Sophie N.

Necessary Clothing is the second place I went shopping for my niece. They really have some unbelievable deals and my niece liked the styles I picked out. My only skepticism is the quality of the fabric. I think it may be a bit like Zara in the sense that you can find lovely looking trendy tops but they only last for one season before they fall apart. But I guess that is the price you pay for a deal.

I love this wonderful open source sheet music project. So much older sheet music costs a lot of money but the composers are long dead. That seems wrong to me. The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) puts sheet music online and makes it available for free which is just lovely for the public. I read about all in this New York Times article International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/arts/music/22music-imslp.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

A neat way to turn regular images (jpgs, bmps, gifs, etc.) into vector images that can be used as logos or blown up for teeshirts or whatever else you can imagine. When you sign up the first two conversions are free. I don't know how it works, but it works and is pretty neat!

I just bought all my sister's Christmas presents here! Merry Xmas everyone =)

Malwarebytes is my favorite free anti-virus software. Norton and McAfee and AVG all slowed down my computer, and I always feel like they are trying to sell me stuff I don't need. Malwarebytes is really simple. I run it once a week and it keeps my computer clean!

Here is the CNET review http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-*******.html

I also like Flickr and Smugmug, but Picasa is my favorite free online photo editing and sharing service. Good job Goooogle!

Local Harvest is such a great great site! They help you find all the most amazing locally grown foods. And if you can't find something you want locally, you can order through the site from a high quality farm. It's really fabulous, and even if you don't care about the health benefit, it all tastes so so much better =)

Is it weird that I love the FTC? I sort of do =)

I feel like so much of the US Government is not really looking out for all us little people, but at least the FTC is trying, although they may not always succeed.

The FTC has a TON of good consumer info:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml

And for anyone who is policy nerd and like to read about Washington stuff, they even have things for you:
http://www.ftc.gov/opp/index.shtml

There is just something I love about Heidi Swanson's cooking blog. Her writing makes me feel like I really know her and I want to try all the delicious food she makes and go with her on her adventures. Highly recommended for all foodies!

Similar to Zazzle.com, CafePress is a great place to get custom tee shirts made for gifts. Their web interface is easy to use and the prices are not too bad. I like making cute shirts for baby presents!

Personally, I think UGGs are a little over-priced, but if you want to buy them this is the only real site to get information and make purchases (all the other sites sell fake or stolen uggs).

My husband swears by this site and he is obsessed with home theater equipment. In fact, maybe a little too much so... anywhoo, he spends a lot of time on AVS forum and says it's the best because members get deals. I poke around a little too and there are a lot of helpful people who seem to know what they're talking about.

Have I mentioned how much I love Craigslist? I really do. I've used it for everything from hiring movers to buying and selling furniture, and it's always been a good experience. Partly, it may have to do with my location (Seattle) but Craigslist is really a great free service.

I've had one very good experience which is when I sold my car. I listed it on Craigslist (free of course), had 5 people see the car, received 3 offers, and ended up selling it to a very nice woman for slightly higher than the Blue Book value. If Craigslist exists in your area, I'm not sure why you would use any other site!

Trader Joe's is the bestest supermarket in the world - Walking into a Trader Joe's just makes me happy. I have never ever felt that way in a Safeway. Why you ask? Well, firstly, everyone who works at and shops at my local Trader Joe's is friendly. People are helpful, polite and they smile at you. That goes a long way. But most importantly the food is good and I feel like I'm getting a good value (unlike at WholeFoods). And in particular I love Trader Joe's because I can't eat Gluten, and they have LOTS of gluten-free foods on their website! <img title="Smile" src="javascript/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile. Gif" border="0" alt="Smile" />

NPR helps me find new non-mainstream music (like Dengue Fever!) - NPR has put up a HUGE collection of music, live music, music interviews, and articles. It's a great way to discover new music that is a little different from what you might hear on normal radio stations. It's good for Jazz, Folk, and Indie Rock, along with a lot of other cool random stuff from around the world. Like awesome awesome Dengue Fever, the Cambodian Pop/Rock band: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=*******

Also, great stuff from Death Cab for Cutie:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=*******

And the Raconteurs
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=*******

I found some very nice deals here when shopping for my niece. And (fingers crossed) she actually really liked what I bought her. I've never been in a real Styles for Less store but I suppose I'd give one of those a try too.

Today on NPR I heard the owner of Jihadology speak about the reaction to Bin Laden's death. He was very interesting, and his site keeps track of all the news and topics being posted on jihādī websites. I find it fascinating to read since I don't know much about it. I feel like we can all learn a lot about how other people feel and think. Hope you like it too! =)

Babyage doesn't carry the cheapest baby products, but I do find a lot of lovely gifts for my nieces and nephews, and all my friends' children. One of my favorite bits of the site is the daily deal section
http://www.babyage.com/deal_of_the_day.aspx

Another good one is the clearance page
http://www.babyage.com/collections/clearance-center.htm

It's still not cheap but that's the life of modern day yuppie parents! (yes, yes yuppies went out with the 90s but the lifestyle hasn't changed so much =)

Bloomingdales (or Bloomies as my sister calls it) is too rich for my blood but I do like it better than Nordstrom or Macy's (because I think their stores are better organized and their website is good). However, if you sign up for their mailing list there are frequently 40%+ discounts if you're patient which makes it a little less outrageously priced. I must say I do love to browse =)

I recently bought a present here for my oldest niece. I found a really cute summer dress for her, but in the process I noticed a lot of the clothes at Delia's are a little, how can I say, "too grown-up"? I realize I'm rapidly becoming a fuddy duddy, but since my niece loves Delia's, I'll keep trying to find her the most appropriate outfits I can =)