Fourth of July Weekend

A little late, but here are some pics from the Fourth of July. We spent that weekend at my parents' condo on Lake Norman, near Charlotte, NC. It's spectacular even the most ordinary circumstances, but the Fourth was amazing. We saw tons of firework and add to that a bunch of beer and wine and a meal consisting solely of ribs and dessert, and we were pretty happy.








And finally, there were the baby ducks. So. freaking. cute. There were 8 of them and they came around periodically to be fed, so we'd hold some bread over the wall and they'd jump out to get it out of your fingers:

And that, along with a LOT of rain, was our Fourth of July weekend and it was fabulous.

Totally Necessary

I really don't need this and I haven't even been looking at mobiles to purchase, but I recently got an email from Kiln Enamel saying that their mobiles are 50% off. And now I really want the one on the left. It reminds me of dogwood blooms in the spring.


Chris says I need a new mobile phone before I need a mobile. Which may be true. But I hate talking on the phone and I really like this. We shall see.

Oh and in case anyone just wants to go ahead and buy this for me, you can get it at Kiln Enamel for 50% off with the code "mobile".

Al Gore, Eat Your Heart Out

In general, I wouldn't say that Chris and I are die-hard environmentalists, but we do like to at least be semi-concious about the things we buy, what they're made of and packaged in, and how we can be less wasteful. We do what we can here and there and that includes making small changes when they're within a price-point that seems reasonable.


So, anyway, I recently found these toothbrushes on a blog somewhere in the world wide internets (can't remember where) and they looked cool, so I bought some at Trader Joe's. Amazon has them for $17.93 for six (about $3 a piece--comparable to other toothbrushes, I think) and Trader Joe's also sells them for about $2.50 apiece.


The handles are made out of 100% recycled materials, mostly recycled yogurt cups. And they're totally recyclable when you're done too--you just send them back in a little pre-paid envelope and the company recycles them. The company also makes razors, which I'll have to look into when I'm done with my Costco-sized quantity of razor blades.


Anyway, if that isn't all tree-huggery enough for you, we've also been using this:

Tom's of Maine Cinnamon-Clove toothpaste. It tastes pretty good, although I actually think I like their Fennel flavor just a bit better. It's very fennel-y. It's a nice change from regular old mint toothpaste.


Okay, off the high horse for now.

A Happy Accident

The above shoes? They're mine. You like them? So do I. You know that thing that cats do when the rub their cheek next to something to mark it with their scent glands? Well, I did that.

I was originally going to order the shoes that I had posted in my summer wishlist. Actually, I thought I did order them and it turns out I almost did, but I forgot to hit "Confirm" or whatever to actually finalize the transaction on the website and so like a week later when I was wondering when my shoes would finally arrive, I checked the Piperlime website and found out that I actually hadn't ordered the Seychelles sandals and they were sold out by that point. Got it? Okay. So, then I decided I really needed some chunky sandals for the summer to go with skirts and dresses and whatnot and my tummy hurt and I figured what better way to cure a tummy ache than buying shoes? So I ordered these. They were 20% off already and then I had a coupon code for another 20% off and shipping was free, so I bought them. And then I took a Pepto Bismol, and you know what? My stomach stopped hurting. So see? See Chris? Buying shoes does cure a stomach ache.

Oh yeah, the shoes also come in green and I adore them, but my size was sold out.

So Worth It

I went to The Fresh Market the other day on my lunch break to pick up some shrimp for dinner and since they always have a great selection of chocolate, I had to check out their goods before I left. I ended up picking up these two chocolate bars from Vosges.

The Barcelona bar is milk chocolate with sea salt and roasted almonds. And the Creole bar is dark chocolate with chicory coffee and cocoa nibs. In other words, they were both heaven.

At $7 a piece, they're not the cheapest chocolate bars, but they were totally worth it. I'm dying to try some of the truffles they have listed on their website, especially some of the exotic ones. Mmmmm.....

Summer Wish List

I want it all...

Seriously?

Eew. Not only does it scream "label-whore" but it's not even cute. Who wears this crap?

Blackberry Sage Ice Cream

It isn't officially summer yet, but it's been warm and pleasant and that's a good enough reason for me to make homemade ice cream. In fact it's better this time of year because making ice cream requires standing over a hot stove for a little while and that really sucks when it's 90 degrees and 90% humidity.

So anyway, last weekend I made Blackberry and Sage ice cream. Ever since I made Cherry Basil ice cream last summer, I've wanted to try my hand at other fruit/herb combinations. The Blackberry Sage had a wonderful flavor--tart and sweet from the blackberries, but with a subtle herbal/citrusy backdrop.

Here's how I made it (I use The Best Recipe's vanilla ice cream without the vanilla as a base and then make adaptations from there):

Blackberry Sage Ice Cream

4 egg yolks
1.5 cups heavy cream (heavy cream really does work best, the consistency is off with light cream)
1.5 cups whole milk (I used soy milk in this recipe, since that's all we had around the house)
3/4 cup sugar
About 1 cup pureed blackberries
6 sage leaves

• In a pan over medium heat, heat the cream, milk, and 1/2 cup sugar to about 175 degrees.
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and remaining sugar.
• Once the cream mixture has reached 175, use a large ladle to spoon the cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir constantly. Gently spoon in another ladle-full of the heated cream mixture and stir. Then slowly pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture on the stove, stirring constantly.
• Heat the mixture on the stove to about 180-185 to cook the egg yolks, stirring constantly.
• When the temperature has reached 185, pour the mixture into an ice bath and add the sage leaves. Once cool, place in the refrigerator for several hours.
• After several hours of cooling, remove the sage leaves from the ice cream base and stir in pureed blackberries. (The blackberries should be kept in the fridge too.)
• Add the ice cream base to the ice cream maker and in 20 minutes, the ice cream should be thick.
• Pour the ice cream into a separate container, cover with plastic wrap and leave to set in the freezer for at least two hours.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

Last night I was in my aerobic/kick-boxing class, feeling pretty good about things, and actually even having fun.

And then.

Pop! My back goes out. It was that sharp, shooting, breath-taking, I'm-not-going-to-work-tomorrow kind of pain. Good times. Really fun.

I managed to grab my stuff and get myself into the car and drove home where Chris got me a heating pad.  I popped 5 Advil and a beer, which helped (although I'm sure that can't possibly be good for one's liver).  Now I'm on some muscle relaxers. They're doing the job nicely, but they certainly make me feel...slow. And dumb.

Not really not much point to this post. I'm just bored. Daytime tv really sucks, if you have had the misfortune of being at home during a workday. And I'm mad because now I probably won't be able to make it back to the gym for a few days, which means I'm not able to watch "What Not To Wear" on the treadmill because the gym has TLC and we're cheap and we don't. Grrr.

Super Saturday

You know those American Express ads where they ask celebrities to describe the perfect day? Well I think yesterday was my perfect day. We woke up around 8:30 (not too early, not too late) and decided that since we were out of coffee at the house, we'd walk to our nearby Starbucks, which is 2 miles away. The trees are completely filled in now and the weather was perfect: 70 degrees or so. So we grabbed some iced coffee and a half pound of the Pike's Place Blend and walked back home.

Then we made our way to the State Farmers' Market and had a hell of a time. We bought locally raised beef, chicken, and lamb, some pork barbeque for lunch, and a ton of produce: lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beets, and these babies, a quarter of which are being made into ice cream as I type:

Then we came home, read some magazines, made dinner (lamb chops, asparagus, and roasted beets), and watched Lars and the Real Girl, which I highly recommend.

On tap for today: a little cleaning around the house and some gardening. The weather is perfect for working in the yard and the mosquitos aren't out yet. I love this time of year.

OMG

I need these in my life:

We still haven't figured out what to do with our tax refund. It might just be my patriotic duty to buy these. Hmmm...

I Want One

I don't know if it's the economy or what but I just haven't felt like shopping lately and I haven't really seen too much out there that's intrigued me.

But I really like these:
It's called the "Take Away Bird Feeder" by Eva Solo and it's $60 from Greener Grass Design. I'd buy one if I felt assured that our hyperactive 8 year old nextdoor neighbor wouldn't break it.

Week Four

Goodbye Junk!

I just finished Week 4 of the Apartment Therapy Home Cure and things are moving right along. This week was all about decluttering and cleaning the living room and getting rid of unused books, CDs, and movies.

Here's what we've been up to the last two weeks or so:

• Replaced some old favorite VHS tapes with DVD versions (sounds odd, but they take up a lot less space and you get to see the special features).
• Recycled a ton of old Real Simple and Elle Decor magazines (I ripped out the articles and pictures I liked and recycled the rest).
• Took to Goodwill: a vase, a mirror, a knife of Chris's, a deep fryer, some old beach towels, and some other odds and ends.
• Reorganized the hallway closet last weekend, purging expired medicines and old/unused linens, candles, and vases.
• Removed half the keys from my keychain (not related to the Home Cure at all, but it felt good to do that).
• Hemmed the curtain in the master bedroom (took all of 5 minutes, not sure why I put it off for 4 years...)
• Repainted the master bedroom.

I'm really happy with the way the master bedroom looks now. I liked the turquoise originally, but lately it just felt like an assault on the eyeballs:

The new paint color just feels a lot more soothing. I eventually want a window above the chair to look out over the wooded backyard, but for now I'm satisfied with it as it is.

Originally I wanted to get a quilt from John Robshaw, but I swung into Home Goods a few weeks ago and found one that was ridiculously close to the JR one and it was only $59, instead of $315. So you can guess which one I went with. Yes, it's made in China and I'm sure the quality isn't the same, but it's really hard to argue with that price difference, so I'm sticking with the Home Goods quilt.

The tasks for this coming week are mostly in the home office: cleaning over, under, and behind stuff; purging files; and organizing.

Spring is here

Sorry to the family in Michigan:

A few things I want right now

There hasn't been a lot that I've been really loving this spring in terms of fashion, but here are a few things I think are particularly lust-worthy.

I have two black purses, but neither of them are quite right. They're either too big or too small, but this may be just right! I have a 15% off coupon for Hayden-Harnett and I'm really tempted. Maybe next month though.

Love this top. It's backordered until April 15, which actually isn't that far away now. I might have to buy it.

These I wish I could buy. But I can't really envision spending almost $200 on green peep-toe Mary Janes. Oof.

I really love the shape of this Eva Zeisel sauceboat. I'd use it as a catch-all for keys, not for sauce.

A domino magazine rant

There was a mass rant a few weeks ago on Decorno's blog (which I just found and now I'm hooked on) about domino magazine. It used to be so great when it first came out and still is one of the best home decor magazines around, especially for people that aren't 80, but lately it's gotten away from decor and instead has moved toward makeup and fashion and other stuff which most readers can (and do) find in other magazines (that do this much better than domino). So, the editor of domino chimed in on the rant and promised things would be getting better soon. So I was hopeful.

Until the magazine arrived.

I really wish I had a picture to show you. I'm not sure words adequately describe this spread and all its ridiculousness. There is a 3-page spread on organizing your purse. Not just organizing your purse, but "elegantly curating" it so that is "telegraphs both style and put-togetherness." What does this have to do with home decor, you ask? I'm not sure.

Then the article goes on to show "four impossibly chic ways" to organize your purse. Uhhh...okay....but do I care what the inside of my purse looks like? Not really.

Then they named the looks of the different organized-purse-combinations. So your purse can telegraph the image of a "High-End Bohemian," an "Executive Punk" (whaaa?), a "Girl About Town," or an "Art Student." (The introductory image unfortunately doesn't have a name, but the purse and its contents would set you back a mere $4,798, which includes a $3,275 Cartier pen.)

The "Executive Punk" look had me laughing out loud though. The descriptions of the items are particularly great. The makeup bag is "a posh stash for your smokey-eye arsenal--and even black nail polish." And the little pink notebook is "a neon holder for all your subversive musings." Because all the executives I know are super subversive.

I dunno. I just wish they'd move away from this bullshit and get back to what they're good at.

Week Two

We're now finishing up with Week Two of the Apartment Therapy Cure. The tasks this week were to clean the kitchen from top to bottom; create room for an "outbox"--a holding place for things you're thinking about getting rid of; clear one surface in your house and use the outbox; and fix one thing yourself.


Yesterday I took a huge box of books to the used bookstore and got rid of a bunch of foam leftover from my reupholstery project, a bunch of miscellaneous junk, and my old laptop from college.


Since I had the day off yesterday, I sanded and started to repaint the old kitchen cabinet doors, which will be repurposed in the pantry. Hopefully I'll have those done tomorrow so they'll be ready to hang. It's only taken me like two months to get to it.


This process is helping me realize that I'm the Queen of Unfinished Projects. I have a lot of ambition when it comes to my house and I get a lot done. But I get like 99% of a given project done, then feel satisfied enough, and then stop. So as a result, our house has more than its share of materials for these unfinished projects. I'm hoping these 8 weeks will help me get some of those projects done.


Last weekend I was able to finally finish reupholstering my chair. It's not the greatest job in the world, but I think it looks better than before.


Before (it was a yucky green color and the fabric was scratchy):



After (I'd maybe like to play around with the fabric near the arms to see if I can get it a bit tighter):

Our trash collectors are going to hate us

I've decided to participate in this Spring's 8-week Apartment Therapy Cure. (I know we live in a house and not in an apartment, but I don't think they're going to kick us out for that.)

I didn't really think our house was in too much need of help, especially since we've remodeled the master bathroom and the kitchen, but when I took photos of the house? Oh. my. god. We have a lot of stuff. I don't know if it's because we've lived here almost 4 years, or because we have pack-rat tendencies, but we've accumulated a lot. Far more than I ever remember purchasing.

This week's tasks were to:

1. make a complete list of repairs and solutions (see below)
2. vacuum and mop floors (today's project)
3. remove one item from the house and put it outside or donate it (I'm getting rid of my old stereo from high school and college)
4. buy fresh flowers (done)
5. sit for ten minutes in a part of your home that you never sit in for new perspective (done)
6. look into Earth friendly cleaning products (done).

So here's our to-do list. A lot of this is not going to get done in the 8 week cure, but I'm hoping to at least get rid of a lot of junk around the house and fix some things that have been bugging me.

1. Add hook to entry-way closet for scarves
2. Finish reupholstering living room chair
3. Buy a new entertainment center
4. Declutter bookshelf in living room
5. Refinish and install cabinet doors in pantry
6. Sell books to used book store and donate the rest to the library
7. Sell some cds and store the rest
8. Purchase organizer for gift wrap
9. Fix windows in guest room and office so they can be opened.
10. Insulate attic pull-down
11. Install new showerhead in guest bath
12. Install crown molding in guest room and office
13. Hem curtain in master bedroom
14. Install bamboo blind in kitchen
15. Install new screen doors
16. Fix crack in wall in master bedroom
17. Hang full length mirror
18. Get rid of under-the-bed clutter
19. Remove most tools and paint supplies from guest room closet

There is just a LOT of stuff to get rid of: old cell phones, books, scraps of paper, cds, half-used candles, etc. Our trash collector is going to hate me for this.

Can I have a do-over?

Last weekend was glorious. Really, really splendid. It was the first weekend in forever where we didn't have anything that HAD to be done. So hubbykins and I went to the farmers' market on Saturday, cooked great food, and strolled around downtown on Sunday to buy good coffee and sit for a beer.

Veggies from the state farmers' market

Cool sign across the street from the Hibernian (I liked the font)

Guiness

This weekend, however, could not have been more different. I've had the flu and ran out of tissues only to realize we the only toilet paper we had left in the house was single ply, which we still have leftover from a massive Costco-sized mistake. Even though we've since gotten real tissues in the house, I think my nose still might fall off. Fun.

Anyway, despite feeling totally crappy, the light outside our house yesterday evening was spectacular.

Okay, must lay down again. Hope your weekend was better than mine.

Dispelling any notions that I have good taste

I just downloaded the following songs:

• Easy Lover (Phil Collins)
• Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson)
• Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
• ...and here comes the kicker...Against All Odds (Phil Collins)

I think it's fair to say I have ZERO street cred.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Source: About.com

So, I keep seeing things on tv and gossip blogs about The Jonas Brothers and I really have no idea who they are (probably because I'm no longer 14). I don't think I've heard them sing before(probably a good thing) and I just feel utterly clueless when I see pictures of them, like they're a joke I just don't get.

Anyway, the one thing that's bugged me about them, aside from being ridiculously over-styled and sensitve-looking, is that I swear I've seen them before. I've put more time into thinking about this than I care to admit.

And then it came to me.

Source: taringa.net

Good luck to you, Jonases.

Sigg Water Bottles

I ordered these water bottles last week for the two of us and aren't they pretty? I ordered them because working out without a water bottle kinda sucks.

They're 100% aluminum, so they're recyclable when/if they ever give up. My only complaint is that the screw top seems like it'll be a pain, but I just ordered sports tops for them. Life can go on now.

I Want Them All

These are the Sugar Stacks rings that Paloma Picasso has designed for Tiffany and I love them all. Too bad the cheapest of the lot is $995. And naturally I think two or three would look best stacked together. File this under "Not Gonna Happen."

My Favorite of All Time

You know where it's from.

Helpful Hints from Lindsey

Should you find yourself ever looking for a job, here are some helpful hints on submitting a resume straight from a person who will have to read that garbage:

1. If you don't have much work experience to go on, listing relevant college courses is fine. "Relevant" means that you probably shouldn't include your A+ in Hip Hop Dance.
2. Being "proficient with Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Hotmail" does not qualify you for an IT job.
3. Put your name on your resume. It's helpful. Actually, I take that back. If you're dumb enough not to put your name on your resume, then leave it off. That saves me from having to interview you.
4. Don't use Comic Sans and your font of choice. Not for a Communications Director position. Or any position, for that matter. Actually, I take that back. See #3 for details.

I Can Has Backsplash?

This will go down as yet another weekend in which I'm actually relieved to go to work on Monday because it means I get to sit down. (Seriously, this happens all. the. time.)

Chris and I tiled the backsplash this weekend and it was actually a pretty easy. Sooooooo much easier than tiling the bathroom.

Anyway, we did a lot of tiling on Saturday then finally grabbed dinner at Pei Wei and settled down for an evening of watching "Dances With Wolves." Somehow we ended up with the extended director's version. I guess the original is long enough, but did you know that the extended version is about 5 hours long? I didn't. We're halfway done. Good movie, just long. And it's not fast-paced, by any means.

Then today, we got up and started tiling at 8:45 am. I'm not joking. We took a break around noon to eat and then tiled some more and then took another break around 2 to go to the gym. Read that again: we took a break. to go to the gym. Something is wrong with us. Then we tiled some more.

What kind of backsplash did we have prior to the tiled backsplash? None. None at all, unless you count really, really greasy drywall. And I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.

Anyway, to remind you of what this kitchen looked like in October:


Pretty bad, huh?

Here's what it's looking like now (imagine angels start singing here):


Again, before:

After (more singing):

It's still not 100% finished, but it will be this week. Very, very exciting. Then I can have my life back. To celebrate, I made myself a drink: equal parts vodka and pomegranate liquor garnished with some pretty sugar and some pomegranate seeds because I'm feeling extra festive.

Anyway, the drink is gone now and I'm feeling quite buzzed. I was going to write a letter of recommendation for a former coworker this evening, but now I'm thinking that's not such a good idea. Unless he wants to get rejected from the Peace Corps.

I think this is what they call "having issues"

I made Meyer Lemon and Blackberry cupcakes (recipe below). I frosted each cupcake with icing from "The Joy of Cooking"--basically 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice--then topped each one with a sliver of lemon peel.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1⁄2 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. salt
1⁄4 cup zest and juice of one Meyer lemon
3⁄4 cup buttermilk (I actually used applesauce instead and it worked just fine)
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
3⁄4 cup orange blossom honey*
2 large eggs
1⁄2 pint blackberries (the original recipe calls for raspberries, but blackberries were just as good)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Combine lemon zest and juice, and buttermilk/applesauce in a separate bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add honey and mix well. Then add eggs, one at a time.

Add half of the reserved dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.

With mixer running on low, slowly add the lemon mixture. Add remaining dry ingredients until combined. Gently fold in raspberries. Fill paper-lined muffin tins 2⁄3 full. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack, then ice.

Dude.

I Can Has Cheezburger? cracks my shit up.

27, Yo

It's been a wonderful birthday this year. I took today off work because it's my birthday and because Chris gets MLK day off, so I figured I'd give myself a three-day weekend that we could both enjoy together.

Saturday, we were supposed to have this MONSTER snowstorm. Two to four inches is what they were predicting, and instead we got a slight dusting. Kind of a bummer that we didn't get more, but I'm just happy that we got a little taste of snow this year. Because of the dire weather predictions and knowing that the roads here could be a mess because people can't drive in rain, let alone snow, we decided to stay in most of Saturday. I got a lot of cleaning and decluttering done, and that's just the kind of thing that makes a homebody like me quite happy.

Chris and I got back from the mall, got cleaned up and headed out for dinner. We went to Jibarra and it was one of those things where as soon as we walked in the door, we knew we were in for a good experience. They didn't have a table immediately available for us, so we had some drinks at the bar. I had the Pear-Cilantro Margarita and Chris had the Blood Orange Margarita. Both were awesome.

When we were seated for dinner, we opted to get a bottle of the Moet White Star, which ended up being the perfect compliment to both our meals, despite the fact that our meals couldn't have been more different. I had the Fajita de Arrachera (grilled Premium Angus Beef Skirt Steak served with sautéed bell peppers, onion, and tomato on top of corn tortillas and black onion-ash oil with a cactus paddle salad) and Chris had the Ravioles de Huitlacoche (homemade Huitlacoche [Mexican Truffle] ravioli in a creamy cheese-epazote sauce and pan seared wild-caught scallops). Both dishes were unreal. The steak for my fajitas was tender and the scallops from Chris's dish were like buttah and practically melted in your mouth. So. good.

We wrapped the evening up with dessert. I had the Buñuelos con Cremas (a small tower of crunchy flour sheets served with two fruit pastry creams and fresh fruits finished with piloncillo syrup) and Chris had the Mil Hojas de cajeta y plátano (thousand layer cake of puff pastry with a caramelized goat milk reduction and escabeche plantain ice cream). I wish we had taken pictures of everything.

On today's agenda: gym visit, reading some of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," baking a cake or cupcakes, and huge-ass scallops for dinner. I love birthdays.

Amaryllis Transformation

Last weekend:


Today:

What kind of crazy mixed up science stuff is this???

Like Sleeping on a Cloud

Despite the fact that my birthday is still a week away, I opened my first birthday present yesterday. I had put a featherbead on my Amazon wish list and when a huge box labeled DOWN LITE arrived on my doorstep, I figured opening the box wouldn't exactly ruin any surprise.


Oh. My. God. It's like heaven. It's soft and poofy and warm and just lovely. Plus, there's a "Spring/Summer" side and a "Fall/Winter" side made from different materials so that you don't drown in a pool of your own sweat in the summer (which is likely to happen here in North Carolina).


So, thanks mom and daddy! You just made our lives quite a bit better.

Christmas Recap

Christmas 2007 was fantastic. It's a great time of the year anyway, but being surrounded by your favorite people and having a few days off work to hang out with those people, it just doesn't get much better. And to get presents on top of that??? Icing on the cake, buddy.

Chris and I got far too much cool stuff and we've been enjoying all of it. Between coats, and sweaters, and food, and candles, and books (the books! my god there's a lot!), and DVDs and stuff, we've been having a good time.

Chris and I had been wanting a digital SLR, but mainly due to the kitchen remodel, we decided to postpone that for a bit. But when I got a nice bonus at work, I sneakily bought this guy for the two of us from Amazon:

For the price, I'm not sure it gets better than this. It takes great pictures, as evidenced by the fact that my brother Rob uses this camera and his pictures are always phenomenal.

Anyway, I'm still learning how to use this bad boy, but it's allowed me already to take some good photos.

The Definition of "Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

I'm pretty sure that "squeeeeeeeeeee!" is the noise that eeked out of my mouth yesterday when I opened the box that contained this beauty.
I've been wanting a red bag forever and this seemed to fit the bill as an early birthday present, especially after it went on sale. I've talked about Hayden-Harnett bags here, here, and here and this bag has the same wonderful hardware, perfect stitching, and quality leather as my other H-H bag. For what you get, I think these bags are a great buy, especially if you can get them on sale.