Belle’s Weekly Roundup: June 7, 2013

I love sleeping in.  Love it.  It’s my favorite thing about the weekend.  There’s just something about being able to go back to sleep after the alarm goes off because no one owns your time but you that day.

1) It seems that everyone is talking about this article from Business Insider that evaluates word pronunciations and usage in geographic areas.  For example, out West, a diet cola is called a ‘pop,’ back East, it’s a ‘soda,’ down South, it’s a ‘coke’ regardless of flavor, and there are also some truly misguided people who call it a soft drink.

It’s a fun article, but strangely enough, my pronunciations didn’t fit my geographic area.  I had the most in common with people from Northwestern Wisconsin.  *shoulder shrug*

2) I’ve been searching for a new trench coat.  I’ve tried Banana Republic, Coach, London Fog and Burberry, but didn’t find one that I liked.  (Or in the case of the Burberry, that I could justify the cost of owning.)  But this trench from J.CREW is a keeper.  It has a heavy fabric, quality stitching, nice buttons and buckles and a good shape.  My only complaint is that the belt it too long, but my tailor can fix that.

3) The Council of Fashion Designers of America hosted their annual awards ceremony earlier this week.  Prior to the event, honoree Oscar de la Renta sat down with Style.com for an interview moderated by none other than up-and-coming designer Alexander Wang.  It’s fascinating.

4) I wanted a new bikini for the summer.  Something bright.  Something fun.  Something that will make working out worth it.  But I didn’t want to spend a mint.  Luckily, I spotted this $50 number at Topshop and it’s exactly what I wanted.

5) New York Magazine’s website The Cut has a good article about “shine theory”–the idea that having powerful, successful female friends actually makes you look better.  I think it’s an important message for women to hear since it counterbalances the notion that having awesome friends makes you look lesser in comparison.

6) FINRA put together a financial literacy quiz.  Five questions about investing and finance, just five.  86-percent of Americans failed.  How will you do?

7)  Since my birthday, I’ve been thinking more about taking responsibility for my health.  So this week, I purchased a FitBit Flex on a friend’s suggestion.  It’s a health monitor that tracks your activity level, has a pedometer and charts your sleep cycle, much like a Nike Fuel Band or a Jawbone.  But unlike those products, the band is adjustable and it’s not bulky or cumbersome.  It’s some of the best money I’ve spent since it revealed things about my personal habits that I didn’t realize.

8) Never been so glad that I don’t live in Brooklyn, NY.

9) As I mentioned this morning, Bloomingdale’s is having a 20-percent-off sale.  This textured knit dress caught my eye, but there are so many great DvF dresses to choose from, that I think I might buy one of those instead.  I think I’d get a lot of wear out of this printed silk jersey dress.

10) Saved the best for last.  This article from the New York Times Style Section talks all about the purses of powerful political women.  Featured in the article’s photo is former Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.  Her “purse boy” was not featured.