Isolation

An excellent entry: Stories from the N Train. I actually felt guilty as I read it because my reaction would probably be similiar. It's obvious we live in a fairly isolated society but is this the kind of society we want to live in? It takes a village to raise a child but what happens when the village stops caring?

Lovely links

Blueprint magazine's official blog. Exciting, since Blueprint is more targeted toward my age group. (Even though I still enjoy reading Martha Stewart Living.)

Recipe for Lemon Pound Cake. We sold lemon pound cake at a coffee shop I once worked at and it was a big, big hit. This recipe looks similiar.

I love this beautiful rug over at West Elm. That's all.

In search of the best chocolate chip cookie over at Megnut. Readers have been posting their best recipes in the comments section. Mmmmm. I do love chocolate chip cookies but I'm even a bigger fan of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, which receive very little attention in comparison.

Indian version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

(Link via dooce.)

R.I.P. my bright green Crocs

A certain someone wasn't able to handle the sight of my green Crocs and after wearing them nonstop their brightness and the constant reminder of Kermit became too much for even me. So, I retired my old pair of Crocs today and picked up a new pair of Mary Janes in black. They don't stand out but like other Crocs, are comfy as can be. I didn't see any of the Spring line of Crocs at the store but you can check them out here.

Oh, and in case you didn't figure it out the above photo is of my old Crocs. I am pictured wearing them on the ferry to Mackinaw Island.

Trendy subject matter on flickr's Explore page

As a lover of flickr I try to keep an eye on flickr's Explore page. (For best viewing I go to the individual day and browse the photos.) The Explore page is the best of the best. The top 500 photos of the day, even though rankings are always changing. I've checked the Explore page enough times now that I've noticed certain trends in what makes a photo popular. I've put together my list below. Also, I realize there are exceptions to the rule and this list is based on my opinion alone. Anyway, on with the list.

Trendy subject matter on flickr's Explore page:

Landscape, picturesque scene (think lake with mountain in background)

Sunsets/Sunrises/the Moon

Flowers

Sexy/Erotic women (often in very little clothing)

Cute child (often a girl)

Babies

Dogs/Cats (additional points for kittens/puppies)

Birds (usually a close up shot of a single bird taken from a telephoto lens)

Horses

Apple products (often iPods or the newest Apple product of the moment)

And have I ever made it into the top 500? Why, yes, I have. Here are the three photos that have brought me flickr fame:



Interesting enough, the three photos provide support for my list above. Photos of dogs appear to be well received. I used Scout to find the photos of mine that have been on the Explore page.

Questioning customer service

Today I had a bad experience with customer service and my thoughts started drifting… Why is it coffee baristas are typically trained to treat their customers like royalty but when one wants to go elsewhere the customer service becomes questionable? I can order a latte at Starbucks and be treated like Queen Elizabeth II, but when I go to pick up my contact lenses I am treated like the least important person in the universe. I work at an independent coffee shop and know I would remake someone a drink 50 times over until the customer was satisfied. I’ve also worked for corporate coffee shops that share the same policy. I’m starting to wonder, are coffee shops going to be one of the last places on earth where excellent customer service exists?

(By the way, I realize there are horrid baristas out there who dish out bad customer service on a daily basis but I’ve found this to be incredibly, incredibly rare.)

On a related noted, make sure to check out the Get Human database. (Link found over at Hygge House.)

Scary fashion

In the quest of looking for dresses to wear to my brother's wedding I ended up looking on Amazon. After all, they have an entire section on Women's Dresses.

My search has ended. Here are are a few (of many) dresses I won't be wearing to my brother's wedding:





Scary? I know.

Lip coverage

Lip balm gets a lot of coverage on flickr. Here are my favorite lip balm related finds via flickr:

260+ bottles of lip balm, a very impressive (if not slightly scary?) display.

My favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor has made it into a lip balm? Cool.

I carry lip balm with me everywhere I go, but tend to forget about it. I know it doesn't count as lip-balm but I stand by Carmex as a favorite.

Life in Alaska?

"Anderson, a little town in Alaska's interior, has no gas station, no grocery store and no traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land — and it's free to anyone willing to put down roots in the often-frozen ground."

Click here to read the full article.

I've been to Alaska twice (despite having limited travel experience) and I would love to own a house. Maybe life in Anderson, Alaska would offer this opportunity? To make it work I would need a high speed Internet connection and a coffee shop nearby. Also, my house would have to be built with proper heating. The article mentioned Anderson reaches 60-below and my tolerance for cold is weak… I like comfort. I would make sure to have a fireplace in my house or I would borrow this DVD as a substitution.

Wedding style

I was browsing Brides.com and simply fell in love with the images used on the site. I pulled out three of my favorites and have included them below. I think I'm drawn to romantic, fairy tale imagery in terms of wedding style.





I like this dress best (worn by the girl on the left):

Talk of Harry Potter Book 7

Please note: If you are not current with the Harry Potter series you should probably skip this entry. Spoilers ahead.

Borders is playing up the Snape controversy in order to promote Book 7. I agree with the sign: "Trust Snape." I know one can make the argument Snape is really a bad guy but I have a feeling JK Rowling doesn’t want to go in that direction. Yes, there is a certain ambiguity to his character but as the stories advance a more positive side of Snape appears to be coming through. And I just don’t think he is bad. I trust Snape.

Yellow options

Outside the sun is shining and for whatever reason I find myself at my laptop pondering what I will wear to my brother's May wedding. Because you know, the matter is of dire importance. I'm sure amidst the hundreds of guests someone will be looking over and thinking, "She wore that?"

Going with the yellow theme, I'm smitten with this dress from Anthropologie:


With these shoes (also from Anthropologie):



I like it because the outfit doesn't scream yellow but still manages to include the color. Lately I've also been reading, Style Me Pretty - The Ultimate Wedding Blog, for ideas. The blog is beautiful and satisfies my girly girl needs.

JavaPop

JavaPop is the world's first organic coffee soda. It comes in five different flavors: mocha, hazelnut, caramel, vanilla and espresso. Hmmm. While I don't know if the coffee and soda world are meant to mix, I'm sure I'll be looking for this product on my next trip to Whole Foods.

Saving the world

"And if you really want to help fight AIDS in Africa, instead of buying that (RED) Gap t-shirt for which Gap will donate 50% of its profit to The Global Fund, buy a cheaper one at American Apparel and send the $13 difference to the Global Fund yourself."

Excerpt from Spending to Save.

The Whole Foods debate

"Since opening its first store in Austin, Tex., in 1980, Whole Foods has grown from a small business to a mega-chain with 193 stores, capping its rise last week with a deal to acquire the 110 stores of its largest rival, Wild Oats."

Click here for the full article: Is Whole Foods Straying From Its Roots?

I shop at Whole Foods but not for completely environmental reasons. I enjoy being inside the store. Browsing their gourmet and specialty products. Eating from their deli or hot pizza bar. I also love their chocolate and tea aisle (which is the same aisle at my Whole Foods), where I spend the most time in the store. I don’t go to Whole Foods in order to save the planet and I think this makes my trips there easier for me. But I do listen to the Whole Foods debate. It will be interesting to discover what the future for Whole Foods holds.

Also, on a side note the customer service at Whole Foods tends to be terrific but the customers inside the store tend to be a little wound-up. Okay, maybe wound-up isn’t the word I’m looking for. It’s rude. The customers tend to be rude. I’m not the only one who has noticed this and I don’t entirely get it. Shouldn’t buying organic, cage-free eggs be enough to make anyone happy?