Boulder and the Beautiful

My dreams come true.

* TimelessVixenVintage.etsy.com

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But it’s sold, so you can just enjoy the concept.

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Spats:

$250, * AntisepticFashion.etsy.com

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Back-to-school shopping can be an emotional and exhilarating time for young whippersnappers.

I remember spending hours picking out just the right folders. How was I going to define my identity as a second-grader? Puppies playing in a field or kitties hanging from tree branches? Then there were pencil-top erasers, the design on the Kleenix box and that required pencil container that no one ever uses. Not to mention the lunchbox design — oh, the pressure — even though within a week, all insides ended up stinking the same (of moist PBJs and Swiss Cake Roll residue).

Boulder Valley’s school starts next week, which means anyone without children should avoid Target altogether for the next seven days.

According to the National Retail Federation:
* Back-to-school and back-to-college is estimated to bring in $67 billion in 2010.
* More than 60 percent of parents say their children influence at least half of their back-to-school buys, such as school supplies, computers and clothes.
* Moms spend about 25 percent less on supplies than dads.
* Parents who shop online spend $266 more than parents who only shop in stores.
* College freshmen are spending less this year, dropping 19 percent.

Actress Jennie Garth, center, hosts the back-to-school Style 'N Smile fashion show sponsored by the American Association of Orthodontists, Thursday, Aug. 5, in New York.

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• 31% of women have more than five beauty products in their handbag right now, according to Allure magazine. #
• Why would you bring your kid to learn to read at a place called kumon? #
• 34% of women match their bras to their panties, says Freshpair.com. #
• Statement necklaces, under $30: http://ow.ly/2m7pJ #
• Dear Aimee: Abby isn't the only bee who gets letters: http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_15684485 #
• Dmx on a Friday morning. Heh. #
• What does your fashion legacy say? http://ow.ly/2lvWn #
• Free gorgeous nursing covers (just pay $9.95 shipping). Promo code: "breastfeeding." http://www.uddercovers.com #
• This way to Narnia: Doors that transform. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300242/This-way-Narnia-The-secret-doors-transform-home.html #
• Discernment: The best accessory you can't buy. http://ow.ly/2lvUM #
• @queserasara You are right on. I was feeling it until the Ugg boots reference. Then I shut down and started pouting. in reply to queserasara #
• On being a recessionista: Fashion on a real budget. http://ow.ly/2lvTo #
• 75% off at Farfel's Farm on Friday, benefits Humane Society of Boulder Valley. #
• Get 15% off at the Kir and Andrea Li trunk show at Starfish, 3-9 p.m. Aug. 20. http://ow.ly/2lvHB #
• "Colorado Girls" spoof on "California Girls…" Cute, but not exactly the Colorado girls I know. http://ow.ly/2lyLG #
• @LilMissOktane Serious? No just a gimmick? I am writing a story about them. Can I interview you? heh. in reply to LilMissOktane #
• Do those "walk fit" shoes really work? I'm trying to find out today. #
• Travel like a human – and pay way less than hotels: http://www.airbnb.com/ #
• This is my job. I get to go play on these for a story tomorrow: http://www.kangoojumps.com #
• @pugofwar It's understandable if this does not make sense to you because WHY OH WHY would someone want a scrunchie with a wolf on it? in reply to pugofwar #
• @pugofwar Yeah, it's a pattern with a wolf on it. Not a pattern with a cat. Not a horse. A wolf. Wolf. Wolves. Howling. On fabric. in reply to pugofwar #
• I think "Hot Tub Time Machine" was a documentary of one of my summers in Copper Mountain. #
• @pugofwar Wolf pattern is wolf pattern. in reply to pugofwar #

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The few brave Boulderites who occasionally venture beyond the Boulder bubble will be delighted to discover Rock the Cradle at 18 S. Broadway in Denver. This children’s store has a great lineup of hip onesies, kids’ clothes, diaper bags, toys and accessories. Including a CD featuring the lullaby renditions of Bjork, $15.99, which may or may not induce night terrors in infants. For Boulderites who haven’t left the city borders for decades, check out some items online at www.rockthecradlebaby.net.

If there is one thing my kid needs, it is a fire-breathing-panda T-shirt, $19.99.

This is one of the super fantastic finds at the Denver store, Rock the Cradle, www.rockthecradlebaby.net.

Then there is this cupcake onesie. I mean, who doesn’t lurve a smiling-sleeping cake in a cup?

Cupcake onesie, $18.99

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The candy jar in the random office at the top of the stairs has been empty for six days, leaving employees at the Schmaily Schmamera concerned about the future of their publication.

For at least the past decade, the candy jar has been brimming with really crappy candy, like the kind your grandma leaves out on her coffee table and when you unwrap it, it’s all sticky like maybe she sucked on it a bit and then rewrapped.

But no one has filled the office candy jar for almost a week.

Employees say they do not know whose responsibility it has been to fill the jar in the past.

“Candy has just always been there,” said one of the 49 interns who greatly outnumber the paid staff. “The bowl looks so sad now, just sitting there with one small empty wrapper in the bottom.”

Employees wondered whether perhaps the jar-filler was a position that has been laid off due to the economy, or perhaps if the sugary cutbacks represent a looming larger chopping block.

A task force has been created to research whether the Empty Candy Bowl Syndrome has been a warning sign common among other publications on the eve of their demise. The task force will meet for three hours twice a week and also investigate whether social networking and Craigslist has something to do with the problem.

However, another employee, who asked to remain anonymous for no real reason whatsoever, wondered if perhaps the empty jar just meant that someone on the night shift was really hungry and forgot their Lean Cuisine.

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