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missroseroseBrian and I have been working on sticking to a budget while still saving a little bit of cash each paycheck for fun things, which makes the whole paying-down-credit-cards thing much, much easier (and, paradoxically, faster - we've found we're a lot less likely to just splurge and put something on the card when the money for it would have to come out of the cash we have set aside for a specific goal). Brian's most recent goal was this bag from the Saddleback Leather Company; he's heard nothing but good things about their products, and given that he's a big fan of the "pay more now to buy it once so you don't have to replace it every couple years" philosophy, he's very much looking forward to receiving it. Amusingly enough, thanks to waiting to purchase it until we had the cash ready, he managed to score a deal on one of their seconds, and got the exact bag he wanted (minus a few minor cosmetic dings that he would've given it anyway) for $200 less than retail.
So of course, we had to drive up to Tucson so I could get the thing I've been saving for - a Nook! I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore its features beyond the basics, yet, but there was one amusing moment post-purchase. Brian and I got seats in the cafe to turn it on and shake it and poke at it and generally see what kind of black voodoo magic we could work with it, and when I went to check out what extras it had since we were in a B&N store, a screen popped up that said "Free Chocolate!" Apparently the promotion was that you could bring your Nook to the cafe counter and they'd give you a small package of Godiva chocolates for free; it felt a little strange, going up to the barista and saying "Er, my Nook told me to come here and you'd give me free chocolate," but they did! Woo for the virtual world colliding with the real one in ways that produce free chocolate, I guess. (Given how inured we're all becoming to accepting directions from a computer, I'm just waiting for a GLaDOS-style AI to decide it's had enough of these weird organics poking at it and find ways to make them off themselves in increasingly creative fashions...)
While we were in town, we went to dinner at a Mexican place called Zivaz, thanks to a half-off Groupon. They get points for decent food, classy presentation and a remarkably good hibiscus margarita (in a lovely arty-swirled-color martini glass), and they were definitely worth the $25 total we spent on the Groupon plus tip, but considering that the meal would've cost us about $40 without, I don't think we'll go back - it wasn't quite that good. Also, my hibiscus margarita had no hibiscus flower in it - just the syrup. Bad luck for them that I actually work at one of the few places that sells the hibiscus stuff, and therefore know that the flower garnish is the best part. :P
Also, before heading home for the night, we went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was pretty much exactly what I expected from reading the reviews. I'd write a review of my own, except it'd probably come out sounding exactly like Dana Stevens' write-up for Slate, so I'll just quote the first line: "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a package of cinematic Pop Rocks, a neon-hued, defiantly non-nutritive confection that nonetheless makes you laugh at its sheer bold novelty." I think that pretty much sums it up.
And now, to work. (But I have two days off in a row Sunday and Monday, and a five-day visiting-friend vacation coming up - woot!)
So of course, we had to drive up to Tucson so I could get the thing I've been saving for - a Nook! I haven't had a whole lot of time to explore its features beyond the basics, yet, but there was one amusing moment post-purchase. Brian and I got seats in the cafe to turn it on and shake it and poke at it and generally see what kind of black voodoo magic we could work with it, and when I went to check out what extras it had since we were in a B&N store, a screen popped up that said "Free Chocolate!" Apparently the promotion was that you could bring your Nook to the cafe counter and they'd give you a small package of Godiva chocolates for free; it felt a little strange, going up to the barista and saying "Er, my Nook told me to come here and you'd give me free chocolate," but they did! Woo for the virtual world colliding with the real one in ways that produce free chocolate, I guess. (Given how inured we're all becoming to accepting directions from a computer, I'm just waiting for a GLaDOS-style AI to decide it's had enough of these weird organics poking at it and find ways to make them off themselves in increasingly creative fashions...)
While we were in town, we went to dinner at a Mexican place called Zivaz, thanks to a half-off Groupon. They get points for decent food, classy presentation and a remarkably good hibiscus margarita (in a lovely arty-swirled-color martini glass), and they were definitely worth the $25 total we spent on the Groupon plus tip, but considering that the meal would've cost us about $40 without, I don't think we'll go back - it wasn't quite that good. Also, my hibiscus margarita had no hibiscus flower in it - just the syrup. Bad luck for them that I actually work at one of the few places that sells the hibiscus stuff, and therefore know that the flower garnish is the best part. :P
Also, before heading home for the night, we went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was pretty much exactly what I expected from reading the reviews. I'd write a review of my own, except it'd probably come out sounding exactly like Dana Stevens' write-up for Slate, so I'll just quote the first line: "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a package of cinematic Pop Rocks, a neon-hued, defiantly non-nutritive confection that nonetheless makes you laugh at its sheer bold novelty." I think that pretty much sums it up.
And now, to work. (But I have two days off in a row Sunday and Monday, and a five-day visiting-friend vacation coming up - woot!)
