the penny savor

doing it for less

2010-10-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

after spending some time looking through my closet today, i realized that my winter wardrobe is lacking, and in need of some serious zhushing. the winters in san francisco tend to be mild, so for the majority of the 3-4 months i am able to get away with jeans, a cardigan/blouse combo and a heavy jacket. well, i'm bored with this easy, simple look. i'm ready for an update and revamp. i spent some time browsing through the latest winter looks from several designers. it turns out, on my meager salary, there is no way i can afford to update my wardrobe in a cohesive manner with all of fall/winter's latest trends. so i decided to pick out a few looks that i'm totally into and find similar affordable pieces. slouchy trousers, combat boots, blanket sweaters and socks are hot hot hot this upcoming winter season y'all. peep my first alternatives below. more to come later this week!

clockwise:
$168.00 - j. crew sequin studio sweatshirt
$59.90 - zara pleated trousers
$35.80 - forever 21 lace up combat boots
$188 - urban outfitters 7 chi covered diamond stud bucket bag
$52.00 - need supply cropped trouser pant
$59.90 - zara jaquard knit sweater with elbow patches
$30.80 - forever 21 dyed satchel bag
$144.95 - jeffrey campbell front boots

information is beautiful

2010-03-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

i grabbed this chart from a delightful website called information is beautiful. these digital distractions are absolutely the reason why it has taken me so long to get off my pooper and get on this blog thing. david mccandless is a master of visually communicating statistics and trends.

..and then there's this one:

zooey & m. ward

2010-03-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

the lovely duo she & him are back with their second album, titled volume two. you can stream it here, for free, before its release on march 23rd. enjoy.

bent on lent

2010-03-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

for those of you who don't know, i gave up cheese for lent. it's been the hardest thing i've ever had to do - since the time i had to write letters to all my teachers apologizing for ditching school one day during my junior year in high school.

but since i can't eat cheese, you all should on my behalf. and for free (bonus!).

firewood cafe in the castro (and napa locations, if you feel so inclined) is having a special, now through the end of march: free pizza. get it get it.

2010-01-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

in my efforts to better myself for 2010, i decided reading more and watching tv less were the two things i could do that required the least amount of effort-but could produce exponential results. being less lazy wasn't one of them, obviously.

friday night rolled around, and after deciding not to go out and drink the night away, i found myself farting around on the www. after getting pretty lost in the blogs on my google reader, i came across another genius idea from google. it's called google fast flip. have you seen it? launched in september out of the google labs, it's purely a web application that allows you to read and share articles. both print and web articles can be viewed with the ability to "flip" through each page/article. fast flip allows for speedy browsing through recent news, headlines and popular topics. even more amazing is that it's set up in a way that it takes cues from selections you make to show you more content from sources and subjects that you seem to like. personalized content at your fingertips. and can also be accessed on your iphone or android mobile device. legit.

you can see a full list of sources here to build your frontpage of fast flip.

"happy flipping!"

ivy league

2010-01-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

crap. they did it again. vampire weekend's sophomore album is GOOD. and i say crap because i feel like i got sucker-punched. so unexpected. well actually, what's most unexpected is that it's not bad.

i'll admit it, i didn't have high hopes for this band's sustainability. yea, sure, dancing to their preppy, awfully joyful afro-pop melodies pleasantly reminded me of sail boats and car rides listening to paul simon with my dad. but those feelings soon evaporated as soon as i came-to, looked to my left and saw the 14 year old girl in moccasin boots and a headband screaming with her girlfriends "who gives a fuck about an oxford comma." and then i just got angry because i hate fringe and embarrassed i was singing in unison with her. it was never the jolliness of vampire weekend that resonated with me, actually. it was ezra koenig's outrageously creepy bug-eyes. i can't decide if he is thinking about playing with naked dolls or he has the constant urge to murder and dismember a cat.

i can't decide if i'd take the time to see them live again, but these latest 10 songs prove that they can still write and compose happy rhythms.

you can listen here before the alby comes out next week. for free.

**update**
pitchfork rated this album an 8.6! hard to believe pitchfork and i agree on this one...

the gift of giving

2009-12-22T09:25:00.000-08:00

if you find yourself near a local peets coffee on december 24th, stop in for a free brewed cup of coffee or tea. peets coffee wants to encourage people to stop in to their franchises on christmas eve and make charitable donations. peets will match up to $1,000 in donations to a local non-profit organization. and as a way of saying thank you they'll be serving complimentary coffee and tea all day!

walmart ftw!

2009-12-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

i need to take a moment and thank walmart. i finally received my free sample of tampax pearl tampons in the mail; after waiting about 4-6 weeks since i filled out the free offer. it's like sam walton timed it perfectly. i will consider it a generous stocking stuffer. 3 tampons is a lot.

unfortunately, the offer is no longer available, so i can't gift it to you, girlfriends. however, you can always check back here for more samples and free things from walmart. anyone need diapers??

**update**
you can get a free sample directly from tampax!

i'm lovin' it!

2009-12-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

since i'm using this blog as a platform to tell the world about any and all things free, i thought i'd let you all know that the wait is over: mcdonald's will soon offer free wi-fi at 11,000 of its 14,000 domestic locations. it used to cost $2.95/2hrs to surf the net while inhaling a double quarter-pounder with cheese, but starting mid-january, they're waiving all fees! have no fear, the free wi-fi access will be powered by at&t. it's not going to be reliable or fast! the wi-fi connection will be just a mediocre as the lettuce in their salads.

mcdonald's is trying to lure customers into staying a bit longer at their establishments. chill, i guess. now i can eat my 5pc chicken selects premium breast strips and catch up on current events at cnn.com. a perfect tandem.

speaking of 2010

2009-12-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

need a new 2010 calendar? how about a free one?

blue ant studio is letting you print their uniquely designed calendars. and they're so chill for the office.

go and get 'em.

don't look back in anger

2009-12-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

well it's that time of year, again.... time to take a look back at this year in music. this is my 2nd annual retrospective; i wonder how many years i can keep this up.

the year has been full of ups and downs. we had to say goodbye to oasis, danity kane and the verve. but we blissfully waved hello to monsters of folk, the dead weather and nick jonas and the administration! you all put a ring on it. some of us went to the theaters to get one more glimpse at the life and times of biggie smalls (or maybe that was just me?). you did more than "just dance" with lady gaga; you donned her hair and outrageous outfits and probably bought her album twice. we buried michael jackson. and les paul and that guy from chk chk chk. aqua released their first single since 2000. kylie minogue finally brought her tour to the usa. and we didn't crown a gay american idol...

here's the list of my 15 favorite albums of 2009. there were so many, it was tough to narrow it down. and sadly, i had to leave off pitbull's rebelution. that album had soo many great hits!

15. yeah yeah yeahs - it's blitz
14. gossip - music for men
13. antony and the johnsons - the crying light
12. the dead weather - horehound
11. jay-z - the blueprint 3
10. monsters of folk - monsters of folk
9. peter bjorn and john - living thing
8. bibio - ambivalence avenue
7. junior boys - begone dull care
6. lady gaga - the fame monster
5. yuksek - away from the sea
4. simian mobile disco - temporary pleasure
3. phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
2. animal collective - merriweather post pavilion
1. grizzly bear - veckatimest

now let's talk about the worst albums of 2009. boy, were there so many disappointments! so many highly anticipated albums were released, only to leave us with a ton of wasted space in our itunes libraries.

i expected better from you people:

adam lambert - for your entertainment (too theatrical and 15 too many screams)
the sounds - crossing the rubicon (just not fresh enough)
calvin harris - ready for the weekend
rihanna - rated r
muse - the resistance (too much of the same!)
mariah carey - memoirs of an imperfect angel
backstreet boys - this is us
arctic monkeys - humbug
imogen heap - ellipse (not raw enough)
the mars volta - the octahedron

as we depart from 2009 and embark on a new year and new decade, i can only imagine that 2010 will be full of more surprises and more re-worked beats of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. since we're recycling a lot of things from the 90s, can someone please write a song with a sample from arrested development's "mr. wendal"?!

albums, eps and singles to look forward to in 2010:

vampire weekend - contra (due january 12th)
cold war kids - behave yourself (due january 19th)
beach house - teen dream (due january 26th) (this is sooooooooooooooooo so good)
marina & the diamonds - the family jewels (due february 1st)
hot chip - one life stand (due february 9th)
ted leo & the pharmacist - the brutalist bricks (due march 9th)
mgmt - congratulations (due spring)
lcd soundsystem (due march, 2010)
she & him - volume two (due march 23rd)
panda bear
ellie goulding
interpol
midlake
crystal castles
hard-fi
britney spears (due may 2010)
head automatica - swan damage (due 2010) (do we still like them?)
smashing pumpkins - teagarden by kaleidyscope (january 2010) (without founding drummer jimmy chamberlin)
christina aguilera
dr. dre
my chemical romance
no doubt
the strokes
missy elliott
and TLC (minus lisa "left-eye" lopes, obvs)

and i'm personally looking foward to the release of TI from fcc forrest city in march. come to mama.

start

2009-10-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

whelp; it's time to kick off this blog. i've been sitting on this hollow stump for far too long...