Ugh

I have been home all day today sick with some nasty cold/sinus thing. After watching HGTV daytime programming all day, I needed a little love from you design bloggers. You didn't let me down!

I was perusing etsy the other day and found her. Seriously pondering getting one of her pieces...maybe this one: She uses maps as the base and then mixed media over the top. Very Cool, Rachel Austin.

the design of a wine label

As I sit here drinking a glass of wine in one of our Target knock-off Riedel wine glasses, I hearken back to a conversation that took place at book group on Friday night (yes, admittedly, it is often actually wine group). The conversation started when I was perusing the selection of wine available for consumption during the evening.

There were 11 people in attendance, and there were 13 bottles of wine available (make what ever assumptions you want to here about our consumption and the quality and volume of our ensuing discussion). There were several bottles of wine with expensive, ivory colored, papery-looking labels, with Italian sounding names (like Chateau Leoville Las Cases) embossed in either dark burgundy or black. You see, back in the old days, I would have bought those bottles of wine because: a:) I know nothing about wine, and as we have been taught by the likes of People Magazine, the more expensive looking, the better quality; and b:) the older it looks, the better is to supposed to taste (you know, that whole aging thing) more expensive it actually is.

The rest of the bottles of wine had glossy, irregularly shaped labels and sported names like Red Truck, Tin Roof, Pure Evil, Pillarbox Padthaway Red, and Boarding Pass Shiraz. I mean, for under $20, why wouldn't you try one of these bottles, for the name alone? As a matter of fact, I tend to discount the "fancy name" bottles of wine that are under $20.

Then comes the label design itself. Here are a few of my favorites:

I know that I have certainly spent $20 on worse looking things that can't even be consumed. I mean, really, how poor can these wines be? If they have someone in their employ that can come up with these designs, don't you suppose they have a tiny little bit of wine making talent?

I don't know who was the first winemaker to "break the mold" when it came to naming and labeling their wines, but I can tell you this: they have sold many a bottle of wine to this thirty-something consumer (and many of my friends) by name and label alone. Happy drinking! (and shopping!)

I did it, but not for that reason!

Well, I am a bit ashamed to admit that I bought the People magazine tonight.

However, not really on purpose; here's the story:
My daughter and I had spent all day running errands and then changing her room around. At about 6pm we decided to go see the local high school basketball team play in the championship game of a tournament. However, during our errands, I spent all of my cash.

Now, I am sure you are saying something like "so what, go to the ATM," and I would be too. But the problem is that I don't know my PIN number for my ATM card. I have not used my ATM card for at least 6 years. I am kind of punishing our bank by not using my ATM card. I just refuse to memorize another random number, as our bank does not let us choose our numbers.

So, I went to the scary Dillons grocery store for the express purpose of buying something small just so I could write a check for $30 over the amount of the purchase. We were trying to figure out what to buy, and she came up with a XXXL KitKat bar, and I came up with the People magazine with MM on the cover. Eureka! Problem solved: I got MM and we got cash to go to the game.

I wonder what the lady who checked us out thought...

A Pleasant Surprise

So as I said earlier, I was on a work trip this past week to southeast GA. I flew into JAX and then drove up to where my work was. However, I had done a little research before I left town on where the Sephora store was in Jacksonville. I was pleased to see that they had one, but knew that it was about 1/2 hour's drive from the airport, and since I was landing Tuesday night at 7pm, I knew I would only have about 1 hour to shop.

As planned, I arrived at the St. John's Town Center around 8pm. I was in HEAVEN! First I saw the Sephora store, then the Urban Outfitters, then Anthropology. Next I spied the PF Chang's and knew what was for dinner after my 1 hour shopping spree was up. (If you are wondering why all of these things excited me so, I live in the middle of nowhere, and don't get to visit such places often). After making several purchases, including what I was looking for at Sephora, I was preparing to drive over to PF Chang's for dinner, and what did I see but a lululemon athletica store.

Now, I have heard of the gems in these stores, but I have never had the opportunity to frequent one. I was practically drooling at all of the possible purchases I could make. Now, I have to admit I am a total cheapskate. I almost never buy anything unless it is on sale, but much to my surprise, there were many items on sale from which I could choose. Here is what I purchased:

The rose colored was a whopping $14 and the other one (which I actually purchased in a kind-of maroon color) was $29. I could have spent $600 there!

The best part of all of this (and who whole reason for this post) was that as I put on the rose colored one this morning, I discovered that there are thumbholes! For any of you who are runners, you know what joy this brought me. For those of you who aren't, there are these little holes in the wrist of the shirt to pull over your thumbs to keep the sleeves from riding up under your jacket sleeves, or better yet, for me they provide just enough covering in cold weather that I don't need to wear gloves while I run.

So, I will be wearing my lululemon shirt all day today (and hoping to get a run in as well) and every time I look down at the sleeves, I will be smiling! :)

So, please, dear readers, seek out the nearest lululemon athletica store and buy away!

EDIT:

After the comment by anonymous, I have corrected my capitalization errors...thanks, anon!

Do I, or Don't I?

OK, I am totally contemplating buying this issue of People Magazine. While I have been purchasing the fine journalism that is People Magazine lately, a dear friend of mine reminded me tonight that the pictures in these rags are totally fake, and we are just perpetuating the whole "I have to be skinny and perfect" stuff for our children. While I do believe all of this, I just am

SO IN LOVE WITH MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY.

I almost feel like I am in Junior High (circa 1984) where I want that cover (and wish there was a centerfold) of MM to hang in my locker. As a matter of fact, this reminds me of me and a friend in college who were so in love with a certain college basketball player for our team that I was willing to lick his sweaty arms as a display of my love for him...yes, you read correctly, lick his sweaty arms!

So, back to the point, I want to look at MM all day, but I am having a hard time reconciling that with the fact that he got some girl pregnant. Mind you, they have been "dating" for a year now, but come on, put your money where your mouth (er, penis) is, buddy.

I have to tell you something. I just picked up a new book on Tuesday at one of my all time favorite stores (Urban Outfitters, but more on that later). I had just finished this month's Book Club book, and I was needing something little light, and a quick read. Of course, while perusing the insanely crazy book collection at UO (I thought I would die the first time I saw the word fuck in print at that store), I came across the perfect book:

I Hope They Server Beer in Hell by Tucker Max

(I think MLA would say that a book title needs to be underlined, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to do that right now).

I am traveling for work at the moment so I have a good plenty of time to read in the evening without my kiddos begging me to play a short game of monopoly. I started the book last night and I almost peed myself after reading the acknowledgements in the front of the book. As a matter of fact, I had to call my friend 2 timezones to the west to read the first chapter aloud to her. I laughed my ass off. This guy is such a total asshole, and I can't believe that someone has actually published this for him.

So, anywho, I am so revelling in my great book find, and so excited to tell you all about it that I decided to get on the author's website: http://www.tuckermax.com/ to see if there was anything good there.

Well, once there, I discovered that every single one of the GD stories in this book (which I paid $12.95 plus tax of my hard earned money for) are right there on his website. WHAT A RIP OFF!

However, I am still going to read this book and laugh my ass off, and then I will burn it and mail the ashes to the author with a piece of my mind.

Go on, go to the website and read it...I mean, really...why spend your $13 when you can get it for free?

OK, so I am a sucker for marketing. I pick my books by their covers, I buy my magazines for their cover fonts, and I eat at restaurants whose signage is catchy...

It is my goal to hook up with others of you who have an "eye" for all things fine and wonderful. Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about over-the-top, haute couture things here, just good ole' design.

I am a lover of books, and wonderfully photographed objects and people. I love to surf the web and just see what there is to see!

Here's to those marketing guru's out there!