FORUM LURKERS

I am very frustrated by resellers who lurk in fashion forums to snatch up heavily discounted items off of websites such as Saks and NM. No matter how much I want a certain something, I will never support these "sellers" such as Coco's Closet.

SPRING COLLECTIONS

Jil Sander

Celine

Akris

Monique Lhuillier

I was dazzled by the following: Marchesa, Missoni, Dries van Noten, Brioni, Bottega Veneta, Stella, Jil Sander, Burberry, and Chanel. Nanette Lapore's collection struck me as high-end Anthropologie ie not very impressive.

INAUGURATION

I didn't post at all this weekend because of the inauguration, which I ended up attending at the last minute thanks to a friend's friend who works for the inaugural committee and had extra tickets. We were in the purple section, and we had a very rough time getting in although I met Katie Couric, Reverend Sharpton, and Mary J. Blige! I even held Katie's hand, to steady her. In real life she is very short and fragile-looking, and her makeup was caked on to show up on television. I did not dress properly as I learned I was going to inauguration once I was already in DC. I am still sleep-deprived and I swear parts of my body are still chilled to the bone, but it was worth it.

ONLY THE BEGINNING

My boss came into my office this morning talking about what she had read in the papers. Apparently last year's obliterating fallout is only the beginning, and TARP funds only covered the losses then. There are going to be so many defaults in the coming months and years, a whole wave of them we can't even fathom. I'm very worried to say the least. We may all be ecstatic what with all the 70% off sales at places like Saks (and shoes at $800 apiece were overpriced enough as it was), but it is a sign of rapid deflation. We are all waiting out the prices so that we buy only on sale or clearance. Businesses are shutting down and credit is tightening. You can look at it one way and say that we are getting all of the bad blood out (i.e. Bernie Madoff), which is how I try to look at it.

SNAGGED: VINTAGE ETIENNE AIGNER RIDING BOOTS

I won the auction for these beautiful new Etienne Aigner boots while at work today. I hope they fit and I hope they're black, because I forgot to ask and I can barely tell from the photo.

CLINT

The BF and I have been devouring movies online thanks to Netflix. In the past few days we've watched at least five movies on there, including The Maltese Falcon, The Corpse Bride, Jesus Camp, Deliverance, and an episode or two of a Britcom I am obsessed with thanks to his grandparents. We also saw Gran Torino this weekend, which was very, very good. I love Clint Eastwood. He gets hotter with age. Is that gross?

SNAGGED: BROOKS BROTHERS SWEATER CARDIGAN

Brooks Brothers has been having a huge sale lately. I picked up a shirt and tie for the BF last weekend, and then last night I found the above sweater I've wanted to get him all season - marked down to 60% off. The world is truly ending.

In other news, Happy New Year! I'm a little late, but I've been busy readjusting to routine. Lately I've become obsessed with The Purse Forum. I'm on there at least two or three times a day checking out the Deals & Steals. I feel as if I am constantly talking to a huge circle of people without leaving my desk. Anyway, I've spent more money than I ever have thanks to that forum. I always catch the latest blowout sales or free subscriptions. It's also interesting to see how other people budget money, handle family, and otherwise live their lives in two or three sentence snippets.