I absolutely ADORE Ellen Ikemoto’s work.

And since Autumn and the dreaded Winter is fast approaching (yes, it’s true, today is the last day of August)!

Why not pop over to her site and see if you can score a cute scarf or two, or a piece of jewellery? They are quite beautiful and unique – I have never seen a scarf have the ends in a gorgeous fabric, while the rest of it is a snuggly, wonderfully luxurious wool.

Here are a couple of my favourites

“Campfire” w/ “kyoto rain” border – $50 (SOLD!)

I really like the pattern on the border, and the wool makes the colours pop. It’d look fabulous sticking out of your jacket in the winter (why not look cute while keeping warm?)

“Grey heirloom” lg. skinny scarf – $45

There’s something very sophisticated about this scarf, especially with a wonderful pin to hold it together!

“Montana” w/ shibori & blue dot border – $40

I love how the graphic circles play off the deep sapphire blue of the woolly scarf.

Necklace #722 – $48 Sold!!
13 1/2- 17″. chinese turquoise donut, turquoise nuggets, black agate, glass beads.

This necklace is just gorgeous. I love the juxtaposition of the stones on the left-hand side, while a simple beading appears on the right. Then it’s all topped off with a wonderful turquoise chinese “donut” stone that makes it all the more dramatic. It’d look great with a black tank top, wrap top, or any of the colours in the stones (deep purple, turquoise, white or even magenta) to highlight this magnificent masterpiece!

necklace #701 – $48
14-17″. replica chinese coin, assorted gemstones, glass beads, swarovski crystal pearls, vintage focal bead.

This is another one of my favourites. I LOVE the replica chinese coin hanging down on the left-hand side. It makes it off kilter, and unique. You just won’t find this kind of jewellery in a mass store, and for such a one of a kind piece, it’s just fabulous. I especially like that one little (vintage focal bead?) that looks like a pearly disco ball.

necklace #736 – $48
17-19 1/2″. gold plated links, assorted gemstones, amazonite, blue topaz, fluorite, freshwater pearl.

There’s something very serene and tranquil about this necklace. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s the mix of all the stones, and the way she’s had the necklace kind of off-kilter, yet balanced beautifully with the two gold plated links grounding the stones.

necklace #749 $44
29 1/2″. mother-of-pearl ring links, assorted gemstones, amazonite, rock crystal, assorted glass beads, swarovski crystal pearls.

I can DEFINITELY see myself wearing this at an opera, or some chic event. It’s so beautiful, that I’d want to wear it everyday! I love the mother of pearl ring links, it is a beautifully layered necklace.

And if you want a special bracelet without wearing the same ol’ silver chain you always put on?

Consider her gorgeous kimono cotton fabric cuffs.. I love the fabric, and while I could never wear it in a top or in any kind of clothing (hmm, they’d be fab as scarf endings wouldn’t they?) I’d willingly have them on a purse, in a tie-sash-style belt, or.. you guessed it, in a cuff!

I also find these earrings just breathtaking!

crazy lace donut earrings – $25

“kimono pocket” – $40
8 1/4″ x 9 1/2″, 23 1/2 strap. distressed faux leather w/ kimono cotton print front pocket.

Lastly, her handbags are gorgeous too. Here is a Kimono Pocket handbag, that has faux leather, combined with sections of kimono cotton print fabric.

You can buy/see all of her pieces at:

Revanche made a fab point about being humble, and truthfully admitting you can’t afford to do certain things because of money.

For me, I find it more socially acceptable (maybe I’m not alone here..) to say: “No, I’m sorry, I gotta work that night”, or “Oh no, sorry, I’m in another city travelling on business, I won’t be back in time”, than it is to say “I can’t afford to do that, I’m sorry.”

I think that is why our society is so focused on working hard (unlike in Europe where they sort of take it easy and enjoy life). Sadly, we all seem to understand and in collective agreement, accept answers that prioritize work over enjoying life or leisure. We are condoning this behaviour to accept that our careers come first over family and friends.

The financial aspect of these excuses is this: I think having to admit you don’t have the money is sort of like defeat to many people, myself included. And it’s going to take a while to be able to work up the courage to truthfully say to friends: “I can’t afford to do a dinner at the sushi bar as well as a movie. Is it all right if I just meet up for dinner, or for late night drinks after the movie?”

And since my friends and I make about the same salary (give or take 5k-10k), they all assume that since they have money (they aren’t as debt obsessive as I am) then *I* should be able to have money as well to go blow it on some $80 fancy breakfast at a special event, or buy $200 shoes without batting an eyelash.

Regretfully, I had to decline on both offers, but shamefully, I had said it was because of work, not because of my lack of personal finances, that was the cause.

Has anyone else gone through the same thing?

This is something my mom would do.. *laughing*

Clerk to woman trying to use debit card: You have to confirm.
Woman: How I do that?
Clerk: With the keypad you’re holding.
Woman, using keypad as cell phone: I confirm!

–Electronic store, Times Square

I found this quote cute.

Girl: I love this new toothpaste I got. It has green tea in it and tastes absolutely fantastic. It feels like there’s a tea party going on in my mouth, and I just want to invite my teddy bears or something!

Overheard by: Ali and Livi

I still love teddybears, so I can relate.

Okay, time for me to (again) remind everyone to back up their data that they absolutely do NOT want to lose.

I basically back up my laptop once a night if I’m paranoid, and once weekly/monthly depending on how much information I’m creating that I do not want to lose.

Because of this, I have no fear of my laptop getting reformatted at any given time. I’ve made a list of programs I need, as well as passwords I need to ensure I have written down in the event I have to reformat, and I keep this backup list on my USB key, along with my super important documents that I’m currently working on, or need to access quickly.

As for my main documents from my company or from the client-side, I back it up on an external harddrive on a regular, nightly basis.

No, really. I do.

Without further ado, here are my tips on buying an external USB hard drive.

Buy a brand name you trust

From experience, this is not like buying a pair of shoes or a top. Brand names MATTER in external hard drives. I myself, have wasted $200 on 2 external (cheap) hard drives from a shoddy company called ZData. They have the WORST customer service ever, and one little knock, and all of my information was lost.

I bought a Western Digital, and having personally dropped it from 4 to 5 feet, on carpet and on hardwood, and this little baby keeps chuggin’ along.

I also bought a Comstar, but haven’t dropped it yet to test its durability (trying not to drop it), and it works like a charm. In fact, it has a Western Digital harddrive inside of it (other reviewers have taken it apart and seen the name).

But basically, what you are doing is paying more for a brand that has been around in the business, that is well known and trusted. Western Digital, Iomega, Comstar, Maxtor. Those are the big names to trust. HP is best left to printers (and not much else), and don’t buy names you have never seen before. Like ZData. *shudder*

You truly get what you pay for – shoddy workmanship, materials and parts.

Big name brands also have strong warranties that they stand by, whereas the cheaper companies could fold over like a cheap hand over night, and run off with your hard earned cash.

Research what you’re buying

Look for feedback, customer reviews, product reviews, what people say (both good and bad). Everyone treats their accessories differently (with kid gloves or with heavy handed hams), so they’re going to get different experiences. However, if you see a common theme in people’s complaints such as “The drive made a funny clicking noise, that ended up dying a month later”, or “The power cord started fraying within a month of using it, and now I can’t get it to stay plugged in and powered”. Take heed of these comments!!!!

Spend time in Google checking out your prospective purchase. You’ll be glad that you did, and it’s economical to do some light research before handing over your hard earned cash.

Connectivity

Look for a USB 2.0 port connectivity. Most laptops and computers are now running USB 2.0′s, and it is rare to see a USB 1.0 port. Another way to transfer information may be through Firewire, a faster-than-USB cabling connection which used to be an Apple invention, but is now used on regular PCs (Windows-based systems). Firewire is mostly found to be used with professional digital cameras or memory card readers. If you have USB 1.0, you will need to get a special card to retrofit your computer to accept USB 2.0s.

Speed

Grab a piece of paper and write down these specifications. These are your guideline requirements of what to look for when buying an external hard drive. You could certainly go for lower buffer sizes, RPMs or seek times, but every item you cheap out on, you will get a slower connection and you may very well be sitting there for a long time, waiting for information to transfer. Ask yourself how much speed means to you, and adjust these guidelines accordingly based on the store sales and deals in your area.

Seek time: 10ms (milliseconds) or less. This is how long it takes to well..seek data.

Buffer size: Get a drive with at least a 4MB (megabyte) buffer if you can. The higher the buffer, the better.

RPM: Same deal. The higher RPM the better. RPM stands for “Rotations per minute” and most externals come with 5400 RPM as a minimum, but if you can swing it, look for a model with 7200 RPM.

Size

But what you can afford. I personally have bought a Western Digital 60 GB drive, only to realize I’m running out of room (c’est impossible non?..Uh..oui!!!) and I upgraded to a 120 GB Comstar, only to realize I need yet ANOTHER external hard drive. They’re quite handy to travel with, handier and easier than DVDs and CDs.

A good rule of thumb is to add 50% to what you think you need. If you want 60 GB, consider a 90 GB (if you can afford it). You will definitely use up all of the space in no time and wonder where the hell it all went. I personally want 10 terabytes in a small, slim, quick, compact hard drive, but that right now, is just a pipe dream.

As for the actual physical SIZE of the product, look for something slim, easy to hold, light, and easy to carry and tote around. Even if it’s only $50, and has 250GB, if you are planning on toting this thing around, you are going to rue the day you bought a hunk of brick metal. You will come to resent how fat, heavy, and bulky that thing is, and wish you had bought a 100GB, slim model that could almost fit in your jacket pocket. The heavy ones are also more prone to being dropped on the floor because they’re heavier and it feels more awkward when you’re handling it.

Trust me. Size is everything.

Like financial security (such as saving an emergency fund for rainy days), this is like data insurance. And all it costs is about $100-$200 for peace of mind. And when your co-worker moans and screams: NOT AGAIN!!! …. You can secretly smile, and fondly pet your external hard drive, and feel secure in the knowledge that you backed up the night before and are not subject to such techno-torture again.

FB: This could be you.