customer service win!

* This is not a paid endorsement, but I have to share.

Last week I ordered 2 pairs of shoes from Lands' End. The ones I ordered in Jan for walking in Victoria are amazingly comfortable, and shoes were on sale (half price!). The package arrived last night, and the shoes are great.

I decided to wear the purple ones today, since I have tights and a shirt that match :) On the short walk to the car, I noticed they were a bit loose. On the walk from my car to work, across the parking lot, I realized that they are too big.

So I called the Lands' End customer service number to exchange the shoes. I dialed, the phone rang once, and I heard, "hi, this is Debbie at Lands' End, how can I help you?" A PERSON! A LIVE PERSON! Answered the phone! No endless menu of "para continuar en Espanol, precione uno" and "your call is important to us" and "all our operators are currently assisting other customers." I was so flabbergasted that I paused, then said "wait, you are a person?" and she laughed.

She pulled up my account, re-ordered the shoes in a smaller size for the same price (even though the price on one had gone up), told me that I could take the pairs I have to Sears to return them, and let me know that if I decided to order anything else today before 10pm CST, they'd add it to my new pairs so I'd get free shipping.

Yeah, that's what customer service SHOULD be!

and I found out they ship to Canada ;)

tee shirts part uno

* I'm not one for wearing advertising tee shirts, but advertising fake products is a-ok! Wake up ... time to die has great tees based on companies and products in great movies! The Stay-Puft man shirt is a beautiful color and the icon is adorable. Their other shirts include tributes to Die Hard, Kill Bill, Event Horizon and Blazing Saddles. Too bad the company is in the UK, and the prices are steep.

Last Exit to Nowhere, also in the UK, does the same schtick with different movies, including Westworld, Alien, Re-Animator, The Shining and The Wicker Man.

If you're looking for Big Trouble, head to The Wing Kong Exchange for officially licensed BTiLC tees. (dang, once upon a time they had Egg Shen tour bus shirts but I don't see 'em now).

Since I'm a) not made of money; b) hard to fit; and c) hard to please, I end up making my own shirts with iron-on transfer paper and some $5 Old Navy shirts. My favorite so far is a quote from The (criminally underrated) Frighteners: You are violating my territorial bubble. Spoken by the one-and-only Jeffrey Combs.*
My brother's tee quote was: Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife. Doomed is your soul and damned is your life.

*I actually saw The Frighteners before Re-Animator (gasp) so this was the first movie I saw him in. And according to this website, it's one of his favorite roles!

shopping panic begins in 3...2...

* It's Thursday and I'm thinking of presents. So begins a new series on Yay blog!

I have a couple of friends who love to cook and/or bake. For them?

- Joie Shop has the cutest little gadgets in Canada! Egg timer shaped like an egg, cow ice cream scoop, the happiest bottle opener on earth, and a smilin' potato peeler!

- Fred Flare also brings the cute with Russian nesting doll measuring cups (I covet these), table saw cake cutter, and You Bake 'Em cat treats (includes cookie cutters).

- Via Mighty Haus, an excellent cookie decorating kit of squeeze bottles and spatulas at Sur La Table.

- Last year I got Gosamyr an udon noodle bowl for her Chinese take-out.

- Who doesn't need a soy sauce dispenser shaped like an origami crane? Or hugging salt & pepper shakers? ($30? yikes!)

- Finally, I like this fruit-infusion pitcher. Mmmm, iced tea with raspberries in the middle, or sparkling water with lemon and lime slices.

I'm very very lucky

* According to an interactive graph in the New York Times, the unemployment rate "For white women ages 25 to 44 with a college degree" is just 3.6%. wow. From what I can tell, that's the lowest average overall.

The overall average is 8.6%

The absolute worst? "For black men ages 15 to 24 without a high school degree" it's 48.5%

* Ida was nothing but a storm.

* I've died and gone to cross-stitch heaven! LOOK LOOK LOOK at the beautiful old borders and alphabets at Patternmaker Charts! From France and Germany and Russia! And free in multiple formats! Just have a gander at this tea border:

Only 364 days to plan for next year!

* I had a great Halloween! Partied with my Gory Girls and a good time was had by all. And so many creative, hand-made costumes! So here's a roundup of great costumes I've found on the intertubes:

Surreal Killer (via Metafilter)

LOL cat (via Fatshionista!)

Snuggie Elvis (via Facebook)

Pop Art Girl (via Charmed)

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (via Craftster)