Thursday, December 4, 2008
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Grab your warmest coat, your closest friends and a warm cup of hot chocolate-the official Boston Common tree lighting is tonight!
The event takes place from 6-8 when Mayor Menino and Santa Clause himself will flip the switch for the 46 foot Christmas tree from Nova Scotia and the other elaborate displays. You can catch the smooth sounds of Brian McKnight while your there (not my favorite artist but I'm sure he'll be able to belt out some carols) as well as some other local celebs.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Oh and editor-in-chief Robin Hauck just got voted as one of the Globe's 25 Most Stylish Bostonian's, so you know you're in good hands.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"It’s hard to tighten your belt when you’ve always had an elastic waistband"
0 comments Posted by Rachel at 2:15 PM
On yesterday's drive into work listening to Matty in the Morning, I was impressed by guest Lauren Beckham Falcone, columnist for the Boston Herald. Lauren was upbeat, intelligent and down to earth-just the company I like for my morning coffee and commute.
Below is Lauren's comical yet interesting take on the shoppers that she's seen lined up at the local malls and why they are still vying for deals. I think she hit it on the nose.
And that’s outside. Inside? Teeming with shoppers throwing elbows for a bargain iPod Nano.
Checkout lines are the new bread lines.
At Banana Republic at the Chestnut Hill mall this past weekend, there was a 15-minute wait just to try stuff on. And Bloomingdale’s was booming, with Big Brown Bags stuffed with boxes and baubles, thanks to a 20 percent discount atop a 40-percent-off sale.
Define “cash-strapped,” please?
The thing is, no matter how scary our bank statements get, we cannot stop shopping. The consumer generation doesn’t know how to do anything else. Meandering around the mall is America’s daily exercise. Yes, the high-end section of the Natick Collection is choking, with its luxury stores and their over-the-top price tags, but if you can’t afford the Prada, there’s a Payless right around the corner.
And as God is our witness, we’ll never go without a food court corn dog again.
Rather than rein it in, we just change where we ring it up. Recessionistas are an actual, sought-after demographic. The reformed label-lusting set haven’t curtailed their devil-may-care spending, they’ve just traded in their Saks card for a Marshall’s Visa. Discount stores are thriving, with Wal-Mart and BJs posting gains when everyone is in the red.
And now we have “returnistas” - those who buy, panic and return. It’s the retail version of “I didn’t inhale.”
Like the lush who kicked the booze for a few weeks, people who avoided the malls in September are rewarding themselves with a buying bender - on bargains, yes, but a good deal is just a gateway drug.
It’s hard to believe - especially when you’re 10 deep in line to buy a kid’s coat at Gymboree and listening to “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” for the zillionth time - that retail sales plunged by a record amount last month, down 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted $363.7 billion, the largest decline since such studies began in 1992, the Commerce Department said.
Yet consumer confidence rose unexpectedly, according to a survey released last Friday. Give credit to tumbling gasoline prices. Or maybe folks were buoyed by the fact that the Coach bag they coveted was sold out.
And heaven forbid you lose steam during a spree. At Simon malls, not only can you catch Santa, shows, movies, sales, free valet and preferred parking for carpoolers, you can chill at the Rejuvenation Stations, complete with soft-seating lounge areas with big-screen TVs, free coffee and beverages and a concierge service.
Sure, spending is great for the economy. I bought a flat screen just so the terrorists wouldn’t win. But even when we should be saving, cutting back and doing without, we’re searching for sales, standing in line and slowly, but surely, racking up our credit cards, even if it’s in smaller increments.
For Americans long used to instant gratification, the bottom line is this: It’s hard to tighten your belt when you’ve always had an elastic waistband.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
[Photo: Boston Winter Night by Philocrites on Flickr used with permission under Creative Commons Copyright.]
Today’s Globe announced the massive plan, which is still a work in progress, to revamp the Common. The proposed main draws will be a dog park and a full-scale commercial restaurant. Other ideas include a grand entrance to the common, perhaps with a redesigned visitor center and a parade of international flags leading to the site.
Officials want the initiative to be primarily supported by private fundraising (Ah hem, Beacon Hill yuppies, cough, cough) so yea! for none of my few tax dollars being contributed either.
"I would like to see some real nice little refreshment carts out there where people could pick up food," Menino said in an interview. "But I don't want to see liquor at the Boston Common at all. You've got kids playing there; it's a family atmosphere, where people can walk through."
I think we all know that there are enough brown bag drinkers in the park as it is, but if Menino is thinking more hot dog and roasted nuts stands I do not consider that an improvement. Take a hint from NYC, Menino, it won't kill you.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
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I hate to follow up yesterday’s post on job losses with another Debbie Downer topic, but last night at my company’s Q4 meeting we got the official news I’ve been dreading. Time to pack away my party dress I bought in August and forget my plans of sipping on company bought champagne: our holiday party has been cancelled.
I suppose I should be focusing on our CEO’s more optimistic announcements that we won't be having any lay-offs or pay cuts, but I’m giving myself one day to pout. I love Christmas and all the cheesy, over commercialized, over the top festivities that go along with it. So what better way to celebrate than to go all out on your office’s dime?
At least the news didn’t come as too much of a surprise, given the trend of a no frills holiday season for most offices and many families. Many NYC bashes have taken big hits, and I’m sure the cancellations in Boston will unfortunately soon follow.
Woman’s Wear Daily reported that Marc Jacob’s cancelled his annual masquerade holiday party, which had been scheduled for December 10th at the famed Rainbow Room in NYC with a "Rock and Roll Circus" theme. Marc Jacob’s holiday soiree is known for being an over the top event, W Magazine described the glamour of last year’s event:
“Masked revelers at Marc Jacob's annual holiday bash at Gotham Hall took the Venice Carnival theme to heart, partying as if the city of canals would be underwater by morning. Gondoliers hit up the champagne fountain, French poodles flirted with one another and women strapped on corsets so tight they could barely speak”.
Bank of America, American Express, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are all cancelling or cutting down on the festivities too. The Estee Lauder annual Christmas party and the famed Conde Nast (publishers of The New Yorker, Vogue, Glamour and Vanity Fair) lunch at the Four Seasons are also not being scheduled. Viacom, whose parties are normally hosted by divisions such as MTV and Paramount Pictures, is opting for a more than fair trade. They’ll be getting two extra paid days off in lieu of the usual holiday party.
For those of us that have fallen into the hands of Scrooge, we are not alone. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement firm, found that 77 percent of companies are planning holiday office parties this year, down from 90 percent in 2007. The firm also found that one in five companies is scaling down its usual year end party.
In the spirit of the holiday season and giving, I suppose it wouldn’t be appropriate to fulfill my dreams of ice sculptures and gourmet hors d'oeuvres at Top of the Hub. I’ll make due with a more modest celebration and be happy that my office isn’t cutting any of its charitable giving. But I’m not returning my party dress yet, just in case ;)
Monday, November 10, 2008
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This weekend I opted for a relaxing Saturday night, celebrating my younger cousin's 13th birthday with our family. I was expecting a quarter-life crisis hanging out with a bunch of teenyboppers as the old working girl, but things turned out surprisingly well.
After a long dinner, wine and a huge slice of birthday cake (with ice cream of course), I was feeling great. Late night, I even got into some insightful and serious conversation with the birthday girl and her fellow 13 year old friends. I heard all about their weekend plans, complete with their love life synopsises and the juicy details from the prior evening's middle school dance.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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Here in Boston, we always root for the underdog. It's a mentality I've always had, so when it comes to blogging I'm always looking for that great, under read blog that only gets a couple of hits a day to talk up. But I admit, it's hard to find talented little bloggers in the vast world of blogspots and wordpresses (did you know there's a blog born every half second?) but that doesn't mean we don't try! Hey, the Sox's hard work for 86 years payed off, right?
Blogger Chuck Westbrook is rooting for the underdog too- he is forming a group of bloggers to help bring awareness to underappreciated blogs. Here's Chuck's plan:
1. Gather some nice bloggers who believe in helping good content rise. The more the merrier. This becomes our group for the project.
2. A good, lesser-known blog is chosen. Everyone in the group will read that blog for two weeks.
3. At the end of the two weeks, the group moves to another blog to read.
Well, Blogette is a beginner blogger, and I'm always looking to bring in more readers and improve content! Pick me Chuck! :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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I'm an observational commuter. Occasionally on the T, I'll get into a book and politely keep my head down, but for the most part I'm a starer. Actually, I take advantage of the fact that most people are not starers. I'm that person that you don't think is watching you pick you nose or send cheesy texts to your girlfriend or listen to Ace to Base on your IPod. (Side note: I am always amazed at the things people will text/email with the assumption that no one is reading. Scandalous.)
Before you go and think I'm a creep, I'm going somewhere with this. For the most part, the findings of my staring are overwhelmingly positive and even uplifting. I find that most riders are more than happy to give up their seat and try to clear the way as much as possible on a packed train. Even cell phone gabbers aren't that bad. I actually enjoy my T observations because they sort of give me a little faith in the benevelance of Bostonians.
So, imagine my surprise to find that this week the MBTA put bright posters on 600 subway cars and 400 buses with messages such as ,"Don't be a drone on the phone.","Be sweet. Offer your seat.","Don't be a lout. Let them out." and "Don’t dash without your trash."
Umm question: What is a lout? Are there people that seriously use the word drone? The "Courtesy Campaign" is a valiant effort, but based on these signs I'm guessing that the MBTA is not working with the likes Arnold or Hill Holiday.
In past "Courtesy Campaigns", MBTA employees distributed $2 Dunkin' Donuts coupons to passengers performing small acts of kindness. That's my kind of a brownie point. But last I heard the MBTA was in some serious financial trouble so I doubt I'll be getting free Dunkies anytime soon.
I do appreciate the MBTA encouraging common courtesy, but I think that there's a bigger picture as well as other issues that I'd rather have my Charlie Card fee go towards, like safety for woman traveling at night.
For now, I'll have to settle for the new signs adding a little comedic relief to my commute. And I'll add drone hunting to my staring routine.
www.mbta.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
[Photo: TCjuly299016 by patriotworld on Flickr used with permission under Creative Commons Copyright.]
I admit that I don't follow football that closely, but I'm a little confused about the all the hubbub still surrounding Tom Brady. Yesterday I noticed that Boston.com has a photo spread titled “On the town with Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen" that has more photos than most Red Sox albums. That says a lot in this town.
Personally, Brady's status as a cripple knocked him way down in my book. I guess I've been more accepting than most Pats fans. My mentality is out with the old and in with the new.
With that ladies, meet Matt Cassel.
Personally, I was disappointed with the lack of stalkerish gossip following Cassel online. So, for the benefit of Boston Bachelorettes, I decided to do a little investigative research myself. Unfortunately, my google search came up with no trendy restaurant or bar sightings and even the Herald and Metro were slacking on their dishing. The only good scoop that I came across was Cassel singing some lousy karaoke to Backstreet Boys. Hardly scandalous.
My biggest finding/letdown is that Cassel is married to his college sweetheart, Lauren Killian. The two met at USC, where she was a former volleyball star and he sat on the sidelines as QB.
The good news is that the athletic stud gene runs in the family. Matt’s older brother Jack plays for the Houston Astros and his younger brother Justin plays for the Chicago White Sox. Future mother-in-law potential even looks bright…his Mom won an Emmy for her work as a TV set decorator.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
[Photo: North End Parks by gconservancy on Flickr used with permission under Creative Commons Copyright.]
Number one on the list was Portland, Oregon. I'm not sure why you'd ever want to move to Oregon, but being green works for me!
Somehow Boston also came out at number 2 for city commuting. It’s good to know that our $14.6 billion for the Big Dig counts for something, but I still think the SustainLane judges would be swayed if they sat through the traffic I sit in.
Housing crisis aside, I'd only expect Boston's sustainability to improve in the future. Highlights of Mayor Menino's plan include 10 percent increase in recycling by 2012 as well as all taxicabs going hybrid by 2015 (does this mean cheaper cab fares?).
http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/cities/boston
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I missed out on the $1 fare (yes, it really is $1) that you can get on Megabus if you book in advance, but I payed only $15 for a one way ticket from NYC to Boston this past weekend and I was pleasantly surprised.
I must admit I had some predisposed notions about the comfort of bus travel (Oh are you taking that Chinatown bus?), but with the cost of Amtrak tipping over $100 for many trains, you've got to look for some other options, especially at off-peak times.
The bus didn't have the most efficient boarding system at Penn Station, but once I was on I enjoyed my stop free ride to South Station, relaxing in the AC and surfing the web on my MacBook. My only compliant was that 'movie sharing' sights were blocked from their WiFi network and I was looking really forward to an afternoon of vegging to Lipstick Jungle.
If you can't book on MegaBus, a division of Coach USA, I've heard good things about BoltBus, a division of Greyhound, that has similar services between New York and Boston for only $1. Boltbus even has electrical outlets at every seat.
My prediction? I think this bus thing could catch on. MegaBus says their average clientele is "young professionals", a trend I took note of on my trip. So cut back on traveling and save money for your next NYC shopping trip... 5th Ave... Zara...new Top Shop... and now we're heading towards a new post...
http://www.megabus.com
http://www.boltbus.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hi, I’m the new Boston Blogette!
Welcome to a site where I'll be offering insights on whatever me and my girlfriends happen to be chatting, arguing or obsessing over. When getting the group of us together, you can barely get a word in. We are all dealing with our new found lives in front of computers, so I find it only appropriate that we transfer our chatter to a blog.
Consider my voice a work in progress, which has been relatively dormant since a hefty pile of post-graduation cover letters. My recent departure from my picturesque career as a typical American college student (party, party, class, party) has fizzled into a 9-5 that is certainly going to take some getting used to. But I consider myself a glass is half full type of girl, so what better time to offer thoughts on my life as a 20-something than when I become a new member of the Metro Boston workforce?
My aspirations for this blog (besides the usual fashion, food and fun advice) include veering away from the Cosmo-esque writing style that has plagued our college lives; we’re working girls now right? Look for book recommendations, news observations and some healthy, go-green initiatives as some of my favorites.
So stash this blog in your favorites folder alongside Perez and Fashionista and take my advice that posts are best enjoyed on weekday mornings alongside your favorite Starbucks or Dunkies order.
Enjoy!
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