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By Amber, on December 21, 2010, at 10:00 pm Last Christmas I ordered a bunch of gifts from Amrita Singh and earned a reward certificate. I held onto it until last month, when I decided I’d better buy something before it expired! I paid only shipping on these earrings, which came today:
Pretty, right? But did you notice that the one on the right is missing a couple pieces? Bummer. I contacted the company about an exchange. My experience with their customer service has been very positive in the past, so hopefully this will go smoothly as well.
If you get onto their email list, they do a lot of promotions throughout the year. I’d estimate that about half of them are discounts and the other half are free merchandise with a minimum order (BTW, and I say this as someone who loves their merchandise, don’t ever pay full price for anything over $40). I didn’t expect that ordering with a reward certificate would qualify me for any of these offers, so I was very surprised to find this in the box:
I have some of their earrings in the same color, but they’re awfully blingy to wear together. Still, who doesn’t love fun, free jewelry?
The one thing in the box that really puzzled me was this:
I guess someone got a deal on printing..?
By Amber, on November 23, 2010, at 10:55 pm All spring and summer, my casual go-everywhere bag was a pink- and white-striped tote with a butterfly on it. It didn’t seem right for fall and winter, so I asked the internet to show me what I could use to supplement it. I quickly found a bag that I loved at Zappos, but the price was more than I had planned on spending. I thought about it all day, then came home and tried to buy it. But by then some jerk had bought the last one in the color I wanted! Seriously? Of the trillions of bags on Zappos, someone had to have exactly the one I wanted?!
I was sad and mad, and suddenly ridiculously determined to find that bag, but more internet scouring than I care to admit to turned up only one other vendor, and the price was significantly higher. Resigned, I found a substitute bag that I liked a lot and which cost far less, and I ordered it.
Nearly three weeks passed, and I thought, “Huh. Wonder when that bag will arrive?” I checked the vendor’s website, which states that most orders go out within 48 hours, and it showed my order as ‘processing.’ I talked to a representative via their live chat and found out that the bag was discontinued in the color I’d wanted. I don’t know when or if they had been planning to tell me that, but I cancelled the order. I went back to Zappos…and lo and behold, there was the bag I had originally wanted! There was only one in stock and I snapped that sucker up.
Is there anything quite as satisfying as the triumph of a successful hunt, coupled with the knowledge that Zappos will have the item in your hands the very next day? Doubtful. Maybe I sound like a shill for Zappos, but I really do love that company. Brilliant customer service.
Anyway, here is the object of my affection:
It’s made of goat hide and it’s so soft. I love the subtle leopard pattern here and there that makes it fun but doesn’t take over the whole bag:
What’s your must-have item this fall?
By Amber, on November 16, 2010, at 10:00 pm I was good with my two regular sample sale websites (in truth, I belong to a few others, but I turned off notifications and I browse them only once in a blue moon). And then for some unknown reason, I went and joined one more. Why did I do that? Seriously. For now, when I do my rounds on all THREE, I can at least tell myself I’m scouting Christmas gifts. If I happen to see something I cannot live without, then oh well.
But I’m not going to kick myself too hard, because it almost immediately paid off. You know I sometimes like my jewelry a little rock ‘n’ roll, and this fit the bill:
This puppy sparkles. I wore it out to dinner over the weekend, and Mark’s first reaction when he saw it was to declare that if our car broke down or we got into trouble, it would be my job to signal the HPD helicopter.
The other thing I like is that it has a lot of heft to it. I’m not a small person, so I tend to like my jewelry to be in scale with the rest of me. This is a nice size for me (even if my wrist just barely fits!):
I was wearing an unusual amount of sparkle that night — sometimes you just feel like a disco ball.
By Amber, on November 7, 2010, at 10:00 pm Yesterday I had my zillion photos from New Mexico open and I was narrowing them down to what I wanted to share next, and then somehow I lost all my progress. Doh! I don’t have the energy to redo that just now, so I thought I’d share some assorted snaps from the past week.
Who’s that reading my favorite book?
It’s Sammy! He was a birthday gift from my parents. He looks great on our bookshelves!
He came with a note from my mom:
Mark and I ordered burritos the other night for pick-up. There is a Freebirds just up the street and I think they put something addictive in the meat. The staff is young and cheerful, and we have long suspected that at least a few of them are having special smoke breaks during their shifts. Evidence:
I ordered two so I wouldn’t have to make lunch, and they made sure I knew which ones were mine:
When I sat down at my desk the next day, I noticed the bag:
Speaking of places with herbally-enhanced employees, we made a Whole Foods run tonight and I picked up some treats containing my own favorite herb:
I have a slight obsession with rosemary. I sort of have a personal theory that rosemary is the new bacon. You heard it here first. I’m very excited about these!
Also spotted at Whole Foods (it looked a lot better on my 1″ x 1″ cell phone screen!):
You know the holidays are here when the sock monkeys show up en masse!
By Amber, on September 30, 2010, at 10:00 pm My evening spinning class was unexpectedly cancelled, so I got home early with nothing to do and finally had a chance to sit down and paint my nails:
I really enjoy nail polish, but sometimes it seems impossible to find the time, even with a quick-dry coat. I used to be afraid to wear dark or bold colors because I have big rower paws instead of delicate mannequin hands and I work in a conservative environment, but one day I got over it (and it helps that my boss’s boss wears strange shades of polish), and now I prefer them! Embarrassingly enough, this polish is one of the Gossip Girl shades for Nicole by OPI (‘Too Rich For You’), but it was exactly the color I was looking for at the time, so who cares.
Today’s other little thrill was the arrival of a Sephora package. I needed some boring skincare stuff that I was running out of, but I try to wait to place an order until I see a special insider bonus that I like. A lot of them don’t interest me because I’m pretty set in my ways when it comes to skincare products. I do like sample-sizes of cosmetics that I haven’t tried, though, and I’ve never used anything by Benefit, so I jumped on this one:
It’s got a few minis: High Beam highlighter, Posie Tint cheek/lip tint, and Bad Gal Lash in both black and plum. I’m trying them all this weekend!
Did anything thrill you today?
By Amber, on September 28, 2010, at 10:00 pm A little splurge that Mark talked me into (I was going to see if I could find a cheap, Chinese version on Harwin St., until he talked sense into me):
Love them! They’re so sparkly. What will I wear them with? Oh, everything…but what will I wear them with first? I have until Friday night to decide.
By Amber, on September 21, 2010, at 10:00 pm Tonight I hit Houston’s launch party for MAC’s new Venomous Villains collection. I’ve never been to one of these things before, so I was not prepared for the utter chaos. We all had to stand in line for a turn at the goods while a security guard made sure the store contained only as many people as could fit shoulder-to-shoulder on every inch of floorspace. I was behind a couple in the running for Parents of the Year as they studied the annotations their daughter had made to a cheat sheet, marked in purple and pink highlighter to delineate what she ‘needed’ and what she ‘would like to have.’ I’d estimate about $400 worth of cosmetics on her list. The women behind me, nurses or med students from the sound of it, conducted a caffeine-fueled discussion with more than a couple TMI tidbits.
I’m not necessarily a Disney fanatic, but I am a Maleficent fanatic and always have been, so I have eagerly anticipated this collection. I don’t know whether it’s the raven sidekick or the horned hat, but being bad never looked so good. The launch party tonight had Cruella de Vil and Evil Queen costumes to try on and pose for a photo in, but I will only risk headlice for Maleficent, and sadly that was not an option.
If you, too, have been waiting for this collection, you probably just want to know what I picked.
I picked up She Who Dares mineralize eyeshadow, Devilishly Stylish lipglass, and Bad Fairy nail polish (I really liked the other two polishes as well, but I’ll probably hunt down the Orly dupes). Can’t wait to use all of them. I put the lipglass on as soon as I got home, and it is an absolutely perfect nude for me (N4, if you’re curious).
Did you attend a launch party (and did you try on a costume)? If not, what (if anything) are you planning to buy?
By Amber, on July 27, 2010, at 10:00 pm Just a little treasure that I picked up in Austin at Parts & Labour. They carry wonderful locally made things. It’s very, very hard to choose just one or two items to take home, but if you blow your budget at least you can feel good about supporting local artists! Click the photo to go to the artist’s site.
By Amber, on June 17, 2010, at 10:00 pm I just love them!
That’s most of ‘em. The warmer ones are stowed away until cool weather returns. They’re my uniform most weekdays — cardigan, camisole, trousers, jewelry. I look polished but I’m super-comfortable and I didn’t even have to iron or tuck anything in. Nobody really knows how lazy I truly am just by looking at me. I also carry one whenever I’m wearing a sundress or sleeveless shirt, since I’m always cold.
I prefer 3/4-length sleeves, which work most of the year in Houston if you’re an office-dweller like me. I have a soft spot for a good cashmere sweater, but I think the most versatile fabric for everyday wear is an acrylic blend, which is easy to care for and still looks good after countless washes. My current favorite source for the perfect cardigan is Express. Mine are probably the most frequently worn items in my wardrobe, but they still look nearly new.
By Amber, on June 10, 2010, at 10:00 pm Like my Lolë dress, one item that’s been getting a lot of wear lately is this buckled cuff that I picked up from Editors’ Closet:
It looks black, but it’s a very dark purple. It’s by Seattle designer Tara Sauvage. She’s been around awhile, designing accessories for other companies, but now she has her own line. Rocco e Dante is named after her two pugs, who help with the inspiration and modeling.
Her bracelets are fun, with the tough-girl, rock ‘n’ roll styling that I’m a sucker for — I had a hard time choosing between this and the zipper cuff. Maybe next time her line comes to Editors’ Closet I’ll pick up the other!
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