Made with Love

Today, I bought a scarf. On sale, at a chain store. With a coupon. Plus an added discount. A genuine bargain.

The store clerk carefully matched up each edge, smoothing it down into a neat square, before sheathing it in a sheet of tissue paper into which he'd folded a smart pleat down the center.

"Thank you for wrapping that so nicely!" I said, as he slipped it into the mini shopping bag.

"Well, it's silk, it deserves a little love," he replied.

Don't a lot of things?

In France, I'd marveled at the array of packets and parcels into which the store clerks arranged my purchases--both large and small. There was value in taking care.

Aren't most work-related tasks worth doing with at least a little love?

Over lunch one day, a friend looked down at his sandwich ruefully, the smoked turkey flapping half-outside the whole grain bread, more lettuce scattered on the tray than on the bread.

"Some days, they're made with love, some days they aren't," he summed up.

This from a guy who readily admitted that most days, food was little more than fuel for his high-octane workouts.

But people do notice these things. And it all goes into what makes a shopping or eating experience worthwhile.

Care is what sets great companies--and star workers--apart from the rest.

Brand New Bag

Even as a toddler, I was obsessed with purses. Whenever my mom got rid of an old pocketbook and let me play with it, I was in heaven. The best ones had multiple pockets and zippers and tiny hideaway compartments.

There's probably some tie-in with obsessing over the trappings of grownup-hood - after all, at three, I came downstairs one morning and announced I was ready for school, clad in footie pajamas and sporting a briefcase. (Thankfully, my fashion choices have evolved a little, since then.)

But procuring a new handbag just as summer starts? Divine.

Over the weekend, I found one in a kickin' color, a roomy style with cute details. Like little perforations reminiscent of spectator pumps. And a zany, flowered lining that reminds me of my maternal grandmother for some reason.

Best of all, it was on deep-deep sale.

Daily Grace: Issue 34

1. Dress shopping with my Mom, my sister and my niece - three generations of funny women.
2. Deciding to buy cool shoes (to be worn to work later) to jazz up a little black dress already in my closet.
3. Walking several miles in one day after too much time away from the gym.
4. Spending time playing "The Candy Game" - which consists of naming random kinds of candy - during a car ride with my niece.
5. Realizing that simpler can be better, in fancy dresses and in most areas of life.

Not An Everyday Sight

A mall-weary Dad pushing a double-stroller ferrying a baby and a toddler.

Tucked in between said baby and toddler, splayed across the stroller?

A life-sized stuffed baby zebra.

Economic Barometer

For the first time in years, I've been out shopping - albeit briefly - on Black Friday, as well as the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving.

All three days made me concerned for the economic outlook this holiday season.

I know everyone's been reading the same articles I have, how retailers are going to slash prices like crazy the closer the holiday gets.

But still... I'd expect some crowds in the largest shopping mall on the East Coast. It was laughable, the paltry number of people I saw out shopping.

The sales associates at Nordstrom? Bored to tears.

Kate Spade? They could vacuum the place and nobody would have minded.

Cole Haan, where they had a big "30% off everything in the store" sign beckoning? The saleswoman looked ready to cry.

And it's not just the higher-end stores that were feeling the pinch - JCPenney was a ghost town.

Even JCrew, which on a normal Saturday has 5 or 6 people waiting to make purchases, had a fast-moving line - full of people with returns.

When you can go to a Best Buy store at any time on Black Friday and there's no line - I mean, zero people waiting - something is wrong.

This does not bode well, people. It's going to be self-perpetuating problem - if we buy nothing, the economy will stagnate.

Mission Accomplished

Fueled by an awesome bacon-and-eggs breakfast this morning outside while reading the paper (the ultimate!), I just couldn't wait.

At 9:30 a.m., I called the nearest Apple Store to ask about their inventory. While they couldn't guarantee there'd be one for me, they said they had plenty of the model we were interested in.

Hightailed it over there and got into line. While we waited, Apple store clerks told us what we needed (i.d., etc.) and thanked everyone for their enthusiasm about the product and apologized for the wait.

So often, the place where we stand in line - the DMV, jury duty processing, the bank - are really just a hassle.

People all around me were positive and happy and excited. I chatted with some interesting folks while in line. There was just a good vibe all around.

The whole process was quick and we were in and out of the store in 15 minutes. Yay!

Apple Bad, Chick-fil-A Good

It seems to me that Apple, along with AT&T, could learn a lot from Chick-Fil-A.

Unlike those either on summer break with hours to kill or in possession of dozens of extra vacation days they want to dump, I was not going to wait in line for six hours on a summer Friday, no matter how life-altering the iPhone would be.

So, relying on my local AT&T store was the first tactical error, in that the carrier stores are clearly the ones that got the inventory shaft.

But don't worry, they're happy to reserve you a phone - and charge you a "shipping fee" of varying amounts depending on how soon you want it. That is, it will be shipped to the store (sounds like somebody's trying to make up some lost dollars in the Apple deal. Ahem!). Shipping to the store? Isn't that simply getting more inventory?

I digress.

Chick-Fil-A was also having a promotion yesterday.

If you wore (or at least showed) the funny cow hat they handed out the week before, you could get a free entree. If you dressed entirely like a cow, your whole meal was on the house. (Nobody I saw dressed like a cow save for the mascot shaking hands with babies.)

Crowds of people gathered at the counter for much of the time I was at the mall. But the team behind the counter kept things moving. The inventory was piping hot and crispy. Activating the orders - unlike with the iPhone - was a snap. And they weren't trying to gouge anyone - in fact, the discounts were plentiful!

And when capped off with a shake - 700 calories of custardy fakeness (hey, I didn't have lunch, OK?) that makes it easy to forget that an iPhone was out of reach.

For the moment, at least.

Things I Have Learned

1. Jackets with decorative zippered pockets will always be trendy and not worth the investment.

2. "The easy way out" seldom is, except when it comes to food preparation.

3. If during a job interview they've squirreled you away in a conference room - and they never actually let you see the offices where you'd be working - that's a bad sign.

4. V-neck sweaters look better on about 95% of the population.

5. If you just work hard and keep your nose to the grindstone, you will never get ahead - a little self-promotion is always necessary.

6. Sunburn is always worth preventing.

7. With vital supplies, always buy more than you think you need - this goes for toilet paper, beads, and chocolate.

8. A manicure should be obtained the day before you have to do something important.

9. Spending time with kids is far more important that spending oodles of money on them.

10. Getting started is more important than starting exactly the right way.

What have you learned? Post it in the Comments.

(Lip)stick in a Box

About a week ago, I placed an order with Barneys New York and then promptly forgot about it. This morning, the Fedex truck pulled up, and the guy loped across the yard, box in hand.

It was like Christmas! So I opened the box.

And unfolded the tissue paper...

And took out the kraft paper stuffing...

And unwrapped the blobby, loaf-of-bread-sized corrugated paper packaging... (Speaking of bread, this is taking so long I need a snack.)

Then unrolled the taped-up bubble wrap ...

Then untaped some more tissue paper...

To get to the lipstick I'd ordered. Thank goodness it wasn't damaged in shipping.

(Note the soda can on the left side, for scale.)

The only redeeming factor here is that I will recycle this stuff. But still. A single lipstick doesn't need to be shipped in a box measuring 9" x 11" x 6" and six layers of packaging. A padded envelope will do.

Dear Barneys New York,

Please lighten up on the packaging!

Thank you,

Spandrel Studios

Christmas Shopping Tips

When it comes to last-minute Christmas shopping, it's all in the planning. And after many years of last-minute dashes, and finishing shopping by December 10, I've got a few tried-and-true tips that work for me:

1. Make a list. The most basic things can trip us up when we're under stress and not thinking clearly. And with Christmas shopping, there's a preponderance of bright, shiny objects to divert our attention. Put at least a few minutes' thought into it ahead of time so you don't lose focus. (Or risk forgetting your Great-Aunt Mildred.)

2. Go where no man has gone before. Or at least go when they're not thinking about it. Shopping on the way into work when stores have extended store hours can be helpful. But here's my secret: shop Sunday mornings around 10 a.m. Even on the Sunday before Christmas, I've found this to be the magic hour - stores open, nobody around.

3. Plot your course. Think proximity; try shopping where the items you need are close to one another. Otherwise, you maybe running from one end of the mall to the other, or circling the same neighborhood, wasting precious time. When time is of the essence, who wants to bother with back-tracking?

4. Wear comfortable shoes. I swear by running shoes. Whether you're pounding the pavement in a city or zipping through a mall, you're likely to be standing in lines at some point and your feet will take the brunt of the punishment. Tired feet mean an ineffective shopper.

5. Hoard a couple of extras. Think broad appeal: gift cards for Starbucks, Best Buy, Nordstrom, you name it. These days, you can choose from the entire flock at a grocery store! Having a couple of cards on hand can come in handy for those surprise gift-giving sessions.

6. Smile, smile, smile. At some point, all this shopping can be a pain. I'll grant you that. There's the tension of having to buy more with less. Or finding just the right hip Secret Santa gift for $25. Or you've got a cold and you're sneezing more than you're shopping. But it's Christmastime, dammit! Try to make the best of it and enjoy yourself. A smile goes a long way, too, with a busy clerk or a grumpy line-neighbor.

7. Think outside the (big) box. What could be more impressive than a one-of-a-kind item for your brother's new girlfriend? Go to sites like Etsy and see what they have in store.

8. Give til it hurts. There's always a person on your list for whom a gift seems . . . well, silly. They've got everything they want. Or they give everything away. But a donation might be just the right fit. There are a million wonderful charities worthy of your attention. Think Oxfam, Project HOME, or the American Red Cross.

9. Hydrate. The heat's on full blast. There are people all over the place. You're working up a sweat finding the right Christmas angel for your tree. Bring a little H20 with you to avoid keeling over.

10. Pack the Purell. This is the germophobe in me speaking, but think about it: you've got kajillions of people stuffed inside of stores, pawing over the merchandise, using the same pen over and over and over to sign the credit card slips. Sanitize early and often, and you just might ring in the New Year feeling healthy, wealthy and wise.