weekend pickthough- shiny and new edition.

in 2010, i had hoped that i would have both the time and the cash to give the ole website a total overhaul. well, that didn’t happen. but i did think that was time at least for a teensy little update. so voila! a shiny new pile of icons (for all the contact and social media crap you guys could ever want), and now even though it’s still a free wordrpress blog… the URL looks like a real website (broke207.wordpress.com still works too)! not entirely monumental, but at least SOMETHING. perhaps this month i will see if there is anything else worth tweaking (any suggestions?). but for now, you should probably thank me for these nice new updates by nominating me for best blog on the phoenix best of 2011 poll.

dude. TWISTER RAIN COAT. (thanks cindy!)

easily the most interesting tidbit of local news in the last 10 years. (spoiler- STRIPPER FIGHT!!!)

i’m positive that there’s a steamed clams joke in here somewhere…

chrystie over at ilovetogossip got a little lovin from local media this week! (OMG, did you know her sister is on the bachelor right now?)

i know this really hot girl who got a pair of pajama jeans from her brother for xmas, and now that’s all she ever wears. TRAGEDY.

the mysteries of the asian aging process revealed.

“I guess I need a snake lover,” he told The Daily Mail. “Or someone with multiple mongooses.”

how could it have possibly taken me this long to find out that hugh jackman has a tiny dog named PEACHES?

less is more.

so i was reading this weird article last week about a restaurateur in new york who is opening up a temporary fine dining restaurant (in a building that will either be demolished or sold within a year). it was sort of an interesting read in and of itself, but about halfway through, i ran directly into this quote:

“sometimes no money is better than money.”

in the scope of the article, they were talking about how the budget forced them to make creative design choices. but in the scope of my life, i think it might be my new mantra.

in my past, i have lived comfortably with less (much less). in fact, in my very earliest years on welfare with my mom and sister, i don’t even remember being poor because my mom was a magician. she made quiche out of government cheese and picture perfect little bo peep costumes out of our bedroom curtains (just like scarlett o’hara!). she taught me that being broke doesn’t mean not having what you want. it just means being resourceful with what you have to create what you want. dear lord, how did i forget?

though it may provide a momentary jolt of pleasure and feeling of fullness, there isn’t a whole lot of satisfaction to be had in going to the mall and buying a sweater. knitting a sweater on the other hand is a triumphant experience. for example, my brilliant friend cindy unraveled a damaged cashmere sweater and made it into the most stunning pair of cable knit mitts ever. an amazing and thoughtful xmas gift that i’ve been wearing like crazy, and that cost her virtually nothing (except time, and of course, love).

true ingenuity comes from necessity, and when we’re broke, we’re forced to be creative about how we use our resources. buying stuff is my crutch. it solves the problem in the moment (although it often creates greater problems down the line), but i feel like my “makin do” muscles have atrophied. i may not be as broke as i once was (but worry not, i still have like $16 in my bank account right now), but that doesn’t give me an excuse to forget the value of maximizing what i already have.

10 days ago, i made a resolution to PAY ATTENTION! to how i spend my money (and my time and my calories…). i also declared that this would be my only resolution this year. well, i lied. sort of. technically it isn’t new year’s anymore… so consider this to be a mid-january resolution addendum.

number 1 will still be PAY ATTENTION!, but 1a will be BE INGENIOUS. if my mom managed to materialize a fantastical christmas out of food stamps and home made barbie clothes when i was 5, i can certainly figure out how to reel in the excess and stop solving my problems with my bank account.

i need inspiration! tell me how you have been creative with limited resources, so that i can try to outdo you.