Last week marked my 23rd year of life, and I celebrated in San Diego, Chicago, and NYC.  Literally all three cities in one week.  As a continuation of our series promoting consumerism, the following are things that I bought and received recently.

1. BOUGHT.  I admittedly walked out of the store thinking I had just purchased an owl teapot.  Then I looked at the receipt.  A penguin.  Oops.  Mama Gentoo Teapot from Anthropologie, $14.95 (matching mugs also available).

2. BOUGHT.  If you have an inkling of interest in Jazz, and miraculously find yourself in Chicago, go to the Jazz Record Mart.  It is a wondrous place with endless aisles of jazz, blues, r&b, and gospel CDs and records.  The website claims it is the world’s largest jazz and blues records store!  Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66 Four Sider is a great compilation of covers with an enthralling Bossa Nova/Brasilian twist.  Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66 Four Sider CD from Jazz Record Mart, $12.99 (I bought it on vinyl; you might have to sleuth for a vinyl edition).

3. BOUGHT (the postcard version!).  I decided to go on a last minute trip to NYC 11am last Friday.  I departed at 8:50PM.  Besides visiting friends, I WANTED TO GO SEE THE TIM BURTON EXHIBIT at the MOMA.  Really badly.  A month or so ago, I saw a snippet about it in a New Yorker, which led to a decision to visit NYC prior to April 26, 2010 (THE DAY THE EXHIBIT CLOSES).  My friend and I woke up early (to stop by Babycakes before the MOMA opened Saturday morning, of course), and floated around until our assigned Tim Burton exhibit time.  Worth the wait, the exhibit is the best special exhibit I have ever seen at any museum.  The exhibit is an extraordinary chronicle of Burton’s creative prowess.  I wanted prints of his number series, but couldn’t find them at the store (I might have to order them later).  Instead, I got a postcard of Burton’s “Romeo and Juliet,” which now resides in a frame on my wall.  “Romeo and Juliet” postcard from the MOMA store, $2.00.

4. RECEIVED.  Curiosity convinced my friend and I to investigate The Camp Site and The Lab in Costa Mesa, CA.  We honestly spent more time driving to/from Costa Mesa, than the time we spent walking around this pocket of Costa Mesa.  Although a slight disappointment (the architecture is stellar), I noticed a book that looked like the cover of Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World, except instead of a cupcake, the book featured a COOKIE.  Turns out, the author of my favorite vegan cupcake book had just released a cookie book.  Cosmically, my sister gave me the cookie book as one of my birthday presents.  I flipped through most of the book on my return trip to Chicago, using torn up pieces of American Airlines napkin to mark cookies that I want to make.  Excitement.  Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes For Everyone’s Favorite Treats, $12.21.

5. BOUGHT/RECEIVED.  When I asked my friend Tiffany, Assistant Designer to Tracy Reese, what piece she would consider her masterpiece (I think I actually integrated the phrase “blood-stained” in my question, not that this is essential clarification), she responded “Midnight Garden.”  Bought by Anthropologie (and renamed “Bubbled Meadowlands”), the glorious dress has a perfect bubbled bottom (sometimes bubbled edges are depressingly limp and frumpy).  The most stunning aspect, however, is the brilliant print.

There are amazing layers of teal, black, and magenta.  It’s difficult to notice in the above picture, but there is also a translucent layer of flowers and leaves.  Bubbled Meadowlands Dress from Anthropologie, $190.

6. BOUGHT.  While in NYC, I attended the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival, which I heard about from Minty Lewis’ website.  I picked up a collection of stories by James McShane, an unfamiliar cartoonist from Rhode Island.  It’s wonderful, and I’m grateful to have a platform to express my love for this new acquisition.  I have a limited attention span, and I enjoy being bombarded with different images.  Perhaps my preferences condition me to be the perfect audience for Japanese seizure cartoons.  One of my favorite stories, “Carmine and Darnell and the Sleepy Creatures, has 40 tiny scenes per page!  Besides the prolific detail (err…quantitative affection?),  McShane’s stories are whimsical, but with sprinkles of eccentric.  A perfect combination.  You can download or purchase the collection here.

7. RECEIVED.  I needed a new wallet, and my friend Angelica surprised me with this Poketo gem.  Designed by Silvia Portella of Bukubuku (off the cute scale), this wallet never fails to make me chuckle when I pull it out of my bag.  I think my favorite cast member of the wallet is the red glasses-wearing bear drinking coffee.  I’d want to be his friend, and I’d want to avoid the saber toothed ice cream cone (good grief).

If you have ever wondered about how functional a Poketo wallet is, or what Tricia’s wallet looks like, below is a REAL TIME PICTURE OF MY VERY OWN WALLET.  The bearing my soul!

Note: The image of “Romeo and Juliet” by Tim Burton is from this Guardian article.

That’s right, not only are we of S&D on our way back to the top (or, you know, just back), but since we last saw each other I’ve moved south to Virginia, where the trees are green, the sun shines, and I lock myself in my room for days trying to make up stories.

Here in Virginia, I can’t hop a quick train to H&M and buy three dollar earrings or walk down the street for some hot yellow nailpolish. No, no. Here, I spend most of my time shuffling through piles at the Salvation Army, browsing used book stores, or meandering the internet. Here are some of the goods I’ve acquired since my move.

ONE: Coronet Super 12 Typewriter
Oh, yes, pretty as a blueberry in two shades of blue, and only $7 at Goodwill. Do I write on it? Good question. Once in awhile I sit down and type: “This is my typewriter!!! I’m writing on my typewriter!” It’s more of a mascot.

TWO: Ray Fenwick’s HI Postcards
Alright, so I won these babies from Ray himself and they are perfect for sending loved ones greetings from my new locale (or else I have to use the ones that say “Mr. Jefferson’s Virginia” in weird italic script). There are thirty different postcards, most of which are completely and wonderfully strange, such as this one, which is basically a visual representation of the written content of my postcards:

THREE: Short Story Anthologies!
Oh yes, oh yes, you should be reading short stories. Short stories recently earn coveted accolades from the Pulitzer and Oprah. And also, I am writing them and one day I will publish them, and then someone will have to buy them. Here some anthologies that could potentially knock your socks off:

The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction ($15) With fifty short stories from 1970 on, this is one of the cheapest anthologies you’ll find. It includes some of my favorites, including Donald Barthelme’s “The School,” Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” and Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.”

The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories ($13) After spending so much time in “English” classes, I realized I’ve been missing out on some great international stories. This includes 75 from the US and around the world.

“Unlike the novel, a short story may be, for all purposes, essential.” –Jorge Luis Borges

American Short Story Masterpieces ($7) If you love the short story, this includes many (36) must-read American classics. Don’t let “classics” scare you, these were all written since World War II.

Too poor? Check out this website for classic short stories in the public domain (FREE TO READ! FREE!). READ THESE: Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” (ah, last paragraph… so beautiful!), John Updike’s “A&P,” Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron,” or Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson.”

FOUR: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wait, you haven’t heard of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros? Oh, yes, no one has. It is only me over here, playing the CD obsessively on repeat. I’m particularly in love with 40 Day Dream, Jade, and Brother. Here’s a live performance of 40 Day Dream. Don’t be scared of the dancing.

FIVE: Pirate Glass
ONE DOLLAR. That’s the great thing about thrift stores! Now, go to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army and buy something crazy, like a mug with a panda on it.

That’s it for now! We’re getting organized behind the scenes and will have plenty of fun arriving in the coming weeks!

I’ll be first to admit it: I have hardly helped the economy for months. The items on this page, while under the category of “What I Bought” are mostly things I did not actually buy — belated xmas presents, free books, and the like. I am as frugal as they come (though recently, you’ll be happy to hear, I’ve made long strides in becoming less of a tightwad).  Still, I am excited about all of my recent acquisitions:

1. Mickey & Minnie Sweater, H&M. This is one thing I DID buy. I have been stalking it in H&M’s ever since the beginning of the season when it was priced at an unaffordable $40. But recently, all the knits went down to FIVE DOLLARS, so I had to snatch this up.
2. Doodle Heart Glass, Urban Outfitters. HOW CUTE. I had no glassware until two weeks ago (but an inordinate amount of thrift-store tea cups.)
3. Piccadilly Notebook, Borders. These are now about $4 at Borders and Buy 2 Get 1 Free. Since I am reading the dictionary right now, I thought it would be cool to take all my notes in some nice notebooks, but Moleskins were just too expensive! If you don’t think Picadilly has anything on Moleskin, just ask The Pen Addict.
4. The Synonym Finder, Amazon.com. This guy was super-cheap in the used section (like <$6 with shipping!). Apparently, it’s the best “thesaurus” because it’s set up like a dictionary (so you don’t have to go on hunts for words) and it lists not just straight synonyms, but related words so you can find not just “another word” but “the” word you want.
5. Cute Notebook, Urban Outfitters. That’s how I imagine I look on the subway, even though I don’t have black hair or high boots. And the notebook is college-ruled — the only rule I can handle.
6. The Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer, A Box. Two people have mentioned Conrad to me very recently, and I’ve been thinking of taking him out of the library (and maybe even on a date, har har), but — luck to me! — I found a free copy in a giveaway box! I’m excited because the cover is vintage-cool. (I read both stories in high school, but my mind was dull back then.)

The fonts used in this post are 3Dumb and 2Dumb, availible free at DaFont.com.

I am an impecunious, penurious, parsimonious (dictionary-reading) fashion-fiend. It helps that my sense of style is, er, a little off the norm, but I got everything in this picture (combined!!!) FOR LESS THAN FIFTEEN DOLLARS. That is the art of thrift store shopping, and also the reason that when someone shows me their really “cheap” $20 bag I just think, “Oh.”

TIPS!

Go to Salvation Armies and other charity-run thrift stores. Yes, it does help to go thrifting in a cool-town (ie Brooklyn), but I’ve found lots of success in towns with populations in the higher age range. That’s how you find things like a part-striped, part-solid, zipped-pocket T-shirt for ONE dollar. The elderly have a sick sense of style and get rid of stuff they once wore in the 80s. They don’t know what’s cool, so they price everything low. For example, I recently happened into Hendersonville, North Carolina. It is one hour south of Ashville, has a big retirement community, and TONS of thrift stores (really!).

Go to ethnically diverse areas. You will find new styles you would never find at GAP.

Find a place to exchange your stuff. The other day I went to a store called Buffalo Exchange in Manhattan (there are also stores in Brooklyn, Chicago, etc). They’ll look through your stuff you buy pieces from you. You’ll get 30% of their selling price in cash or 50% in-store credit. The Buffalo Exchange is pretty hipster and picky (ie I brought 20 things and they took 3 — but I got a bright blue & orange button down in exchange!), so I recommend bringing a bunch of stuff and also calling ahead to see if their are particular things they really need or don’t need. They usually buy only for whatever season it happens to be. They’ll take some stuff from H&M (but price it low), things that are weirdly vintage, and a lot of stuff from other labels like Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters. It’s a good way to clean out your closet.

Go shopping in your closet. Or your mom’s closet. Girl Scout shirts from age 10 become hip T-shirts and what your mom wore in college, if she still has it, is probably cool again.

Inspired by Maria’s previous “What I Bought” post, and Mindy Ephron’s blog (things i bought that i love) (which is just as funny as the Office episodes she has written), I’ve created a post of things that I have recently purchased.  No, I’m not substantially aiding the economy with 25 cent animal figurines, but they make me happy.

• Mock me all you want, but I love Gossip Girl.  The dialogue is gelastic and completely delightful.  I could be in a foul mood, but then the lovely Veronica Mars will say something ridiculous like, “Hey Upper East Siders. We hear that World War III just broke out. And it’s wearing kneesocks. Choose your side or run and hide. We have a feeling this one’s to the death.” Harhar.  I can even determine if my Monday will be bearable, based on whether or not there will be a new episode.  The blitheness trickles throughout the week.  Tuesday mornings, I dash to NY Mag’s Daily Intel to read their episode recaps (Gossip Girl Reality Index!).  I piss away the rest of the week until Friday, when Daily Intel releases a list of the best viewer assessments OF the recaps.  I’ve been considering purchasing Season One since August, and when a couple of my friends promised to watch the show if I shared Gossip Girl DVDs with them, I concluded that this would be an excellent time to purchase the set.  Gossip Girl- The Complete First Season from Amazon, $24
• “Yo, us bears totally have to stick together to battle vegetarian dinosaurs,” exclaimed Poppy the polar bear.  Uncle Fun, a neat toy/knick-knack store in Lakeview, has card catalog drawers FILLED with magical little toys- perfect for setting up battles.  Plastic Critter Figurines from Uncle Fun, $0.25!
• I went through an entire tub of Trader Joe’s Mini Cafe Twists in less than a week.  And then, I bought a new tub.  Each twist is a puff pastry chunk, coated in cinnamon sugar.  Plus, they’re vegan!  Mini Cafe Twists from Trader Joe’s, $2.29
• THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING CARDS I HAVE EVER SEEN.  Everytime I see a picture of William Shatner, I can’t help but giggle.  A little.  Did you know he has a self-reflective album produced by Ben Folds? (totally a Pitchfork 7.5, yo).  I bought this card from one of my favorite stories in Chicago, Paper Boy, which is a member of the Uncle Fun empire.  Designed by Sara Hernandez (who works at Paper Boy!), this card is part of a glorious Gocco-screenprinted line.  I highly recommend that you take a peek at her Etsy: Give your thanks with T(om) Hanks, In love?, Smitten?  Amor?  Sara’s card line is available for purchase at Paper Boy ($3.00 a card), or HER ETSY- PAPERTIGERCARDS! ($3.50 a card).
• My fridge is spoiled.  There are two new additions to the mess of concert posters and pictures of my friends that hang precariously on my fridge.  Item One- A 1983 postcard that features the Beach Boys singing to their “number one fans,” President and Mrs. Reagan.  Yes, this picture is taken right before Dennis Wilson drowned (the postcard morbidly includes this fact).  Item Two- A silly “telegram” from summer squash.  Tragic vegetable love.  Both from Uncle Fun, $0.75

I have no idea why I felt compelled to construct two sentences with “yo,” but I’M NOT GOING TO DELETE THEM.

Since everyone seems to enjoy “Currently Obsessed” so much I thought I’d try out something called “What I Bought” which is like a Currently Obsessed except it’s Currently Purchased, which I don’t think is grammatically correct.

Anyway, I thought I’d switch this one up — instead of the normal copy-and-paste from various web-pages, I thought I’d draw my finds. Aren’t they pretty? Can we talk about how hard markers are to use? And how much they smudge? And how much I had forgotten anything about them? Alas.

I took a little old hike down to the East Village a few days ago because Tricia said I had to checkout UNIQLO. She was right. WALLS OF BRIGHT COLORS. Must do another post on that soon. Anyway, I walked from UNIQLO up to Penn Station and stopped in almost all of my favorite stores along the way, including but not limited to: H&M, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, Barnes & Noble, The Strand, and Forever 21. I also managed to hit up a drugstore and a grocery store. Big work for one day.

Of course I had to behave myself (SO HARD). With my current budget most of the above purchases were considered splurges. Still, I feel I should be applauded for my restraint.

• I tried on sunglasses in Forever 21 for literally one half hour. I tried on those shown above (which I can’t seem to find on the web-page, but my drawing is accurate in that hot pink and checkers are involved) and these rose colored glasses (hahaha, I’m such a jokester, they have “floral printed frames”). All the glasses are under $6, so it’s hard to convince yourself that you only need one. I managed, though.
• Next in Forever 21: headbands. Rules: under $3. A piece of fabric should not cost more than $3 unless it has feathers coming out of it (and some do, and I wanted them). Anyway, my drawing really doesn’t do this highligher-green flowered-mesh-style headband justice, but the real thing does its job, which is to get my annoying non-bangs out of my face and not sticking randomly in the air.
• At UNIQLO, where I fell in love with and tried on several items, I only ended up with one purchase — and it was BLACK. Black tights! Of all the yellows, oranges, turquoises, greens, pinks, blues! Of all of the colors in that store! I got black! They were on sale for $2, and the other two pair of black tights I own have HOLES IN THEM. So, needed.
• I have had old tea bags sitting around my house (ie gross flavors I’ve had since college… oh! fail!), and I have been craving tea and avoiding the old tea bags, so I decided to get new ones. I love sampler packs especially when they are in fun flavors. I prefer Lipton over Celestial Seasons (though they do have delightful sampler packs themselves) because Lipton puts each tea bag in its own little sack which in my head means it is preserving freshness. Anyway, this Lipton: Collection of Flavored Black Tea (which apparently you can buy online) contains Blackberry, Orange & Spice, Honey & Lemon, Spiced Chai, Mint, and French Vanilla. (I sort of want to be cooler about my tea, and buy loose leaf and have one of those little metal tea balls with the holes in it, but I have to take my life one step at a time. This step doesn’t involve loose leaf tea.)
• When I went into Barnes & Noble to get a little work done, I wanted to sit in the cafe. To sit in the cafe you have to purchase something (edible). And, since I didn’t plan ahead and bring any food with me on my day-long journey into the bottom of Manhattan, I went for a double chocolate cupcake. It was good. I know, I was right there in Manhattan near all of the best cupcakes in the UNIVERSE and I went for a B&N cupcake. Don’t judge. I was really hungry.
• I have been using this free sample I got of brownish blush for about five months. Finally, I marched into the drugstore and picked me up some pink (“central park pink” blush to be exact). I chose the NYC (New York Color) brand because they are super inexpensive. (Alright, so maybe I’m not helping the economy THAT much.)
• And finally, the biggest purchase of the day: a light weight purple cardigan from Forever 21 for only $12! I love the color and I constantly wear cardigans because I prefer not to reveal my arms. Since it’s light weight, no one will look at me weird for using it in the summer.