Purse Slut

I've mentioned before my love of shoes but I don't believe I've ever mentioned my complete and utter love of purses. I've always loved bags, but I never really cared about what I carried with me. In high school I lugged around an ugly tote I found at the bottom of my mother's closet or on occasion a silly purse that was in style at the time.

In college I carried purses rarely. It was mostly just a backpack and if I went out shopping I'd shove some money into a tiny card case with my ID and run out the door. It wasn't until junior year I actually started caring about carrying a purse. Only one other thing coincides with that...

Laura.

My best friend, I love her dearly, but she created a monster.

Since we moved in together her girliness seeped into my life. I cared more and more about what type of clothes I was wearing and the bag I was carrying.

I went through a few months of junior year destroying cute bags I bought for $20 at Target, Walmart, Mandee, etc. and then I realized it really was time to invest in a quality bag that would withstand a beating and stay with me for a long time. I figured if I was killing two or three $20 bags every couple of months, why not just spend $100-200 on a fine quality bag that would really survive?

Laura...again.

She's quite obsessed with bags, and at that moment in time her love was Coach (they go through a love-hate relationship). So we drove out to the Outlets in Lee, MA and I scoured the store and left with a beautiful camel leather bucket tote/swing bag. It was so pretty and I love fine leather so much. At first I wasn't interested in that particular bag but I kept coming back to it on the shelf so I knew it was meant to be.

Since then I've been a wreck. Not only have I bought numerous other Coach purses, but I have quite the collection of bags from other stores like NY&Co., Express, Vera Bradley, and other slightly pricier stores.

It's gotten so bad that I have an entire suitcase full of purses hiding under my bed. I'm a mess.

But I actually use every single one of them...I swear! I rotate through them and each and every one of them from the houndstooth clutch to the giraffe spy bag get face time.

That doesn't mean I don't still want more.

I have a problem.

Jason was concerned. More like, Jason can't possibly comprehend why someone needs so many bags. And I finally realized it one day awhile back when a girl I was working with at BBW was re-telling a conversation she had with a customer. (Back story, my co-worker and the customer were both slightly bigger girls.) Basically they were talking about shoes and bags and the customer say something along the lines of, "Well I can't fit into all the popular trendy clothes, but my shoes and bags are always fabulous."

And that really hit home with Michelle and I. I'm not enormous, but I lug around a little extra poundage so I completely understood the not being able to find super trendy cute clothes in my size and reverting to accessories to keep things classy. Therein lies the root of my problem.

But I digress.

In April I went on a ban. I bought an oversized tote to use for our trip to Florida in May because my old bag had deteriorated and I needed something to carry onto the plane with me. But after that I promised Jason (and myself) that I would spend no more money on purses for the rest of the year.

I have done AMAZING.

My mother bought me a purse at the Coach Outlet in Tannersville, PA this summer but a gifted purse is not a break on the ban.

Yesterday I was at Woodbury Commons and I was forced to go into Coach. And when I say forced I mean I literally had two things in hand that were not mine and I had to return/exchange for my mother/aunt since we don't live near any outlets.

It.was.difficult.

What is this power purses hold over me? I don't know, but going to the outlet and walking out empty handed (well with my aunt's exchanged purse) was sad. I know I don't need a new swing pack for easy hands free shopping but I want a new one because I dislike the one I currently own. I might wind up making a purse exchange with Laura because she was interested in getting a swing pack so next time I see her we might swap my swing pack for something of hers she intends to sell on eBay but honestly?! What is my deal?

In a 'round a 'bouts way of saying it, I've only really come to this realization because the wonderful Winona over at DaddyLikey (who's coming out with a book!!!) is having a delightful purse giveaway. Do I want a free purse? HELL YES! After spending the weekend watching everyone around me buy purses I totally am feeling the squeeze of the ban but definitely don't want to give in and purchase one myself.

Basically Ms. DaddyLikey herself is giving away two free bags from HandBagHeaven and I totally want one! Do you? All you have to do is visit DaddyLikey and tell whether you're a purse slut or you're more of a "settle down with a nice purse" type. Obviously I am both, but lean more towards the purse slut side of things...

If I win the giveaway, it will be a hard decision between the glorious blue skinny tote/satchel up top or this lovely faux snake skin clutch/swing pack right here. Both are pretty enough to pet.

Bono Will Save the World

I am literally all a flutter!

My cousin Dave scored tickets to a U2 concert at Giants Stadium and of course in typical Dave fashion, forgot all about me and the fact that I thoroughly enjoy U2 and all things Bono.

Cue to last night as I'm about ready to pass out like an old lady at 9:00 and lo and behold a txt from Dave asking me if I want to go to the rescheduled concert Wednesday night.

Do I ever!?!

Apparently the concert was scheduled for a weekend and then pushed to hump day and one of Dave's friends couldn't make it...well I sure as hell won't let that ticket go to waste even though I'll be a zombie at work on Thursday.

I was tentative only because of the price and how I'm trying not to spend any money at all but since Dave already paid for them and I suppose I can pay him in installments over the next few months I guess $120 isn't an awful price to see one of my favorite bands EVER. It's about how much I paid to see The Who in like 10th grade at MSG and we were in the nosebleeds. And these tickets for tomorrow night are 3 row mezzanine with a circular stage...they have to be good!

I'm so excited!!!

Bono!!!

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I really am, I swear!

I am totally an up-statey. Honestly.

Although I grew up on Long Island and enjoy being so close to the City it's just not my favorite. It takes forever to get off the Island, the people here are stereotypically "Long Island" and when people meet me they always assume I'm from upstate anyway so why can't I just move back there?!? *le sigh*

Anyway, I still get chances to go back up to Albany from time to time especially with Laura planning her wedding and having me do all her stationary/paper crafts. So that's where I was this weekend. We made an appointment to pick up our bridesmaid dresses from Angela's and tried them on to make sure there were no missing things or torn seams.

Originally when we ordered them back in March everyone was like "Why did you order so early if the wedding isn't until next July?!" Well my friends, the cornflower blue color that Laura fell in love with has actually been recently discontinued so HA! we pounced and it paid off.

I think they look quite lovely!

Mine needs a slight adjustment in the strap, a new hem, and the neckline needs to be tacked down better so I don't fall out, but other than that it fits well. Since the wedding isn't for another 10 months I'm hoping that when I come back to the dress in May to have it altered I'll be able to take it in at the waist a little as well.

Laura's sister Ursula (on the left) needs a lot of work done to her dress. She's recently lost a lot of weight and the dress was just swimming on her. They estimated almost $130 worth of alterations (which is basically the cost of the dress), so there's a possibility that Urs might just order a new dress in a different size and color which is workable since she's the Maid of Honor.

I'm so excited now for weddings! I can't wait!

(Note to self: must finish J&A's toast.)

I miss Troy.

It's truly the armpit of New York, but I honestly miss Troy. I have so many wonderful memories there and there are so many things that I wish I had closer to home.

My friends: obviously. If I still lived in the capital region I'd be enjoying Laura, Chrissy and Urs' Wednesday Girls Night Out every week. I'd be able to enjoy artsy things with Matty and go to cheap shows whenever I wanted. I'd be able to support the PC Kids and go to every single one of their little shows and gigs at Flavor Cafe or Mocha Blend and heckle all the n00bs.

Proximity: I swear all the stores I ever needed or wanted were so close and convenient! Da Chopper was 24hr and I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is to live right up the street from a grocery store that's open all day and all night! The mall had every single store I shop regularly at and I knew how to get to every single place. Now that I'm back on LI my inner compass is off! I find myself thinking about how to get to the Joann's up near Troy instead of how to get to the one I live near now.

Haunts: Places like Brown's Brewery, the Ruck, Pizza Bella, Manory's, even Sushi King. I mean I miss all of these restaurants and bars like nobody's business.

We went to Brown's Friday night for dinner and filled up the growler Laura had in her apartment. Let me just say their Port is AMAZING and Jason love love loves their Cherry Raspberry Ale (which might I add has double the alcoholic content of your typical beer).

I can honestly say that if I were still living up there I'd probably join their mug club and become a regular. Their beer is just delightfully good and their food is also fantastic.

Next time you're in the capital region stop by Troy, I promise you'll have a good time if you give it a chance!

Saying Thanks

As I may or may not have mentioned before in my post about my Army friends' baby, I am a huge supporter of the troops. I don't necessarily believe in war, but I do believe in the people who risk their lives every day to protect the peace and our liberties. I think it takes a very strong person to serve and I appreciate each man and woman in uniform and try to think warm fuzzy thoughts about them and the families they leave behind.

That being said, I've never been brave enough to just say "Thanks for doing what you do" I guess I just get caught up in thinking about how to do it and by the time I actually compile a phrase in my head the uniforms have walked away.

I wonder how many of us wish we could extend a smile or gratitude to the men and women who are doing so much for us without asking for anything.

Well worry no more!

This morning I got an email from a friend entitled "The Gratitude Salute" and it made me smile and want to cry at the same time.



Spread the word. Share the gratitude. And Support our Troops!

Chill'n in the MD

When Julibean and I realized the only weekend that Jaclyn's bachelorette party could be planned was Labor Day Weekend we really had to change our plans around. Originally we were going to head down to Delaware to Chris' beach house and spend a nice relaxing weekend in Ocean City with our men.

Have I mentioned lately that we're both in long distance relationships with our menfolk?

Yeah. So having to postpone the trip for an extra week was slightly annoying but we decided to take one for the team and change our plans to accommodate the other bridesmaids/friends schedules.

Anyway Jason came up from VA to meet us Friday night and we enjoyed a fine home-cooked meal of fettuccine alfredo (my absolute favorite pasta dish EVER). Andy definitely did it up right and it was seriously yummy.


The next morning after two of us (who shall remain nameless) stupidly almost got swept out to sea when they didn't think the current was too bad and thought it was okay to go out further and further...we sat around safe on land reading tabloids and making sand castles.

Or in Cynthia's case, sand boobies.

Jason hadn't been to the beach in years so he paddled around for a little longer than the rest of us. He's just so adorable sometimes.

Eventually the sun disappeared and we hopped over to Rosie's to find some board games. Yes, we love board games that much and decided since we left all of ours at home accidentally we needed to go out and buy one or two just to leave at the beach.

Long story short, we walked out with a ghetto off-brand Jenga and a Barrel O' Monkeys kind of game. Once we got back to the beach house, treasures in tow, we decided the ghetto Jenga would be a perfect set to create drunk Jenga out of. As we wrote all the instructions on the blocks, the boys entertained themselves hooking monkeys onto the chandelier.

If you're unfamiliar with drunk Jenga it's basically a game where things like, Drink 1, Drink 2, Motorboat the person to your left, Remove 2 articles of clothing, etc. are written on the tiles and as you play Jenga you do whatever the tile commands. If you knock over the tower you lose and you have to finish your drink. Most of the tiles are simple enough and they can be as dirty or as PG as you want them to be. Apparently the last set they had at school said things like, Eat an English Muffin, and random things like that.

My favorite tile was probably the one that said, If you do not already have a mustache, hold your finger over your lip like one for the rest of the game.

Ridiculous? Yes. But fun as all get up!

At some point we actually got the boys to sit down and watch The Sound of Music because none of them had ever seen it and because yes, we like to torture our men from time to time. But, it counts towards one of my 101 in 1001 since Jason actually sat through it!

For our last morning we went to Big Pecker's. So totally delicious and they have the same biscuits as Brass Balls down on the boardwalk but they are conveniently on the strip away from lots of people. Must have when in OC, the biscuits!

Jaclyn's Ridiculous Night Out

As I mentioned when we were baking, Jaclyn isn't your typical bride to be. So having a typical balls to the wall - clubbing, dancing, drinking, stripper extravaganza - bachelorette party was not in the cards. Instead we went to the wonderful 27 Om Spa for a day of pampering.

My facial was incredible it was the oddest feeling. I'd never had one before so it was definitely an interesting experience. My massage was wonderful and she finally worked that darn kink out of my back that has been bothering me forever. The ladies at the spa were fantastic, the service was excellent, and most importantly of all Jaclyn got to sit back and relax.

While she was out running errands though, we broke into her condo and decorated. Yeah...we went a little crazy.

That is totally a penis pinata and I totally put stickers on him
to make him a one eyed monster with his tongue hanging out!

After the Spa we met at the Cheesecake Factory and had a delicious dinner full of even more penes. We had a little giggle over the fact that our waiter took our glasses with these ridiculous straws sticking out of them back and forth from the bar as we got refills. He was a good sport about it at least.We got back to Jaclyn's and the night of fun continued with a few more drinks, some snacky foods, and the penis pinata. Turns out he makes an excellent hat when split down the middle and emptied.Originally we were just going to watch 80s movies like Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Sixteen Candles but somehow we got quite involved in the extended Purity Test and spent a lot of time ridiculing everyone's answers. Final scores ranged from 71% all the way down to 27% yeah, that's right 27%.

Then we went for a few rounds of Pin the Macho on the Man.Let me tell you, this was AMAZINGLY entertaining. Especially when Jess wound up about four feet away from the poster.All in all it was a fantastic night and I couldn't have imagined Jaclyn's bachelorette party any other way. Can't wait till October 25th!!!

Size Really Matters

...when it comes to penis cookies, it definitely does!

That's right, I said it. And that's right, we did go there.

Last night the Beaner and I baked penis cookies for Jaclyn's bachelorette party on Saturday. Now, our lovely sousin is NOT the type of girl to do any of the following:

• Go clubbing
• Go out drinking
• Be humiliated in public
  
• Enjoy a stripper's junk in her face

So because Jaclyn is quite tame we decided on a spa day, dinner and then a girly sleepover filled to the brim with 80s classics like Pretty in Pink and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. However, we still gotta have a little ridiculousness and that is why we chose to make penis cookies and cock-cakes. (Yes, we have a penis shaped cupcake pan that my sister bought which lead to priceless phrases from my mother like, "The penis pan really needs to come off the kitchen counter.")

Apparently penis cookie cutters are a little harder to come by and although Julibean had the original thought of buying a dog bone cookie cutter and improvising from there, we wound up doing free-style peni.

Hilarity ensued.

Not only did we make them FAR too big and they merely flattened into blobs, but the running commentary from my mother was quite incredible.

"I think I've said the word penis more times in the past hour than I have in my entire life."

I really do love my mother sometimes. Despite the fact that while we were forming these inappropriate cookies she was trying to give us an anatomy lesson...never fails when you have a science teacher for a mom.

Apparently penis cookie baking is more of an art form than we originally anticipated. Size really does matter and they need to be made very very tiny. Minuscule even. Upon realizing the first batch imploded to gargantuan sizes, I went about slicing the rest lengthwise to thin them out. Eventually I gave up and just made super tiny peni and those came out fine.

So tonight, we make cock-cakes with cream cheese frosting.

Chasing Windmills

I have an impossible dream.

Perhaps not impossible but definitely improbable.

I want to be a published author. Despite my ramblings and awful syntax here at Persnickety Penny I do have a way with words, I always have. I love to write things. Poems, short stories, haiku, novellas, novels, even a children's picture book!

They all sit in my hard drive mocking me. I guess my main issue is fear. What if someone reads something I've worked so hard on and hates it. They turn around and tell me I am a horrible writer and all I can do is believe them?

Awhile back I wrote (for realz) a children's book. My dad has been pushing me and hinting that I should get it published. Maybe this holiday season I should hunker down and actually illustrate it properly and then send letters out come the new year to see if I can get it published sometime in 2011.

Other than that thrilling picture book I typically just write trashy romance novels, you know, the ones I love to read. But I'm still hesitant. Even though characters are made up there's still a lot of personal things I put into each and every story. I suppose I'll just have to get over myself and just do it.

So I guess I should have put this on my 101 things list. It has been a dream of mine for a long time but it got pushed to the wayside when other things in my life became more important. I guess I really only thought about it because the amazingly wonderful Winona over at Daddy Likey is getting published. Granted she's already a writer and actually does it for a living and I am but a lowly wannabe but maybe, just maybe her exciting news was the spark I needed to light the fire under my ass.

Plus how sweet would it be if on a job application I could write that I was a published author...pretty sweet I say.

I'm going to the freak'n Olympics!!!

In 2006 right before Jason and I started going out we used to sit on my couch at 2am and watch Olympic Curling Matches on TV.

Silly? Strange even?

Quite.

However, I love Curling. And I look back at those times spent on my couch laughing incessantly with Jason as they broomed along the ice fondly. I think it is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen and I can't get enough of it. If there were a Long Island Curling Club, I would totally be a part of it!

When they announced that Vancouver would host the 2010 Olympic Games I was ALL over that! I made lofty plans with my brother to fly out to visit him in Seattle and visit our neighbor's to the north for the Games!

I put in for 4 tickets to Women's Gold Medalist Curling and Women's Ice Hockey. They do this crazy lottery system and even though we didn't get any Hockey tickets we DID score Curling tickets. That's right baby! I'm going to see Gold Medalist Curling...the cream of the mother effing crop!

Meanwhile, my sister's boyfriend Chris went skiing with his roommates for spring break to Whistler and brought back a stuffed animal for my sister. Julibean doesn't care for stuffed animals but this one stole all of our hearts. His name: Quatchi. And he is one of the four Vancouver Olympic Mascots.

Since then my sister and Chris were slightly obsessed with anything and everything Quatchi, which lead to them sending me things like this:

That's right, they colored in a picture of Quatchi and sent it to me at work.
(Of course it was my desktop image for a good two months.)

Back from my tangent...I am going to the mothereffing Olympics!!!

While I was in Virginia with Jason we booked our flight to Seattle and after a long winded conversation with a JetBlue representative we decided to opt for the non-refundable ticket. This is why:

The refundable round trip ticket from JFK to SeaTac would have been like $2k. WTF?! Especially when compared to the non-refundable round trip ticket on the same plane for only $700. This was a no brainer. I am definitely going to the Olympics, no iff ands or buts...Jason is still unsure as to where he will be, who he'll be working for, etc. so we needed a little insurance that the ticket could be canceled or transferred to someone else.

But even with the $200 charge to cancel and/or change the ticket to someone else's name it's still over $1,000 cheaper. Way ridiculous in my opinion.

YAY! A thousand times YAY! The Olympics!!!

(Photo credit: uksport.gov.uk)