Tuesday Loseday: Roberto is a recessionista

You don't need to understand Italian to appreciate this scene from one of my favorite movies--Il Mostro. I don't think Roberto Benigni says one word in the supermarket, but he manages to be hilarious.

Loving and Lusting: Jess LC Bags

Confession:  I used to be an impulse shopper.  I never quite reached the levels of The Girl in the Green Scarf, but I had my share of inappropriate retail therapy moments; they usually went something like this...

Oooh pretty. Shiney. New.

Me likey. 

 Cha Ching.
Joy!

I am, however, reformed.

Over the past few years, I have evolved into a very careful and thoughtful spender. I make wishlists.  I read reviews. I seek out knock-offs and imitation pieces. I scour sale pages and clearance racks. I wait and contemplate big ticket items for 3 days (sometimes more) before I fork over the dough.

I should mention that I have revised my definition of "big ticket item" to mean: items over $40.

This has led to more dollars in the bank, decreasing student loan totals, and wouldn't you know it, a more cohesive wardrobe that better expresses my personal style.

The quick thrill of an impulse buy has been replaced with the steadfast pleasure of knowing that I made a wise (and fun!) decision for not only my closet, but also my ING account.

With this is mind, I thought I would share with you an item that I am currently loving and lusting: a piece from Jess LC's new  Lake Shore bag line.

I have been lusting over this little piece of heaven since the Lake Shore line launched earlier this month, and I have decided to commit. I am convinced that this is the perfect spring tote.  It is large enough to come to work with me.  It is stylish enough to accompany me on a date, and yet relaxed enough for a Saturday full of errands.   What do you think? 

See the entire Lake Shore line here: http://www.jesslc.com/collections/lake-shore.

Later that day, I got to thinking about money.

I love Sex and the City.  It's sort of embarrassing to admit now (I'm not really sure when that happened. How does something go from being cool and fun to "so mainstream it's overdone and too cliche for the coasts, but maybe people in Iowa still like it?" Obviously, that's a topic for another column.  But with Sex and the City I'm pretty sure it happened sometime between Carrie getting broken up with on a Post It and Charlotte pooping her pants.) but I'm a big fan.  I never really got the whole "I'm a Carrie," "I'm a Samantha," thing, because obviously no one is actually as simultaneously two-dimensional and profoundly screwed up as a TV character.  If we were we could save a lot of money on therapy by just watching the movie version where they've all worked out their issues.

Apparently it was raining roses and money at SATC.

At any rate, the best part of Sex and the City was always the clothes and the clubs.  There was a time with "the girls" were actually out ahead of what was cool in fashion and in nightlife.  And the big mystery of the show was never about whether Carrie would choose Big or Aiden, or if Samantha would ever let a man love her, but rather, how in hell did Carrie afford her life?  I mean, the woman hardly works and she lives like a Hollywood starlet. (Who, incidently, also hardly work.) We've all thought about it, pondered it, debated it and analyzed it.

Luckily, one blogger, The Frenemy has generously taken the time to calculate the actual cost of Carrie's lifestyle and determined that she is $3,000,000,000,000 in debt.  Which seems like it's going to take more than just hocking Charlotte's engagement ring to get out of.  This would be a better column if it was more realistically calculated on the expense end, but at least it keeps me from thinking, "What the fuck was I thinking not becoming a writer?" Because lord knows I could write about loser men and my slutty friends if it would keep me in Manolos and Louboutins.

Thank you, Frenemy, for taking the time to do this. And it really just leaves one final question: Are relationships like a monkey circus?

xo kate