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Printed blouse with studs, ponte blazer, studded slipper

05/01/2014 13:15

I haven't done much shopping recently. My closest store is almost 3 hours away and online shopping has only been available for about a year in the U.S. Their website leaves a little to be desired in terms of helpful information, but as my attention has wandered away recently, I decided to try on a few items . The printed blouse with studs caught my eye because of its beautiful colors.

 

 
I loved the print in person - it's a little less vibrant than what was online, but the fit was similar in a size S. The little studs on the shoulders are a light gold color. I was tempted to keep it, but I didn't like the feel of the polyester fabric and I think the price is too much for polyester. I would absolutely buy it at a lower price though.
 
Next is the Ponte di Roma blazer with elbow patches in black. I was looking for a basic black blazer with a bit more length to be worn with slim pants. This one is a nice basic. I liked the weight of the fabric. I could do without the elbow patches, but they're not that noticeable in black. I tried the S and M and both were a little slim in the waist. The shoulders and bust fit really well in the S so I opted for that size and plan to wear it open.
 
 
I recently fell in love with these Loeffler Randall Blaise smoking flats and a close dupe in the studded slipper in black
 
 
I bought the Loeffler Randall shoes (L) and the shoes (R) to compare. The Loeffler Randall flats were my favorites hands down - very beautiful in person. I ended up ordering them through Piperlime with enough coupon codes, rewards coupons, and cash back to bring the price down, which is a lot for a somewhat impractical shoe, but I couldn't help it because it was love at first sight!

Why Investors Don't Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements

15/12/2012 20:11

 

A common "mistake" among entrepreneurs is thinking that they need to have investors sign NDA's (non-disclosure agreements) before talking about their company.
Generally speaking, investors don't sign NDA's.  It's not even worth asking for one.
 
 
By asking an investor to sign an NDA one of two things will happen:
1.  You turn the investor away - what's the point in killing the deal before you've even had a chance to talk about it?
2.  The investor signs it and you have a useless agreement - what are you going to do, sue the investor over a discussion about your idea?  
 
There have been a few really nice (long) posts from some prominent venture capitalists about this issue that have just appeared.  Take a look for yourself:
Shhhh - The Promise Not To Tell - This is from Rick Segal, who explains that you should present your intro pitch like you would a keynote presentation to a large audience.  Show the benefits, but don't give away the secret sauce (great advice).
VC's and Non Disclosure Agreements - This is from "Ask the VC" a new blog that is a must-read for anyone that wants to see what investors really think about working with entrepreneurs.

Reflections From A Simple Manm

20/09/2012 18:35

 

I’ve recently read Richard Bransons’ autobiography,  Losing My Virginity, and was astounded to learn of the difficulties he had to overcome early in his life such as nearly drowning and being dyslexic. Like Richard Branson, it was surely my early difficulties which played an important role in making me into the person I am now. My journey always felt unique, like his.
 
Unlike Richard Branson, I do not sit at the top of a sprawling global business empire, I am no multimillionaire and I am not dyslexic. But, I was a kid who struggled all through school but have since had numerous successful business ventures. I have set about building a solid business which has provided my family with a good life and enabled us to buy a beautiful home on the Atlantic coast and travel the world.
 
When I was 8 years old, I started working weekends for my parents. At this time, they were running a fast-food restaurant which had a reception room for birthday parties and weddings. On a typical Saturday we would be at work by 8 AM and often would not get home until the early hours of the next morning. My responsibilities included cooking chips, serving ice cream, washing up, and DJ-ing in the evening. This was a tough routine for a young man but it was without doubt the most valuable experience of my life and where I got my first insights into business, which proved to be much more valuable than any career talk at school.
 
 
My first year at university was one big party. Not surprisingly, I flunked my first year exams and risked imminent expulsion. I remember thinking how the heck am I going to pass these exams when I didn’t even have the course notes to study. This is where friends come in and spades of determination. A good friend lent me his lecture notes, I buckled down, and later passed my first year exams in September.
 
I watched other more intellectually gifted students fall by the wayside as I came out with a respectable degree. The late 1980s was a very tough time to get a job in the UK, the economy was depressed and more companies were laying people off than taking them on. Again, through my diligence, I managed to get a job as a trainee accountant with a small accountancy practice.
 
The peculiarity of the professional accounting exams in the UK is that you study and work at the same time. You have a regular 9-to-5 job plus overtime when the audit season is on, and in the evenings when you get home, you have to open the study manuals to cover the material in preparation for exams.
 
I continued to work and study hard, but still failed the year end exams.  Not one to be beaten, I enrolled in a weekend college which focused almost exclusively on exam technique. I turned into an exam machine doing mock exam after mock exam every weekend. I learnt about things like motivation, positive mental attitude and mind mapping. I realized that success had little to do with personal aptitude and everything to do with hard work and determination. Within 2 years, I acquired my professional qualification from the chartered accountancy institute in London.
 
I was very proud; I had achieved what I set out to achieve, but as it turns out, I ended up hating accountancy. So when my long-term girlfriend and college sweetheart announced to me at the age of 27 that she wanted to move back home to France, I wasn’t exactly enthralled. Despite not speaking any French and having a qualification which did not open any doors on the other side of the Channel, I went into my bosses office and watched his face drop as I announced I was moving to France to live with my girlfriend.
 
Looking back this was the best decision I’ve made because it allowed me to do what I really enjoyed, starting and running my own business. Do I have any regrets? Not really. I couldn’t do what I do now if I hadn’t surmounted all these difficulties. It wasn’t easy, but what a motivator it is coming from humble beginnings.

Buen Tiempo, Gazpacho, Guido's Italian Market

15/05/2012 16:31

 

Buen Tiempo
Ouray, next to the Beaumont
dinner
Full bar. Patio.
$$$
The Grub: New Mexican/Southwestern food--from enchiladas to shrimp with pineapple salsa.
The Digs: Relaxed, warm, comfortable atmosphere with dollar bills all over the ceiling. A nice place to finish off a visit to Ouray's hot springs.
Quel and Gordito say: Gordito Bonito can fly into a rage when restaurants try to charge too much for beans, tortillas, chile, and cheese--traditionally peasant foods. And that is our big complaint about Buen Tiempo: $11 for a burrito,
even a big one, is just too much. However, after a few margaritas ($5.50 or $20 per liter), even Gordito's temper is soothed and we relax and just enjoy the meal and hope we can't remember the next morning how much we paid. The food is good enough, some of the best of its kind in the region, to ease the pain of the bill. We go there often. Try the spinach enchilada ($10) or, if you're in the mood to splurge, go with the Carne Adovada ($13.50) which is pork tenderloin marinated in red chile. The chile rellenos ($11) are not bad but a little too cheesy for us. Great salsa comes with the chips. The ingredients are fresh and the food is consistently of high quality. As long as you can stomach the bill, you won't be disappointed. Just make sure you have a designated driver to get you safely over the pass.

Gazpacho
431 E. 2nd Ave., Durango
M-Sat lunch and dinner/Sun dinner only
Full bar
$$-$$$
The Grub: Northern New Mexican food--enchiladas, burritos, etc. 
The Digs: Laid back, low-key atmosphere in any of the three dining areas in a large, faux-adobe building. 
Quel and Gordito say: Want beans or meat smothered in good, hot, chile at a reasonable price? Head down to Gazpacho. Gazpacho was clearly established to cater primarily to the tourist crowd, but it has become a favorite for locals. Look for the blue collar crowd in there for the $5.95 lunch specials (a lot of food) and the bar crowd in there for the potent margaritas (all day long). The decor was once just cheesy, southwestern kitsch, but with age it has taken on a funky feel. You can't go wrong with the enchiladas, the burritos, or the carne adovada. Both red and green chile are good, and hot. Sopapillas and chips come with reasonably priced meals. In Gordito's less refined days, he thoroughly enjoyed one or two frozen Gazpacho margaritas (very high tequila:mix ratio), after which he would stagger home, sometimes ending up in a southside gutter. The moral: If you're going to drink their margs, you might as well sit down for some food, too.

Guido's Italian Market
3000 Main Ave., Durango
open all day
No seating.
$-$$
The Grub: Gourmet groceries, deli, and prepared food to go--all with an Italian touch. There are times when the best way to eat out is to buy some great ingredients, cook the food yourself, and eat it in the comfort of your home or hotel room.
The Digs: Small but surprisingly well stocked grocery store. 
Q and G say: Quel, being French, has a hard time acknowledging the beauty of Italian food, but when he saw Guido's for the first time as he was driving along Main, he slammed on the brakes, caused a 12 SUV pileup, flipped a U, drove up onto the sidewalk in his Peugeot, and ran into the store as if he were on fire. He was not disappointed. The first thing he did was graze at the olive sampling table just near the entrance and buy one of each kind. For lunch he bought a cooked prosciutto sandwich with roasted peppers and fresh mozarella on Ciabatta from Bread bakery. Then he sampled each of the wide variety of salami and bought the Calabrese- perfect for sandwiches and antipasto plates. He picked up some Gorgonzola and pine nuts and dry pasta to cook up for dinner
and was about to sample some of the other items in the deli case when he realized the police had arrived and were eyeing his car suspiciously. Guido's is more expensive than, say, Προσκλητήρια, but it is worth it. We're hoping Guido will put in an Italian bar in the back with a real barrista, cappuccinos, and glasses of Brunello di Montalcino.

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