New Brahmin

Full Faced Workout

I'm going to Costa Rica in 19 days and I'm on a major gym kick until Christmas. I was on the StairMaster last night and noticed the sweaty lady to my right, also climbing stationery stairs at the rate of 75 steps/minute, had a face full of makeup on. Boy, can I tell you how much that grinds my gears. 

I know I have a few friends who do it, and I'm sorry, but doesn't that end up making you break out more? Seriously, unless you're Dita von Teese and you're doing pilates (which isn't exactly an exercise that causes copious amounts of perspiration - plus she is a performer) why bother? Alright, so this was the only example Google Image could provide me for my point. Can anyone chime in on why you wear makeup to the gym? I mean, I typically shower or wash my face right after, so why not go bare? Granted, I rarely wear makeup to begin with, but help me understand. Or even tell me why it's a bad idea (calling Miss Vincent)...

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Just Because It's 66 Degrees...

Its been a hectic day which is why the posts are running late. I've been all over town and have something that I want to address. Just because it's been ridiculously warm doesn't mean you should be wearing flip flops. If there's some open-toe action sans tights happening with your shoes when the thermometer goes above 60 this time of year, do it. But don't break out your Havianas/Reefs/$2 Chinatown specials. 

We're all for breaking rules at NB, but dressing out of season is just unacceptable. Plus it's dipping back into the 50's tomorrow, which means it will get progressively colder at night. And don't give me crap about seasonless dressing - having your piggies out in November is just not cute. 

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Make A Difference Today

Attention my fellow Boston residents - today is election day, where we decide what the city's mayoral fate will be. If you're a registered voter, get out there and do your civic duty. Same goes for you Newton folks and everywhere else that has a major race going on in town. Don't know where to go? Not an excuse, just go here if you live in the bean. Now go do it. 

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New Brahmin Asks You, Once Again, To Put Your Feet In Check

Yeah, that's grossing me out too. But if you Google Image "overhang + toes" the first image that pops up is from New Brahmin last year when I made my first annual plea. 

Boston, we need to discuss something. It's about feet. Now a lot of people are grossed out by feet. I'm just grossed out by gross feet. Particularly when your toes are hanging over the edge of your shoes, which I call overhang, although the term "shrimp cocktail effect" is becoming popular. This can't be good for that pedicure you spent at least $20 on. Don't your feet get dirty? 

I'm the first to admit I don't get pedicures often enough. But I will remove the polish if it starts to chip or look worn. And I refuse to even go sockless if my situation is not in order. If you can see calluses or dry skin, take care of that shit. Or here's a novel idea - don't wear open-toe shoes. Flats or sneakers work fine and closed booties are just as acceptable in warm weather these days. Boston, please do us a favor - be aware of what's going on with your feet before you flaunt them so we don't have to gag when we see you the way we do at this pic of shrimp cocktail. Blech.

You've been warned. We will soon be handing out fashion violations for this crime.

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Indebted

Debt is a scary thing. But for many (myself included), it's a way of life that isn't going away any time soon. Unless there's some sort of magic time machine that will allow me to go back 2 1/2 years when I was debt free and prevent me from allowing AmEx to up my limit, it's going to be a long road ahead of regaining control. Or is it?

This post on Consumerist today lead me to a handy tool to calculating how long it will take to pay off credit card debt. Very simple and straight forward info. Check it out here at (MA-based) Maeda Studio and make sure you know what your APR rate and principal balance are. The average of monthly minimum payments is indeed 2% (if you're not too sure about that, divide your monthly minimum by the total balance), so no need to change that.

Hope this can shed some light on your debt situation as much as it did for me.

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The Devil Made Me Do It

Super random: I'm really bad at taking clothes to the dry cleaners. So it's been a few months and I go after being yelled at by my boyfriend. As I stand there while the sweet lady who works there is counting the pieces, this guy to the left tumbles out of the massive pile. WTF! It's totally his fault that it took me months to do this. What a perfect scapegoat.

In lighter news, I rediscover 3 dresses that I've completely forgotten about thanks to finally dropping the dirties off.

That all being said, don't let your dry cleaning pile up or the devil may move in with you.

Did You Know???

After posting about Gift Card Rescue last week, my friend Ryan informed me that in the state of Massachusetts "a gift certificate or merchant slip (for returned merchandise) must be redeemable for a minimum of seven years from its date of issuance..." if an expiration date is not provided. This sheds new light to the whole "forgot I had this" situation. Granted, many gift certificates and the like have some sort of expiration (I often see "valid for one year of issuance date") but I know there are handfuls of major chain stores that don't impose such a rule.

For more details, check this out

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When Too Much Is Not Enough

Spotted at Starbucks this morning, on the corner of Newbury and trying-too-hard:  a fake eyelash stuck to the ground.

Seriously?  It's an ice storm. 

If you or someone you know is suffering from can't-leave-the-house-without-falsies syndrome, don't wait until it's too late.  Get help now. 

[ed. note: this was taken with Jeannie's phone and yes, that is the suspect eyelash]

Ugh! (Not Ugg)

Rumor has it that another snow storm is upon us. They're saying it'll come late tonight but the warning has been in effect since last night and runs until tomorrow (Wednesday) night. Between multiple reader requests and an on-the-fence post about Uggs on Fashionista a few days back, here's our guide to surviving winter without resorting to Uggs, or Emus or any other less-than-stellar imitation of the marshmallow-y looking boot.

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Cheers To Holiday Justification

Last night, a friend shared some sage advice with our dinner table that can be applied to the string of holiday outings that are on everyone's calendar:

"Go ahead and have another glass of wine, if you stop drinking tonight, your liver is going to go into shock..."

OK, OK, I know it's not funny to joke about alcoholism and I know for a fact that it is a serious and sad problem that plagues so many. But 'tis the season for social drinking. Just keep it moderate, don't drive when you drink and if you're going to lose your gingerbread cookies, do so discretely please. There's nothing worse than accidentally stepping in a pile of puke and ruining your shoes.