Well heeled

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Since I stand on my feet all day I love comfortable shoes. And since I don’t want to look like I’ve “given up,” I also love stylish shoes. (It takes a little more work to find that perfect combination).  I know what DOESN”T WORK, and fortunately, that leaves a lot of sexy options for what does. I see so many clients come in wearing shoes that can ruin a whole outfit, so I thought I’d give you clear guidelines on what shoes not to wear!

Plain White SneakerThis is a sneaker. It goes with athletic wear and is worn to the gym, to the trail, to your tennis lessons. It doesn’t matter how comfortable it is….it should not be worn with slacks, a skirt, or worst of all, capris!  There is nothing sexy about this with everyday clothes. The only thing worse would be to buy them in black thinking that it would “go with more of yourBlk Skecher MaryJane clothes.”  Unless you are a nun, remember…we are talking sexy here. And these are not. There are options out there for stylish, sneaker-like shoes that will go with jeans, khakis, simple slacks and shorts and still keep you looking your best. I like these by Skecher, for example.

Ugly RedThe next thing I see a lot are  slide-on ‘comfort sandals’. And I’ll bet they’re comfortable, but they are not chic. Or sexy. I promise that you will find comfort and style if youPretty Red Sandal just do some exploring.  Perhaps they will cost a bit more, but they should last and keep you looking great for years! Look for a shoe that is a classic twist on what’s currently trendy. There are many sandals that will look just right on your foot shape, ankle shape and at the height you are comfortable with.  See the difference in these two red sandals, for example. 

And last, but not least, the classic ballet flat. I know lots of women wear them, but the traditional rounded toe isn’t sexy. Yes, I said it. A pointy toe adds just a touch of “hipness”.  And that’s just the beginning; to that pointy toe you can add a small heel,  a bit of embellishment, a wild print. I noticed that when I see rounded-toes on young women, it works. When I see rounded-toes on women our age it’s…matronly. I chose these as a starting point, and there were many more to choose from!   BigBlueBalletflat

I hope this has been fun for you, and given you some ideas!  If you go shopping and find something you love, feel free to share a comment and a photo. I’d love to see what you got, and how it fits your sexy-past-sixty style!

XO Donna

It’s a choice

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advancedstylebookTwo things happened this week that have had a great impact on me – a friend sent me a link to a blog that she thought I’d enjoy, a blog that is related, in a way,  to this one.  It is the perfect photographic example of  what I know in my heart, what I am exploring,  and hoping to achieve.  Thank you Sheri Lynn Parr, you hit the nail on the head!

The blog is: www.AdvancedStyle.blogspot.com  

I hope you will all check it out. A young man named Ari Seth Cohen has been photographing amazing older women, for their sense of style. Let his blog tell you how it all came about.  But his attraction to their sense of themselves, and how they create stylish lives has evolved from his blog into a book, a film and now advertisements for Coach bags.

When I first saw this blog, I was stunned!  It was like seeing a unicorn, or an angel, or Santa Claus….you want to believe, but up until now you’ve had no evidence of their existence.  Here were stunning, radiant, stylish women. They do exist, and they are in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s!  What this means to me, is that now I have role models. And I have permission to be myself, to quit trying to “fit in” in a “what’s-in-style” sort of way, and be stylish and chic in my very own way. Even more so than I have given myself permission to do so far! 

The second thing that happened was that I received an email from another friend.  It was of stereotypical old women; c0ntrastinstyle“we’re-in-this-together, declining-with-age, ain’t-it-awful?”  that most people chuckle over and forward.  Or chuckle over and delete.  But, I didn’t find it funny, didn’t chuckle…and I realize it’s because I don’t choose to get old like that (see lower right).  Old is an attitude. And it can be an excuse.  “Older” is an accumulation of years and experiences on this planet.  And it can be done beautifully! (see upper right. Yes, the women are all around the same age).

Yesterday I spoke to a woman for a while at the salon. She’s my age, 61. She told me about some  female friends of hers in their 70’s, that ski all winter on advanced slopes, in deep powder, in and out of trees! She said that living like that was what kept them young. I tend to think that being  in touch with your sensuality, open to adventure, doing what it takes, and continuing to take an interest in everything around you is what allows you to ski those Black Diamond runs in life!

It’s really a choice. And it’s your to make!

XO Donna

Third time’s the charm

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When something shows up three times, I figure that I’m supposed to pay attention!  These two things, totally unrelated, and as different from one another as they could be, are what got my attention this week:

tirepressurephotoTIRES – Who likes to mess with them?  They’re dirty, you have to get down to their level, and it’s hard to read my tire guage accurately.

  1. If your tires are not inflated to their proper PSI (pounds per square inch) rating, they’re “less round” than they should be and require more energy to begin moving and to maintain speed, contributing to pollution and increasing your fuel consumption.
  2. If your tires are underinflated by just 5 lbs. you are lowering your gas mileage by 20%. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but think of it this way: if you are an average driver who drives 12,000 miles yearly on underinflated tires, you use about 144 extra gallons of gas, costing you about $400-600.00 a year at current gas prices!  Think of what you could do with that money! A spa day, a plane ticket, the sexy shoes you could buy!
  3. And worst of all….each gallon of gas burned contributes more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. We don’t want to add any extra by driving with underinflated tires!
  4. Besides saving gas, saving you money, and minimizing emissions, properly inflated tires are safer and less likelay to fail at high speeds…keeping you, and your friends and loved ones safe!

Check tire pressure monthly. If you don’t have an owner’s manual, it’s usually stamped on the sidewall of your tires. Look for the PSI rating. If you can’t find it/don’t want to do it/can’t do it yourself, all of the tires shops will check and fill your tires for free hoping to gain your loyalty when you need a new set of tires. (I like to take care of the folks who take care of me.)  Do it this week, be safe!

(for more on this, check out: http://about.com/greenlivingdesign)

gb_wrangler_light_denim02_130_v2rgb-3_4_r536_c534JEANS – Did you know that the European branch of Wrangler makes a trio of  “cosmetotextile” – jeans that are infused with aloe vera or olive extract to add moisture to dry skin, and rose hip oil, retinol, shea butter and caffeine to diminish cellulite?

Indeed, they are! The jeans are treated with these nutrients, then dried in an oven. The treatment is supposed to last 6-8 washings, and the anti-cellulite can be re-spritzed for longer wear. They are available online from www.ASOS.com  for around $149.00.  The “face” (or derriere) of this advertizing campaign for Wrangler’s new skinny jeans, is Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall’s willowy, 28 year old daughter, Lizzie.  Time flies, even for rock stars! 

To learn more, I “went” to England:  http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk.  They tested both the aloe, and olive extract jeans. The anti-cellulite jeans weren’t available for them to test.  Their verdict?  The jeans were comfortable, soft,  flattering and well-made. They suggest that you buy them for that, not their purported benefits…and I’m inclined to agree and continue moisturizing daily with a top-quality, natural product. Which ones do I like?

  1. The Body Shop – SHEA BODY BUTTER  my winter fave, and my summer fave, MANGO BODY BUTTER
  2. AVOCADO OIL – We have it at BELLA SALON, and I found it at WHOLE FOODS MARKET
  3. ORGANIC COCONUT OIL – liquifies at body temperature, great right after a warm shower. Let soak in for a few minutes before dressing with this one especially.

Nothing like good tires to keep us moving forward, and moist skin to make us feel sexy!

XO Donna

One step forward…

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Framed bathroom…and two steps back.  My closet still looks like a bomb went off in it.  However, our bathroom is finished, and beautiful!  So sexy-assed beautiful that I keep walking in and admiring it. Feeling the cool surface of the marble. I’ve cleared everything except the essentials off of my counters, and even created an arrangement with a Raku vase, dried roses, and a heart-shaped pottery jar in one corner. I love the counters and faucets polished, and I (almost) hate to brush my teeth in the sink because it makes a mess which I then feel compelled to clean and polish immediately.  (Oh, come on….like you don’t do this with a new toy, too??)

Am I obsessing a little? You betcha!  It’s my way of not dealing with the messy closet that was created in order to create the new bathroom. I made a half-assed attempt to wrangle it back into shape with a trip to Target for new hangers, a jewelry organizer, and some attractive storage boxes. I came home with two out of three;  but not finding  storage boxes kind of left me hanging (no pun intended!). Truth be told….I finally realized that the mess in the closet is a reflection of how I am feeling right now…but, I’m sure any of you could have told me that.   I’m confused, a little bit chaotic.  Simultaneously chomping at the bit, and yet holding back.  Those boxes of stuff, and piles of clothes,  represent parts of me that have hung on a hanger or been in a box for too long, and need to be brought out, and either “added to the rotation,” or released, let go of.  Things that are still useful, but  just aren’t useful for the ‘me’ that I am now.  I know they’ve served their purpose, yet I haven’t found the courage to let go.  Oh, yes, I’m still talking about the clothes. Maybe.

Let me tell you one thing I know about myself  –  at 61 I am still growing and evolving!  This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this upheaval, and I doubt it will be the last.  And that’s okay…it’s just uncomfortable.  (I had an image of a cocoon this morning, and the stress that occurs before the butterfly emerges!)  I’ve always gotten through it, and things have always been better than before!

I have been very lucky to have had many inspirational people in my life.  Two online presences that I rely on right now are:  #1) the always powerful, Danielle LaPorte (www.daniellelaporte.com). This woman is the definition of living large. I mean large in bold print, all caps. LARGE!  And  #2) Marie Forleo (www.marieforleo.com).  A sassyFramed tableau young woman who has a Q & A on Tuesdays that always addresses a relevant issue in a wise, and wise-cracking way!  Today’s topic:  The feeling of something missing in your life.  And having the courage to go for your dreams, take risks, and be willing to look stupid.  (Oh, that…I hate that.)

But her pearls of wisdom were exactly what I needed to hear in order to let go of the past, (make sense out of my closet...) and to be willing to “feel the fear, yet do it anyway! ”

XO Donna

It’s (not that) easy being green

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Kermitthe Frog“…but green’s the color of Spring and green can be cool and friendly-like.”   Kermit the Frog

I have to say that I was really excited when PANTONE, the global authority on color and color standards for the design industry, chose 17-5641 EMERALD as Color of the Year forPantone Swatch 2013.  “This powerful and universally appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors,” say Leatrice Eisman, executive directior of Pantone Color Institute.  It doesn’t stop with fashion and home though, SEPHORA+PANTONE have partnered to create their 2nd annual limited edition Color of the Year Beauty  Collection.  Emerald adds drama to all eye colors and compliments peach, rose, pink, red and even eggplant. It’s a color a woman of any age can wear well, and this vibrant green can be the finishing touch on your fingernails, not to mention polishing off a pedicure Kermit would be proud of!  PantoneSephora

Pantone said that jewel-toned Emerald promotes balance, insight and harmony. How right they are!  I always wondered how the color of the year was chosen, and found that in order to arrive at their selection, they comb the world looking for color influences that can include the entertainmanet industry, travelling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations, technology, even sports events that capture worldwide attention!

But…none of that is the reason that I was excited about emerald green.  I was happy because green is the color of the heart chakra. The fourth of our seven chakras, and the one that deals with social identity, trust, forgiveness, unconditional love and compassion.  I see it as a good thing that there will be more of this color out there in the worldchakraimage surrounding us with it’s energetic vibration – vibe, if you will!  The heart chakra is a transition point between our lower three chackras, and our upper three.  Betwen the instinct to survive and the desire for enlightment.  This is the meeting place for both. I think we’ve seen what unchecked “instinct to survive” looks like: greed, war, violence, selfishness, corruption. I think a heartier dose (pun intended) of the desire for enlightment would be a very welcomed change.  I am fortunate to see it around me all the time; generousity, compassion, service, inclusive-community, spirituality and creativity.  I want to believe that a new focus on green signals a trend in that direction on a larger scale!

What are some ways you can “green up” your life?  You can try some sexy new eyeshadow, eyeliner, or mascara. You can ask your nail stylist for a pedicure with a new shade of green FreshFrog by OPI(this is Fresh Frog, by OPI!).  You can buy a beautiful new blouse in emerald, it goes with so many colors –  there is even an article online from the fashion industry on how to wear the Color of the Year. (They love it because it works well in men’s fashion, too). St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, so it’s a great excuse to buy green. There are bath towels in Pantone Emerald available at JCPenney…what a delicious color to wrap yourself in after you’ve bathed!  Both lavendar and jasmine oils are Lavendar bundle supposed to stimulate your heart chakra (might explain my recent fascination with all things lavendar) and you could easily buy a large, luscious bar of soap in either scent. And last, but not least, yoga.  Yoga opens the heart center. I recently bought a yoga CD by Rodney Yee (thank you, Ron Maddox).  It’s easy, beginning yoga that only takes 20 minutes, and I do it when I come home from work. Makes my whole evening mellower. I know a glass of wine would be faster, of course, but I will appreciate it even more with an open heart!

XO Donna

In the Closet

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I’m an organized woman…more or less. I generally have a place for (almost) everything, and I prefer things in their place. I’m not anal-retentive about it, it’s just easier to find things when they’re where they’re supposed to be. Especially since I’m a little more forgetful than I used to be!  The one place I have been completely unable to impose any  Myfantasyclosetreal order is in my bedroom closet!  Just so you know what I’m calling order,  take a look at my “I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven”  dream closet:

 
My closet doesn’t look anything like this!  The only thing they have in common is that they are both walk-in closets with four walls, a ceiling, some shelves, lights and a floor.   

I have spent a lot of time over the last few years lusting over photos of other women’s closets in magazines. Some have attained an unbelieveable level of perfection, but I wonder if they look that way all of the time, or if they are “staged” for the photo-shoot?  Personal stylist, Laura Saenz (http://laurasaenz.com/) pointed out to me that  “organization that fits YOUR lifestyle is key. It takes things from okay, to phenomenal!”    Phenomenal would be good…and a place to sit down.  And I must admit, this closet IS NOT my lifestyle (I have cowboy boots, motorcycle boots, and colorful clothes).  I know that a beautiful closet, with everything visible, would be a very sexy way to start each day!  It will make it easy to plan outfits when I can see what I have, which would save me time, and could even save me money when I don’t replace something I can’t find because I think I’ve given it to Goodwill!

There are two types of closet, walk-in and reach-in. Both can be artfully organized, and there seem to be a few things you need  in both:

  1. A dresser, or drawers of some sort
  2. A mirror, full-length if possible (you need to know what you look like from the side and back. Really!)
  3. Your ironing board (unless it’s in your laundry room)
  4. Laundry hamper
  5. Step stool for reaching top shelves
  6. For a walk-in closet (since you have the room),  a chair or bench to sit on
  7. Decent lighting…experts recommend flourescent light for it’s evenness

I’m obsessed with this right now, because we are finally having the countertops replaced in our bathroom, after living with teal-colored Corian for nine years.  I know!  For the last four days, the contents of my under-sink cabinet, and vanity drawers are sitting in the floor of my closet. beforeThis mess, added to my pile of ironing, my summer clothes in boxes, and my inability to find even the simplest of things (where the hell is my dental floss? Where are my jeans?) has motivated me to reorganize.  Or maybe organize, finally. We often overlook our closet because it’s behind a closed door, guests don’t generally see it, and we don’t spend much time in there.  I found this “before and after” at HGTV for what I’d be able to (realistically) have my closet look like.  after  Announcing my first reader participation:                   I’m going to take “before and after” photos of my closet make-over. Please send me a photo, or two, of your closet to be shared in a blog! Let me know how you did it; was it all by yourself, or with the help of a designer? Where did you buy your favorite storage items? Do you have any unique storage solutions?   Please send your photos to my email address: donna.oklock@gmail.com by Sunday, March 10. Thank you!

XODonna

Eight things I love about Yoko

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  1. Yoko Ono turned 80 on Monday, February 18th! She was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1933. Yoko80birthday
  2. I love that her name, Yoko, means “Ocean Child.”
  3. She came from a wealthy, artistic, aristocratic family, her father (an accomplished pianist) was the descendant of a 9th century Emperor, her mother (a talented painter) was the daughter of a banking dynasty. She had the courage to break with her family’s goals for her and to follow her own dreams.  
  4. I love her penchant for hats, and sexy, fitted clothes!
  5. She has worked as an avant-garde artist, filmmaker, writer, and musician.  She is a feminist, an activist, a philanthropist and and works to support AIDS outreach programs, and to encourage us all to give peace a chance. She’s been doing this for more than 40 years.  Yes, 40 years!
  6. Her third husband was John Lennon. She was his love, his muse, his artistic partner, and his teacher. He called her, “the most famous unknown artist in the world.”
  7. She’s a survivor!  She lived through having her 7 year old daughter kidnapped by her ex-husband, and hidden from her for over 20 years. She and Kyoko, her daughter, are now reunited.  And she lived through her husband’s murder. He was shot and killed December 1980, when they returned to their home one evening after working in the studio together on the Double Fantasy album.
  8. She is still sexy, still relevant, still onstage!  She opened a show in Berlin on her birthday.  She runs Lenono with her son Sean. Her album, The Plastic Ono Band, originally released in 1970 and deemed a critical failure then, has been credited with “launching a hundred or more female rockers,” and was re-release in 1997. DoubleFantasy

  plasticonoband  XODonna

St Valentinus

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graceslickDon’t you want somebody to love?  Don’t you need somebody to love?

Wouldn’t you love somebody to love?  You’d better find somebody to love!

Grace Slick, from Jefferson Airplane

And now, for a short history of St. Valentine….

There are  a couple of stories of St. Valentine’s origins;  in one he was a Roman priest during the reign of Claudius II.  In the other, he was a Bishop in Umbria, Italy.  In the first he was caught for marrying Christian couples, and for aiding Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans at that time. He was  imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers, who were strictly forbidden to marry. Emperor Claudius liked his prisoner, until Valentinus tried to convert him, and the priest was condemned to death.

In the second, Valentinus was under house arrest by a Judge Asterius. He alledgedly restored the Judge’s adopted daughter’s sight, a miracle!  In reward, he was sent to the Emperor Claudius who took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to convert him.  In both stories, poor Valentinus ended up beaten with clubs and stones, then beheaded.  The date was February 14, 269 AD.

Another story:  Our modern Valentine cards may have originated in the Middle Ages with the custom of  men drawing the names of single girls in the village to couple with them, and serve them for a year.  This custom was combated by the priests and replace by the religious custom of girls drawing the names of Apostles from the altar.

The first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love is in the late 1300’s by Geoffrey Chaucer, when he wrote a poem to honor the coming marriage of King Richard II of England, and Anne of Bohemia in May of 1381.  Theytwo hearts were each 15!

Valentine’s Day is mentioned by Edmund Spenser in his epic The Faerie Queen (1590), by Shakespeare in Hamlet (1601) and in a collection of nursery rhymes from 1784:

The rose is red, the violet’s blue. The honey’s sweet and so are you.  Thou art my love and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine. The lot was cast, and then I drew, and Fortune said it should be you.

Notice the reference to drawing names?  (Out of a hat?  Or a crockery jar?)

The reinvention of Saint Valentine’s Day in the mid-1800’s in England has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt whoEsther_Howland_1850 observed, “Saint Valentine’s Day is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday!”  The first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced for sale around 1847 by Esther Howland of Massachussets.  Miss Howland sold her company to the Geo. C. Whitney Co. in 1881. 

Since 2001 the greeting Card Association has given an “Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary.”   Appproximately 190 million valentines are sent each year, and an estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent in 2010. 

I’ve always found it odd that a matryred saint, and the custom of being drawn as a slave for a year, could evolve into a commercialized industry in which people feel  pressured to have a Valentine for the day. Pressured to remember to buy your Valentine flowers or chocolate. To feel guilty if you forget, or don’t want to make a fuss about it. Or, worst of all, to think it means something about you if you don’t have a Valentine.  The only thing you need today is to love yourself!  Actually, it would be nice if we would all do that everyday!

In closing, I want to share an old, and very odd, Valentine card that I found. Can’t imagine either giving or receiving it! (It, (of course) pre-dates  “50 Shades of Grey”  but the sentiment would do it justice.)

Comic_Valentine“R  stands for rod, which can give you a smart crack.  And ought to be used for a day on your back!”

Do with it what you will….

XODonna

A Snoring Room

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I prefer to think of it as a room of our own, one where we can have a restful night’s sleep whenever the need arises. (How we frame things in our mind is vitally important to the quality of our lives.)  But, yes, it’s also a room to get away from someone who is snoring.

I was surprised during a conversation among women, by how much they bitched about their partner snoring, and how often their solution would be to have him go out to the couch (as punishment).  Or, to stay in the marriage bed and be angry at him!  It isn’t as if he wants to snore and keep you awake,  or as if he has control over it. Why be angry at your beloved under those circumstances?  Oh, yes,  because you’re exhausted.  (I realize it’s not always the man who snores)  Well, there’s a lovely solution to the whole dilemma.  A snoring room.   bedroom2

In the Los Angeles Times I found this headline:  “Home builder offers a room in which to flee from a snoring spouse.” 

Their snore room is a secondary bedroom connected to the master bath and designed for couples who start out in the same bed, but for a variety of reasons, can’t stay there all night. Ear-piercing snoring, insomnia, late-night reading or TV watching habits.  I’m still stuck on flee. Flee?

My Dad snored, at an unbelievable decibel level, the whole time I was growing up. Sometimes I had trouble going to sleep because of it…and I was down the hallway!  How Mom dealt with it, I’ll never know, but perhaps that was why we found her napping on the couch in the den most afternoons. With a family of seven, there was no room for a snoring room for her back then. 

At a party a while ago I mentioned to a friend that I had slept in our guest room last night. Her response was to cock an eyebrow and query, “Oh, so you two don’t sleep together, huh?”   As if the fact that I had strolled down the hall and crawled into a comfy bed with a pillow-top mattress, MyFrenchBedroom delicious sateen sheets, under a lofty down comforter, and fallen peacefully back asleep somehow implied that there was ‘trouble in Paradise.’

Au contraire!  Rather than feel resentful when my dear is snoring, or nudging him repeatedly, whispering, “Can you turn over, honey?” I created a room to retreat to, happily, when he is bothered by allergies, and snoring to beat the band. It’s a sexy guest room which is also my dream room…literally.  It’s my Parisian getaway when I am feeling unwell, and a cozy place to go when I just can’t sleep and need to read late into the night. NRTbedroom

“I firmly believe that in order to give back to our relationships, careers, families, and passions, we must pull in for short moments to take care of ourselves, then we can return to the people and places of our lives renewed, refreshed, and ready to continue the drama of our days with all the joys, sorrows, pleasures and stresses that go with it.”  From the book, A Room of Her Own, by Chris Casson Madden 

So, I invite you to take a sensual approach to this common problem, and to quote Virgina Woolf, from her book of the same name, create a “Room of One’s Own.”  Add a lovely daybed to your home office, like Nancy Ray Taylor, an artist friend in NY did. (see above) She painted a serene mural,  added lots of pillows and  beautiful things to create this inviting space.  (www.nancyraytaylor.com)

Reclaim one of your kid’s room’s, (they’re gone, right?)  and turn it into your haven.  When they come back to visit, they’ll get to enjoy it, too.  bedrooom1If you already have a guest room, upgrade it from basic, to high-end-hotel fabulousness!   Feeling stuck?  Look at Chris Casson Madden’s other book, “Bedrooms.”  If you find yourself still stuck after that, call me and I’ll come to your rescue!

You will both sleep better, nobody will be playing the “blame game,” and it’s actually quite sexy to ask your sweetheart, over coffee the next morning, “Did you sleep well last night, dear?”

XODonna

Love and Loss

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All writers eventually get around to tackling the BIG topics….love and loss being two of the biggest.

Our Keurig died today. 

After 6 weeks of having the closest thing to an in-home barista at my beck and call, our Keurig acted-up (so much better than acting-out!) yesterday, but my sweetheart was able to beat the…jiggle it sufficiently, so that whatever was clogging whichever doohickey came loose and, voila!  We had our morning coffee.

This morning,  it acted-up again, made us each a cuppa, and with a sigh,  gave up the ghost!Keurig

We bought this machine because it was supposed to be the bomb!  Our friends were coming to visit over Christmas, and they have one at their home, (which we loved when we were there last year).  Seemed a hassle-free way to have coffee-on-demand,  and for six blissful weeks, it was.

What we have since found out, is that our friends have replaced theirs more than once in the three years they’ve had it!  Upon being deprived of his second cup of coffee this morning, my darling called the customer service helpline at Keuring.  They listened kindly and told him they’d ship us a new machine immediately.  All we had to do was “throw the old one out!”  Simple, no?

Do I really need to tell you how much I hate the idea of littering up our planet with plastic crap? Computers, keyboards, plastic bags, gallon jugs,  plastic toys, disposable diapers, and now fancy coffee machines!  Not sexy. Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!

I guess I was only going to talk about love, (how much I loved the coffee machine) and loss (it’s death this morning).   Why not throw in some anger, frustration and despair?  All of this over an inanimate object. How silly we are.

According to the customer service rep, we will have a new coffee machine in no time at all!  Can you imagine the cost to them of having to ship free Keurigs to purchasers every 6 weeks? 

I had lobbied for a new stainless kettle and a larger French Press before we bought this, but my man love gadgets, and (I admit) I was quickly won over.

coffee beansTomorrow morning I will be boiling water in a saucepan, and pouring it over coffee grounds in my small, one-serving French Press.  We still have some whole beans in the pantry. I just hope we didn’t throw the coffee grinder away!

XODonna