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As I’ve stated before, I love vintage (along with most every other 20-something girl on the West Coast). It’s hard to find mint condition vintage (after all I’m looking for 30-40 year old pieces here!) and I don’t especially love rummaging through trunks at Salvation Army. NOT that there’s anything wrong with Salvation Army - it’s just not quite my cup of tea. And what is that perpetual SMELL!?!

So my bf, Jason, has been using eBay for years now. He sells golf clubs, car parts (and sometimes the entire car), vintage coats - you name he’s auctioned if off on eBay and he inspired me over the weekend to create an account and just start checking out what’s available. So I did.

I’m hooked.

Not only did I find some amazing pieces but they’re extremely affordable!! Obviously opening bids can start really low and end up selling past what I’m willing to spend, but that’s the nature of the beast. It’s absolutely amazing what variety and selection this nifty site has to offer! I already have myself setup for a half dozen different auctions for some fabulous 70’s vintage dresses and tunics!! The only thing I don’t like about it is that I have to WAIT for another 7 days before some of the auctions actually end - which kind of blows - but good vintage is worth it.

So if you’ve been sitting on the fence about creating an eBay account, I just want to say please stay sitting because that means there’ll be more vintage selection for ME! XOXO

I just got an email tonight with an invitation code to Gilt Groupe - an, invitation only, online store with access to luxury brands up to 70% off retail! I just logged on tonight to check it out and already I’m obsessed. The sales last 36 hrs with hand picked styles selected from a single designer. The fact that it’s members only is great because at least I have a chance at snatching up a killer deal on a Chloé dress or something.

If you want an invite, let me know…I have a few to give out. XOXO

Everybody loves a great vintage leather motorcycle jacket or couture dress and Spanish Moss Vintage is THE place to find those one of a kind pieces from your most favorite decade! I have an itch for vintage but always have the same dilemma of not knowing where to find exactly what I want. My good friend sent me this link and having never heard of this Southern California based gem, I eagerly visited and instantly fell in love.

Without hesitation I felt like these girls knew what they were doing and have been doing it for awhile. The photography was stylish, elegantly grungy; the clothes were amazingly modern, relevant; the prices were practical, tempting. Everything from bomber jackets to jumpers to fringe moccasins - Spanish Moss Vintage right off the bat shows character, uniqueness and seduction. I can tell they are careful in what they sell. Everything is well thought out. I am absolutely IN LOVE with this site and already have a few pieces sitting in my shopping cart…

I encourage you to take a look at what this jewel of a store offers - there are some serious fabulous finds that would be great as gifts or for your stylish self. GO SHOP!

Here’s a bit more about Spanish Moss Vintage (in their own words):

“Spanish Moss Vintage specializes in trendsetting vintage, new clothing and accessories for artists, gypsies, trendsetters and IT girls (or just those in spirit). Founded in 2006, SMV has grown into one of the most recognized vintage havens worldwide specializing in runway trends, rare 80’s avant-garde pieces and those coveted hard to find 60’s mini’s. Fifty percent of Spanish Moss’ vintage is tailored in house to make each one of a kind item the perfect statement piece for present day fashionistas.

Suzanna by Spanish Moss Vintage is a vintage inspired clothing line designed and produced in downtown Los Angeles. All pieces are proudly made in America of the finest brushed silks, antique crochets and embroidered cottons.” Read More about SMV here.

*Photos courtesy of Spanish Moss Vintage.

We’ve all had them - whether with our sibling, coworker or neighbor - everybody’s experienced a little disagreement with somebody. Competition is not always a bad thing and JealousBrother.com definitely brings some good ole rivalry back into the web. JealousBrother.com is a place where people can submit issues to the digital space and allow the community to vote sides on the issue, comment their beliefs, passions, understandings and opinions. The concept is extremely simple but the passion behind the issues is powerful, which is what makes a site like this so compelling. Everybody has an opinion so this is a centralized place for people to come together, learn more about an issues and share their opinions…civilized or not.
I was corresponding with the CEO and Founder, Ryan Kazinec, and here’s his story behind JealousBrother.com:

“So here’s how the idea came about - I grew up the youngest of three with a brother and sister. My brother and I have always competed and have always tried to outdo one another. It is this sibling rivalry in a very strange way that inspired the idea behind the website. As we grew older we didn’t necessarily act older, so the brotherly competitions continued. We both became home owners and had to find something else to compete over, so naturally it was lawn mowers. He had a better push mower so I got a used riding mower. Mine had 12 horsepower so he got one with 18. Not to be outdone I purchased a mower with 20 horse power. It was that lawn mower that provoked the message I left on his cell phone. I said, “I posted new pictures of my lawnmower on JealousBrother.com you can check out.” It wasn’t until my brother’s wife and other family members asked if it was a real website that I actually thought; maybe it could be. During the holidays of 2005 I created a JealousBrother family newsletter for comedic relief. It was in early 2006 when I registered the domain and began trying to make it a reality.

The logo was designed loosely based off of a picture of my brother and I when we were younger. It went through many stages until we got what we were looking for; a personal touch that embodied the premise of the website, the jealousy and competitive nature between siblings. The reality is that most people can relate to our friendly feuds whether it’s with a family member, fellow employee, or neighbor down the street.”

After countless hours of discussion, Ryan and his developer Dennis, decided the rivalry concept would be the most effective way of sticking to the background of the project while making it user friendly and fun to use. I think they did a great job of holding those pieces together.

Ryan says that he just wants people to have fun on the site and always see two sides of every issue. He wants to create a space where like-minded individuals can truly come together to support an issue to create change. It’s a unique space where people can share what they are truly passionate about and rally behind it. Not only is it a place to bring like-minded people together but also take into consideration the other side and understand (whether if you accept it or not) where others are coming from. That is what is truly amazing about JealousBrother.com. That and the face I can see how many people prefer Mac to PC.

Some additional info about JealousBrother.com:

CEO/Sole Proprietor: Ryan Kazinec

Trademarks Registered: Ryan Kazinec

Founders: Ryan and Crystal Kazinec

Project Financed: Boot-strapped

Features Planned:
1.) Flash Video Support (server side video processing)
2.) More advanced user photo system
3.) We are looking into integrating WordPress MU
4.) Increased customization for user profiles.
Much more…

If you have any suggestions or feedback for JealousBrother, please send all inquiries to Ryan Kazinec at bigkazzyry (at) bellsouth (dot) net. Tomorrow, August 18th is their official 1-year anniversary since they first started development! Congrats Ryan and good luck with your future initiatives.

Now go get a little competition going, people! I feel a rivalry brewing…

I know the news is soo last week and most people have already blogged about the Facebook redesign but I’m going to give my two cents anyway.

The news of the redesign came a few weeks ago from the Inside Facebook blog. I had actually seen the announcement through Twitter and checked it out for the first time last week. The design is nice and open - a bit confusing at first because I was looking to my side navigation for my groups, photos, friends, applications and now most of the activity is in the upper navigation. Ok I can deal with that. I don’t know if it’s through a default setting or what but my main profile page (wall) in the redesign is completely taken over by the mini-feed. You can of course click through the upper tabs for Info, Photos, Boxes, etc. but I personally don’t like viewing the mini-feed first thing…I already know what I’ve been doing in my account - I don’t need to be reminded.

One of the most obvious things to me in the redesign (remember I am a marketer) is the abundance of white space - ah hem - AD space. Cha Ching! Good for Facebook. I understand that people need to pay their bills and generate some kind of revenue - so good to see they’re thinking it through. Let’s hope the ads stay clean and neat like they have because I can’t stand another MySpace ad.

To get more in depth news and reasoning behind the redesign check out Facebook’s blog, Inside Facebook.

Thursday nights are my TV night - Ugly Betty on at 8pm and Grey’s Anatomy on at 9. However for whatever reasons I can never remember (derrr!) if the shows are new or not.

So naturally I check out abc.com to find out if I can look forward to a new episode each week. Once I get to the site I click on Primetime, scroll through the list of shows and click on Ugly Betty (it’s been more exciting this season than Grey’s so I definitely don’t want to miss it). I’m at the page and looking for some kind of new episode text, promotion, picture. Where’s the big flashing button that distinguishes between “NEW” or “REPEAT”? Hmm scrolling down, reading across the page, clicking on a few links - I get nowhere. Half way down the page there’s an episode   description…ok reading…nope doesn’t sound familiar so it must be new, right?

After spending 10-15 minutes on the site I (hopefully) know the episode for the night is new. It shouldn’t be that hard for a visitor to see if an episode is new or not on a specific night. What a waste of time and unnecessary frustration!