Old Navy opened at 3am. Rob and I were in line at 12:30, hoping to score a free copy of Lego Rock Band (with $20 purchase), given out via wristband to the first however many folks in line (supplies are “extremely limited” the fliers warned). We brought lawn chairs, wore layers, and hunkered down under the umbrella. I borrowed my father-in-law’s old man gloves, the kind that make your hands useless and ridiculously cozy. We each had our iPhones with games, audio books and podcasts (thank you Hey Girl Hey for getting me through the 1 – 2am stretch!), and we chatted with other people in line, talked about stuff with each other, and people watched to keep entertained.

We had actually had fun. I mean, it sucked when it started to rain, and I got loopy towards the end from lack of sleep, but the headphones and lawn chair and gloves made it bearable, and hanging out with each other under weird circumstances is always entertaining.

It’s a cool thing to have someone you’re in a relationship with totally understand why something that sounds so awful, like standing in the rain for two and half hours in the middle of the night, is an experience worth having, if only to get through it together (the savings on clothes were fantastic, too; we’re stocked for the next year with stuff to wear.) It’s bonding to have the rest of the world call you crazy.

Sometime in the middle of it all Rob placed his hand on the side of my neck and ran his thumb across my cheekbone thoughtfully. “There isn’t anyone else I’d rather be here with.” he said. “I like being here with you.”

My thoughts exactly.

My friend Dan and I were sitting down to dinner the other night when he asked if I’d seen his scarf.  “I think I left it in your car,” he said.

I sighed, unwound it from my neck, and handed it over. Of course there is no magical scarf fairy, but I wanted to believe there was and that she’d left a not too light, not too dark, not too heavy, not too flimsy, not too long, not too short, perfectly wonderful scarf in my passenger seat. No such luck.*

The hunt for a replacement has been fruitless thus far. I have scarves for the dead of winter – thick-knit and with fringe – that can stand up to snow; and I have scarves for cool summer nights and very early fall days made out of jersey knit. Nothing for now though.

There are two that I’ve found to fit the bill.

This one is the right color.

From the Gap, $24.50

Then there’s this one.  It’s available in black but not gray. Still, out of all the colors, I like the green in this acrylic one.  I like the price, too.

From Old Navy, $12.50

Any others?  Better yet, any cooler stores I can shop in?  I love Old Navy but I know there’s got to be a hipper alternative out there with just the right scarf for a chilly Brooklyn fall.

*I once tried believing in the totebag fairy, too. After a party there was a fantastic tote discarded in my living room. I halfheartedly asked a few guests if it was theirs before declaring it mine. It would have worked, too, but Nicole came over spotted her bag, and it was all over for me and the perfect tote. The moral of the story: I’m a bad friend who will steal your things.

There is something wrong with me. I can’t find a handbag! I have bought purses upon purses and given them away days later, declaring them all wrong for me. I’ve had bags shipped from all parts of the globe that I neglected months, weeks, and sometimes even days later. I have bought $40 bags and $250 bags and hated them all. I can’t… settle. For someone who dresses like a ragamuffin in a rainstorm, I am awfully picky about what I carry around.

This, however, has a decent chance of being It. The last bag. It’s beautiful.

Dare I?

from Moop, $83

Bed, Bath and Beyond allows you to make a registry if you’re a bride, or, if you aren’t, a “wish list” which I assumed was exactly the same thing with a different name, because who wants to make a “bridal registry” when your wedding was years ago and you are still trying to recover?

I made a wish list so I could figure out exactly what I needed for this apartment before I went in, thus minimizing the time spent in the store which, if you’ve ever been there you know, is modeled after one of the outer rings of hell.

I found a teenaged store clerk and asked how to reach my wishlist from the kiosk.

“Huh?  Like a registery?” she said.

I should point out here that we were in Long Island, so you have to picture all of this with an accent.  A heavy one.

“No.  A wishlist.  I mean, kind of like a registery.”

She asked another young store clerk who asked another, who asked an older guy, who (finally!) found a manager and asked her.

“A bridal registry?” she said.  “What’s the bride’s name?”

I explained (again) that I was looking for a wish list, not a bridal registery, but I saw her hunt through the list of brides for my name anyway.  When that didn’t work, she called “upstairs” or wherever and tried to figure it out.

The mostly inane yammering went on for about 10 minutes while I stood there and, exasperated, started to pull it up on my iPhone.  Eventually it was concluded that wishlists are only visible to the person who creates them.

“Mmmkay, but then how do I get them when I’m in the store?” I asked.

“You don’t.  You look at them online.”

“Right, but then how do I shop from them when I’m here?”

She shrugged.  I blinked.

“You don’t?”

“No.”

“Then the point is?”

“Well, you make the list so you know what to buy, and then look at it at home.”

Something I could have easily done with a pen and paper.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I’m going to call a Foul: Improper use of basic technology.  Pull it together.

Oh, one more thing before my mini moving hiatus!

In April I blogged about a small company run by a dog-mom who, like me, has three dogs.  She came up with a new and improved approach to dog beds, and Molly Mutt was born. Remember? It turned out to be a popular post, so I asked Molly if she would offer a coupon code to The Amber Show readers. She said yes! Use the code “theambershow” at checkout to get 15% off any purchase now until August 12, 2009!

Thanks, Molly!

For Google: Molly Mutt Discount Code

Night Owl Paper Goods is a stationary company based in Birmingham “Owlbama” (their pun, not mine… I love puns!) They use the phrase “modern yet folksy” to describe their company, and I’ll add “sustainable” to that list, too. They make two kinds of greeting cards: paper and wood. The paper letterpress designs are printed on “100% reclaimed & recycled cotton from the garment industry” which have a luxurious feeling to them that you normally associate with fancy but eco-UNfriendly paper.

Their unique wood cards are printed on thinly sliced, sustainability harvested yellow birch. The birch slices are also turned into business cards, journal covers and custom wedding invitations. They’re pretty cool!  My favorite product was the wood postcards which you can buy with one of their cute designs or blank so you can DIY.  They go right in the mail with a postcard stamp, and are just as easy to write on as paper.

I met Jennifer and Alan at the National Stationary Show this year, and they were kind enough to give a Night Owl Paper Goods discount code to The Amber Show readers good now until June 30, 2009. So go shopping! (The wood cars are especially rad for Father’s Day!) Use the discount code Amber* to receive 20% off.

*(dude. How cool am I? )

“Great shoes!”

I was at a party and the handful of women in the circle I joined all looked down at my feet.

“Super cute!” said one.

“Are they vintage?” asked another.

“Thank you!” I said. “Target!”

It’s an endless debate between letting people think you’ve found a unique one-of-a-kind purchase and bringing them in on your great bargain. My frugal side wins every time.

They are SO comfortable, too. (And way cuter in person.) (And vegan.)

$23, from Target

My Bayan Hippo bag came a few weeks ago, and when I opened the package the first thing I noticed was that it is a thinner canvas that I had expected it to be. It’s almost like a heavy linen – sturdy, but thin. It’s no utilitarian duck cloth, and this makes it very dainty and pretty, but also not well suited to being schlepped all over the city and treated roughly. It will be set aside and taken out on days when I’m wearing a cute skirt and having a nice stroll on a sunny day, but for everyday use, I need something I can basically abuse. It’s pretty, and I’m glad I have something nice but still casual for going out to dinner in the spring and summer.

I’m considering hemp again. My hemp wallet came and I’m super excited about how sturdy it feels (and, of course, the eco-friendly nature of the material). I think a whole bag of it would be kickass.

I did buy a purse in 2007 and declared it The One, and it was good for living in Connecticut, but now I need something that I can put on my shoulder and “wear” rather than “carry”, if that makes sense. It makes a difference when I want to walk and walk and walk; constantly adjusting something in my arms is exhausting, but if it’s just strapped to me I can go for miles.

The hunt continues.

I was 16 when I got my current wallet; it was included as a purse/wallet combo. Long after the purse disintegrated I carried that wallet around, and when the zipper pull broke I adjusted and got used to zipping it up by the nub. Now it mis-zips so that it doesn’t close, and I finally have to admit that it is time for a new wallet.

I thought I’d find one easily, but… well, it’s me trying to find something (remember the purse search?! It was actually easier to find a husband than the perfect purse.)

I need a zip-zip-zip sort of thing. You know, so it zips on three sides? Unfortunately this style doesn’t seem to be as popular as bi- and tri-fold wallets, and I’m having a hard time finding one.  These are some contenders:

This one from Orla Kiley is cute, and inside it’s set up perfectly, but I’m hesitating for two reasons: It’s got the pattern on it that screams ORLA KILEY, which is pretty but already getting passe, and have I mentioned I’ve had my current wallet for 11 years? I’m going to be outdated so fast with this thing. I don’t know how much I really care about being passe, but also, it is $95, and I don’t want to spend that much. Those two things make it a “meh.” at best, even though I really do like the pattern (and it would match my rainboots).
Orla Kiely Big Zip Wallet, $95

This one is the right shape, but it’s kind of corny, and I generally don’t do denim.
Vintage Inspired Sailor Anchor Wallet by Loungefly, $20

This one on clearance from Urban Outfitters looks pretty good, but while I don’t have a specific moral opposition to leather, I kind of was hoping to get a cloth or vinyl one (I actually don’t know what this is made of; the site doesn’t say).
Deux Lux Color Stitch Wallet, $20

Zzzzzz…. This wallet, even in red, is a total snooze, and it’s leather, but the price is bananas and it has pockets and slots above and beyond what I could ever want.
Buxton Parkview Double Zip Indexer, $16 (currenlty 20% off)

This hemp wallet from the UK company Sativa is set up differently than the others, but I like the shape and the eco-friendly material.  I’m a little worried about the fact that it has to come from England, though.  How long is THAT going to take?! The big upside to this one is that it’s available in seven colors, or “colours”, and all of them are great.
Hemp Wallet by Sativa, $24

I’m pretty frustrated. Any good ideas?

*update* – my custom shoulder bag is being made! woo!

“Hello, lover.”

From Etsy user and mom of twin girls Bayan Hippo. She designs and hand-makes all her bags and sells them at fantastic, recession-friendly prices. ($27 – $35)

I actually could really use a shoulder bag, like the one below, more than a double strap bag that you carry on your arm like the one above. I have a double-strap one already (from the Gap) that’s nice for shopping, but I’m forever trying to hoist it onto my shoulder when I’m running around the city, and it’s annoying because it just. Doesn’t. Work. Stubbornly, I don’t want to let go of the possibility of it suddenly, magically staying put, so I keep hoisting, it keeps falling, and I wind up grumpy.

I don’t see this style in yellow, but she welcomes custom orders. She also offers purses in velvet, and has a huge variety of different fabrics and patterns.

Mom-run business FTW!