Why I'll Never Buy Anything from Baby Brown's or by Petunia Pickle Bottom again

I ordered a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag from Baby Brown's. When it arrived, it wasn't as described on the website. Parts that were supposed to be made of brass were made of plastic. I was disappointed with the quality of the item and the fact that it wasn't as described, so I decided to return it.

When I called to tell them that I was returning it because it wasn't as described on their site, the man who answered (who appeared to be the owner of the company) told me it was fine that I would be returning it, but that I needed to pay return shipping. I found it to be kind of poor customer service to make me pay for a return when the item in question was being returned due to their having the wrong description of it up on their website. But whatever, fine. I asked for an RMA number and received it.

The owner then began arguing and talking over me about why I was returning the bag, getting escalatingly rude, then finally told me I must have read the description incorrectly. Uh, no, the description was sitting right in front of me on my computer. He ended the call with a very curt "If you don't want the bag, fine. But you're paying return shipping. That is final."

I could have dealt with paying return shipping, as that is their standard policy anyway. But the overwhelming rudeness and complete lack of any courtesy whatsoever? Those were enough to convince me never to give this company any business ever again. That is final, indeed.

As for Petunia Pickle Bottom, I tried several times unsuccessfully to contact them to ask when they had changed the diaper bag. I called and emailed, but never received any response or even any acknowledgement that I had contacted them.

Eh. You win some, you lose some. In this case, I feel like I've won - it is good to know what a business's true character is like, so I can support those who are worth it.

queremos paz

Using eyeliner is one of the best ways for desi women to bring out the shape and color of their eyes, and brightly colored eyeliners are an easy way to incorporate wearing color on the eyes. They are easier to apply than a whole look of brightly colored eyeshadows. The overall look of a bright eyeliner can also build from very subtle to quite dramatic, depending on the look one is aiming for.

I don't think I've written about these liners yet, but they are some serious drugstore makeup finds! If you're on the market for an affordable, long lasting eyeliner, there are a lot of options for you with the help of these products.



The Milani Infinite liner comes in black, an eggplant purple, a vivid electric blue, gold, and grass green (the last two featured here, green on the top lid and gold on the inner corners). It is an excellent dupe for MAC's Liquidlast eyeliner, with a similar texture and lasting power. Milani's version, just like MAC's, has lasted both on my top lid and both waterlines all day long. It does not flake on the waterline, which is a plus for contact lens wearers! I swatched it on my hand to test it out, and it lasted several days through multiple showers, handwashings, etc. so it is seriously waterproof, and would likely be suitable for swimming. It retails for $5.99 and can be found at CVS, Target, Walgreens, and other stores that carry the Milani line.



Wet 'n' Wild's H2O Proof liquid liner, featured here on the top lid and winged out at the ends, comes in more conservative colors. There is a black, a brown, a black brown, and a dark gray. It is well suited for the top lid but flakes a bit if applied to the waterline, so I avoid applying it there. It is quite waterproof but smudges a bit if you have oily lids. To avoid this kind of problem, always apply eye makeup after using an eye makeup base, like Urban Decay's Primer Potion. H2O Proof liquid eyeliner retails for $3.99 and can be found at Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, and other stores that carry the full Wet 'n' Wild line.



Wet 'n' Wild's creme eyeliner is one example of the creme/gel eyeliners that many brands have come out with recently. I've tried MAC's Blacktrack Fluidline, all the L'Oreal HIP gel eyeliners, Jane gel eyeliner, and Stila's, and have come back to Wet 'n' Wild's. The color saturation is much richer and darker than MAC's, the lasting power is better than L'Oreal's (and doesn't dry out as quickly), the price is 1/7 that of Stila's, and has an easier texture to use than Jane's. Wet 'n' Wild's creme eyeliner comes in black and a dark eggplant shade, and both are very long wearing. It retails for $3.99 at Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, etc.

Hope that helped!

oh, nothing's gonna change my love for you

Saving money on makeup can be difficult. You have to go many brands and figure out what each company does best. There are a lot of great products you can find that perform the same as higher end brands at a fraction of the cost, but you've got to look! Makeupalley.com is a good place to start. Using the reviews of products and

Here is a look made with some of my favorite eyeshadows - NYX Chrome shadows. NYX is a great brand, offering a pretty full line of makeup. Their lipsticks, eyeliners, etc. are all very high quality and as pigmented, if not more, as high end brands. The eyeshadows are by far their standout product. They have loose pigment shadows, pressed singles and trios, and the chrome eyeshadows just to name a few.

NYX Chrome eyeshadows look and act like mineral shadows (I believe they are), so they have the same finely milled consistency and glimmer, depth and dimension as many other brands of mineral shadows. However, since they're not marketed as mineral shadows, the cost is quite low, usually about $5 a shadow.

I got them for $1 each, though, thanks to a huge sale on the NYX website. This particular shadow, Orange, looks very similar to NARS Mediteranee. This NYX shadow has the same orange with gold glimmer look, but is even more pigmented than the NARS shadow.



One problem with mineral shadows in general, however, is that they occasionally catch the light quite strangely and can photograph oddly as well.



That dark blur in the middle of the lid was not actually there in real life, but appeared in the photo. One of the drawbacks of mineral shadows, I suppose.

locality central

For those of you not already in the know, the Fair Trade Cafe is a great place to visit on First Fridays, downtown Phoenix's art walk extravaganza that happens on the first Friday of every month.

Today and yesterday both, I worked more than 10 hours a day. It would be an understatement to say my feet are not feeling spectacular. The day was lots of fun, though, and I realized I would really enjoy having a career based around actually making food like that. Sometimes I fear that if I made something I like into a job, it would end up taking all the enjoyment out of that activity, but in truth it's the other way around. You have to make your work into something you enjoy.

I hope that when I get a career in my field (supply chain management) I feel the same way about that, too.

pick up where we left off and get smashed (again)

You know when you go to a restaurant and coffee shop, and you always end up seeing the same waitress or barista? It takes you a while to get their name but eventually you do.

From the other side of the counter, we see our interaction with you as a welcome break from the monotony of standing at the espresso machine pulling shots and steaming milk all day long. It's nice when you are open to trying new things, but nicer when you know what you like and have your favorites. I will confess that I often cannot remember people's names, but myself (and most baristas) quickly get to recognize people who regularly order the same thing.

Even if we do inwardly smile and think "Hey, it's white chocolate raspberry mocha and a piece of coffee cake guy!"

I don't really understand how people get to find out that their most favorite thing in the world is an medium orange mocha with amaretto and 3 shots with whipped cream, or a 4 shot iced americano "with the ice first!!!" or a dry breve vanilla cappuccino (though, to be honest, I don't understand how anyone finds a dry cappuccino to be their favorite thing. ick). There seem to be an infinite number of variables involved.

Then again, there will be the odd time when I make something for myself that involves so many adjectives I am almost ashamed at the prissiness of my drink. Large 2 shot iced cherry almond mocha with whipped cream?

Don't mind if I do!

Life at the Fair Trade

I've been working at a wonderful coffee shop in downtown Phoenix called the Fair Trade Cafe. It's located at Central and Roosevelt, just south of the Spaghetti Factory (another fun and awesome business in a truly unique building).

I've never worked at a place that has a cause I support so wholeheartedly. All the coffee we've got is Fair Trade Certified. For more information on how fair trade practices work, the Wiki has a quick rundown for you.

I am really hoping that downtown Phoenix continues to grow and have more businesses like ours. Phoenix is definitely up and coming, but with the development of the light rail and continuing urban expansion we are seeing in the area, it will soon be the kind of downtown people will truly enjoy visiting. We are already seeing a lot more people just wandering around exploring the interesting local things there are to see, which is a positive thing.

Oh, and here is today's photo. Salvador Dali faces off with a rhino. Kind of perfectly captures the weirdness of today.

the way up to heaven

The new year started off pretty well, but in the past week, following a falling out with a friend, I suddenly realized how little and how much people can change all at once. The more I think about it, the more I begin to understand that this is how some people have always been. Everyone else is moving forward while they stand still, not understanding that all they need to do is make the attempt to move and it will happen.

It isn't possible to look it up online and try to read articles on how to become likable, read books on how to win friends and influence people and then tell us advice for how to "network" because it is important to build "useful connections." It is unfortunate that for some, just being yourself does not cut it. It brings to mind a robot trying desperately to understand the subtleties of human relationships and interaction. It is, regrettably, not something you can learn from a book.

There is no one size fits all user guide to making friends (and keeping them) for a reason. Thinking of people as useful connections and members of his "professional network" rather than friends may be one of the primary issues here...but, we're not following "100% tried and true techniques" by some online blogger whose primary goal in life is to passively accrue income. We are utterly unqualified to say anything on the matter.

When I can no longer remember why we are friends in the first place, we are already too far gone.

And then comes the "we are no longer friends on Facebook/Myspace/etc." Not immediately, but a few days later.

The final shock and horror, egads,! oh noes,

...but ultimately, good riddance.