by the heat from 3 fireplaces. The room was a warm yellow color; Tropical flowers were everywhere. Island steel drum music played in the background making you feel as if you had stepped into a bar/restaurant in an exotic tropical destination. Everyone was given flower leis; drinks were served with fancy tropical umbrellas.

The cake

Fabulous, right? Wrong. Hours (and days) later, I'm STILL so stressed out!

Before the shower I thought "all my worries will be gone once the shower is over." Well, my worries didn't go away, AND now I'm not even sure what it is that I'm so worried about!

Kara loved the shower and the bridesmaids that planned it with me had a great time as well.

OK now on to the bachelorette party!

I'd like to stop the world please.

It's four days until Christmas and all I can think is, "Holy shit"
It's like I can remember stressing out for last Christmas as if it was only yesterday, and this one is already here. Time is starting to go by faster than I can handle. Will I just close my eyes and wake up just in time for next Christmas?

I wish there was a way to make the world stop for a while.

On that note I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and healthy 2007.

2007.
2007?
2007 !!! What the @#$%^&*, it's already 2007?!

Movie Review: The Departed

The Departed is the kind of movie you have to pay attention to at all times. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though - you feel sort of like you have been through something after this movie ends. I suppose you could watch it and not pay as much attention - you'd probably still enjoy it.
The movie is basically about rats and organized crime in Boston - There's a mob guy working inside the police and there's a undercover officer working inside the mob. So each side is working to find out just who the rat really is.
The movie has an all star cast - Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Walhberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Sheen, Alex Baldwin to name a few. They all play their parts exceptionally well. Mark Wahlberg's character is not only serious, but also funny, in that serious kind of way.

This movie is work the trip. 4 palm trees! :)