New Dreamy Folk Singer - Joshua Radin

Mistas, may I introduce you (if you don't already know) to a dreamy new folk singer, Joshua Radin. Yes, he's from Cleveland. Not only that, Joshua Radin is from my hometown and his lovely younger sister was my "Jinny Jinny!" to her "Kitty Kitty!" All of her friends had secret crushes on him. Seems he's crushing many hearts! Hear Joshua on iTunes, where last I heard, he was the most downloaded new folk artist...

Play his video for "Closer", which is a really sweet song, directed by Zach Braff (yum!). When you hear him say "Thanksss..." just know that that's a very hearty, Midwestern "Thanks." I think it's legal to post this, since it's on his website and YouTube and who knows where else. Catch him again in a duete, "Paperweight" with Schuyler Fisk for Braff's next feature, "The Last Kiss." This is going to be a great soundtrack, which includes Coldplay, Fiona Apple, Aimee mann and Rufus Wainwright.

Visit JoshuaRadin.com - and actually get into a forum about him.

Buy his cd...only $10.99 from Amazon!

PS: did I mention that I really like Zach Braff? And I think that Joshua may have had a song on Scrubs, b/c the Scrubs soundtrack is coming up in Amazon for Joshua Radin. Way to go, hometown!

Designing Online Boutiques and Shopping Carts

Many designers in the indie designer world are maidens of many trades, including computer work aka graphic design. Their websites are beautiful, and they're 'in' with all of the right directories and online consignment shops. With a little time, and if you're linked into the right communities, this can be a great thing. But there is more. Much more. I'm talking SEO (search engine optimization), Froogle, Google Analytics (free website analytic program), page design, etc.

A great project has just been started by the editor of Search Engine Guide, Jennifer Laycock, called Real Small Business, Real Big Ideas. She is taking the most in-need small business owners and helping them revamp their sites so that they get more traffic, and more traffic of relevant people, people that want to buy the stuff that's being sold. She's bringing in consultants to work with these small business owners and will cover copywriting (for the search engines and for online buyers), website analysis (analyzing the site stats), viral and link campaign planning, and the checkout processes (shopping cart).

Real Small Business, Real Big Ideas comes out with the weekly newsletter of Search Engine Guide, which offers SEO techniques and more. Most non-website designers would snore at (and some website designers actually snore at it, which is not good! it would certainly give them a competative edge) but its offers free valuable information to the small business owner who can't yet afford to hire a consultant to do the work instead. But when they can afford that consultant, they will be that much closer to knowing who the heck they are hiring and why, instead of throwing money at some scam artist on the other side of PayPal.

Quick Tips for Optimizing Your Website:

• Flash isn't good for Google. Google is always improving and trying to read information on websites, but for now, it chokes or cannot read what is inside of flash. Your pages of content will not be acknowledged by Google, and not included in search engines.
  
• Don't design the whole site in Flash. I knew a good designer who did this, and when I went to recommend specific pages of her site, I could not get to them because the URL stayed the same for every page. Flash may offer other ways of doing this, but I don't use Flash and know nothing about how it works. I just know when I (a customer) or a search engine can't get to it.
  
• Google can't read images. If you create a pretty image that has major core content it, re-strategize the pretty design. If on your home page you have: "Betty Sue's custom made bridal gowns are perfect for New York brides...", and you want to come up for "Betty Sue bridal gowns" or the like, forget it. No content = no Google. Take the words out of that graphic and put them into your HTML.
  
• Fill up your tags! Each page has a title tag, meta description tag, and meta keyword tag. They should each include your keywords that you want search engines to find you on. BUT, those keywords should be on the page of those tags. So, you wouldn't want to stuff keywords in there, like "organza" if organza was nowhere on that page. Title tag is the title that displays in the top of your browser to let you know what page you're on. It also is the linked copy Google displays in its search results. The meta description tag is a description, and sometimes shows up in search results. The meta keyword tag is a place to list keywords. Feel free to not include "or" "and" or any of those things, because Google does not include them either. If you're using a template shopping cart for your website, make sure you ask your website builder to make sure you can easily add tags. Or go into forums and figure it out! ZenCart now offers an easy way to add tags.
  
• Links - get them. Get relavent ones, though. Don't join link farms or big general directories. IndieDesignerLabels is a great directory because it offers relevent links and content. Google will give you popularity points, and the visitors from the directory will check out more than one page on your site.
  
• Links - which are good ones? Study your site statas. A super program is free from Google Analytics. All you need is a Google account. There may be a waiting list, but if you have a Google AdWords account, you may be able to get access to Google Analytics. This is where you advertise on the side of search engine results, and it can be very cheap (I do $5/day at $.10 or $.30 a click, and I don't hit $5 a day). One of the reports can quickly tell you which links are sending you visitors who click through the most pages. So, for katie-james.com, clicks from random people from a Google search are generating about 2-3 pages per visit (I need to improve my copy and get more relevent searchers!!). Clicks from the links pages of other designer's sites are visiting 4-6 pages per visit. ScoopDuJour always sends me very interested visitors who can sometimes click up to 12 pages. There's LOTS to analyze. But this means that you know where too solicit worthwhile links from (or where you need to improve copy)!
  
• Build a site map. Can be simple or how Google suggests you build it, but have one. It's good for your visitors if they get super lost (although they shouldn't need to go there), but really it's for search engines. It's like lunch for them b/c there are so many yummy links to follow.
  

I think that's all I can remember for now.

Real Small Business, Real Big Ideas

• Real Small Business, Real Big Ideas - Part 1
  
• Real Small Business, Real Big Ideas - Part 2
  

As my grandfather (James of katie james) would say, "Up and at 'em!"

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The Pancake Town Murder

Yes. The Pancake Town Murder, where they debate on whether or not to have pancakes on the water tower. My own mother, who hardly reads this blog for fear that my life will be taken by stalkers, is hooked on the Burton Blog, unofficial chronicler of an unsolved murder in the middle of Cleveland's Amish Country, where all the horses are buggied or behind fences, all the children are working with their parents in the fields, and all the odd ducks like my family come to shoot homemade potato guns into corn fields. If you're in Stars Hollow withdrawal, this could be the blog for you.

I could not resist passing this on to you, if you are in need of a good murder/mystery book, but would prefer an "as-it-happens" style over Mary Higgins Clark. The author of the Burton Blog is a gun shop owner who has this to say about guns: "You know me – I’m always on the lookout for guns being used in a positive manner." He's been tracking the unsolved murder of a man who was shot to death at 6am with his girlfriend by his side...or was she. He's also apparently solved it...

Enticing Burton Blog headlines:

We got him... Relax now... (but they actually don't...)
Find that murder shotgun...
"The Pancake Town Murder" by J. Renner
Should Mary undergo a Lie Detector Test?
Time of Dan's murder is odd...
Powder residue test on Mary? Tells whole story?
Gun in one hand, tape with the other?
How do you tape someone w/a shotgun in your hands?
Are you out there Mary?
Mary's friend provides insight...
11-year old witness to Dan Ott's death...
I have a conversation with Mary's cousin...

Small Town Topics

Our little Ginny the Guinea is missed...
Keeping guns during a disaster!!!
Water Tower Cartoon - Pancakes???
Oh no! What's under that water tower cover?

As author James Renner says: "Come in for the maple syrup. Stay for the murder."

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Star Charts and DebtOMeters

David always talked about how much he exercised, when I was the one running every morning with Gerdy. I questioned his statements, so I decided to chart "our" progress with a Star Chart. It gives us gold stars for 20 minutes of cardio, green stars for 10 minutes of calesthetics, red stars for 20 minutes of calesthetics (never happens), and silver stars for long periods of cardio, like biking, that don't make us huff and puff like running a mile would. Wouldn't cha know, I think he's running a bit more, instead of saying "Oh, I'll do it tomorrow night." He comes in now after the run and says: "Did you put my star up?" Hehe.


Jogging every morning is not so hard for me to do, because I have to take Gerdy out anyway, so might as well. But getting my debt down, now that's a problem! It's just not going anywhere. I've stopped charging major stuff, like fabric on a whim (wimper) and queen size mattresses (had to!), but an occasional year's supply of contacts will trump the monthly payment I just paid. This isn't a credit problem. I seem to have good credit because I pay everything. And my card is actually at 0% APR because I transfer when I get "0% APR on balance transfers for a year!" and just pay it, but don't use it. So I haven't paid credit card interest for maybe more than 2 years now. But lately, I've got an Amex card, and am happy with it, so when the 0% APR rate expires, I kind of want to keep the card (usually I brutally transfer and drag the now empty card along...). Also, if I go seeking a loan for katie-james.com, I'm not about to budget in debt into my monthly expenses. That's just depressing!

So I made the DebtOMeter. Every payment I make I will snip away from the red mercury tube. And then when it's gone, it will supernova into a giant gold star!! So excited for that day.

Tip: Mom says that you want to keep a low credit limit. The credit card companies like to "reward" you by increasing your credit limit. So keep that in mind as you balance everything out.

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Scissors!

Joann.com delivered! I got 2 rotary blades (one with the scallop blade for an easy scalloped edge on pleather, etc.), Fiskars with the spring loaded handle for easy cutting around curves on pleater or plastic covered lace (omg...these things are awesome...I'm cutting with the simplist flick of my wrist, almost before the blade touches the fabric), a pair of Gingher knife edge bent scissors for delicate silks, and a nice Gingher gift set for myself to get the longer Gingher scissor that's good for almost any fabric. My fingers and wrists are thanking me already...

I couldn't resist not using all of the scissors, so I made this scalloped pleather wallet to hold my cards and keys:


I must admit, the scalloped rotary blade was not so easy to use all of a sudden. Not sure why, but the wheel wasn't turning on the pleather or cutting through as easily. Must find out why. Maybe it needs more oil/lube stuff. Now I need to find some board for the table that can take these razor sharp edges! Maybe I'll get one of these.

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Market in the Old Stone House

Packed into the corners of Brooklyn's Old Stone House, an ammo shelter during the Revolutionary War thanks to its 2-foot thick walls, were 20 designers forming Design Collectives, selling everything from childrens clothes to handmade silver jewelry to pots to artsy jewelry to guitar bags. I trecked it to Brooklyn, which took tooo long b/c I messed it up, as usual, and made the rounds. I just blew my budget on an adorable pair of shoes, so I wasn't planning on buying anything...until it started pouring. But first, here's what everything looked like:

First floor of the house...which also included one of StyleBakery's Designers On the Rise, Elaine Perlov


Second floor of the house with the organizer (and founder of Design Collectives), Kathy Malone, of Fofolle


Cool handmade handbag maker, Liz Shaw! Her guitar bag are a perfect gift for my little cousin who's been in a girl band since she was like 9.


Love her sign. You can't miss MissAllison.com! And it's a good thing, because her iPod cases are super cute.


Could not resist buying this hat from Rocks and Salt. I've been looking for the perfect fit of this train conductor hat for a long time, and they were on summer clearance even! Their website isn't ready yet (but watch out when it is), but here's what Beauty News had to say (scroll down).


Kathy is in the progress of making a website, so that all of these designers can be in one place all the time online. So until then, email me if you want to find these designers!

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The Boston Fiji Party in Cleveland

So I'm minding my own business, listening to Bonnie Raitt's Takin My Time while battling with Quark to convert a file into a PDF, when an email flies into my inbox.

Apparently, Fiji water, water of the celebs, is running an ad where they step on Cleveland to announce their greatness. Like a bottled water company should ever compare their water to a Midwestern City in the first place! Aren't we supposed to think: "Oh good, $2.14 is giving me water from off the side of the freshest mountain."

:rolling eyes:

Here's the Boston.com article on the ad, oh, and watch your arsenic levels, because apparently Fiji is already contributing a little more than you realize:
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/07/20/cleveland_takes_offense_at_fiji_water_ad/

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Markets, Fabric, Incubators, and More

Gerdy and I strolled down to our favorite, and only, neighborhood pub, The Abby Pub, to pick up a burger and nurse my aching feet.

It's been a busy week, and it's not over yet, beginning with a big announcement to you all about Park Slope's first, indie designer market, designcollective, which will be showcasing Brooklyn's (and other boroughs!) hot, new, design stars with a sale, on Saturday, July 22nd from 10am-6pm, at The Old Stone House (J.J. Byrne Park, 5th Ave. between 3rd and 4th street). The indoor, air-conditioned, market offers the public the first glimpse of the forerunners of fashion in apparel, handbags, jewelry, children's clothing, accessories, and paper and lifestyle goods. Katie James will be part of it in September after I cruise around Saturday afternoon, checking out how these gals use their mobile phones to process credit card orders! Advanced.com. This is a lovely and lively group of designers that I've suddenly become a part of (thanks to FashionMista) who are part of a big Yahoo group called DesignCollectives, and send out little emails ranging from a Craig's listing for a boutique for sale, to PR celebrations, to you name it. Thanks to one of them, I may have just mended my production problem with an actual stitcher of my very own. Learn about the organizer, the designer behind Foffolle from her website.

Which leads me to the next activity, which was buying scissors from Joann Fabrics after getting feedback from the ladies over at The Switchboards forum as to the best brands and what to look for. That's when I learned about the rotary cutter. Not being a seamstress or trained designer, I don't know about this basic stuff required for small production runs. I just give it all to someone else! But with encouragement from a DesignCollective's designer, who may be at the market, I may set up shop here in the apartment and hire a recommended stitcher to cut and sew katie james accessories. I'm also sending samples off to a stitcher in Alabama...more to come!


And for the highlight of the week, I finally bough some new fabric for new Gerdy and Dinah beds! This time it was from The Silk Trading Company located in ABC Carpet, and I'm so excited about it. Gerdy and Dinah will have the plushest dog and kittie beds around. My pal Little Evey is going to come over for a pattern party as we work on new products for katie james!

Then I walked around Union Square, and stumbled upon a jewelry designer manning her little booth of RecycledConcepts who was just melting in the heat. I stopped to ask about her jewelry, and walked away with a piece of something that I can't remember the name of. Two stones - one that she dug up in upstate NY and one that she collected in AZ. Perfect! One stone aligns your chakra, and the other magnifie whatever the other is doing. I'm going to ask that great designer of BijouBoutique if she can make it into a full necklace for me...

(yes, I'm having a Sunkist later)

And lastly, I popped my head into a Ladies Who Launch cocktail party at Caravan (the shopping van which now has an on-street boutique). I joined a LWL 'incubator' earlier in the week, which means I meet a few times with the incubator heads and other little chics to learn how to hit all of my 30 goals and launch katie james in a successful way. If you are not jumping out of your seat with motivation after reading what they are about, then you must be sleeping. Or watching TV :)

All I can say is, it's a good thing for fresh blueberries from the Union Square Farmer's Market ($10 for 3 boxes and taste way better than Whole Foods's). But I'll sign off with Gerdy eating her massive bone, a gift from Digger, her Lake House dog friend.


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Oh My Glory Be, It's Too Hot

When you're walking your dog and barely walking at that, and your t-shirt is beginning to look like you went jogging, you know you are hot. When the ozone level hit purple, like it did today in NYC, and surpassed the highest level of red, you know you are hot.



That's when your fantasies should turn to frozen Minute Maid Fruit Punch ice-cubes. A simple recipe - just buy the half-gallon from the store, pour it into an empty ice-cube tray, stick 'em in the ice-box, and wait. Eat Ben and Jerries in the meantime, perhaps a lighter color, I usually go with Cookie Dough every time, and keep the lights off. Light candles if you want, just don't have those bright lights on.

If you don' have an air conditioner, or you need a new one, David and I just bought a Haier 8,000amp for $189 at Bed Bath. If you don't have a David in your life to install said machine, who you gonna call: BoyFriendForHire.com, a reputable group of handy men, as proven by a Mista who had them install cabinets. And I do believe they are in more than one state.

Does anyone else have beat-the-crazy-heat remedies? Besides leaving town or going to the movies? What about fresh mint...

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Beach Read: The Booster

Wriggle into a bench on your favorite subway train or relax in your favorite sun chair with The Booster, by Jennifer Solow, but prepare to curl your toes and sweat a bit more than you would have as Jillian Seigal folds a Hermes scarf into her hand and exits a sensorless boutique while talking to the salesgirl. Oh yes, Jillian is a professional shoplifter. Sort of.

Hitting the bottom of the barrel of her high powered Manhattan ad agency job, Jillian doesn't do shopping therapy. She does shoplifting therapy. She's so good at it, you may actually steal something yourself just to see if it works. Jillian is one wacked out Manhattanite with a sexy photographer boyfriend, Alex, who can do nothing but love her while she squirms in her own confusion.

Solow does a heck of a job writing a torrent love affair with designer anything, like Louboutin boots, worshipping "deliberate colors like tobacco and pale lavender." And her obsessions don't stop there. Can we say "chin hairs" and a potty mouth? She’s a great writer, and a delight to read, especially for this genera, which I haven't read in a while. We also get a glimpse of carefully groomed shoplifting rings and meet interesting (and likable/nonlikable vs cardboard cutouts) characters along the way. If you want to take a designer jaunt around the city while Jillian figures out what to do with her life, read The Booster. It's a quick read, I promise.

But most importantly, Solow is a debut author, and she hit a bestseller list - in San Francisco - in June. Yay!!

Buy now from Amazon. It seems to be 35% off...

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Eureka! I Like This Vacuum Cleaner

David and I just went to Bed Bath for an air conditioner, and came out with a Eureka vacuum (and towels, and a Nicole Miller bathrobe, and a new soap dish, and a new lint sponge thing...). I am in love with my new appliance. Not only is it small and green, like a Kermit, but it has the same power as my larger, more expensive upright Dirt Devil vacuum that hogs the corner of our bedroom collecting dust.

Being in a house of dogs, cats, fabric scraps and thread, the Eureka vacuum cleaner is my new best friend (in with the new, Aveda Smoothing Fluid). This is a great vacuum for apartments, as it's 1/3 less the width of a normal vacuum cleaner (which means, though, it holds a little less dirt), is $59.95 at Bed Bath, has an adjustable handle, and is much quieter and lighter. Many of you may already have this, so I'm a little behind the times.

Our bedroom is the only room with a carpet, but most of my vacuuming satisfaction comes from upsetting dust bunnies and sucking them into the plastic container, where they swirl around in what looks like a tall ice-tea plastic picture, until they meet their new home. The one drawback I have to mention is that it blows out air when the brush is off. Not sure why it does this, as it kicks up the dust. But just as oddly, the dust gets into this wind current and most of the time gets circulated back to the vacuum and vanishes in the suckage, but I could be using one of the settings wrong. I don't think I missed any dust bunnies.

Watch what the Eureka can do:

It's showing off now on the chair, to show you how easy it is to get up there and stay...

See it vacuum not only the chair cushion seat, but see how it snuggles in-between the pillow and the seat...

See how it sits in the corner like a good vacuum. Inspired by how well it did, I made it a cover. Oh dear is right. See below for the hidden world of vacuum cleaner covers...


Buy it now from Amazon, or cab it to Bed Bath for a possibly cheaper price.

A look into the world of vacuum cleaner covers from the Heartland

I hate when I go to clean, and there is dust all over the vacuum b/c there is no room in our closets to store the vacuum cleaner. So I Googled "vacuum cleaner covers" and got the following interesting creations:








Mine does not take the shape of a pig in ruffles, nor does it personify anything. It is more of a Casper the Friendly Vacuum Cover in cool fabric so that it can be just another piece of furniture in my room. It's a little too big. I need to take it in. My vacuum cover needs alterations. It’s not ready for prime time. But I’m thinking of having a “Vacuum Friendly” section on katie-james.com.

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NYC Pups and Kitties Need You

I'm writing this post on the subway ride home from work because there is just not enough time in the day. I'm dimming the screen so that people next to me can't evesread (stop reading, mister!).

On Thursday, our free daily paper, AM New York, did a front page story on the van that the local animal group, the Mayor's Alliance, drives around the city to pick up stray animals and animals from the pound to deliver them to foster families. This van picks up any animal that needs a ride, including a sheep that was dropped in Sheeps Meadow in Central Park with its legs tied up just the other day.



This van runs on an allotted budget as an initiative for the Mayor's Alliance. The rising price of gas was not factored into this budget, so ...

(...wait...transferring trains...to the 7....long walk down the time square terminal...to the C platform...onto the C...fight for a seat...got it!)

...the van initiative has to cut back how much it drives. This means that they would take fewer animals from the ACC (city pound) to foster families that have good temperaments and have better chances of getting adopted. The ACC takes in hundreds of thousands of stray animals including dogs, cats, iguanas, and bunnies, and euthanizes an animal after 3 days. The ACC has a 53% kill rate. The Mayor's Alliance tries to keep the stays from going there.

After reading, I was wishing I had a bunch of money I could just donate. Then in Friday's AM New York, the cover story was that the ASPCA donated $10,000! They're calling on others to match the donation by July 31st. I know many of you already donate to the ASPCA, or hang out with abused boxers rescued from fighting rings, but this is a little donation for an exact cause.

My subway stop is approaching. But remember, fix your pups and kittens. There's lots more cute ones in the pounds!

Click here to help save the van.

Cool other ways to donate to the Mayor's Alliance:

(I totally have old towells that I will donate)



(For the Humane Society)


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Podcast with Stuffy Nose Girl

Found this in the dregs of my desktop - an undiscovered interview with Stuffy Nose Girl aka FlowerGirl. She's a relation to Gladys, if some of you remember that Long Island star of a grandma fashion guru. Since katie-james.com relaunched, we've lost those podcasts, but I'm trying to recover them.

Here she is (remember, it may take a minute or two to download):
http://katie-james.com/podcasts/flowergirl.mp3

Warning: podcast contains a tinsy bit of nose blowing.

PS: If your desktop gets cluttered like mine does, you can organize yourself with a free katie james desktop art organizer. It's a pretty design for your desktop that offers organizational features.

see...?


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Laser Hair Removal :: The First Followup

The first day after the laser hair treatment, I noticed little purple dots when I got home from work. They instructed me to put their special lotion on 4x/day, but I forgot the bottle at home, so only had it on once in the morning. I called, of course, and Claudia the office manager was very sympathetic and instructed me to apply the lotion and call if it got worse. I applied the lotion, and all was better in a few hours.

That weekend was the week in the country, and I applied religiously, plus covered the lasered areas in their special 65 Total Blocker. Another successful move. No sun. No purple dots. Just smooth skin. One notable thing is a freckle on my leg must have gotten zapped (remember the laser is attracted to the contrast of dark pigment and light skin), because it looked raised. I will bring this up at my September visit.

Did the hair fall out yet from the laser blasts? No. I am not aloud to pluck or cream, as that would encourage the hair follicles. I have been shaving, so I know that the hair is not out yet. We'll see after the second zap if there is a difference. It is scheduled to take 6 sessions. Some people see results sooner, some don't. I have a feeling my hair will be a little resilient (but not for long...hehehe).

Laser Progress Reports

Laser Hair Reomval :: Appointment #6
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5.5 for Bikini
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #4
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #3.5
Laser Hair Removal :: The Second Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Followup
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: War of My Legs Part 1


Disclaimer: FashionMista, nor its author, are qualified to give medical advice and cannot be held responsible for anything that may occur. Should you have a medical concern, please consult your physician.


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FashionMistas Are Here!

Eek! It's a mouse! No, it's a mista! The katie james fashion mouse for cats (and name of this blog) is reproducing. Dinah made them really hard to make because she kept attacking the sequence as I sewed it into the body. She already has two, and can't get enough of them. Rose the dog walker has confirmed that Dinah plays with her fashion cat toys on her own...they're never in the same place twice!



See them live on www.katie-james.com.

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Holy Cow, Whole Foods!

I'm a lover of Whole Foods Market. I frequent the one at Union Square. Last year, I started eating at the Whole Foods buffet almost everyday, and even started splurging on 1oz shots of wheatgrass for $2.89 (or whatever the exact price was). I lost weight doing it, since the food was so...honest.

The buffet was $5.99/lb, the same price as Emma's Dilemma, a shady deli across the street from my work. I stopped going to this deli, figuring if I was going to pay NYC deli prices, I might as well get good food at Whole Foods! At least, I think the price was $5.99. Then it was $6.99 for sure. That's when I started paying attention. My lunches stayed between $7-$8 bucks, $9 being almost a splurge, and $10 being downright gluttonous.

We all know that our Whole Foods hit their $1million in sales for one week many months ago. My co-worker saw the memo lying on the customer service's desk. She wishes she camera phoned it, but she was too hungry to think. There's nothing wrong with making crazy profits, but I'm noticing Whole Foods doing it more and more. Like when they cut up their unsold Easter cakes, put them in individual plastic containers, and sold them in the dessert section for $2.99. The entire cake was about $11 (I know, I bought one for a friend). As an experiment, and as a tribute to someone's bright idea to recycle prepared food, I bought the $2.99 slice of cake, and yes, it was stale.

In case you haven't noticed, the price of the buffet is now $7.99/lb. This is the highest it's ever been. I'm not sure what the price is at other Whole Foods, but this is too high. I can't find an area to place a complaint on Whole Foods site, but I want them to know that this price increase is not ok. It means that if I go to lunch there, I won't be buying a drink. I won't be buying a spontaneous vitamin, magazine or baby bottle cozie, the profit margins on which I'm guessing are quite generous.

I've stopped going to Whole Foods as much. I've started bringing my lunch again to work, and frequent the local Subway every now and then. Whole Foods aint the cats pajamas so much that I'll pay a rising per pound cost for no reason. But, I want to go back to Whole Foods. I want to go back to loving them totally.

So, if you think Whole Foods buffet pricing is not justified, please comment on this post. It will be like a petition. The goal is to get the price per pound back down to $6.99/lb. Most importantly, show your feeling by not going to Whole Foods as much (as painful as this is). If you do not support the price increase of the buffet, then don't buy from it. It's the only way to make a difference. That and a ton of people ranting on a blog. Please forward this to your friends. Here's the link: http://fashionmista.blogspot.com/2006/07/pissed-at-whole-foods-buffet-pricing.html

My submitted comment:
I noticed that your buffet price went up to $7.99/lb from $6.99/lb at the Union Square location. Why the price jump? The food that you offer is the same, and prices elsewhere around the prepared food sections seem to be similar, unless you plan on raising those, too.

This increase is most unfortunate, and everyone I point it out to is not pleased. I have stopped shopping at your store on an almost daily basis, because my lunch budget cannot sustain the increase. Subway is happy to take my business, and your price increase has encouraged me to bring my own lunch again. If you lower it back to $6.99/lb, I will stop complaining and happily return. Getting people like me into the store via the buffet is great, because I usually buy point of purchase things at checkout. I don't grocery shop at Whole Foods. But I do buy random things while in there for lunch.

Thank you,
KH (aka FashionMista)

PS: while looking for a complaint box online, I came across this message on the Whole Foods Customer Service:

"While you may email your local store through any of our FAQ pages, please remember that our team is working throughout the store (not at computers) and emails may not be answered immediately."

That makes me even more mad. Any decent person knows that to run a big company, you need workers in the field, and workers behind the desk. Admin makes the world go round, and Customer Service is not a light matter. Give it up, Whole Foods. We know you're not a fricken co-op. Although with these asinine statements, I might as well go join one.

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July 4th - "We're Country!"

Once upon a time, the Sears Roebuck catalogue sold houses. Not Lincoln Log houses, but big, vacation houses. Lincoln Logs houses for adults. One such house got built by a family on a lake on the border of New York and Connecticut, and was dubbed "The Lake House." The family had three children, one of whom, a son, outgrew the house and was actually taller than the kitchen ceiling. Despite the size difference, this son loved coming up to The Lake House with his lovely girlfriend, where they could be den parents, fish, dig up septic tanks when the toilet backed up, and invite all of their New York City friends to bring fancy New York City foods and lounge all day in the middle of the lake on a raft drinking seltzer and reading Star, Life and Style, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, with a canoe as the main mode of transportation.

Unlike Brittney's version of "cou-ntry," this setting is "the country" civilized New Yorkers speak of when they leave the island of Manhattan or the burrows of Brooklyn and enter the rest of the world to experience how everyone else lives. When that happens, this is what they do:

they spend three days catching one fish...and then they throw it back...(that's the host on the right who may be a guest podcaster on FashionMista, and the devoted catcher of the fish on the left)


they let their dogs "off leash" and let them sleep on the porch (actually, this dog, Digger, is the king of The Lake House and nothing gets passed him...just ask many-a-dead-and-buried groundhog)

they make art...(note the many daddy long legs crawling among the leaves and timber that you cannot see in this picture...shudder...)

they let their dogs (Gerdy!) be "just one of the girls"...(and yes, that is a pregnant woman you see in the photo!)

...until they force her to be a big-girl-dog and go swimming!

...poor Gerdy...but she's a big girl now

they act like real men and float...only the smell of bacon can lure them back...

they watch sunsets while drinking Corona...


When it's all over, and the actual day of the 4th of July falls on a school night, they return to the City and settle for watching stray neighborhood fireworks from their living rooms.


Long live the country! And long live the baby that went into labor just a day after this trip!

Photos courtesy of a Lake House Guest, who may start a useful blog of her own involving letter writing...

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