The Late Bird Gets the Shoes

The early bird gets the worm, but the latecomer can get something even better. While the early bird has a greater chance of getting what she wants, the one who waits can get great discounts...if that special something is hasn't sold out.

I've been eyeing a couple of pairs of shoes for quite some time, just waiting for them to go on sale at the end of summer. Unlike a lot of my fellow Californians, I'm really not much of a flipflops person. Since I don't have very many pairs of flat summer sandals, that was something I looked out for. A pair of Pour La Victoire "Nannette" sandals caught my eye. I first saw the hot pink version of it in a magazine; the shoes sure look hot, but the price tag ($150 for a pair of sandals) didn't. It is good that I'm not much of an impulse shopper, because I changed my mind about the hot pink. It's fun and it's different from what I have, but in the end, I figured that a more practical color would be better.

One day I decided to search for the sandals on Amazon, since I've heard many people get good deals on shoes. Sure enough, the sandals I was looking for came up at 70% off. However, since I've been buying quite a few pairs of shoes lately, I didn't want to spend another $45 on shoes just yet. Holding off turned out to be a wise idea--after another week or so went by, the sandals were now 80% off ($32). Since Amazon had free shipping for orders over $25, it was an even better deal. I just got them today, and I love them. The weather has suddenly cooled down after weeks of 90-degree temperatures, but I won't be surprised if I'll be putting these on again soon.

Another pair of shoes I purchased is something that is worth every penny. I have a penchance for pieces that are classy but just a little edgy. Since I've had to dispose of 2 pairs of very worn-out pumps (not very professional when threads are exposed), I wanted another pair of heels that can be worn for work or play in the summer. When I saw the black version of these Loeffler Randall slingbacks, I loved them. Unfortunately, I didn't love the price quite so much. Around the time I found the sandals above, I found the white version of the shoes in my size at, curiously enough, Neiman Marcus's Last Call Clearance section online. They are some $300 cheaper than retail, and at least $50 less than the sale prices I've seen. Since shipping isn't cheap, I decided to bookmark it and come back later. Sure enough, a "free shipping at any price" promotion came along a week later, and I kenw it was time to bite. Good thing I did, too--it was the last pair.


Like Hebden, I also have a thing for studs. I don't care so much for the studded collars and punked-out belts, but I love it when studs are more subtle and makes something classic a little more rock and roll. This achieves the perfect effect.

During the hot days, I've been wearing the shoes as intended. However, the reason I wanted the white instead of the black version is this: I knew they would look great in colder weather when paired with black tights. They really do stand out.

Work:

Play:

[Above: my own Poppyseed necklace, Target black top with side tie, Forever 21 cardigan, Alice + Olivia pants with white piping, Loeffler Randall slingbacks. // Below: Love Ya-Ya tunic/minidress, scarf sewn by me, Da Nang cargo jacket, black tights, Loeffler Randall slingbacks]

Ooh. Pretty.

Ain't she pretty? And she's lightning-fast, too. And, of course, affordable.

Up in Smoke

The laptop that I've been using for the past 4+ years has quite literally gone up in smoke. It's not so dramatic as a great blaze of glory, but there was quite a bit of smoke.

Last night I was duly shutting it down when I suddenly heard a "pop," follow by a puff of smoke coming out from a vent on the bottom side of the laptop and and acrid smell of burning insulation. Fortunately, my computer continued to shut down and completed the shutdown, so I think I should be able to safely recover the data on the hard drive. However, I wasn't going to do so by turning the computer back on to transfer files. The computer was pretty much toast.

Under normal circumstances, I would have spent a lot of time researching and I probably would have bought online. Ever since an initial bad experience with buying a computer in a chain electronics store, I tried to avoid said stores like the plague. This time, however, I really didn't have much of a choice. Given the nature of my work and my shuttling back and forth between multiple locations to get work done, I really do need a laptop, and I need it fast--there's no time to wait for shipping. Needing it fast puts me at a great disadvantage in terms of getting a good deal--as a friend said, I was basically buying a computer under duress. Fortunately, because I knew my computer had been on its last legs for a while, I did a little bit of thinking about what I want from my new computer. While the ideas were not as concrete as it was during my first laptop purchase, it nonetheless helped me make a good decision on the fly. More importantly, I got some very wise technical counsel in the form of my friends.

I was advised by some to buy a laptop from Costco due to their generous return policy; if what I bought didn't work out, at least I bought myself some time to do research and find a computer that I really want. I agree that it is a good approach, as a majority of chain electronic stores do not accomodate the try-after-you-buy grace period--a hefty restocking fee is usually slapped on those who are dissatisfied with the product. With these points in mind, I headed to Costco to check out the laptop selection. Unfortunately, the laptops were not appealing to me at all--they were either too big and heavy or small yet expensive.

Next, I followed up on a lead that a tech-expert friend found. He told me about a couple of HP laptops at Office Depot, which would end up being $600 after rebate plus tax. The smaller of the two seemed perfect on paper--it is lightweight, which is an important criterion, yet it has enough juice to do what I need. Better yet, it has all the extras my old computer didn't have, and it costs less. I went to one Office Depot store to see the machine in person, and it is just perfect for me. Unfortunately, it appears to be perfect for a lot of people as well--that store location did not have any in stock other than the floor model, and the same goes for other stores in the area except one store, which had the last laptop in stock. I immediately asked that lone machine be held for me, and drove like mad to get there before the store closed.

I'm completely exhausted by the hours of driving I did (both for work and for chasing down all the necessary computer equipment), as well as the time it took to minimally set the computer up for my use. I will feel a lot better once I can get my old laptop's hard drive in an enclosure and get the important data out. But so far, I'm quite happy with the new laptop. As the icing on the cake, the "special edition" laptop has pretty designs on it, too. Pictures will come later.

[UPDATE: Yay! My hard drive is OK after all. Quite a bit of a scare when I couldn't get data off of it at first, but it turned out to be a couple of bent needles.]

Dime vs. Time

I decided to drive by Philippe's after work today. It was a media frenzy, with lots of news vans parked out front. I knew the line was going to be long, but holy smokes! The line went from the front of the door to around the back through the parking lot, where the line proceeds to spill out onto the sidewalk of the side street. It then goes all the way down the block, and then rounds the corner and goes almost entirely down the very long block.

If I didn't have to go home and do more work, and if time wasn't an issue, it would have been fun to wait around. But all that waiting wouldn't have been worth it in the end.

Tired and hungry, I ended up getting a Whopper. To my chagrin, the price has gone up a lot higher than I thought.

Yes, I am one grumpy foodie tonight.