Trader Joe’s recently opened a store in Chapel Hill, and to be honest I don’t really get what the big deal is about. They do have cheap prices on organic shampoo and stuff, but other than that I didn’t find anything really exciting to buy. I don’t eat wheat so I was hoping to find some cool gluten-free products. I ended up buying some bread that was labeled as “Quinoa” bread, but because I was in a rush I didn’t check the label to see that it actually contains wheat flour. Oops. On a whim, I did buy a tin of their Peppermint Bark to take to some holiday parties, and it is actually pretty good. And I don’t even like mint.

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I’m also really excited to use my 2008 Moleskine Red Pocket Daily Planner. I was have such high hopes that the New Year will somehow turn me into a neater, more organized, and more efficient person. You never know.

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The T. J. Maxx in my area has for the last year had a Runway section that includes actual designer fashion items. I don’t know where they get the stuff, and for the most part I don’t think they do to well in this area. Because who do you know who shops at T. J. Maxx but might also be willing to spend $400 on a yellow pleather Dolce and Gabbana sleeveless vest/top with black lace inserts? The prices are still somewhat outrageous on most of the things, although I have been very tempted by a Marc Jacobs jacket I saw there. The good part is that they are now stocking tons of jeans: Seven, Paper Denim & Cloth, Joe’s Jeans, Antik denim, etc. I have been unable to resist this part and recently purchased some Sevens that are sort of like this:

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They look really cool with heels or with flats. So now I am in the same conundrum I always face with jeans, which is: should I keep them long to wear with heels? Or should I hem them to wear will flats? Inevitably I go to the tailor, who says she can hem them somewhere in between so I can wear them with both, but then really they are too short for heels so I end up wearing them with flats. I’m going to try to resist. Or maybe I just need two pairs. Hint hint. Although I’m not telling you what size I wear.