Why WaMu Rocks
I love lots of things. I love coffee. I love kitties. I love Spring and Summer and strawberries and cheese pizza. I also love my bank!!!
After graduating from high school, I needed a bank. That's when went to Bank of America and opened an account. They wooed me with promises they wouldn't keep. They charged me for things I didn't want. I left them for Washington Mutual and never looked back.
WaMu has been my faithful friend for nearly ten years. Waiving overdrafts and never charging me for a thing...and now, I'm in love all over again.
Free checks for life! One free overdraft a year! 3% back on all debit purchases! Could it be any better?
You Westies with WaMu know how great they are..and you Easties without WaMu access are missing out on the love!
Who loves you, WaMu? ME! ME!! And guess what? WaMu loves me back!
Spring Fever
The last night we were in Southern California back in January, Nick and I watched the sun set into the Pacific on a beach in La Jolla. Sitting on a rock wall, I said good bye to the sun, and Nick said, "See you in 5 months!" Only a small exaggeration, and after months of not-so-patient waiting, my sunshine is back!
It's amazing how the sun can change things. I feel healthier, happier, ready for anything! But, sadly, I feel like I'm the only one..
There's something in the air..something I can't figure out..but there's a lot of unhappiness around me. And I feel badly. I feel sad for my hurting friends. I feel sad that I'm feeling so happy, while so many others are in pain.
What to do? I don't know. I want to help, but sometimes helping is just not helping at all.
So, I'm sending good vibes laced with Spring Fever your way. Take as much as you need, and with hope, this too shall pass.
For The Love Of Books, Part 2
When Nick and I planned our move to Boston three years ago, we did our research about the city. We took a week-long scouting trip to our new home. We read books and online sites, and one of the things we learned was Boston was a book city. That news made the thought of leaving our beloved Powell's a bit more bearable. And then we learned the harsh reality.
While there are pockets here and there with stores that hold books, we could not find anything with the quirkiness we'd come to expect from a good bookstore. We asked newbies. We talked to locals. And guess what? The hidden gem we searched for didn't exist in the Hub. It's one of the reasons both Nick and I had a hard time ever thinking this city could be "home."
Until today.
The New England Mobile Book Fair. Have you heard of it? Have you been? Dear New Englander, if you have heard of this and forgot to tell us...FOR SHAME! And, if you've never heard of it, travel outside of your neighborhood and explore your world for crying out loud!
This unassuming shop tucked away on a side street in Needham is almost everything we miss. Quirky? Oh, yes! The possibility of getting lost in the shelves for hours? Heck yah! Will I be back? Most definitely!
NEMBF sells new books, old books, and remainders. They offer no promises in stock. They organize their stacks haphazardly. Their staff is, ah, unique. And the ways you can get lost in here are endless!
Still, it's no Powell's. It's not even a Smith Family. But, for now, it will do.
When Shopping Gods Are Smiling
Me and shopping have a love/hate relationship. Trips filled with such intent often times wind up being big miserable failures. Nothing fits right. Everything is too expensive. Summer clothes are the only things on the racks in the dead of winter. But yesterday, the fates gave me a break!
Lunch and shopping seemingly going as planned, until a trip down the right escalator landed me on destiny's doorstep. Or at least, pointed me to the right suite in the mall.
Just a week ago, I read an article in a magazine about a new hair spray I knew I just had to have..Surf Spray. It's like California in your hair, even when your thousands of miles and 3 time zones away. I knew I needed this! Could there be a more Allison hair product? Answer: Heck no!
Initial tragedy: the product is sold out on most online sites. I guess everyone else read that article obviously written for me...sigh. So, I just figured I'd wait a bit until it was back in stock.
Until my sign.
Right at the base of the escalator: "Come to our beauty salon! We sell your hair spray!"
Oh, and they did!
So now, even though it's still freakin' freezing, I have a bit of California sun and surf everywhere I go.
Ah, marketing. My love affair with you continues...
For The Love Of Books
When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in her New York apartment, her son was the one who broke the news to the world, saying simply: "She was surrounded by her friends and her family and her books and the people and things she loved."
Nearly 12 years later, there's a part of that announcement that still gives me chills. JFK, Jr. mentioned only three things specifically. Friends, family and books. Books! Amazing, inspiring books!
I will never be a person who finds inspiration at church or in a god, but I can only imagine those who do feel something similar to the way I do when I step inside a bookstore or library. No other place on Earth can you find such a range of thoughts, ideas and human emotions as you can within the walls of a place that holds books.
Books hold secrets. Books explain. Books give insight. Books hold the answers to questions and help us find our way in the world. I have a hard time expressing the sheer joy I feel when I am around books.
I spent some time this morning in my library...moving my stacks and flipping through the pages. Spending time with my books is the closest thing to peace I'll probably ever feel. Surrounded by my books is what makes me feel at home. My books inspire me...make me think, make me feel. It's for the love of the written word that I do everything that I do. It's everything that is human, and how we express that experience. It's how we related to others, and how we try to make sense of what exactly we're doing here.
How happy and at peace a girl can feel when surrounded by her books....
The Fastest Way To My Heart...
In a land of foreign food, it's nice to find the familiar. And now, it's a few miles closer. And my tummy couldn't be happier!
I'm in love with a doghouse called Spike's. A vegetarian in a hotdog house sound strange? Not here. Their veggie dogs are rockin'!!! So delish!!! So filling!!! Such a bargain!!!
For 5 bucks, a hot dog, fries and a drink are mine! All mine!!!
For the past few months, Nick and I made the trek to Student Calcutta (Allston) for these dawgs. Now, we can make the late night stop just a few blocks from the Pru.
And they're open late! So late! 1am most nights, 2am on the weekends. I will never understand why food is so hard to find late night in this town. But now I won't have to search anymore. When in doubt, find me at Spike's!
Uh-huh, the shirt says it all
Confessions of a Packrat
I have many guilty pleasures. I love reality TV. I can't get enough of Taco Bell. But my ultimate indulgence? Things to hold things.
What is it about containers? I get excited about the idea of new boxes, jars and bags to keep my treasures safe. Any container that comes into my home must be ripped from my hands before it can be sent off to recycling. Look under my sink and you'll find old plastic bags, glass jars, and tin cans all waiting for...I don't know.
Even last weekend's trip to NYC had me shopping for containers. And I got a great one! A cute little canvas bag stamped with my favorite New York bookstore's logo. (a far cry from beloved Powell's, but it will have to do for now.) Right now, it holds my book and knitting. But, oh! The possibilities!
My containers hold my treasures, my trash and bits of me. Each new container I bring into the house has potential. "What will go inside this?" Maybe the bits and pieces that make up my next inspiration? Maybe old receipts? Maybe love letters and cute little cards? Who knows! But whatever comes next will have a nice place to live, safe and sound, in a well-organized and thoughtfully-selected container.
Or it can spend some time in a cleaned out spaghetti sauce jar until I find the perfect place to hold it.
