Why yes, I did see something I liked

I know I'm in advertising, but am I the only person freaked out by West Elm's "Take another look at..." emails? I received one from Pottery Barn earlier this week, too. Yes, I've been on both of these sites this week. I didn't add anything to a shopping  cart. I just clicked on a couple of items of interest.

Like, I said, I'm in advertising, and I know that I'm getting this automated e-mail because of the cookies stored on my computer. But I have to wonder if the average person knows what's happening behind the scenes here. Either way, another win for super targeted ad delivery, meanwhile, making my job of traditional media planning a soon to be thing of the past. And another win for West Elm, because now two days later, I'm thinking about those pillows again...

Goodbye, Mark Rothko

Austin said this painting made him feel sad, and therefore, it is no longer living in my "Things I want" bookmark page that I should really take into the digital age and turn into http://www.wists.com/

via allposters

Veterans Day Road Trip

Yesterday, Austin and I drove to Fredrick, MD to take advantage of the fact that the government pays our salaries (Veterans Day). We had reservations for VOLT, Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant. It was everything I hoped for and more. First course, goat cheese butternut squash ravioli paired with a crisp white wine; Second course, chicken sausage and seasonal vegetables including potatoes confit, paired with a light Pinot Noir from St. Lucia (random); Dessert, a gala apple tart with mascarpone ice cream with an amazing dessert wine that complimented it better than I could have wished. Lastly, he sent us home with some cookies, enough for Austin, but all for me:
 

Also, when we were wandering around at the cute shops in Fredrick, I spotted some post it notes that may end up in my mom's stocking for Christmas.


And we attempted a hike, but after decadent food and a glass and a half of wine I let the fact that the trail was covered in slippery leaves be an excuse to head home. I have some pictures of that too, but I'm trying out my dad's old SLR 35mm, so it's going to be a process to get those online.

Guess who's back

I've decided to start blogging again, even if no one reads it. There are three reasons:

1) Looking back at my posts from Spring, I have actually obtained several of the products that I featured. This has made me realize that when I think about what I want long enough before I get it, I will still like the product in 6 months at least.



2) I want to brush up on my writing skills. Lately, the thought that I've been so focused on advertising since the beginning of college has scared me. Living in DC, I am surrounded by incredibly smart people who are well rounded in arts, politics, and whatever their day job is--probably politics, so maybe they just have one other interest. So I decided I should have other interests too. New aspiration keeping me entertained--volunteering to be a grant writer for a non-profit.

3) My final reason for reenergizing this blog is because I have been reading nonstop--a great perk of metro riding. Yesterday I finished The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. I'm not English major, so I'm not going to dissect the inner meaning of the book, but I appreciated the not so happy ending, and the use Spanish scattered throughout the prose to help me relate to the struggles of family lineage and immigration. Before that I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Awesome book that made me rethink what life after death will be like. I also have a slight fasination with books written from a possibly austistic child's point of view--The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night is another.

So, anyway, I hope that is reason enough for me to start writing. But since no one is reading except for maybe my mom, I don't really need an excuse, do I?