That's It, Just One Line - Have a Cigar

"Oh by the way, which one's Pink?"

Secret Life of Objects: My Dempsey Weekender Set

I don't often treat myself like this. Given the story around it, the bag's name will probably be Coach Hayley. 

I took Pia to Chicago over Christmas and sloppily threw things in a tote bag for our overnight adventure. I didn’t like the look. The bag was five years old, an inexpensive striped beach bag from Ron Jon Surf Shop. Things were spilling out and the bag was dirty. 

Then a few weeks ago, I found myself killing time at the outlets making a return and saw this at Coach, the Dempsey 40 tote and matching toiletry case.  The story of my toiletry case is even sadder, a teal plastic train case obtained from Clinique as one of those "free with purchase" makeup bags from 15 years ago.

I walked away because I couldn’t justify the price tag. I thought about the crass commercialism of our culture, need vs. want, and the fact January is the time when I purge cupboards and closets of our excess. Then I thought about excess - I have bags, did I really need another one? I am guilty of the FOMO mentality, the fear of missing out.

I thought about it for the next two weeks. Coach didn't help by geofencing my location and urging me to buy with a daily email nudge. 

I was on my way to a cheer comp near the outlet mall and I remembered my fun money account. I save my judges’ gifts and expense checks for… what exactly?  I squirrel away my cash for a rainy day, using the balance from time to time on a down payment for a car, the cottage, and most recently, a new furnace. 

So I've been a good girl, if not a bit conservative with my savings. 

I veered over to the credit union and made a withdrawal, budgeting myself to a certain amount. On the way to the shop, I debated if I needed it, making the deal with myself that if, and only if, the set was there, I would get it. 

I got it. And instead of being 60% off, it was 75% off. 

Bringing it home, I left it in the shopping bag for a moment before taking it out and removing the tags. It's pretty. It's professional-looking. This new bag allowed me to get rid of at least eight tote bags, including another "free with purchase" overnight bag from Elizabeth Arden that is 20 years old, ripped, and fixed with liberal coats of nail polish. 

With a quality bag, it's unlikely I will purchase another one any time soon. I will also resist the urge to buy other things to obtain the "free with purchase" bags I normally do. I'm also satisfied, which usually quenches the thirst to get more.  

Addition by subtraction. 

I always name my Coach bags, the hot pink purse I'm using currently is Chloe. I'm going to think about this one, as it is closely tied to my experience with competitive cheer. It's Coach and the girls' coach is Hayley. There you go, it's Coach Hayley.  

Typing Out Loud: Judging The Beatles

Opinions can change, I love this!

I had grand plans to rank every single Beatles song that has ever made it to the public's ear. To do so would mean ranking over 300 songs, from In Spite of All the Danger, which was recorded by ambitious teenagers in 1958, to the latest Now and Then, a digital masterpiece that was released in November 2023. 

That's 65 years of music. And while Paul and Ringo have said "That's it," there's now noise about using the AI technology to release Live at the Star Club bootlegs from the Hamburg bar scene, bringing Pete and Stu some more performing credits. 

It was easy to start charting my bottom couple of songs, and then I hit a snag. Working my way up, I went from hate to meh and realized there wasn't too much difference between 267 and 219.  

And my affection for a song can be on a sliding scale, contingent on attitude or maybe a new way of seeing things. A case in point is Come Together, a tedious classic rock staple until Beatles 1+ was released, including the video created to launch Beatles.com, and I fell in love with the song again. 

I also realize I don't want to set my love in stone. If I put Don't Bother Me at #77, I want the right to move it up in case the Foo Fighters cover it or if it's used to frame a key scene in a new favorite movie. 

Finally, there are multiple versions of songs to tackle. It's Only Love from Help! exists, as does the version from Anthology 2. Multiple versions of While My Guitar Gently Weeps; I love the version from the White Album, but then there are the alt versions from Cirque de Soliel's Love, and the remaster in 2018. 

So what to do? 

I have a blog post already written noting what I have listed as the NAs. I think I will roll with a bottom and a top. I'm pretty adamant about my top 10 and bottom 10, the fun may be in the fringes. 

 

Rethinking Red

Align your senses

Red is...

Taste: cinnamon candies, preferably heart-shaped red hots

Touch: warm laundry fresh out of the dryer

Smell: Apple blossoms warmed in the spring sun 

Hear: Lover, Taylor Swift 

Best Meal I Ever Ate, Mexican

With Maggie!

How lucky we are to have access to the best Mexican food at Maggie's Kitchen! 

I was introduced to Maggie's while working at my first copywriting job. Group order and I had no idea what to get so I winged it on the daily special, steak fajita plate.

Man.

Tender and rich, the meat was flavorful and the portions generous, with lots of grilled vegetables, beans, rice, and salad. The tomatillo sauce was so fresh, you could taste the sun. 

I branched out to try the tripe soup (not my thing), tostadas, tacos, and sandwiches but I always come back to the fajitas. 

We've been going there a long time and lucked into attending the 40th-anniversary celebration and got a photo with the lady herself. She was treated like a queen, even the mayor stopped in for lunch. The staff is always friendly and if you haven't been in in a while, they notice.