Food, Home and Style
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Love in the Time of Layoff: The Changing Hearts & Minds of Men
This morning my husband Marco got up early to buy me eggs before my morning sickness kicked in. Before he got laid off, such an errand would have caused him strife. When he had to show up somewhere on time, anything that deviated from the norm of morning routine could throw him off. But this morning was different. This morning, Marco had a reverie buying me eggs.
“I got to the store on the corner before it opened,” he came back and explained, his voice all quiet and calm. “So I walked around for a while in the hazy rain. And when I came back and picked up the eggs, I thought of where they came from. I thought of the farm.”
“The farm?” I asked, plucking two eggs from their carton in a rush to cook them and get them in me quickly before I threw up. We live in busy Manhattan. Even the closest farmer’s market is a few subway stops away.
“Yeah, the farm. I felt part of that cycle of farm life where you get up before dawn because you have to get some things done before everyone else wakes up. I felt part of some kind of more natural work life cycle. I felt part of that somehow just looking at these eggs.”…
Capital Thrift—Finding Clothing Bargains in Washington
One of the first things I gave up when I lost my job was buying clothes. Since I only needed jeans and t-shirts to wear around the house and a few suits for interviews, I didn’t have a valid excuse to shop. But, within a few months, I was itching to refresh my wardrobe. The weather was warmer and I wanted to add some color to my closet. So I decided to bend the rules. I called my friend Frances, who’s also unemployed, and asked her to join me for some shopping—thrift shopping. D.C. isn’t the most obvious place to find cool clothes, and I wasn’t sure if we’d find anything worthwhile, but at least for the afternoon it would be a distraction from the job hunt…
At the End of Your Robe: Beachwear Bargains
As if getting in shape for summer weren’t enough pressure—now you have to figure out how do you pull together warm-weather looks that are fashionable, flattering, and affordable. If last year’s bikini is too stretched out or your swim trunks are faded beyond recognition, consider these 10 resources for finding a perfect beach wardrobe while still staying financially afloat.
Old Navy: The ultimate resource for beach items that are fresh, bright and, most of all, cheap. Their men’s swim trunks in solids and prints are only $15. Mix and match separates and one-piece swimsuits for women are all under $20; kids’ swimwear is a steal for less than $10 an item. And who can beat flip-flops for five bucks?
Swimoutlet.com: Prefer doing laps in the pool to lounging the beach? This site has more athletic-style swimsuits…
Cheap Date: Learning a Language
Sometimes the stock market increases 15% year over year. Sometimes we bump up interest rates because growth and inflation and moving too quickly. And sometimes ordinary people buy unaffordable houses with strange loan products because the home is guaranteed to double in value (in a short, short time). That sometime is not today. While the country’s fiscal vitality is showing signs of a perk up (except for a certain symbolic flagship auto manufacturer, that is), us ordinary Toms are having a tough go of it.
Rather than cry in our Mad Dog 20/20, we can make our own fun. We don’t have to drop ducats on theater tickets, surf-and-turf specials, trips to St. Bartholomew’s or season passes to Six Flags to have a great time on a date. You can get creative and do something much better. This time around, learn a language together…
Love in the Time of Layoff: Bankers Are to 2007 as ________ Are to 2009
Last week we found ourselves on a two woman bar tour, consisting of just ourselves. We were flitting between two groups of guys, one group was at Spitzer’s and another across the street at ‘inoteca. After a glass of wine and some assorted cheeses at ‘inoteca, we would dash to Spitzer’s to chow on truffle mac and cheese with some Aussies. Had we not been so amused by our own antics, we would have gone home pleading a ‘breakfast meeting,’ well that and the cutie in a suit stationed in the doorway of Spitzer’s, who had been frantically blackberrying for the better part of an hour. So stoic was his demeanor that we just had to dub him the Downtown Centurion. One of us and we won’t say who (we do write for Dating a Banker Anonymous) was about to make her fourth entrance of the night when the Downtown Centurion deigned to speak to her. She had taken to switching up her hair and taking off her leather jacket that was “totally giving her street cred” every time she switched locations.
Downtown Centurion: You forgot to take your hair down.
DABA Girl (smooth): Huh?
Downtown Centurion (eyes still on BlackBerry): You’ve been taking your hair down and putting your jacket on every time, you come in. Don’t mess up your flow now. Although personally, I’d be interested in seeing the jacket off and hair down combo, but maybe you’re saving that for later?…
Pampering to Plump the Economy
We’ve heard the nation’s leaders warn that we can’t really dig ourselves out of this economic ditch until consumer confidence returns—in other words, until we all feel safe enough to get out there and shop. But this plan of action feels rash. Excessive, reckless, down-payment-in-shoes-style consumption is what got us into this mess. And who needs another pair of strappy sandals anyway? But there is one kind of shopping that can help make a difference. It’s the most indulgent, frivolous, pamper-me style shopping—the kind you’ve probably become too monkish to consider. But it’s the best thing for the economy, and for your toes, especially if you’re wearing last year’s styles.
One of the best ways to stimulate the economy yourself is to spend money on personal services, according to Dean Baker, founder of the Center for Economic Policy Research. “Personal services” is finance code for manicures and pedicures, facials, babysitters, lawn care, and dog groomers. Apparently, this is a more efficient and effective form of consumerism, for yourself and the economy as a whole. Service industries generally have low overhead and spend more of their revenue on paying staff than a typical store. They are also often locally owned, keeping your dollars not just within the country’s borders, but in your own community…
Love in the Time of Layoff: 5 Dating Tips for the Recession
First dates at Le Cirque and second dates in St. Barth’s are out (for me, and maybe you, they were never in, but you get the point). Everyone’s feeling pressure on their wallets, and so for a lot of folks, that means pressure on the dating budget. What are the dating experts advocating in the downturn?
Mainly: Be cheap and be wary. Be very wary.
We don’t really agree with the sentiment of “being cheap” – no one should blow their wad on a few casual dates, of course, but a relationship is an investment and “being cheap” might not be a great way to start. But who are we to say?
Here’s how the pros see it:
* Curb your dating. According to dating expert David Wygant, there are some compulsive daters out there…
Domestic Violence and Money
This isn’t the happiest of news, nor all that new, but we thought it important to participate in the coverage of a report by cosmetics maker Mary Kay that shows an uptick in domestic violence related to financial woes.
From the study, in which 600 shelters were polled:
- Seventy-three percent of shelter representatives attribute the rise in abuse to “financial issues.”
- “Stress” and “job loss” (61 percent and 49 percent, respectively) also proved to be leading contributing factors in the reported increase in domestic violence cases involving women…
Pawn That Engagement Ring!
You both thought two months salary would last forever…but it never got that far. But just because your heart is broken doesn’t mean you have to break the bank staying financially afloat during this recession.
These days ‘the pawn shop’ is online. The site IDoNowIDon’t.com has seen record site visits and “a banner month for product sales,” says the owner. One ex-fiancee hawked her $30,000 five-carat, Bulgari-inspired engagement ring online and fetched $18,000 to help her pay off debts and start a new company…
Recession Lexicon: Brokavore
/n. Foodies who are low on cash aren’t just your ordinary brand of foodies: they’re “brokavores.” So says the brilliant new site Brokelyn, started by writer Faye Penn. A takeoff on “locavore,” someone who eats locally grown or produced food, a brokavore is “an obsessively cheap but highly discerning eater.”
ex. The brokavore sought out hot dog stands, pretzel vendors, shawarma trucks and taco joints for local delights.
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