I Saw The Sign: And It Rocked My Kitchen

I’m a sucker for monograms. And also dogs and babies. But it’s not as easy to pick up a new model of those at your favorite boutique. 

So I content myself with monograms. On towels. Beach totes. You name it, I’ll monogram it ;)

What’s better than a monogram? A full on personalized item with your whole name. Like when you were a kid, spinning the drugstore rack of mini-license plates, searching for one with your name. If you were Jennifer or Lisa, you scored. If you were guru girl? Not so much.

But these days I’m in luck! Because these days there’s Etsy, aka my own personal kingdom of artists, ready to do my bidding. Now if only they had an Etsy for laundry and food prep!

My latest whim is a vintage looking sign personalized with my last name. Because I saw a similar one in a magazine featuring a celebrity kitchen, and it’s too fabulous for words.

It offers just the right touch of classic charm. And the personalization thrills my inner pre-teen. Sometimes listening to Inner Pre-Teen isn’t such a great idea. Like when she tells me to wear glittery eye shadow. Or roller skate.

But when my inner voice tells me to order up this personalized sign – a steal of a deal at $46 – I listen with no fear of regret. Or embarrassing, sparkly pictures tagged on Facebook. (Click this link.)

The Khloe Kardashian Of Clutches

                          Available at Michael's (the craft shop) for under $5. 

What’s that famous Jane Austen line? “It is a truth universally acknowledged… yada, yada, yada.”

I can never remember the rest of that darn line. Possibly because the information it contains isn’t so relevant to my life. But here’s some info that is.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that some August magazine articles – the ones that are fall staples – are a complete and utter waste of time.

The ubiquitous “Ways To Jazz Up Your Kid’s Lunch”. This peppy feature covers nothing a real kid would eat. Ever.

The even worse “Ways To Transition Your Summer Outfits To Fall Ones”. No actual cute-in-real-life outfit ever resulted from the advice offered by this article.

But sometimes magazines get it right. This month they’re all showcasing cute clutches.

Hallelujah! Have never met a cute clutch I didn’t like. Because they make you streamline your stuff for a night out. And they help you find your stuff if you throw a few in your bucket bag. Which should be more aptly named the black-hole-of-stuff bag, but I digress.

Bonus points if the purses are cheap and witty. Which these little numbers from Michael’s are! Now you get today’s title, right?

Now go out and get yourself a clutch too;)

2 Tremendous Travel Tips

These are not the travel tips. These are the dogs, who spent vacation masquerading as rockers on an album cover from the 70s. 

So on my way home from vacation Sunday I read the magazine article “Packing Hacks”. File this under the “day late, dollar short” category in my life. Because this info would have been so helpful before I went on vacation.

And left all my necklaces at home because it makes me so bitter when they end up a tangled mess at the bottom of my suitcase, alongside other travel oddities. See: hotel sewing kits, baggage tags and money from foreign locales one can’t remember having visited.

But I am happy I learned the most important Travel Tip at the beginning of summer.

If you want to stay healthy (when on germy airplanes to get to some exotic locale where you will get money you will squirrel away in the bottom of your suitcase for the next 10 years), you have to get some Neosporin antibiotic cream.

Next, you have to pop it on a q-tip and swirl it around the inside tip of each nostril. This is gross, but it will also keep germs at bay which makes the gross-ness worth it. And if you have kids or pets this act doesn’t even make the top 10 list of gross things you’ve done this week alone.

Like life with kids and pets, an illness-free vacation is worth it.

A vacation – that includes jewelry and shoes – is also an interesting idea. So I’ll share the “travel hack” info too.

1.      To pack necklaces: cut open a straw and loop the necklace through the straw to prevent tangling. Genius!

2.    To pack germy shoes: wrap them in the plastic shower caps the hotel provides. This way exotic dirt on all your clothes is not one of the souvenirs you’re bringing home.

Happy end-of-summer vacationing, guru girls & guys!