Amazing DIY Wine Storage Ideas
Erika West, decoist.comIf your week has been anything like mine, you may need to take a minute to stop, breathe, and sniff therosestannins. When life gets hectic, that is the best time to go out of your way tofindmake a spare hour to celebrate happy hour with a few frie…
Catherine Kwong
kim, desiretoinspire.netSophisticated and elegant, fresh and modern. San Fransisco interior designer Catherine Kwong is all that and a bag of chips. And AMEN for her having fabulous photos in her portfolio (I think all care of Bess Friday).
so every year after the juniors finish reading The Great Gatsby my high school english teacher throws a Gatsby party at his huge house and everyone shows up in period clothing and Charlestons to 20s music and my english teacher just wears a suit and stands off to the side staring wistfully out the window the entire night
you guys think I’m joking??
That’s me at my Gatsby shindigs
His and Hers
The Man Who Thrifted A Ferrari
Who’d have thought you could thrift a Ferrari?
Matthew R. is an inveterate thrifter. He says he works seventy hours a week, and he’s been buying and selling second-hand clothes since 1998. Not long ago, he started a consignment service, Luxeswap, and not only do their auctions often crop up in our eBay picks, but I’ve personally trusted him to consign a number of clothes in the past. He’s one of the best menswear sellers on eBay. But truly: I had no idea.
This week, Matthew bought a Ferrari. With thrift store money.
Here’s how it happened…
Matthew started thrifting in the late nineties, and quickly learned that when he found something good that didn’t fit him, he could sell it on eBay and make a little dough. The first item was an Emporio Armani sportcoat. It sold for fifty bucks. Like most of us, Matthew took the extra money and spent it on clothes and small indulgences.
In 2007, he read a book called One Red Paperclip. It was written by a man, Kyle MacDonald, who traded a paperclip for a pen for a doorknob for a camping stove and on and on for a year until he had traded for a new house. Matthew thought: how could I turn my own little hobby into something special?
So he started a savings account.
His business money went into a business account. His personal money - the money from his own personal purchases - went into the savings account. And year after year, that money grew.
Then, last week, he took the money and bought a Ferrari.
Matthew says: “This car was born of things that nobody else wanted. Things that people discarded. I wanted to be able to say I thrifted a Ferrari. And I did.”
A genuinely remarkable achievement.
The Buyer’s Guide to Meermin Shoes.
So as of late Meermin, a shoe company based out of Spain who specializes in manufacturing quality goodyear welt shoes, has been getting a lot of good publicity for their reasonably priced shoes. More specifically their double monks that they currently have available in black, brown, pebble brown, and brown suede.
Upon my first time ordering I knew that I had a few questions to ask. The company ships directly from overseas and is priced in Euro so this can sometimes make a person a little uneasy before going ahead and making a purchase. Just thinking about being surprised when the invoice comes through converted to American usd or if the shoes do not fit, having to go through the hassle of shipping back overseas can cause speculations.
Well thankfully Jose, over at Meermin, is super patient and kind enough to answer any and all questions you might have. The info I’m about to lay out for you is all thanks to him.
Sizing: The shoes go by euro sizing. According to Meermin you will be sizing down to the nearest full size. Example, if you wear an 8.5 or 9 in US sizing, you should opt for a size 8 in your pair of Meermin shoes.
Pricing: I think pricing is what throws many people off. Many of the blogs will tell you that you will pay about $200 shipped and they are telling the truth. The problem is when a customer goes to the Meermin site and converts the euro to usd the numbers don’t add up, or the added on shipping confuses them as to the total price.
Here is the break down
- The listed price for the shoes is 150eu. (VAT tax included). As we are ordering to the US we are excluded from the VAT tax. This means you do not have to pay 18% (equal to 22,9eu) which is what the VAT tax is. This has now brought the cost down to 127,1eu.
- Now add shipping which is 35eu. This brings you up to 162,1eu.* Now this was where I pulled up a currency conversion online (two different ones to be sure) and did the conversion to usd. As of right now that amount is $197.08. Also the shipping is relatively fast considering where the package is coming from. To NY it takes about 3-4 business days.
Payment: Paying for these was about as easy as a transaction could be. Meermin will send you the invoice via paypal. The invoice will show you the amount in euros and also show you what it is converting the amount to in American usd. This gives another bit of peace of mind before pulling the trigger.
*Fun fact, Meermin charges the same shipping for two pairs of shoes as it does for one pair. This means if you like two different pairs you might as well get them at the same time to save on future shipping. Another option is you could find a friend and order two pairs so you guys can split the shipping cost.
I hope this is helpful and will ease any doubts you guys might have.
Check out all the options at meermin.es and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to email them.
Meermin Summer suedes - Our 101332 Wholecut now also in Navy suede - Ama last - single leather soles.
Do not forget to check it HERE!