Last winter, in the midst of the cold, rain, fog, snow, and other atrocities that January and February bring, I decided that as long as I was going to put up with winter, I might as well start wearing more cashmere.
Cashmere is lightweight, warm, soft, and very expensive. Even the sale prices of 100-percent cashmere sweaters are very high. Not surprisingly, my efforts at developing my cashmere collection were dampened by the high cost of each cashmere piece. It's difficult to justify buying one cashmere sweater when I can buy two or three (or more!) other pieces for the same cost.
By the end of the winter, I had added only one cashmere-y piece to my collection, a black long-sleeved turtleneck sweater that isn't even 100-percent cashmere. Despite its shortcomings, it's a staple piece that I wear throughout the winter, so it was not a bad place to start.
However, I have a long way to go. My goal is not to achieve cashmere mafia status but perhaps a few more cashmere pieces would make winter more tolerable.
A couple weeks ago, I was scanning the sales at one of the online daily boutique stores (this time, ideeli, though I also belong to Gilt, Rue la la, and HauteLook) and came across a boutique of winter essentials. The boutique included several cashmere items--clearly I am not alone in my quest--including a gray duster (like a sweatercoat, but no buttons) that was begging to come home to me.
Ordinarily, gray is not my go-to color when it comes to sweaters, but a cashmere sweater is a basic piece that should last for years and transcend the cuts, colors, and styles of one season's fashion trends. Therefore, I willingly and happily bought it. The free shipping credit I had received earlier in the week from ideeli made the purchase even more worthwhile.
The sweater fit perfectly and is now hanging in my closet, awaiting the arrival of more cashmere friends, whenever they might arrive.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Hello, fall
Just now, as I was putting our Love Actually CD into our stereo, I realized that we're getting close to the time when it's ok to play Christmas music.
For the record (har har), the CD features only a couple of Christmas songs, but they feel a little off in May. The rest of the CD is so awesome that I play it all year, but now as the weather turns colder, other people (including my husband) won't think I'm so strange for listening to the occasional Christmas song.
The falling leaves are bringing other changes. Throughout the last week, skeins of Canada geese heading toward warmer climes and fruity drinks with umbrellas have darkened our dusk skies. Some are better than others at observing the regulation V-shaped flying formation, but even the shape-challenged birds noisily announce their presence. I could happily live without those dirty birds and their tendencies to wander into traffic and make annoyances of themselves, but I look forward to their annual cacophonous melody, and not just because their departure heralds fireplace season.
That's right - it has arrived! We have adopted the winter configuration of our living room, with one of our leather chairs placed perilously close to the fireplace. Well, not so perilously, as there was a minor incident last winter involving a pillow falling between the chair and the glass of the fireplace. Technically, there were no flames. However, B seems to think that my insatiable quest for warmth could lead to danger, so I have been instructed to keep myself and my accoutrements a safe distance away from the hot glass.
Just right now, for instance, I am nearly a foot away. Safety first!
Chilly weather also brings an excellent excuse for shopping - Christmas gifts! If I can't shop for myself all the time, the second-best option is shopping for other people. We started our Christmas shopping this week, entirely online so far, as most of my shopping seems to be these days, unless I have a craving for mall food court Indian food with peshawari naan. The stuff we cook at home pales in comparison.
Anyway. Enjoy the fall. Pick an apple, photograph a leaf, and enjoy the beautiful sunsets because rumor has it, snow will be here before we know it.
For the record (har har), the CD features only a couple of Christmas songs, but they feel a little off in May. The rest of the CD is so awesome that I play it all year, but now as the weather turns colder, other people (including my husband) won't think I'm so strange for listening to the occasional Christmas song.
The falling leaves are bringing other changes. Throughout the last week, skeins of Canada geese heading toward warmer climes and fruity drinks with umbrellas have darkened our dusk skies. Some are better than others at observing the regulation V-shaped flying formation, but even the shape-challenged birds noisily announce their presence. I could happily live without those dirty birds and their tendencies to wander into traffic and make annoyances of themselves, but I look forward to their annual cacophonous melody, and not just because their departure heralds fireplace season.
That's right - it has arrived! We have adopted the winter configuration of our living room, with one of our leather chairs placed perilously close to the fireplace. Well, not so perilously, as there was a minor incident last winter involving a pillow falling between the chair and the glass of the fireplace. Technically, there were no flames. However, B seems to think that my insatiable quest for warmth could lead to danger, so I have been instructed to keep myself and my accoutrements a safe distance away from the hot glass.
Just right now, for instance, I am nearly a foot away. Safety first!
Chilly weather also brings an excellent excuse for shopping - Christmas gifts! If I can't shop for myself all the time, the second-best option is shopping for other people. We started our Christmas shopping this week, entirely online so far, as most of my shopping seems to be these days, unless I have a craving for mall food court Indian food with peshawari naan. The stuff we cook at home pales in comparison.
Anyway. Enjoy the fall. Pick an apple, photograph a leaf, and enjoy the beautiful sunsets because rumor has it, snow will be here before we know it.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The importance of a second opinion
You might remember that in May, I inquired about refinancing from a local mortgage broker, and she offered only bad news - that we didn't qualify for the government mortgage programs and that we'd have to pay PMI if we refinanced. I don't believe I mentioned that she said she'd call me back with more information and never did, but that combined with her not knowing the difference between an area code and a zip code made me wonder if a second opinion would be worth obtaining.
These many months later, I finally got around to finding a second opinion. The local broker had recommended calling the company that holds our mortgage and asking for a better rate; I didn't think we'd have much luck taking that route, but I figured a phone call couldn't hurt.
I called to ask about refinancing, expecting to be told the same story, but the man on the phone was actually very helpful. He was some sort of pre-screener, and he quoted me a rate in the 4s (a whole lot better than what we have now) and said he we wouldn't have to pay PMI since we didn't have to pay it originally. Excellent news!
He asked if I wanted to speak with a loan officer; I said I'd rather wait till B got home, especially since the mortgage is in B's name alone. I made an appointment for someone to call later that evening.
When the phone call arrived, we put the loan guy on speaker phone so we could both chat. And he was even more helpful than the first guy!
He checked a couple of things and told us that we do in fact qualify for the Fannie/Freddie government program as long as we have at least 95 percent equity in our house. We're going to receive a phone call in the next couple days about an appraiser coming over; that meeting will determine how much we'll have to bring to the closing to reach that number. He also confirmed that we do not have to pay PMI.
He offered more great news - the rate that we locked is below 4 - shockingly low! I was happy with the rate that the first guy quoted and didn't think that it could possibly get any lower. But it did.
The best news of all? We're going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage, and our monthly payment is only going up a smidge. Oh, happy day.
One negative is that I'm not really sure of next steps that will happen. When I asked questions of that sort, his answers were typically, "Oh, they'll call you about that." We haven't received any phone calls yet, so I guess we don't have to do anything other than collect the paperwork he requested.
Stay tuned...if I learn any lessons from our refinancing adventure, I'll be sure to share.
These many months later, I finally got around to finding a second opinion. The local broker had recommended calling the company that holds our mortgage and asking for a better rate; I didn't think we'd have much luck taking that route, but I figured a phone call couldn't hurt.
I called to ask about refinancing, expecting to be told the same story, but the man on the phone was actually very helpful. He was some sort of pre-screener, and he quoted me a rate in the 4s (a whole lot better than what we have now) and said he we wouldn't have to pay PMI since we didn't have to pay it originally. Excellent news!
He asked if I wanted to speak with a loan officer; I said I'd rather wait till B got home, especially since the mortgage is in B's name alone. I made an appointment for someone to call later that evening.
When the phone call arrived, we put the loan guy on speaker phone so we could both chat. And he was even more helpful than the first guy!
He checked a couple of things and told us that we do in fact qualify for the Fannie/Freddie government program as long as we have at least 95 percent equity in our house. We're going to receive a phone call in the next couple days about an appraiser coming over; that meeting will determine how much we'll have to bring to the closing to reach that number. He also confirmed that we do not have to pay PMI.
He offered more great news - the rate that we locked is below 4 - shockingly low! I was happy with the rate that the first guy quoted and didn't think that it could possibly get any lower. But it did.
The best news of all? We're going from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage, and our monthly payment is only going up a smidge. Oh, happy day.
One negative is that I'm not really sure of next steps that will happen. When I asked questions of that sort, his answers were typically, "Oh, they'll call you about that." We haven't received any phone calls yet, so I guess we don't have to do anything other than collect the paperwork he requested.
Stay tuned...if I learn any lessons from our refinancing adventure, I'll be sure to share.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Banff wildlife: Bighorn sheep (aka Rocky Mountain sheep) and a goat
Of all the wildlife we saw in Banff, the bighorn sheep were the most plentiful. They were everywhere! They appeared mostly in groups but sometimes flew solo. They were able to climb the steepest of rock with ease and were most frequently seen mineral deposits from the rocks and roadside.
Here are a few of my fav sheep pics, plus the one goat we saw.
In case you're wondering, both the males and females of the bighorn sheep have horns.
Here are a few of my fav sheep pics, plus the one goat we saw.
In case you're wondering, both the males and females of the bighorn sheep have horns.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Banff recap
It's been a while!
My summer has been busy but great. B and I spent the start of summer in Banff, a glorious 2 weeks of jaw-dropping jocund days, misty mountaintops, and...I don't know how I'm going to work in standing tiptoe into that one. Apologies to R&J fans for my inadequate allusion.
We landed in Calgary and hopped in our rental car, a Hyandai Accent that we affectionately called the Silver Bullet, though it resembled a bullet more in size than in speed. No matter; it was an adequate vehicle for which I have greater fondness than is rational because of the wonderful adventures we enjoyed in it. Now I see these silver (and green and blue) bullets everywhere and feel wistfulness and nostalgia for our journey.
The drive between Calgary and Banff crosses unremarkable cow country. If you're heading east, it's dull. (I can confirm this fact because we did it on our drive back to the airport at the end of the trip.) If you're heading west, the mountains peak through the far-off clouds and promise great aventures ahead.
And we did have great adventures. We visited 4 national parks (Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay) and one provincial park (in Kananaskis Country), walked on a glacier, saw countless waterfalls, rode up a couple mountain gondolas, saw turquoise-blue lakes, were chased by bees, saw the continental divide, and waded into 40-degree water. Ok, only B did that last one.
There aren't many roads out there, and they're mostly highways, but they have a set of rules and expectations that are wildly different from what we have at home.
First of all, bikers ride in the breakdown lane of highways because, as I mentioned, it's the only road available. There was very little traffic on the highway so it wasn't a big deal.
Second of all, stopping on any road is commonplace and expected. Everyone tries to pull over and put their hazard lights on, but everyone who comes behind them stops, too, because we all are there to see wildlife. And we saw a ton of wildlife.
We saw grizzly bears, black bears, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, moutain goat, mule deer, white tail deer, hoary marmot (dressed in a scandalous pink and lace outfit - haha just kidding), regular marmot (attired much more conservatively), porcupine, big-earred rabbit, and maybe a wolf. We saw the wolf on our first afternoon there; he was running down the median of a highway, and I assumed he was a big, black, wild-looking dog. Oh, to go back in time and take a picture!
We saw so much wildlife we became complacent about it. "Oh, it's only one elk," we would say dismissively, having seen many groups of elk previously. Or, "Oh, it's just some more bighorn sheep," since we saw over a hundred of them over 2 weeks.
We have the Silver Bullet to thank for all of our wildlife spotting. People on big-bus (and even smaller-bus) tours see much less wildlife. We know that because we spoke to some such people and their wildlife counts were significantly less impressive than ours.
Not that it's a contest. But if you're interested in seeing lots of animals and being able to choose your daily adventures, consider going it alone.
We had a solid itinerary to guide us through our trip, and we mostly stuck with it. It ensured that we didn't miss the best sights and provided us with back-up options for when the weather was less than ideal.
The weather was good. Most of our days were overcast; a couple days were beautiful and sunny; and a couple days were rainy. Temps were on the chilly side most of the time, 50s and 60s, and cooler at night. Days were long enough that we always had to fall asleep in the daylight and never saw a single sunset. We did see a sunrise on the day we flew home. Early flight.
I recommend a trip to the area to anyone who wants to see beautiful vistas and wildlife. There's a peace of mind and a level of relaxation that come with a nature-oriented trip, a feeling that you can't get in a city. It was a great change of pace from our usual trips.
My summer has been busy but great. B and I spent the start of summer in Banff, a glorious 2 weeks of jaw-dropping jocund days, misty mountaintops, and...I don't know how I'm going to work in standing tiptoe into that one. Apologies to R&J fans for my inadequate allusion.
We landed in Calgary and hopped in our rental car, a Hyandai Accent that we affectionately called the Silver Bullet, though it resembled a bullet more in size than in speed. No matter; it was an adequate vehicle for which I have greater fondness than is rational because of the wonderful adventures we enjoyed in it. Now I see these silver (and green and blue) bullets everywhere and feel wistfulness and nostalgia for our journey.
The drive between Calgary and Banff crosses unremarkable cow country. If you're heading east, it's dull. (I can confirm this fact because we did it on our drive back to the airport at the end of the trip.) If you're heading west, the mountains peak through the far-off clouds and promise great aventures ahead.
And we did have great adventures. We visited 4 national parks (Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay) and one provincial park (in Kananaskis Country), walked on a glacier, saw countless waterfalls, rode up a couple mountain gondolas, saw turquoise-blue lakes, were chased by bees, saw the continental divide, and waded into 40-degree water. Ok, only B did that last one.
There aren't many roads out there, and they're mostly highways, but they have a set of rules and expectations that are wildly different from what we have at home.
First of all, bikers ride in the breakdown lane of highways because, as I mentioned, it's the only road available. There was very little traffic on the highway so it wasn't a big deal.
Second of all, stopping on any road is commonplace and expected. Everyone tries to pull over and put their hazard lights on, but everyone who comes behind them stops, too, because we all are there to see wildlife. And we saw a ton of wildlife.
We saw grizzly bears, black bears, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, moutain goat, mule deer, white tail deer, hoary marmot (dressed in a scandalous pink and lace outfit - haha just kidding), regular marmot (attired much more conservatively), porcupine, big-earred rabbit, and maybe a wolf. We saw the wolf on our first afternoon there; he was running down the median of a highway, and I assumed he was a big, black, wild-looking dog. Oh, to go back in time and take a picture!
We saw so much wildlife we became complacent about it. "Oh, it's only one elk," we would say dismissively, having seen many groups of elk previously. Or, "Oh, it's just some more bighorn sheep," since we saw over a hundred of them over 2 weeks.
We have the Silver Bullet to thank for all of our wildlife spotting. People on big-bus (and even smaller-bus) tours see much less wildlife. We know that because we spoke to some such people and their wildlife counts were significantly less impressive than ours.
Not that it's a contest. But if you're interested in seeing lots of animals and being able to choose your daily adventures, consider going it alone.
We had a solid itinerary to guide us through our trip, and we mostly stuck with it. It ensured that we didn't miss the best sights and provided us with back-up options for when the weather was less than ideal.
The weather was good. Most of our days were overcast; a couple days were beautiful and sunny; and a couple days were rainy. Temps were on the chilly side most of the time, 50s and 60s, and cooler at night. Days were long enough that we always had to fall asleep in the daylight and never saw a single sunset. We did see a sunrise on the day we flew home. Early flight.
I recommend a trip to the area to anyone who wants to see beautiful vistas and wildlife. There's a peace of mind and a level of relaxation that come with a nature-oriented trip, a feeling that you can't get in a city. It was a great change of pace from our usual trips.
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