It’s been an emotional week, and yesterday was particularly draining. My chin is up and my ears are stiff, but wow. A lot of nostalgiac feelings flood back when you’re digging through boxes and packing things up. And oh-so-many good-byes. (”You’ll come visit?” “Rochester is soooo far away from L.A!”)

But, not to dispair! I found cheer-me-up shoes today while I was looking for other things at the store. They’re Nine West sneakers I saw almost a year ago when I was actually shoe shopping and decided against because they were entirely too expensive for sneakers. They were only $12 today. ($12! For Nine West shoes!)

So yeah, I’m totally superficial and this is my second blog post about shoes this month… this week even! Wow. Yeah. I feel sufficiently self-conscious about that, and I realize I’m going to need to earn that karma back, but I can’t help being happy about these shoes.

I love them. They’re casual and totally punk rock (except for the Nine West part) and a little bit trashy but in a kind of cool way. They’re perfect for me, yeah? Yeah. Best part, the lady at the store said they’d been there for months because they run small.

I think this must mean the universe is trying to keep me happy.

So, I know I haven’t been posting often, and I hate to be so superficial, but these shoes are so cute. And they’re too big for me! BC Footwear stopped making 5’s, and 5’s were already pushing it. I’m like a 3 1/2 or a 4 really. Ugh. So sad. We would have been good friends.

Blendtec, a company that promotes its industrial blenders by attempting to blend things, attempts to blend an iPhone. I won’t give anything away, but do go see for yourself.

My guiltiest pleasure is shoe love. I love cute shoes. And I notice other people’s cute shoes. And I covet their cute shoes.

These Campers are uber cute, but I don’t know that I could ever justify paying $169.95. They’re cute, sure, but they’re still shoes. And too many shoes in that price range come to be through bonded child labor in India or worse anyway.

Camper, just for the record, has a solid history of ethical labor practices. I have no reason to believe they’ve ever used bonded child labor. But they’re still too expensive for justification.

What kind of girl am I?

Slimfit Caffeine Tights by Palmers are constructed with caffeine “micro capsules” which the package claims are activated by body heat to improve skin elasticity, burn fat and tighten leg tissue.

Do they work? No idea. But if you find out, please let me know.

The tights run $51, or £26.90, per pack of 3 at TightsPlease.co.uk, but shipping may be a killer. Although if you’re willing to cough up a Grant for the tights, a Jackson for shipping shouldn’t be a problem.

Link

I’ve seen coffee makers, before, but a USB powered turtable? This may be one of the oddest Plug & Play devices yet. But I bet it’ll make a certain bunch of IDM fans so excited that they’ll pee their pants.
From Firebox.com:

“Digital music is great but isn’t it a pity you can’t transfer your old records on to your computer? Well guess what? You can! That’s right vinyl lovers, thanks to the ingenious USB Turntable you can put all your LPs, 12″s and singles straight into your digital library.”

At only $225 ( or £119.95), it’s a… er… bargain?

Link

The Carver One, designed by Dutch entrepeneur Anton van den Brink, is part race car, part street bike powered by a 660 cc turbocharged engine. Can you imagine driving this thing? Its capable of taking turns at a 45 degree tilt angle.

From the Carver website:

“Steer it like a car and it banks like a motorcycle. It sounds deceivingly simple. And it truly is. At the heart of the Carver One lies the Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC™) system which automatically adjusts the tilt angle of the cockpit to the speed and acceleration of the vehicle enabling a plane-like ’tilting before cornering’.”

Link

“Mettre une Rose douche” are soft, semi-transparent tiles in the shape of roses designed by Keiko Altin Oyabo. They’re molded from polyurethane-gel and have self-adhesive backs for easy application to any smooth plastic, glass or glazed ceramic tile.

Oyabo also has a few other varieties of fun looking, soft feeling gel tiles on the website that are worth a peek.

Link

Maiden Love Revolution is a best-selling Japanese PS2 game which features a snack-happy ex-beauty queen who is struggling to get back to her “dating weight.” Wired ran a snippet on the game in this month’s issue.

Game players assume the role of 220-pound Hitomi Sakurakawa in her quest to lose the weight through dieting and exercise. If she does, she’s rewarded with a dreamy date!

I’m taking a stab in the dark here, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this game was yet another misguided attempt to produce a title that appeals to girls instead of boys. Alhough it has failed on that front, us femmes certainly appreciate your consideration, guys!

Copies of the game are available at Play-Asia.com, but work only on JPN/Asian game systems.

Link

I love this chair! Now you can cuddle up with a whole shelf of good books instead of just one.

Nobody & Co.’s Bibliochaise, is a seat specially designed “for those who like to be immersed in deep reading.”. It can house up to five linear meters of books. Oh joy!

Link (via MoCo Loco)