I Specialize in Specificity

I have very distinctive tastes. I know what I like. I also know what I don't like. For the things I am not familiar with I am willing to try. (Except chitlins.) But for those things I have already attempted, I worked hard to determine whether or not I like them. Yes, this is the attractive way to call me picky. I categorically reject that term. I have STANDARDS. Get some.

I asked my dad to buy 100% cranberry juice. Specific. He buys cranberry juice cocktail. 27% juice. Yuck. The rest is sugar and water, I know it is. I don't even want to look at the label. I tasted it. So not the same. When you have 100% juice (which isn't even more expensive because the generic brand is actually quite delightful) you will never want to go back. Give it a shot. I also asked him to buy B.igelow English breakfast tea. I'm delighted he got this one right. I know you're calling me bratty but when I'm not specific with him when I send him to the store he brings back the wrong thing and it will sit in that cabinet until one of us throws it away after it has passed its expiration date.

I also asked for P.rogresso chicken noodle soup. (He once got store brand chicken noodle soup and it was the most salty, disgusting bowl of soup I've ever had in my life.) He got the 99% fat free kind. That scared me. My mother has shooed me from 'diet' food all my life. I tasted it tentatively. It was actually good. Score! While we're talking about things that are good for you, A.ldi's brand Fit&A.ctive actually tastes like normal food. My mom bought something to give it a try and just kept trying it and almost everything I've had from that line was yummy.

Would you like to know something wonderful? Miss B told me to go to Banana R.epublic to check out their sale. I went to the mall with only that in mind. I got a cute gray pencil skirt with gold metallic threading throughout and 2 front pleats from J. Cre.w since it was on the way. Then I hit Banana. I went for the pants and bought an adorable red dress. Originally $138, now $44. And... wait for it. Wait for it. A gray wool suit. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. The holy grail. I love gray suits. For men and women. If you are a man and want to make me drool all over you, you will wear a gray suit. Preferably with a gorgeous striped shirt or a fabulous color like PURPLE or anything that pops. An actual color, not black or white. Drooling right now. Pardon me while I wipe my mouth.

Ladies and gentlemen. You must buy QUALITY pieces when selecting work wear. They should be pieces you can wear for years. That means you need not skimp on quality. It does not necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money. If you need further convincing, calculate the cost per wear. The number of times you will wear it divided by the cost of the item. Let's say I wear this suit 10 times. I spent $97 on it. YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!!! $97 FOR A WOOL SUIT FROM BANANA, ORIGINALLY $226. That alone should make you grab it off the rack and run like you stole it. BUT should you need additional help, if I wear it 10 times (and I plan to wear it far more than that including mixing and matching the pieces with other pieces already in my wardrobe.), it will cost me $9.70 per wear. How can you beat that? That's right. You can't! Sigh. I'm in heaven right now. I also went to MadM.ex for lunch. Drool. Pause. Sigh. Pause. Love. More drooling. And tonight? A new episode of Project Runway. Can life get better? I think not.