My Biggest Sale Haul Yet!

Have I told you all yet about how much I love the city of Baltimore?

Well, I absolutely adore it.  Baltimore is homey, quirky, and completely lives up to its nickname of "Charm City."  Baltimore has utterly charmed me thus far.  In fact, I'm hoping to start blogging more about some of the fantastic activities this city has to offer.  I believe this is a city on the rise, for sure.

I love Baltimore so much, that I bought this:

AHHHH!!!  I'm a homeowner!!

There are a bunch of reasons I decided to plunge into homeownership in Baltimore.  First, the real estate market here is pretty good for buyers.  The city has hit its stride but it hasn't quite boomed yet, so real estate generally moves relatively slowly and there are decent deals to be had.  (Plus, interest rates are still extremely low, and those low rates won't last forever.)  Second, the rental market has far outpaced the buying market; you pay substantially more in rent than you would to buy the same house.  Third, I signed a four-year commitment letter with my job, and I'm getting loan repayment assistance from my law school (given to people who take a public interest or government law job and earn below a certain threshold) that is 100% forgiven after five years...so I'm likely going to be in Baltimore for a while.  Plus, I figured if I bought a place in a neighborhood with a strong rental market, I wouldn't be forced to sell whenever I moved; I could just keep the house as an investment property and rent it out to cover my mortgage and expenses.

I started looking at houses in May, before I moved here.  I looked at about 25 houses and I actually put an offer in on this house (how freaking beautiful is that place???), but when the sellers countered for $1500 higher than my offer, I suddenly got cold feet and backed out.  I can't explain why it didn't feel right to buy that house...my parents did not seem particularly enthusiastic about pitching in for a down payment, and there were multiple buyers for the relatively-new-on-the-market house, which made me feel nervous and pressured.  And perhaps on some level I was concerned about buying before I even knew if I would like living in Baltimore.

In the end, I'm glad I didn't buy back in May.  It helped a TON to live here for a few months, get to know the neighborhoods, and get a better sense for where I like to hang out.  I realized in the time I lived in Fed Hill that I loved being close to the harbor, but wanted to be in a neighborhood with a population my own age.  (Fed Hill is fantastic but the average age there is approximately 23.)

When my Fed Hill landlords informed me that they were selling the house I'd been renting a room in and that we'd all have to leave, it seemed like as good of a time as any to resume the housing search!  I had two months before I needed to move out of my old house, so I figured I'd look at real estate for a month, and if I didn't find anything I loved I would just rent again.  I decided to focus on houses with two to three bedrooms, and at a price point that would allow me to cover at least 75% of my mortgage with rental income.  I figured a house of this size would lower my expenses and would give me room to grow if I started a family and we ended up staying in the city.  (The middle schools in the city aren't great, but the elementary school in the neighborhood I ended up buying in is pretty decent and would probably be fine (and would delay the inevitable move out to the better school districts of the suburbs).)

I looked at more than thirty houses in October.  I found a lot of very cool, great houses that seemed promising.  But the moment I walked into the house I ended up buying, I immediately felt a warm, cozy, homey feeling.  It wasn't perfect, and I wasn't blind to the things that weren't perfect about it (I would have loved an open kitchen with different finishes --- like that first house --- or a full bathroom for each bedroom (my house is a 3/2.5)), but I still loved it.  The neighborhood is awesome, the neighbors are chill, and the rental market is strong due to the proximity to Hopkins.  On the whole, it was perfect for me given my price point.  PLUS, the house had been on the market for more than 100 days,* meaning no pressure to bid high to beat out competition!  I was swooning.** 

* I'm not sure why it was on the market for so long --- although in Baltimore 100+ days on the market is not that unusual --- but I think it was because the owners accepted an offer on it after a few weeks, and three days later (without any kind of home inspection) the buyers got cold feet and pulled out.  The house was relisted and essentially became a "back on the market" house.  Often BOM houses face a stigma from new buyers that hurts their market value.

** An indicator of how well my excellent real estate agent got to know me and my taste:  We walked into my house, I immediately oozed, "Oooh, I love it..." and my agent said, "Wait until you hear how long it's been on the market and you'll love it even more."  Srsly, he was great.

The period from contract to purchase was stressful, filled with multiple unnecessary dramas and last-minute crises.  But with the help of a fantastic real estate agent and very supportive parents, we were able to get to closing on time!  I also got the maximum seller cash contribution allowed, so not only did I get a pretty decent deal, but the purchase price on record is higher than the final price I paid (because of the seller contribution), which will hopefully be good for increasing property values in the neighborhood.  Of course, the seller contribution is on record, too, but to the extent that the sale price is a more visible/accessible measure of property values than final sale price, that's gotta be good for property values.

I've already found roommates for the other two bedrooms, and my rental income will almost completely cover my mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance.  This will help me put more money away for loans/savings/home repairs!

I'm still in the process of moving in and decorating, and I have one reasonably big redesign project on the immediate horizon (a contractor is coming in to add a wall and a door to the master suite --- right now, it's not closed off at all so it lacks privacy).  I'll post photos once things get more settled!  I couldn't be happier with the place.  Sometimes I look around the house and feel so overwhelmed with love for my surroundings.  It's my HOME.

So, there you have it!  Do any homeowners read my blog?  What was your buying experience like?  Are you glad you bought?  Any tips or tricks for me?  What websites do I need to know about?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

Hi everybody.  Thanks for the kind emails and messages while I've been away.  Here's a bit of an update for you:

Shortly after my last post, I was put on a trial team (my favorite type of assignment!!) for a case that was supposed to go to trial less than a month later.  As you can imagine, life got extremely hectic very quickly.  I don't like to post on the blog while on trial, because I have to assume:  1) opposing counsel is crazy and has researched everyone on our side; 2) they have found my blog; 3) every post I make during trial prep and trial is a window into how busy or not busy we are, which in turn is a window into our strategy.

The trial was grueling, but I did have a weekend or two during which I got to enjoy the city of Boston (where the trial was taking place).  Neptune's Oyster?  Holy geez, that place was incredible.  Plus, we were staying at the Ritz, so it's hard to be too miserable (even when facing down your third 20+ hour day in a row) when you can go "home" to a fluffy bed, a whirlpool bath, and free room service.

Still "trying" to lose the trial weight, but it was totally worth it.

Our trial concluded at the end of April (we won!!).  I made my way back home almost reluctantly.  Over the course of the last year or so, my six-year relationship, which had typically been very loving/functional/rewarding, had become difficult, rocky, and downright painful.  The relationship needed to end, which as you can imagine was an extremely hard and fraught decision to make after being with someone for so long and developing a shared future with that person.  I still struggle with whether this was the correct decision, and I don't really know what to do or how to act going forward, or whether to give in to the desire to try again, hoping that things might be different after the self-improvement work we have both done in the months of separation.

The closest I've ever come to posting my ex's picture on this blog.  (Incidentally, I TOTALLY recommend this bobblehead company if you are looking for an awesome gift for someone.  They were incredible to work with.)

Those of you who have ended long relationships with the person you thought was "The One*", how did you know it was time?  Did you ever try again with the same person?  How did that work out?  Was the other person able to change?  Were you?  Have you found new love since then?  How is it different?  Do you have some kind of clarity regarding whether you made the right or wrong decision in ending that previous relationship?  Basically, what do I need to hear, being in the place I am now?

*  I don't actually believe in the concept of "The One."  I don't think there is only one person who is the perfect end-all-be-all fit for us.  I think there are many people with whom any given person could have a happy and loving life.  I use "The One" here really to mean "[One of] The One[s]."

Despite the whirlwind incredible trial experience at my firm, I'd been feeling a growing dissatisfaction with the work since last summer.  See, I love trials.  Trials are the driving force that pumps my lifeblood and gives my work-life meaning.  And although my firm is notoriously awesome at giving attorneys trial experience (and indeed, I was on five trial teams, saw four jury selections, and three winning verdicts in my three years + one summer at the firm), the problem with a big firm is that you are never going to be the person giving the opening and closing argument in a big trial.  And even more, the hierarchical structure of a big firm means that for your first five or six years, you don't really get close to talking in court on a paying matter.  There's something about that process, in which the work you do is just pieces of a whole that were divided up and doled out by something else, that makes you start to atrophy in some ways.  You learn a TON by watching more experienced attorneys run these trial teams, but you start to lose that ability to see the whole forest, to think ten steps ahead, and to look at the bigger picture, because your more immediate job is on the smaller scale.

I have always wanted to be an Assistant U.S. Attorney ("AUSA").  It has been my dream job since at least the ninth grade --- or whenever I learned that the job existed.  AUSAs represent the United States, prosecuting federal criminals or defending U.S. agencies when they are sued.  AUSAs get to run their own cases, try their own trials, and enjoy all of the perks of federal employment.  These jobs are notoriously difficult to get, and for the past several years, a hiring freeze has been in place that made it nearly impossible to find an open position.  In fact, many districts began hiring Special AUSAs to work FOR FREE, and PEOPLE ARE STILL TAKING THOSE JOBS.

The hiring freeze lifted in December, and around February I started throwing out a few applications to various districts in which I could see myself living.  (Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Chicago, California...I almost threw my hat in the ring for the Virgin Islands but that just seemed way too extreme of a change.)  I didn't expect to get anything, since I'm still relatively junior and I lack some of the credentials I'm told are important for a position like this.

But sure enough, in March, I got an interview in Baltimore.  Everything about the position was perfect.  The position was in the civil division --- so I would get to practice the type of civil defense law I'd come to love at my firm (for example, civil division attorneys do a lot of medical malpractice defense and employment discrimination defense) --- but civil division attorneys are permitted to take small criminal cases in addition to their civil caseload, so I would have a taste of both types of law.  (Plus, criminal cases typically involve more court time than civil cases.)  The division was small, like my old firm, and filled with incredibly friendly and non-competitive people who loved that I bake pies and play poker.  It is close to D.C., so even though I would get the fresh start I craved in a new city with a lot going on within its borders, I would be close enough to my old town (~30 miles, or 50 minutes by car) that I would not have to say goodbye to any of my friends.

After three rounds of interviews, I was offered the job after a particularly brutal day during our trial.  My tears of frustration with the case turned into tears of gratitude and happiness that I'd had such an amazing experience at my firm, without which I surely could not have made this next step so soon, and that I would soon be starting a new adventure in my dream job.

I cleared my security check at the end of July, moved to Baltimore at the beginning of August, and now I'm starting a new chapter here.  Not only am I in a new city, making new friends and exploring a new life, but I've also said goodbye to my lavish law firm salary (this job was a 60% pay cut) and all of the associated luxuries.  I'm living in a house with two other girls now.  I have a huge living space to myself (I have my own floor of the house, along with my own bedroom, living room, and bathroom), but I'm sharing a kitchen and facing the fact that I have two mid-twenty-somethings roommates at a point in my life when I figured I would be married or engaged.  Ahhh, life, how funny you can be.  Luckily, my roommates (random craigslist people) are lovely and my house is comfortable, and it's only a fifteen-minute walk to work.  It is also only a fifteen minute walk from the new casino opening up in downtown Baltimore, which makes me sad to have my lush salary no longer.

But my new job has been incredible --- pretty much everything I hoped it could be --- which at the very least makes me feel validated in the choices I have made to get me to this point.

Anyway, there's a lot to share and a lot to write about.  I haven't figured out whether I want to continue writing or not, though; again, I must assume all of my opposing counsel have found this blog now that I'm the lead counsel (!!!) opposite them.  While I have not posted anything on here that is personally embarrassing or that I would not be happy to talk about in person, I have to rethink my online presence a bit.  Out of curiosity, are there any AUSAs or trial attorneys out there amongst my readers?  Do you have any thoughts on this subject?  Are any of you my opposing counsel?  :-D

I'm sorry to have left without a word so many months back.  There were so many changes in my life all at once, and some of them I'm sure you can understand I do not want to talk about in great detail on the internet.  My domain name comes up for renewal in a few months, so I guess I will make a decision about whether to continue by then, but in the meantime:  Hello, and I hope you are all doing well!

Let's talk about fitness.

Alright, guys.  I have fallen off the fitness bandwagon.  My pants are tight and I am at a weight where I refuse to buy new ones because I am not going to settle in here.

Source.

I have found that my fitness preferences tend to swing around pretty drastically every six months to a year, and the things that I used to love doing no longer motivate me the same way.  I'm not going to Crossfit as regularly as I used to, and I am biking less since the weather became frigid (and since I bought a car).  I still will sometimes go for a run, but the shorter days leave me less time to do this in the daylight, when I prefer to be out.

My firm recently announced that it would give all associates $195 towards a monthly gym membership.  I could use this money for a 9 class per month Crossfit membership ($165 --- I KNOW), or I could use it to join an actual gym with a variety of (sadly, non-Crossfit) classes.  I'm leaning towards the latter for now, since I'm feeling like a need some variety in my life.  Plus, since I seem to enjoy driving around, I could drive to the gym to get my sweat on.

So help me out here:

1. What do you guys do for exercise in the winter?  
2. Do you belong to a gym?  If so, what do you think are the most important things I should be considering in deciding which gym to go to.
3. If you live in DC, are there any gyms/studios that I absolutely must check out before I sign paperwork somewhere?  Where is the best place for me to spend my $195/mo?

Settle something for me.

[Edited to remove faulty poll and post results.  Also, 70% of you are totally wrong.]

The Twilight Zone Haircut!

For the last few months, I have been repressing the ever-welling desire to go Brittany.

My hair was driving me nuts; I'd done nothing but put it in a ponytail for almost a month straight.  Given the fact that I can only be bothered to spend five minutes on my hair MAX a day, it tends to look pretty shabby as it gets longer and requires more than my maximum of five minutes.

Add to that urge the fact that I've been toying around with the idea of a faux-hawk for a long time, combine that with the emptiness of my personal landscape over the foreseeable year (I don't mean that in a depressing way --- I'm social and go out --- I just mean that there are no huge events on my immediate horizon (e.g., trial, wedding) that would demand more caution in choosing a hairstyle) and you've got yourself a recipe for a dramatic haircut!

So, here's what I did:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

SHORT!

Plus, it's super-versatile (and sort of faux-hawkable)!  I can wear it in a bunch of different ways with, again, very little effort:

I LOVE IT.

...HOWEVER.

I feel like I am in some kind of weird Twilight Zone episode with this hair.  NOBODY in my life seems to like it.  Well, a couple people like it.  But almost everyone else reacted to the haircut like, "::sucks teeth::  Ohhh, you cut your hair.  Wow.  ....::sucks teeth:: [nervously] Are you liking it?"  For Pete's sake, it's been two weeks and I am STILL getting, "::sucks teeth:: [nervously] So, are you still liking it?"

WTF PEOPLE!  I don't understand.  I look in the mirror and I love what I see and then I keep getting these tragic reactions from people like my cat died or I lost my job or cut my nose off or something.  I continue to reexamine the reflection I see staring back at me to try to see the horrible thing that everyone else must be seeing when they look at my hair so sadly and I JUST. DON'T. SEE IT.

So, anyway, I like this cut a lot.

Three Things (including a Lendperk review)

1.  I would like to run a post about some Google reader alternatives.  I already told you guys a bit about Feedly, which I am using exclusively right now.  Would anyone be interested in contributing a bit of content to a compilation post about alternatives to run alongside other peoples' contributions?  Your piece can be as simple or complicated as you like; I'm just looking to cover as much ground as possible!  Email me if you're interested.

2.  I am wearing my jumpsuit today.  Heck yeah.

3.  Recently, Lendperk contacted me and asked me to write a review of their dress-rental service.  I was not paid for the review, but I did receive a free dress rental.  (And you can, too!)

Lendperk is a subscription service that calls itself the "Netflix of dresses."  Essentially, the way it works is you sign up for a monthly membership in which you pay either $20 for one dress rental a month, $34 for two a month, or $49 for unlimited monthly rentals.  If you don't use your monthly rentals, they can roll over.  Then when you're ready, you browse Lendperk's selection, pick a dress and a size, and it will be shipped to you.  You use it for your month and then send it back.  Like Rent the Runway (RtR) (referral link), you don't have to worry about dry cleaning.

Lendperk features dresses from mostly-accessible brands/retailers like J.Crew, Modcloth, Anthro, and ASOS.  Lendperk is still getting its feet off the ground, so the selection of dresses and sizes is somewhat limited right now.  (That said, I noticed several new dresses have been added in the last month, so it's nice that the collection is growing.)  The J.Crew dress I'd wanted to rent was unavailable, so I went with this one from Warehouse/ASOS:

The dress arrived in a soft mailer and included a return shipping envelope.  It took a couple of days to arrive.  I didn't find the dress wrinkly, but the soft mailer delivery could create some wrinkle problems with other fabrics:

Unfortunately, I can't show you what the dress looked like on me because the dress didn't fit!  I consulted the size chart before ordering (which helpfully includes brand-specific measurements) but the fit of this dress was way off for me.  Unlike RtR, which sends you dresses in several sizes just in case you have a fit issue, I had no alternative size of this dress and ended up just dejectedly sending it back.

Pros of Lendperk:  Variety of dresses, no need to worry about dry cleaning, WAY cheaper than RtR, many dresses include a page of helpful photos of live people wearing the dress (see, e.g., here).

Cons of Lendperk:  At least some dresses are sale purchases or past-season (see, e.g., this Anthro dress, which went on sale quite a while ago), limited selection, you are out of luck if you receive the wrong size dress, featured brands/dresses generally retail/go on sale for cheap enough that I could probably buy the ones I like for close to $50.

In sum:  I love the idea of Lendperk, and I hope it gets some kind of angel funding so that it can dramatically expand the size and current-ness of its selection.  It seems like its creator, Star Li, is a bit of an entrepreneur who has started businesses in the past, and it looks like she is developing this one to grow (and possibly be sold) as well.

As it stands now, I would probably not pay for this service unless there was a particular dress I really wanted for a random occasion and I knew I wouldn't wear the dress again after that occasion.  So, for example, let's say I was going to a garden party.  It might be worth it to get the $20 plan, rent this dress, and then cancel the plan afterwards:

Since you can cancel plans at any time, it looks like you can just pay for a plan when you feel like renting a dress and then have no further obligation to pay as long as you timely cancel.  I'd probably only do this with brands I already knew my size in, since you are a bit SOL if you end up with the wrong size.

That said, I'm generally pretty unenthusiastic about dress rental services.  I'd rather put my money towards the purchase of my own dresses that are versatile enough to wear in various contexts in my life over long periods of time instead of spending money renting a dress I don't get to keep or that I know I only want to wear once anyway.  Also, I don't particularly like seeing dresses I'd passed over in the Anthro sale section available for rent.  I would prefer to see new designs that are still full-price in stores.

(Even though I'm a member of RtR, I have yet to rent a single dress from them because HTF do you justify spending $65 --- at the low end --- on a dress that you have to give back??  That's what I spend on dresses I KEEP!  And I'm not brand-conscious enough to care if I'm wearing Harve Leger to an event or whatnot.  I suppose if I needed to go to a gala where a long dress was required perhaps I'd consider it, but even then I still think I'd rather sale shop.)

Anyway, if you'd like to try Lendperk for yourself, you can sign up for a 9 day free trial, which is good for one free dress rental.  I probably won't be using this service in the future since I'd rather develop my own closet, but I do think it's a great idea that could go far with the right investors.  

DID IT. TWICE.

 Yep.

In this Outfit:

Anthropologie Cosmos Jumpsuit (now $50 here)

Michael Kors Harness Satchel (similar in black on sale)

ALDO shoes (I freaking hate ALDO) (similar not by ALDO)

Banana Republic Cardigan (similar)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here)

Kate Spade lever-back earrings (on sale in turquoise and white)

Kate Spade Doodles Pen Necklace (similar by Marc Jacobs for $29??)

Glasses from Firmoo (NOT c/o...I have owed you an updated review for months, ack!)

(note:  these are affiliate links!)

Wore it to work on Thursday, you guys.  And it was awesome.

Thursday was the perfect confluence of jumpsuit-inducing events:  I slept late (read:  did not go to the gym; read:  did not have to pack my clothes in advance; read: had the ability to experiment in the morning); I didn't have any big meetings during the day; and I was feeling like crap from working five 70-hour weeks in a row and needed a little pampering.

Pampering in the form of a one-piece polyester hug.

I'm not really sure what I expected when I wore this to the office.  I felt like I was looking over my shoulder to see if security would come take me away.  "Ma'am, we're going to need you to come with us.  You know why."

But no, no issues.  Nobody* even looked twice.  And wow, was it comfy.  It's no secret I like work clothes that fit like pajamas, and boy did these fit the bill.

*  Except one of my office friends, who told me I looked "seventies fabulous**," and two of my other coworkers who were like, "nice jumpsuit!"

** My mom*** was excited to hear I was wearing a jumpsuit, noting that she had two of them in the actual seventies.

In fact, I liked it so much that I MAY HAVE POSSIBLY worn it on Friday too.  (I was in the DC office Thursday, the NY office Friday.)  The second time, I didn't even bother with a jumpsuit-hiding cardigan, I just strutted around in my full jumpsuited glory.  Strutted right past the chairman of the firm who was wandering the hallways.

No sir, your eyes do not deceive you.  After all, isn't a jumpsuit just another kind of suit?  Really?  Semantically?

*** Speaking of moms, my only awkward moment was walking by the "Mamma Mia" theater:

My jumpsuit was different, though.  Totally different.

Also, I almost wore it Saturday.  But I stopped myself.  Mamma mia.

I hope you all had great weekends!  What did you do?  And don't you wish you'd been wearing a jumpsuit while doing it?  (PS:  peeing was not that hard.)

*~*~*

PPS:  A reader asked me last week why I don't mention which links are affiliate links.  I don't have any reason for not disclosing such a thing --- I figured the link paths were obvious so in-line disclosure was not really needed, but I don't mind adding disclaimers to make affiliate linkage more overt.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you expect responsible blogs to handle affiliate linking.  A line at the bottom of the blog post?  A parenthetical after each link?  A short explanation in the blog sidebar?

Incidentally, what are your thoughts on affiliate links?  As a reader, I don't mind them where they add to the content (e.g., "here's what I'm wearing, and here's the same thing or something similar if you like it" -- that's a helpful resource to me as a reader and I don't mind if a blogger may get compensation for making the effort to track those links down).  I personally don't like it where bloggers just dump a bunch of affiliate links in a post with seemingly no other purpose than to drum up revenue.  A wishlist post now and again is fine by me, but too much of that and I start turning off.

So, anyway, thoughts?

Mother-Fracking #YOLO

THIS IS HAPPENING*, PEOPLE.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Note to Anthro:  this is why you need to have free shipping all the time.  I never would have tried this crazy nonsense if not for your recent free shipping promo.


*  Just maybe not happening at the office......I haven't quite figured out how to make a jumpsuit work for business casual?  This may be a bigger challenge than the maxi skirt.  (FYI, I tried black-blazering it to no avail.)

Thank you!

I have not yet had a chance to respond to comments from Saturday's post seeking advice about camping, but I wanted to say a quick "Thank you" for all of the helpful advice rendered thus far (and keep it coming, if you've got it).  You guys are fantastic and I greatly appreciate it.

(I am sooooo sorry if you don't get the reference and are grossed out, but I just could not resist)

Happy Monday!

In the Kitchen

Two things.

One:  I made a delicious and easy recipe this week that I couldn't wait to share.  It's a chorizo and kale soup recipe from PaleoPot.  It was incredibly hearty and did a great job of warming me up on a few of the cold winter nights we've had around here lately.  If you like your soups a bit spicy, you'll love this!  Vegetarians, I bet you could replace the chorizo with white beans.

Two:  I recently overhauled my tupperware cabinet and I am a better woman for it.  (You know the cabinet I'm talking about --- the one where you keep your motley assortment of plastic containers collected from Chinese take-out orders?  I am sure that isn't just a Jewish thing, right?)

Previously, it looked something like this:

(source, suggesting its own organizational method)

I found this little diddy on Amazon (for only $20, no less---now on sale for $16):

And now, I've got this:

Geez, what would I do without Amazon Prime?  Honestly.

Do you have any cabinet-organization secrets?  I want to attack my pots and pans cabinet next...

Halp me stay alive in the great outdoors!

Happy Saturday, internet!  I'm working all weekend, but I think I'll get to do all of my work from home, which is a huge improvement.  I'll take my couch, my own cooking, and sweatpants over my desk chair, Seamlessweb, and real pants any day of the week.  Thank goodness for work-from-home infrastructures, amirite?

I've got some questions for you outdoorsy/musical types.  Today, I bought tickets to Bonnaroo, a four-day outdoor music festival in Tennessee.  The line-up looks fantastic and I am SUPER-excited about going.  We're planning to camp at the site for the time we're out there.  Although a four-day camping trip may seem like a leap ("This website is still called, 'Stuff Jewish Girls Like,' isn't it?") I've been camping for short spells with other people before and liked it, and my boyfriend and I have been vaguely talking about doing some kind of one-to-two-week bike tour of a nearby state that would involve camping while on the road.  So anyway, point being, this camping thing is going to happen.

Question 1:  What sort of gear do you campers bring with you?  Any vital consumer goods I must have?  Which lanterns do you like?  Do you use air mattresses or cots?  Which?  Halp!

Question 2:  What should I look for when purchasing a tent?  It cost like $750 to rent a tent for Bonnaroo but they seem to run under $200 on Amazon, so it seems like an easy purchase.  Can you get a decent tent at that price point or do I need something that's certified for use on Everest or something?  I'm looking at this one in particular...

I figure we might as well get a tent that would sleep us along with some friends/kids for camping trips down the road.

Question 3:  Have any of you been to Bonnaroo before?  Or a multi-day music festival?  This will be my first one.  Is there anything I should know?

An Open Letter To: Women Who Leave Pee on Toilet Seats

Dear Women Who Leave Pee on Toilet Seats,

I have been meaning to write to you for quite some time now, but it's been difficult to figure out how to address this letter because who are you, really?

Are you some rare breed of woman who has never in her life walked into a public toilet stall and gazed in horror upon a messy toilet seat dripping in human urine?  Have you never felt the gut-churning disgust that comes with the realization that there is a long line to use the restroom and you are now stuck with the task of either leaving the problem for someone else or nutting up and gathering an inordinate amount of toilet paper to clean the seat while minimizing potential paper soakage and the resulting piss-on-skin exposure?

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Because if you have ever been in that situation, I struggle to comprehend how you could possibly perpetuate the ugliness that is urine on a lady's bathroom seat.

Please, women, help me understand you.  Help me to see pee on a toilet seat and feel flushed with sympathy for your plight while I, in turn, flush lots of your-pee-soaked toilet paper.  Surely this could not just boil down to the fact that you are inconsiderate, could it?

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Were you being chased?  Did you have a head start of mere seconds, leaving you only just enough time to stop and pee in a restroom but not enough time to wipe up your anxiously splattered bladder juice?

Did a small reptile emerge from the toilet and attack you mid-stream?

Do you hate other women and want them to suffer?

Was there a worse stain on the toilet seat that you considerately decided to pre-soak with nature's astringent?

Were you juggling at the time?

Is your pee endowed with magical qualities, bestowing superpowers upon anyone who touches it, and peeing on toilet seats is the only way you can think to spread your gift without exposing yourself as a genetic mutant?

Are you four years old?

Are you legally blind?

Were you blinded by rage because someone else also left pee on the toilet seat, so you just left it there/made it worse?

Do you have a very long urethra?  Perhaps it's a penis?

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I might be willing to accept any of the above scenarios.  Understanding begins with communication, Mystery Woman Who Leaves Pee on Toilet Seats.  Help me understand how a grown woman is still leaving behind a messy toilet seat.  Help me.

Because right now, I got nothing.

OOTD: Narcisso Rodriquez for Kohl's

I LOVE the designer collaboration trend. LOVE it. Even when poorly executed, I relish the idea that high-fashion designers are beginning to realize that inventive design can be made accessible at a number of price points at a great profit and without diluting the value of their brand.

The other week, Kohl's released its designer collaboration with Narcisso Rodriquez. Now, I own one piece by the regular Narcisso Rodriguez (gifted from a very lovely and generous partner who no longer wore it):

Narcisso Rodriguez Skirt (outfit here)

However, I could not resist the siren call of Kohl's 30% discount on all NR items right out of the gate, along with free shipping and a good return policy, so I placed a few items in my cart.

Here's the dress I decided to keep:

 

In this Outfit:

Rodriguez for Kohl's DesigNation (size S, although the size chart said I should have been a M) (is this seriously sold out already? I don't see it on the website)

Old Navy Sueded Pointed-Toe Flats (here) (TTS)

Kate Spade Baxter Street Priscilla Purse (on sale here)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Marci Watch (here)

Initial necklace gifted from great aunt (similar)

J.Crew Tights (similar for $13.50)

I can't tell whether this dress is flattering or not? I know that it feels like I'm wearing pajamas when I have it on, and that it's machine washable AND TUMBLE-DRYABLE and all of these things are just fine by me. I realize it's supposed to be kind of sacky, but is it too sacky? My shoes got all of the compliments when I wore this outfit to work, so I can't tell if the dress was a whiff or if it works for me.

Thoughts? I suppose I could try belting it, but that seems to defeat the sackalicious pajamarama purpose of the whole thing.

Did you buy anything from the Narcisso Rodriquez collaboration yet? Are you going to? Any collabs you are particularly looking forward to?

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30% off at Kate Spade!

In case your entire RSS feed has not already told you this, Kate Spade is having a 30% off Friends & Family sale (in stores and online, although not in outlets) this weekend!  Use code F12FFUS.  (And don't forget to sign up for eBates for an extra 3.5% cash back.)

The sale is good for both full-price and sale merchandise.  Incidentally, if you've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting one of Kate Spade's famous book clutches, now is the time because they never, EVER go on sale.  At least, they haven't in the last two years that I've been watching them.

The Pride and Prejudice book clutch I got during a prior F&F sale (here, now $228) (see full outfit entry here)

I mentioned that I've been faltering with my budgeting lately, and I just could not resist indulging in this sale.*  Anyone have some self-talk strategies for situations like this?  (Really, my biggest problem lately has been violating my own rule and clicking on links.)  My financial/budget situation is somewhat unmotivating in that I can AFFORD to buy purses at Kate Spade once in a while, and I work hard enough (and have zero-enough kids) that I feel like I want to sometimes just stupidly enjoy my money, and it only means my loans may take another quarter-month to pay off.  (Those quarter-months, of course, add up.)  I need to refocus and keep my eyes on the prize:  full repayment within four years!

I know, I know, #firstworldproblems.

*  I will admit to having a special bee in my bonnet WRT Kate Spade.  I passed up the Typewriter Clyde (pictured at right) in the F&F sale two years ago, even though it was reduced down to just under $200, because the bag seemed a bit too kitchy for daily use.  I have regretted that decision consistently since that day, and now that bag doesn't sell for less than $450 on eBay...and it only appears once a month!  The sting of that regret is still strong and perhaps biases me towards buying Kate Spade things when in doubt. :-(


Anyway, because I know you want to know, here's what I bought:

1.  Kate Spade Baxter Street Priscilla (now $140 here)
2.  Kate Spade Wordsmith Dictionary Clutch (now $250 here)
3.  Kate Spade Desert Stone Bangle (now $27)
4.  Kate Spade Doodles Pencil Necklace (also comes in purple and green) (now $38, here)

Any fun weekend plans?  Is it as (relatively) warm where you are as it is in DC?

(PS:  Thank you for all of the advice on my haircut...the appointment is Thursday, so if you happen to stumble across any photos of short haircuts you think I should see, please feel free to leave them in the comments!)

Cut my Hair! (or don't. whatever.)

It's happened.

Once every year and a half or so, I am overtaken by one urge and one urge only:

Maybe not quite this extreme, but I just want to cut ALL TEH HAIRZ.

But I always chicken out of getting something super-short, a la:

And end up with an above-shoulders bob, like so:

So I decided to crowdsource my next haircut.  Let me know in the comments what you think I should do, and know this:  I hate spending time on my hair in the morning, I hate styling products, and my unmanaged hair currently looks like this:

Yes.  Please help.

$ Ch-ch-ch-changes! $

Last week was somewhat of a milestone for me:  I've been out of law school for a whole year.  Although I've only been working since September, I've still been out of the academic bubble for more than 12 months, 365 days, 8760 hours...you get the point. 

All of this has gotten me thinking about the steps I need to be taking financially in order to prepare myself for the next stages in my life. 

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My student loan debt is astounding (I have three Ivy League degrees!), and while it's easy to keep up with the payments with my current salary (ptoo ptoo knock wood ptoo ptoo), I have not made as much headway in paying them down over this year as I would have liked.  I sort of feel as though I'm throwing small clumps of money at my loans and hoping that they will get smaller, but my funds are barely making a dent.  Who'd have thought that spending what I want on whatever I want and devoting whatever "spare" cash I have to additional payments wouldn't be doing the trick here?  Shocking, I know.

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Right now, I'm lucky not to have any financial responsibilities outside of my loans.  No children, no spouse, no mortgage.  I have a good job that pays well.  This will not always be the case.

So I'm getting serious.  My one-year real-adult anniversary seems like as good a time as any.

I've come up with an aggressive budget --- an actual budget --- with which I can devote 70% of my take-home pay to paying down my student loans.  I've still left myself with a bit of fun spending money, but it's less than 20% of what what I'd been working with before.  I don't carry any credit card debt, but I will be cutting down use of my credit card almost entirely to work-related reimburseable expenses. 

I have no idea whether I can make a budget like this happen over the long-haul, but you'll hear all about it either way.  Soup to nuts, the good, the bad, the ugly.  How about we start with the ugly?  I started with the restricted (weekly) spending budget yesterday and I'm already 40% through it.  Erm... 

And I'm pretending not to notice there's a Kate Spade sale on Gilt tomorrow.  Not fair, fate!

(this will not be in the sale, but I missed out on this bag last year and it has taunted me ever since) (cue Whitney: "and iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIiiiiIIIIiii....") (image)

All this to say, the character of my posts may change a bit.  This blog has always reflected my life, and for the last few years my life has largely consisted of frolicking in the land of in-school deferred loan payments or minimum loan payments.  I imagine now there will be a lot fewer large sale hauls (unfortunately for all of us), and there may be more posts about saving money, paying down student loans, and shopping on a limited budget.  (Really, I'm just going from one type of Jewish girl to another!)  I imagine many of us are in the same boat with student loans, although I'd bet dollars to donuts I out-loan you.

That said, I'll be easing you into this new Jewish Girl slowly --- you still have to hear about my new folding bike and my (upcoming) trip to Vegas, both of which are/will be my last bits of financial levity before most of the rest of my extra money goes towards loans. 

It is done!

Also, I'll still be wearing clothes.  I'll just be working more intently with the clothes I already have, which is probably more realistic and helpful anyway.

I think this new adventure is going to be fun, challenging, and interesting to watch (either because I'm successful or because I lose my mind and become an entertaining trainwreck and cautionary tale). 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments; if it seems like a lot of folks are interested in hearing more about the financial side of my life I will make sure to work in more posts about that subject.  If you'd rather things stay as unchanged in content as possible, I'd like to know that too. 

Let's do this!

Decision Crowdsourcing

Okay, readers, I could use your help with regard to three purchases I am currently considering. 

First:  folding bicycles. 

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I briefly mentioned this last week, but I'm now firmly in the market for a folding bike and I'm debating between an economical model (Dahon, Schwinn) or a sexy but heartshatteringly expensive Brompton.  (Come onnnnn, law firm!  Match Beat S&C's spring bonus!)  I'd love to know if you or anyone you know has any experience with a folding bicycle, particularly one of the aforementioned brands!


Second:  food processors.

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I'd like to buy a food processor.  I currently have this one and a half cup model, but I'm looking to upgrade to something large enough to handle double pie crusts.  I'm stumped at a) how many cups capacity I'll need; and b) which brand to buy.  There is an insane discrepency between, for example, Hamilton Beach ($60 for a 14-cup model with good reviews) and a Cuisinart (~$200 for a 14-cup model with slightly better reviews).  WHAT?  How are these even close to the same product?

If you have a food processor, tell me about the brand you got and what your thoughts are.  Also, how many cups do I need?


Third:  ice cream makers.

(image -- ironically from a post about making ice cream without an ice cream maker.)

(PS:  I read that blog regularly and love it!  She has some AMAZING splurge-worthy recipes (chocolate chip cookie dough brownies WHAT?).  I recently made these white chocolate coconut brownies and although I thought they came out a little wet, they got rave reviews)

Summer is coming, and I think it would be fun to try my hand at a bit of ice cream making.  I know absolutely nothing about this topic, so it would be great if you more experienced folks just toss a few recommendations at me in the comments.  Brown Eyed Baker (linked in the image credit above) has some great suggestions, but I'd love to learn more about your experience.  From a quick poll of my Facebook friends, it seems many of them disagree with BEB re: the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer ice cream maker attachment, so please weigh in on this if you can.


Thank you in advance!  To repay you, allow me to present two random product endorsements:

1)  Brother multi-function printers.  Reliable, sturdy, provide flatbed copying/scanning capabilities, inexensive (<$100), and ink is SUPER SUPER CHEAP.  As in, <$1 per cartridge (the machine takes four cartridges --- black, yellow, cyan, and magenta --- but you replace them proportionally with your use.  I.e., if you print mostly black & white, then your colors will last a long time).  I recently bought a second Brother to replace my first printer because I wanted the capacity to print directly from my iPhone/iPad, and the older models (like mine) did not have this capacity.  My current model (this one - was on sale for $99 last week) allows you to upload to evernote, flickr, picasa, facebook, google docs, and more!  My boyfriend bought a Brother for himself after using mine all year and is in love with it, too (this one - $69).

2)  Refurbished Kitchenaid Stand Mixers.  Ideeli is selling Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixers today for the low low price of $299, which caused me to smirk a bit because I discovered last year that you can buy the same mixer (in a wider variety of colors) directly from Kitchenaid for less than $200 (here).  The catch:  the models are refurbished and only come with a 6-month warranty.  However, I haven't experienced any issues with my pear beauty, and I feel like a real adult now that I finally have this seminal piece of kitchen equipment!