Listen Up, Gwyneth Paltrow

Hey Gwyns,

So, you're in the news a lot lately. You wear revealing get-ups that make headlines, and then talk about those getups in ways that make more headlines. You write cookbooks and you have a lifestyle website and you talk about your exercise routines and eating habits in interviews. Highlights of those interviews can be found in the right-hand column of Huffington Post's homepage, because stories about you are popular. In short, you are famous for being Gwyneth Paltrow. It's been a while since you were notable for your acting. There, I said it.

Sure, Iron Man 3 is opening soon, and I'm sure you are just fine in it. I'm just not sure the folks who rush out to see it on the first weekend are going because of you.

You're smart, and you probably realized a while ago that Hollywood is a tough slog for women as they get older. And that's why you started GOOP. I really hate the name, Gwyns, but otherwise I think it's a perfectly fine website.

So here's the thing: In America we have a lot of people who are famous for being famous. And Americans love to hate those famous people. See also: Kardashians, Palins.

I don't want that to be you, Gwyneth. But you are close to that, because the cookbooks and websites don't count, no matter how well they are done. That's what famous-for-being-famous people do when they are trying to squeeze out every last dollar from their FFBF status.

So, here is my advice to you... Two letters: TV. Gwyneth, go and get yourself a plum part on TV. Not a cameo, like you did for Glee or The New Normal. That's playing coy, and coy doesn't help your plight. No reality shows and no judging on talent shows either. No, you need a good role on HBO or Showtime or PBS. Maybe an episodic show, or a TV movie, or miniseries. You could be the person to bring back the miniseries! Think of the possibilities!

You know who you're up against... Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Reese "Do You Know My Name" Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Jen Garner, Sandy Bullock, Nicole Kidman, just to name a few. A lot of names for not that many roles. Think about the folks that were so hot a few years back and then you never hear about them. Renee Zellweger... what is she doing now?

Two role models for you: Claire Danes and Julianne Moore. The former younger than you, the latter a decade older. Claire Danes wisely jumped at the role of Carrie Matheson on "Homeland". For years she gets to create this complicated, often unlikeable but tenacious CIA agent, to critical acclaim. Julianne Moore did great work in the popular indie "The Kids Are Alright" and then pivoted to TV for an award-winning role as Sarah Palin in "Game Change". She quietly brings in bank as a model for Revlon, but because of her great work as an actress, no one seems to care.

Good luck, Gwyneth!

All best,
Amy

Why I Thrift

                                            (picture: news.com.au)

As you probably know by now, a building that houses garment factories in Bangladesh collapsed this week. The latest death toll that I can find is 244; sadly I am sure that number will rise as workers clear the rubble and more bodies are found. The building was known to be structurally unsound; but the work continued.

The work continued because the beast known as America's Addiction To Cheap Stuff needed to be fed. 

Slowly, we are seeing a renewed interest in American Made products. But I think it's going to be a long haul. American-made clothes are hard to find, and are (obviously) more expensive than stuff made in China or Bangladesh. When you are on a budget, it's oh-so-easy to get sucked in by "affordable" items like they have at Old Navy. During Christmas break I took my boys on an outing to San Francisco. We needed to find a bathroom, so we ventured in to the flagship Old Navy--four floors of cheap stuff. They had fleece jackets for kids for $4. That was the full price--they weren't on sale. For a fleeting moment I thought about buying some for my kids. In the Bay Area, lightweight jackets are appropriate all year long. Dead of winter? A fleece jacket with a scarf is just about right. Dead of summer? You need the jacket, but maybe you can leave the scarf at home. I quickly snapped out of my cheap-stuff reverie and hightailed it out of the store, feeling physically ill by the overwhelming abundance of cheap stuff.

I'm deeply thankful for the accessibility of good second-hand stuff in my area. I can clothe my family without feeding the beast and without emptying my wallet.

Just So Much Stuff: Odometer Edition

Odometers? Say what?... you might be thinking right now. Have I stumbled onto the blog of some crazy auto-parts hoarder? Happily, the answer is no. It's just that in my quest to live a cleaner, less stuff-filled life, I have noticed that miles on the odometer are another form of stuff.

This is the odometer of my trusty 2002 Subaru WRX. I love this car. It gives me no trouble. It's sturdy and safe but also small enough to tuck into tiny urban parking spots. As a bonus, it's not a "mom car" at all. I get approving nods from the 20-something guys at the oil change place because it is a sports car of sorts, and I have a fancy steering wheel (I've been told). And it's got a stick shift! Kazaam! I'm 46, haven't lost the baby weight, and I actually enjoy school board meetings. But I still drive a stick shift, so there!

Time in the car is a form of clutter. Yes, I want my wonderful car to last as long as possible, and I want to the $60 visits to the gas pump to be few and far between. But it's more than that. Car travel clutters up our life with stress. And not driving brings me peace.

My family does pretty well in this regard. I work three miles from our house; my husband about five. Our kids go to school seven-tenths of a mile from our house. Kung Fu is 1.4 miles away, and theater class is 2 miles away. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, land of hiking and beaches and beauty all around. But to get to the beach, or the zoo or most attractions in San Francisco, you have to get on the freeway. And deal with traffic. And lately, I've found myself wanting to avoid that clutter at all costs.

We're lucky to have attractions close to home. We live just over the border from Richmond, California, which is known for its crime and poverty more than natural beauty. But natural beauty it has, in abundance... and which we enjoy regularly.

Why leave home when you've got all this?

Just So Much Stuff: Denim Edition

America, if you need new jeans, I beg of you... please go to your neighborhood thrift store first. America loves jeans, and America imports our jeans from many places that are not America. They are everywhere.

After I dropped off my mega-load of unused toys this morning, I took a walk through Thrifttown, just for fun. What stuck out for me today were the jeans.

These are "Better Jeans". "Better" means more expensive. Sometimes the "better" clothes still have their tags on them. The folks who do the pricing at Thrifttown are good at what they do. The "better" clothes are usually worth the extra few bucks.

Denim shorts for kids. A whole lot of shorts.

Men's jeans... surprisingly, the smallest collection in the store.

Regular women's jeans, not "better." There are mom jeans in this collection, jeans with elastic waists, jeans that will cause a butt of any size to look gigantic. But mixed in with the mom jeans you will find Ralph Lauren jeans, Lucky jeans, Perfectly Acceptable Old Navy jeans.

I took many more pictures of jeans but really, how many do you need? There are Capri jeans which should really be filed in with the mom jeans.

The Abundant Jean situation is so serious that it might need its own non-profit organization to raise awareness in the jeans-wearing community (which is everyone, right?).

Just Say No To New Jeans, people.

Just So Much Stuff: Home Edition

Hello, America, my name is Amy, and I have too much stuff. America, we can all be in a support group for this affliction together, right?

Our house is pretty small by American standards--1500 square feet. Let me tell you... it's plenty of room. The problem is not the house, the problem is that we have too much stuff in our house.

Today, we focused on organizing and editing our boys' toy collections. Here is our dirty little secret: Our kids don't play with many toys. How could that be? It's been difficult to admit, and hence I've been holding on to a bunch of toys to not face this fact.

A few years ago my mom asked what she should give our 6-year-old for his birthday. For some reason, I steered her to these large cardboard blocks. They're not plastic, I reasoned. He will build forts and castles and other wildly creative creations. Well, not so much. They have been in a corner of his room collecting dust. Today was the day we admitted defeat on these blocks. Sorry, mom.

As you can see, these blocks take up a lot of room. I feel a little bit bad passing them off to Thrifttown... they are as pressed for space as anyone. But they will find a home... that is the beauty of thrift stores.

My kids just aren't big builders, at least in the way toy manufacturers want them to be. We gave up on Legos a while ago, and today we passed a bunch of Knex toys along, too.

Another toy fail.

So after our purge, what are we left with?

We saved the Bey Blades. Not because my boys play with them, but because I feel like we need some sort of typical "boy toys" around for when friends come over.

We saved their stuffed animals because my kids actually play with them! We did come to an agreement that we would not acquire any more without getting rid of some of these first. Yes, some of their stuffed animals are from thrift stores, which is a big no-no for some thrifters. That's a topic that deserves its own post.

Beyond Thrifttown: My Visit to the Good Stuff Thrift Store

I got out of work early yesterday and decided to venture in to a nearby Thrift Store with my rare moment of free time. My stop of choice: the Good Stuff Thrift Store on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito.

Here's what was good about Good Stuff: The store is tidy and the clothes are fairly well-organized. The prices felt high to me, but I seldom set foot in the higher-end stores where many of this store's items originally started out. So I might not be the best judge of their prices.

They were running a special that day: 50 percent off all items with an orange tag. I tried on a navy, somewhat flattering LL Bean jacket that had an orange tag, which brought it down from $7 to $3.50. I resisted. I need to always resist LL Bean because I'm a middle-aged white lady with preppy roots. Preppy LL Bean clothes always reinforce my inner fuddy-duddy.

The store had some lovely high-end women's wear. This jacket interested me:

It's made out of wool though, and the truth is that in our mild Northern California climate, it's too warm for wool most of the year.

Anyway, Good Stuff is a perfectly lovely thrift store that raises funds for a worthy cause: Contra Costa ARC, a local non-profit organization that serves disabled children and adults. The challenge for Good Stuff and other small thrift stores is that they simply do not have much inventory. There were a few baby items, but no children's clothes. I purchase about 75 percent of my kids' clothes at thrift stores, so it is hard for me to get excited about a store with no kids' clothes.

I often wonder if Thrifttown, and other Super-Thrift Stores like it, have ruined small, volunteer-run thrift stores. The prices are better and the selection is better at Thrifttown, that is the bottom line. But Good Stuff was certainly not empty at the non-peak hour of 1pm on a Tuesday when I visited.

I do not have any answers, but I remain fascinated by the business of Thrift. I will see what I can find out and share it here.

My Best Thrifttown Score

Here they are, ladies and gentlemen, my beloved Dansko Mary Janes:

If you are familiar with the Dansko brand, you know that they are a line of well-made, sturdy footwear. They are not cheap. They are the kind of shoes that you take to a shoemaker for repairs. Looking at this picture of my shoes, I can see that it's high time they got a shine!

This particular style is no longer in production, but here is something similar:

These retail for $139.95. 

I found my Dansko Mary Janes for $9.99 at Thrifttown. But wait! That's not what I paid. Thrifttown puts out coupons and I seldom enter Thrifttown without one in hand. 

My total purchase for the day was right at $15, which made the total order $10. That means my lovely Danksos were right around $7.

Woo hoo, $7 for a beautiful pair of good-for-your-feet shoes!