Loving Things: Furni Creations

As most of you know, I'm a lover of things. I love bikes, watches, sneakers, sunglasses, etc. This is not to be confused with a love of brand names; I just love the aesthetics of things.

This is why I recently purchased the Farmer watch, a collaboration between Cool Hunting and Furni Creations. It caught my eye when it was spotlighted at Cool Hunting, one of my favorite blogs. So white, so crisp, so delicious. Since living in London, I've worn a watch everyday and have slowly accumulated a few. This was the perfect addition to my small collection. I slapped it on my wrist, set the time, and delighted in my time warp back to the 80s. A week later, I noticed it was running slow.

I sent an email to Furni owner Mike Giles, and he graciously offered to send me a replacement. Two weeks later, I'm delighting in my bright red Raised By Wolves watch.

I like to support independent designers like Furni, but even more, I like stellar customer service. This sounds like a cheap plug for Furni, but I'm just reveling in the fact that I was treated so well. Lesson learned: buy from companies you're passionate about. And if you're not passionate about companies, well, start getting fired up.

Disclaimer: I've worked part-time in retail for the past 4 years. And I love things.

Snowy DC

I woke up yesterday to a pretty blanket of snow outside and took this picture of the view from my front door. My neighborhood looked particularly quaint with the snow obscuring the shabbiness that inevitably characterizes a college neighborhood. Today, the scene is less picturesque. Snow is now "freezing rain," and there's a hard shell on the fallen powder that reminds me of the burnt sugar of crème brulée.

A brief recap of Inauguration Day: It was an incredibly cold day, and my feet were blocks of ice from standing but as many have said before me, it was moving to see so many Americans (and even foreigners) bearing the cold to witness history. Everyone was friendly and supportive of one another, joking about the weather and shaking strangers' hands after Obama was sworn in. People were silent during Pastor Rick Warren's speech, a respectful gesture considering the controversy surrounding his participation in inauguration. There were a lot of boos for Joe Lieberman and some jeers here and there for President Bush, but even the liberal crowd discouraged it. I've now been to two consecutive inaugurations, which is strange to think about. I certainly didn't plan this out.

Well, this was an exercise in procrastination for studying for a test on Baroque music tomorrow. More to come later this week. I'm seeing Lykke Li at Sixth & I Synagogue on Saturday night!