Rather disappointingly...just as I was patting myself on the back for a massive 'fashion math' saving courtesy of J Crew's tweed-y cardigan...the package containing said item appeared. On the pro side of things, it's very soft...on the con, just about everything else...as it was obviously designed by someone who never learned that just because an item is on the (relatively) cheaper side, it shouldn't actually look...well...cheap.

And so, back the package goes...slightly lightened by the absence of the fingerless gloves that will be staying at the Hebden hacienda. Perfect for those work-related occasions when I need to type in less than desirable temperatures...and equally perfect for layering under my sadly-looking-a-little-the-worse-for-wear vintage Emporio Armani faux fur gloves.

Even though I love it, I'm trying to imagine just how bad a coffee habit you have to have to buy Alessi's travel espresso set...I see someone wandering up to strangers on corners, begging them for a hit of 'the granular'...spending hours searching under the cushions of their sofa in an attempt to come up with enough spare change for a grande cup of Starbucks' Anniversary blend. If you've done similar (or worse) this kit has it all...an electric coffee maker...two espresso cups and saucers...two small spoons...and a can of ground Illy coffee...all your average caffeine junkie needs is some water and an electricity source.

Though, as I say, with a coffee shop on almost every corner...and considering how time-consuming it is to get through an airport with even the most basic baggage these days...you do have to wonder who's buying this...

For those who crave a little more structure in their scarves...say "guten morgen" to Berlin-based Bless' Sakkoscarf with rather nifty black and white tweed shoulder pads. Admittedly, at $475, it's over-priced for what is...essentially...a visual pun...but as the starting point for a little DIY craftiness it does offer some suggestions...

Not Chanel...but a delightfully classic piece of arm candy nonetheless...in the form of a wholly traditional string shopping bag with the slightly not-so-traditional additions of leather handles and cotton lining. Much more appealing than the equally classic plastic bag...

I have to ask...who out there is familiar with the term 'American tan tights'? Anyone? I'm secretly hoping for a low response rate as I'd hate to be the only person oblivious to the phrase. Yet as I watched Jess Cartner-Morley's video on The Guardian's website dealing with the (heavy irony warning..."thoroughly relevant and important topic") it took me a minute to realize she was talking about the hideous nude tights that most of us wouldn't be seen dead in.

More than talking about them...suggesting ways to incorporate them into our wardrobes. Did I miss something...or, in the midst of fashion weeks, have we really reached such a grasping-at-straws need for conversational topics?

She needs...if she is anything like this lady...a vintage Gucci travel bag from the 1930's...whose leather is stained and worn and speaks of countless adventures...

As a follow up to yesterday's "good things come to those who wait" post...and also, oddly enough, featuring a scrap of yellow silk...comes a tale of perseverance, determination, and a dash of luck. For when I read that Opening Ceremony had collaborated with famed Parisian taxidermists Deyrolle on a silk scarf that would only be available on Fashion's Night Out in OC's NY stores I knew I had my work cut out for me.

For someone as laid back as myself, I have to say that it's amazing how invigorating the uniting of twin passions for silk scarves and stuffed animals can be. Numerous emails were exchanged...the period between each of which was a time for bated holding of breath...money has changed hands...but, thanks to my chaotic work schedule, even though FNO took place a couple of weeks ago the scarf is still tantalizingly just beyond my reach. Which is why I will be repeating the "g.t.c.t.t.w.w." mantra...and stalking the FedEx man...for the forseeable future.

Generally, I encounter about the same level of luck on a trip to a thrift store as a vegetarian visiting a steakhouse...everything (that I like) appears to have been designed for someone about a foot shorter (and a tad skinnier) than I...which leaves me feeling like some fairytale giant running amok amongst the villagers' corn fields.

Which is why I was so amazed when I came across this outerwear offering...a mix of utilitarian...60's Catherine Deneuve...a sort of ladylike punk (witness the brass details on fastenings and pockets...chic, yet dangerous if you poked someone with them)...with beautiful details (the notched back of the collar...the goldenrod silk lining)...and roomy enough to hit at-the-knee and allow for the wearing of a sweater underneath.

It took a while, but I can finally lay claim to a successful thrifting experience...

There are some people out there who will try to convince you that washing the dishes...hands immersed in sudsy foam...brings the sort of Zen-like contentment that can usually only be found after a great deal of inner contemplation and a few hundred Downward-Facing Dogs.

I, as you've probably guessed by now, am not one of them. Dishes...to my simple mind...are a chore that should be accomplished as quickly as possible...like taking medicine...or going to the dentist. It did occur to me, however, that something slightly more aesthetically pleasing that the usual plastic scrubber might (just might) make the whole process a little more enjoyable. Enter the bamboo handled pot scrubber from full circle whose rapidly expanding loofah (when brought into contact with water) will, at the very least, add a little childish enjoyment to the proceedings.

It's been a while since I did a 'separated at birth' post...probably because I haven't had the free time necessary to troll the internet in search of more fiscally friendly versions of the things I am lusting over. The following, however, leaped out at me from J Crew's catalog with such force that all my lazy bones had to do was a quick search on the Crew's website. On the left, Rag & Bone's tweed cashmere sweater...beautiful and, I have to say, not horrifically over-priced...on the right, J Crew's dream tweed cardigan...offering the extra option of being worn open and saving the Hebden budget a couple of hundred dollars.

I imagine that, every so often, the humble beaver wanders home...after a hard day chewing on trees and pushing them upstream...asking nothing more than to put his tail up and run a little dental floss through his weary incisors...when he realizes that he completely forgot to do 'a', 'b', or possibly even 'c'. I, my friends, am that Castor canadensis. For, knowing that I was facing a week of days whose sole activities were work and sleep, I pre-wrote what (in my addled mind) I considered to be enough posts to cover my blog-free period...completely managing to forget Saturday in my calculations. Hence yesterday's deafening silence...

A couple of more hours sleep is needed...during which time I will (hopefully) be dreaming of Phillip Lim's collection for next Spring...and not sleep-deprived semi-aquatic rodents.

Generally, I can stumble through craft projects...creating an end result that may be a shade short of perfection but doesn't fall to pieces on its first outing...with Hermès' "make your own collier de chien" however, I have met my Waterloo.

I was on track when it came to finding a decent thickness of paper to print the design onto...I was a whiz with the scissors and blades needed to cut out the multitude of slivers of paper required to complete the project...I was an utter failure when it came to the level of dexterity necessary to fold and assembled the aforementioned slivers. Forget bracelet...my overabundance of thumbs created a Hermès-patterned paperweight.

I'm not quite sure why I initially signed up for Selfridges weekly emails...perhaps it was just the urge to torture myself with the memories of glorious shopping expeditions of days gone by...or to give myself a chance to bemoan the lack of similar department stores in the US.

Whatever the reason was I currently find myself ignoring the fashion listings completely and heading straight to the unintentional humor of the food updates. From childhood, I know the lure of the "foreign" food aisle...when my mother, a woman who could whip up a 3 course meal...from scratch...without even breaking a sweat...would buy ridiculously over-priced boxes of Betty Crocker's au gratin potatoes as if they were the food of the Gods...but the idea of someone paying £7.49 (almost $12) for a box of Lucky Charms cereal never fails to elicit a slight giggle.

Those seeking more food/fiscal related should click through to read about the "Marshmallow Fluff collection" and the ever popular "American favourites collection" comprised of more sugar and man-made preservatives than should be contained in one gift box.

Wallpaper in the bathroom is one of those things that veers wildly on the acceptability scale...one second every private washroom you visit (and quite a few public ones) seems to be bathed in a dizzying array of stripes and medallions...flocked and vinyl...while the next minute it's all cold austerity and yards of marble.

Having vintage tiles in my bathroom...and therefore being unable to fall prey to the passing diktats of bathroom design magazine...I'm not sure if we're currently in a wallpaper phase or not...something that matters not a jot when faced with Barnaby Gates' This Other Eden paper...a sepia collage of a Britain long gone, yet one that never ceases to raise a lump in the expat throat.

Throwing fiscal caution...and potential stupid question aggravation...to the wind...the Carine Roitfeld designed Pull Tramp Pour Femme is now mine...in a satisfyingly go-with-everything shade of black.

Being my first Lutz & Patmos purchase...just in time for the label to cease to exist at the end of this year...I was curious about the quality of their cashmere. For anyone contemplating a purchase, it's slightly on the hard and scratchy side of things...not off-putting so...just more than you'd expect given the cost involved. That said, I could see this being the sort of basic that I pull out of my closet at every opportunity...given the right long-sleeved undershirt...

I've always thought of Ritter Sport as a curiously retro candy...enjoyed by women with Farah Fawcett hair...and men with exorbitant amounts of chest hair accessorized by odd medallion nestling in its luxurious midst. That, however, was before I happened upon their miniaturized brethren...

For those times when you want something sweet...just not very much of it...

Sometimes you don't even need to click past a website's welcome screen...a remark that could sound catty but...in this instance...in the case of Maje and Joseph...the first impressions are the ones I want to last. I want...while simultaneously not wanting to sound like Veruca Salt...grey...fur trim...faux leopard...and, above all, leather buckles...