SMITTEN! * Google Wave

I admit -- I try to be tech-savvy, but am not. At least not as much as I would like to be. If I were more attached to technology, I would post things when I am SMITTEN or STRICKEN with them, instead of waiting months and then spending hours on this website writing in one long purge.

I recently watched the video for Google Wave. It's a little long, but what they are coming up with could really change the face of internet communication as we know it. Since I am not tech-savvy, I will not bore you with words about it that probably won't make sense -- so just watch the video.

STRICKEN! # Michelle Obama's New Hair

WHHHHHHY!

Why is it that when a woman reaches a certain age, position, etc. they feel the need to chop their hair off? To see a picture of Michelle Obama's new 'do -- click HERE.

I take major issue with this. Her hair was fine the way it was. It suited her. She looked pretty, while still looking professional enough to be First Lady. But obviously someone got to her, and now it is short. Like every other "professional" woman of a certain age. I had this same reaction when CBS obviously made Katie Couric cut her hair. Like, making her look more like a man would improve the ratings of the CBS Evening News. Pleeeease.

Personally I cannot EVER see myself going down this road -- on principle, yes -- but also because my hair is fine as f*ck and will just cling to my head if it's short.

Ladies -- can we please stop thinking we need to cut our hair off to play with the big boys?

SMITTEN! * Ript Apparel

I came across this awesome website awhile ago, courtesy of UrbanDaddy -- and I check it every day. So should you.

Here's the deal:

Every day the site features a t-shirt with a new design by a new artist. You have 24 hours to buy the shirt before it gets retired and can never be bought again. Did I mention the art? Really cool designs by emerging artists and designers. Oh, and did I mention the price? Every shirt is always ten bucks. That's right, $10. Doesn't matter how many colors are in the design, who the artist is, nothing. The shirt will always be ten bucks. And since they retire after one day, there's a really low chance of anyone else you know wearing it.

To check out the site and get the shirt of the day (today's is shown above) -- click HERE.

SMITTEN! * Coach Poppy

I can't believe I'm saying this. I think I'm in love with Coach's new line called Poppy. It seems to skew younger (perhaps because it's more affordable? because it's bright?), though I think you can love these items at any age. You just have to be a person who considers themselves design-savvy. And I do. I am especially in love with the Poppy Pop C Spotlight Shoulder Bag (retails for $268 and is shown above).

I don't know what it is, but it is making me forget that I hate Coach. I hate it because it's EVERYWHERE. On the shoulder of every woman I see. Plus, I'm not big into splashy "look at me and how much money I spent!" logo bags. Which is essentially what saved Coach. Don't get me wrong, some of their things are very nice. I just didn't want to shell out a wad of money on something every woman in America already had. I guess that's just the design-savvyness in me.

So what can it be? Why has this new collection changed my mind so rapidly? Maybe that my favorite period of art is Pop? That I love bright colors mixed together? I don't know. I am just so smitten -- and it scares me.

SMITTEN! * American Apparel Le Sac & Circle Scarf

I am so SMITTEN I am practically obsessed! Ever since buying a Le Sac dress and Circle Scarf at American Apparel this past weekend I have been trying to convert everyone. They are, in fact, the best thing since sliced you-know-what.

The Le Sac dress is, well, a sac. If you laid it out on the floor it would kind of look like a garbage bag with the bottom cut off. The amazing thing about it is that you can wear it so many ways you are practically paying $5 per outfit. I LOVE IT. BUY IT. Sooooo worth the money.

If there is one thing I love more then Le Sac, it's the Circle Scarf. This thing is so amazing, you can wear it as just about any item of clothing except for pants. Literally -- I made it into a shawl, caplet, headwrap, dress and skirt -- all in a matter of minutes.

Put these two items together and you have endless possibilities. I had to have an outfit for a day that could transition from casual to dressy and back, and these two items helped me do that seamlessly. I haven't been that much of a fan of American Apparel lately because I no longer look like an anorexic waif (and let's face it, that's about the only people that can wear their clothes), but these two items know no size -- anyone can wear them.

BEST money I have spent on clothing yet this year. BUY THEM. You will not regret it.

STRICKEN! # Essie Neon Nail Polish

I soooo badly wanted to like it. I kept seeing the ads in my fashion magazines, and was strangely drawn to it.

Let me first state for the record that I only wear polish on my toenails. I haven't worn fingernail polish of any kind in the last 15 years. I just think fingernail polish is kind of tacky -- I like to look natural. But for some reason these ads for the Essie Neon polish were calling me. I am kind of obsessed with neon yellow and grey right now, so I think that may be at the root of this strange phenomenon.

So I went out today and bought it. It does not look like how it looks in the bottle -- at least the yellow doesn't. That's the one I bought. It's matte. Neon should never be matte. Neon is loud, proud and says, "Look at me, world!" Matte anything is the exact opposite of that. I put on 4 coats, hoping it would get better. It didn't. I kind of look sick, or dead. The only saving grace was my glossy top-coat, which sort of took away the dullness. Such a disappointment, especially because it was the first nailpolish I bought in forever and I just wasted 8 bucks I really needed to buy groceries with.

Don't buy it -- unless you try it first. Part of me is still holding out for the purple.

STRICKEN! # A McQ for Target

I am super stricken here, people! Let me preface this by saying that when I found out about the Alexander McQueen for Target line a month ago, I was pretty stoked. So I looked up the looks, and became a little disappointed. There was nothing -- save for a gorgeously punky grey patterned dress -- that I was excited about buying.

I visited my local Target today and decided to give the collection a once-over in person and was irritated to find that none of the pieces were for sale at my Target. So I got home and looked it up. There is ONE Target store in my metropolitan area that is selling it -- which means that by now everything is sold out. The grey dress that I so coveted is already sold out online, and considering I wear the most average size and have only one store to shop from means I will have to go without.

Why do you tease us, designers?? It is utterly unfair that because someone doesn't live in the top 5 most populated cities that it is somehow assumed that they don't own a TV, a computer with internet access, or have access to a bookstore with a newsstand. Oh, or like fashion. Or know who designers are. Whenever I tell people where I'm from, they ask me if I lived on a farm. WHAT?? I've never even been on a farm in my life. It is so stereotypical to judge those that don't live in NYC, L.A., Chicago, Miami, etc. as being dumb hillbillies who wear overalls and chew on grass. I have a basic right to love fashion, and I think that designers need to pull their heads out of their butts and put these capsule collections in all stores. Don't even get me started on H&M. At least I live in a big enough city where ONE Target gets A McQ. We have 3 H&Ms but I never set eyes on the Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli or Comme de Garcons collections.

Rant over.

SMITTEN! * Plinky

I love this little feature where Blogger suggests things you might like -- like Plinky. Plinky is fun for anyone who is bored, but it's also great for blogger-block. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to tell asinine stories about yourself in the vain hope that someone might care. I decided to sign up and give it a whirl -- you can see my answer to one of their random questions below.