Cute Puffers

Yeah, I'm late. Mad people have covered the new ascendancy of the puffer as a fashion item, but here I am, in November, doing the same. Well, whatever. I'm a procrastinator, and only the other day did I realize that it's actually cold. So here I go, late as usual, looking for a warm coat.

Now, my good luck from last year in getting the puffer I wanted was nothing short of miraculous. I found the Clarisse by Moncler for a steal.

(I hate this pose.)

However, I found that the electric blue isn't quite an all-encompassing color, so I must find one
that is equally stunning, but not so bright. Thus ...






This tuxedo-styled puffer comes from Elizabeth & James. I like it. I mean, it's black, which is bad, but the style is interesting. That collar is a problem, though. Get it here. Just don't get it in my size; it's in the running.



This lovely, shiny, gray thing, is Moncler's Aliso, and I want it. There really is something to be said for a cinched waist and glossy fabric. Thing is, like all Monclers, this coat is a little out of my price range. Hopefully, the homie in Italy can fix that problem for me. Get it here.



Some of us are cheap (or broke) , and that's fine. Lory and Thaly, respectively, allow you to be both warm and guiltless. I suspect that I've shown these before, but Soia & Kyo's simply the savior for chicks on a budget.














Again, teetering dangerously on the edge of boring, but the collar saves it. Plus, it's reversible. For those who prefer the quilted look, there's the other side. Basic Boutique has it for you. By Add Down.









Another from Add Down. A basic bomber style with epaulets, side pockets, and a zip front. And it's in a glossy red. I love it. This company looks to be competing for Moncler customers who have some disposable income but can't quite make it rain. Get it at Saks.


I've never heard of Combobella, but the brand appears to available only on Yoox. I assume they're some value Italian brand. Either way, I'm liking this coat at this price. I am a sucker for stripes.

And the pièce de résistance, Nissa by Mackage. I still love this coat, and even though I 'm short and short-torsoed and would look awful in it, I still want it.

IT'S BACK! VIENNETTA IS BACK!!!!

I have no words.

Okay, maybe a few.

This dessert is so much more than crispy wafers, delicious "ice cream," and a dusting of chocolate powder. It's the foundation of friendships, friendships built on gluttony and the itis and co-dependent emotional eating. Monica remembers the times we'd split these down the center and eat contently for minutes. I thought they'd gone forever, but alas, my drinking habit (the one that had me trolling for beer at two in the afternoon) had me serendipitously happen upon these wonderful slices of heaven at the Jewel-Osco on Roosevelt & Ashland. (In a not so funny twist on this tale, I was followed from the store by security for stealing. Huh?)

Anyway, I haven't opened them yet, so they may be disgusting, much like the "Jello Pudding Pops" Monica and I found some years ago. (Boy was that a disaster. So sad, so sad.) However, I believe in the resiliance of ice milk and chocolate wafers. I mean, who could screw that up?

I'll report back.

Zenni Optical, The Come Up: Eye Wear

Adorable aren't they? Only 15 dollars.

Good eye wear. Expensive, hard to find, and way too labor intensive.

Problem solved, my peeps. Lord knows, like everything else, I've spent thousands on the perfect frames, and like everything else, I have way too many of them. However, too many is never quite enough. Enter the online prescription lens phenomenon. Apparently, the mark up on eyeglasses is so incredibly remarkably high, we are all being forcibly coitused every time we see our optometrists. Online eye wear providers only ask that you have your prescription and pupillary distance (PD) measurement, and they are willing to give you a full set of frames from $8.00. Yep, that's right, lenses, frame and all.

I ordered from Zenni Optical because I found their frame choices most attractive, but there are several other companies out there. Over at Glassy Eyes, you can find links to these providers, reviews of their service, and coupons. As for me, I'm sold. My glasses arrived roughly one week after I ordered them, and they're great. Yet another way for me to spend less and get more. Yay me.


Soon, I'll be sporting all of these:

Wow

That's what I've been saying for the past five or so hours.

I'm like the Wu; I can't go to sleep.

I mean ... we have a BLACK PRESIDENT.

When it was announced, I cried in public and hugged whomever was there. And all I could think about was that pictorial of 43 white men who had held the highest office in our country and how, now, a brown face was gonna be on it. A brown dude with a brown wife and brown babies. Wow.

Honestly ... I still can't believe it.

This is some ole other. I was there, in Grant Park, with the people, witnessing it.

Anyone who grew up with parents from the South, aunts and uncles with stories that pale those in history books, grandparents who lived through the inhumanity of the early-twentieth century, who had parents who were slaves, have to be at least a little misty.

For real, for real, I really can't believe it.

I am eeeeee-motional.

Every time I look at my TV and see him, my black president, my ridiculously smart and poised black president, I tear up. Symbolism is some shit.

Let's enjoy our high. Soon, we'll be grimacing in discomfort as we take every mistake and criticism a little too personally. (Token atrack cynicism.)

I guess I can finally go to sleep now.

VOTE Y'ALL!

I gotta tell y'all, as the daughter of older, southern black folks, I'm starting to get real emotional over here. Just thinking about how my grandaddies and grandmommas would've experienced this moment is enough to give me emo bangs. Seriously though, other issues aside, the symbolism of this moment means so much to the people who came before, who raised me, whose stories I grew up with in the back of my mind, and I hope it does lead to mega history being made.

A Couple of Things

True Blood is really fricking addictive, and I can't stop watching. Each week, I shake my head at Sookie Stackhouse's big-assed mouth and the shittiness of her brother's judgment, but do I stop tuning in? Nope. And this week has tethered me even tighter to this porn-cum-vampire drama. And real talk (pause) that girlfriend chick is a psycho. Jason, heed the word of the brother (in this case, Milton from Office Space); she ain't shit. Also ...


SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!











I just knew Sam was a shapeshifter. I also think he's a lycan (if that's possible), but that remains to be seen.



Second, Shoot 'Em Up, despite its mediocre reviews, was fucking fantastic. Non-stop action, ridiculously dope kills (he shots the shit out of about four dudes while "entertaining" Monica Bellucci) equal some shit I'd watch again. Thumbs way up!

Also, I don't mess with football.at.all. That shit is maaaaaaaaaaad boring. However, I'd like to send a shout out to Bob Sanders. Homeboy is fine ass frog hair, caucasian strands, and Italian cashmere.

Hello, mummy!




















Lastly, for years I thought that Jewels (s, an essential addition to any store name) had abandoned making the frosted nut brownies that I had come to love over the years. I said eff it and learned to make my own. Come to find out (mmm hmm, I was gonna buy a birthday cake cuz I was feeling down. Fat girl emotions, fat girl solutions, my peeps) they had just been relocated to the freezer section. Good to know for future high-stress situations.


Umm .. please excuse my wanky font. PEMWF.