At What Price?

We Love to Shop But at What Cost?

The Better World Shopping Guide is a little pocket book we should all carry around. It will make shopping much more difficult because we are so use to convenience and we think we've won by getting a good deal, we feel good about ourselves. But while we may be "winning," children across the world are losing, big time. Slave labor is the reason we can walk into a store and buy a shirt for $5. Is it worth it? Free2Work is an advocacy group that has a bunch of information and I encourage you to visit their site as well as get your own copy of the Better World Shopping Guide. But for now, for all you shoppers out there, here is a list of companies from best to worst:

A+ Used Clothing Stores

A Patagonia, Autonomie, No Enemy, Hempys, Ecolution, Deva, Maggie's Organics

A- Elleen Fisher, American Apparel

B+ Levi's, Liz Claiborne, Timberland

B Gap, Nordstrom, Cutter & Buck, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer

B- Abercrombie & Fitch, J Crew, PVH, Bass, Izod, Calvin Klein

C+ Tommy Hilfiger, Nichole Miller, Burberry, Quicksilver, Rip Curl

C Men's Warehouse, North Face

C- American Eagle

D+ Hanes, Champion, Beefy-T

D Target, Express, Limited, FTL, Esprit, Bill Blass, Land's End, JC Penney, Victoria's Secret

D- Russell, Guess, DKNY, Khol's

F Walmart, Sam's Club, Macy's, Polo, Jones, Marshall Fields, Foley's, LA Gear, Dillard's, Disney, Kmart, TJ Maxx, Perry Ellis, Vanity Fair, Ralph Lauren.

Now that you know, what are you going to do?

Good Feeling

Answer these questions:

See "comments" section for answers.

01. How many pores are on the average adult female face?

02. What is America's number one best-selling cosmetic product?

03. What is Elizabeth Arden's real name?

04. What company introduced makeup which resulted in the descriptive term 'vamp'?

05. What year did Bonne Bell begin selling 'Ten-0-Six'?

06. Which was the first major cosmetics manufacturer to announce a permanent end to animal testing in the safety testing of its products?

07. What are the world's best selling fragrances for men? for women?

08. What beauty tool/household staple was originally known as 'Baby Gays'?

09. What well-known company was founded in 1886 as the California Perfume Company?

10. A beautiful model in an evening gown appeared on the cover of a Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1915. She wasn't wearing a corset, her skirt was above her ankles and the back of her dress was scandalously low. But the model lacked one thing in particular that would set off a new trend in fashion in North America. What was it?

11. What are 'frownies'?

12. Helena Rubinstein began her career creating stage and film makeup. When Theda Bara appeared on the screen wearing a lot of one of Rubinstein's innovations, it became instantly popular with the general public. What was it?

13. How did the name Maybelline come about?

14. In 1914, a skin cream was invented by Baltimore pharmacist George Bunting. The name of the skin cream, 'Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy,' was changed to what after a customer swore that the cream had "knocked out his eczema?"

15. In 1904 Polish immigrant, Max Factor decided to try his luck in America, where he started out by creating and selling theatrical makeup. What was one of his first major innovations?

16. What does the company name M.A.C. stand for?

17. In what year and by what company was the first UVA/UVB sunscreen developed?

18. Which is the world's largest cosmetics company?

19. Dr. Pepper, Cherry 7-Up, Orange Crush, Mountain Dew, A&W Root Beer... Which is NOT a Lip Smackers flavor?

20. How much money did Americans spend on skin-care products in supermarkets and drugstores in 2004?

Dream Home

OK-as much as I think I want a gold-encrusted palace, complete with grand staircase and seashell bathtub, I have to admit that my perfect husband and I are probably not going to make enough money to pay for the staff to clean it. I really would like to have a palace with a ballroom and chef, valet and groom; but I will be realistic on this post.

I will need a home that is:

a) easy to clean

b) has no carpet

c) has a porch with a swing

d) has many windows

I think those four demands are easy to meet. After all, we do live in the Midwest.

Did you know that Emily Post wrote a book on houses called The Personality of a House: The Blue Book of Home Design and Decoration? It is amazing and I highly recommend it. It is SO practical that it affords one the creativity of Picasso, after all possibilities are known. It talks about how much room you'll need for the amount of guests you intent to host regularly. It mentions how to drape curtains in order to make a window appear larger. I seriously cannot believe such an awesome book exists!

So, anyway, I got some ideas from that and all of the years my mom got "Better Homes and Gardens," and have come up with a practical blueprint.

We will most likely be living in or around Cincinnati. Drew and I want to live in the country unless we get a really nice place by the river, allowing for a city row house, turn of the century three-story, or loft. I want people to come visit us a lot and stay over for the weekend so we'll need extra bedrooms. We need a place for all of Drew's stuff, the books, and cat boxes. I want two full baths and a basement would be nice. The house has to be animal-proof/safe with skylights for them to warm themselves under. Even though cleaning windows is a big pain, I want a lot of them so light can come into every part of the rooms. I don't want carpet because of cat hairballs. I like wooden and comfortable furniture, shaker or distressed style. I like quilts, paintings, and large glass-work.

Of course if we were to live in a different climate all of this would change.

I would want the outside to tell what the inside style is. The highest compliment someone could give my house is to call it "comfortably, magically, unconventional."

Ombre Chalking

So hair chalking on an ombre coloring is SOOO adorable!

Spring Duds

The fashion world has gone to shit. I have never seen such crap on people’s bodies, nor celebrities looking so frumpy (ugly). It is like someone’s schizophrenic grandma who is stuck in 1993 starting making homemade dresses for everyone and putting on their makeup and doing their hair. There is nothing redeemable about what I saw on E!online this morning. Holes at crotch level, cut out stars, jungle print with drab black and brown, capes, shiny suits, undone hair, and polka dots matched with neon yellow pumps are just a small smidgen of what you’d see at any gala this spring. I am seriously appalled. I cannot believe people have stooped so low as to put on a sack and think they look good. It is like we are all in on their “inside joke” that isn’t a joke at all. Fashion has become a half-assed industry and I am disappointed in the stars who are fooled into thinking they look good. The messes they are wearing right now make them look twenty pounds heavier in the middle and show every asymmetry on their faces. Kristen Stewart’s ears look a mile long, and Jennifer Hudson looked 100 times better when she was overweight. At least her clothes matched then. She looked demure and put together. Now she looks like a twelve year old wearing her mother’s too tight spandex and dress up high heels. No one’s’ clothes fit right! They are all too tight or too loose. They either look like segmented sausages or deranged children. Even the men look like they are crammed into tight corsets with their jackets’ buttons’ straining against their waists. Madonna looks like a witch and Anne Hathaway looks like she is wearing thrift store black-from 1996! Since when did Blake Lively look good? Taylor Swift is the only person I see who consistently looks good, and even she is a bit boring to tell the truth. Jennifer Biel is laughable. Her purple lipstick and spinster shoes matched with winged, cut out dresses fool no one. She looks hideous! It looks like she is trying and doesn’t get it. Fashion in 2012 is going to be a bust if this is any indication of what’s in store. Our celebs look like they are fashion clueless instead of fashion flawless. And when is the 1950’s dress ever going to quit? Can’t we think up something new and better than that? Even Victoria B. and Rhianna are striking out! Whoever said that ‘70s tights and ‘90s black tweed went well together should be shot. I cannot get over how horrible everyone looks! What must be in the stores??!! I, for one, will not be cashing in on anything right now and will fall back on the tried and true, no matter how far “behind” I am. Kate M. and Jennifer Lopez are doing pretty well because they have their own familiar style moors to keep them balanced. A new girl named Amber Heard isn’t so bad either, even though her face looks a bit garish sometimes and her clothes lack true showmanship. Well, you’ve heard my rant and I’m not taking it back. People look sick! Mentally ill! It is like Heath’s joker took them all to task. Some women are even wearing rubber leather bat-wing! At least the orange tan trend is gone! Calling shit, shit never hurt anyone’s sense of reality, and our celebs need a swift kick in the unflattering pants as a wake-up call!

Vintage Chic

I have recently discovered Etsy and am going CRAAAAZZZYYY over it! I can't get enough! It is like a dream-a treasure trove-a buying nightmare! Peruse at your own peril! You will NEVER have enough! Anyway...here are some awesome things that I would actually wear. Enjoy. BTW-one of the dresses is for Drewy!

Barbies

Yesterday and today I was looking at collectible Barbies online. There were so many I liked but two really stood out-Black Label Basics #6 (2009), Collection 001 and The Duchess of Diamonds (2001) from the Royal Jewels Collection. It was really neat to look up the old ones that I had grown up with. I think that all little girls love Barbie at first because she is like a princess, is accessible, and wears clothes that we want. When we get older Barbie becomes someone we want to be or look like. All of us have been influenced by Barbie, whether we know it or not. She has changed our culture if not us individually. Who doesn't want to wear fairy tale gowns and look like the epitome of beauty in America? It is hard to give up Barbie, even when we suspect she is bad for us. When you look at a Barbie do you feel worse about yourself or tell yourself that you will look like her if you just try harder? It is a sad thing ladies. The Barbie of our childhoods seemed so beautiful and innocent, it was even something for my Gram and I to talk about as I got older, but now it is too late to throw away that damning image for good. Our mirrors tell a very different story than Barbie's perfect one. Even if you think she is a stupid franchise you must admit her power.