A Tale of Two Cities (Two Days Too Late)

1. I wake up. Late. Looking rough.

2. I miss the bus.

3. I don't get a seat on the train.

4. I'm swept along in a river of people, like Simba in the Lion King. The stampede scene.

5. I get the tube.6. While being swept along by another human tide, I pass Mufasa the lion's trampled corpse at Kings Cross Station.

7. I finally get to work.

8. And the rest of the day looks like this. Until half 5, at which point I repeat steps 1-7, in reverse.

Wednesday, however, did not look like this. On Wednesday, mes amies, I went to Paris! This goes some way to explaining why my post is somewhat en retard. Yes, it was a work trip, but Paris is beautiful and, thanks to Erin's incredibly patient other half, I got to see some of the sights (and to meet Erin herself making her the first real, live blogger I've ever met!).

My name's Tom, and I'm a scarf addict.

Last week, I innocently mentioned that I enjoy buying scarves. I thought that would be all there was to it. But no - my mystery topic, courtesy of Allison, arrived in my inbox at the weekend: "MY AMAZING SCARF COLLECTION."

I wasn't sure how to begin, so I released them from my wardrobe for a while. In doing so, I realised that at least three are missing, which is upsetting. But I'll save my tears for later, in the meantime - without further ado - please let me introduce you to...my scarves. I hope you understand the importance of this situation; it's like meeting the parents, only a much, much bigger deal. So here's the gang:

1 - THE STRAY. I'll be honest, I have no idea where this one came from. I don't remember buying it and I suspect it's not actually mine. However, I obviously liked it enough to either steal it, or adopt it and give it a loving home when it had been left out in the cold by its first owner. I'm selfless like that.

2 - THE IT-SCARF. This scarf sits comfortably at the top of the scarf social hierarchy. It's easily the most popular, the one most often found around my neck. One of the reasons for this is that on the reverse it's grey, black and red, which goes very well with my black coat that's red under the collar. All hail the King of Scarves.

3 - THE CHAV. Bought in a market for a fiver, this fake Burberry scarf was one of my less-informed purchases. However, on the odd occasion I do feel brave enough to venture out wearing it, if I ignore the judgemental glances of my fellow commuters. You see, in the UK, the Burberry brand was hijacked by chavs. The wearing of such a cheap imitation Burberry scarf may convince other people, in more expensive and respectable scarves, that I'm going to steal their wallet and spend their hard-earned cash on cheap cider and cigarettes.

4 - THE ELDER SCARF. This is the oldest scarf in my collection. I've had it for about 10 years now. Every now and then I think of an item of clothing, pair it with a colour or pattern, then yearn for it obsessively until I find one exactly like what I'm imagining in a shop. I think it's magical, honestly. I have a gift. The green hoodie in the frog photo was one of these. Other instances of this include red converses and a blue and black horizontal striped jumper. This wonderful black and white scarf was another, and my desire was not misplaced. It has served me well through many a harsh winter, and will continue to do so.

5 - LA SCIARPA ITALIANA. No, it's not an expensive Italian silk scarf. It's a football scarf, which I purchased when I went to see Cagliari (the city I lived in) play Treviso. I bought the scarf before realising it was actually really short and wouldn't fit around my neck without serious risk of strangulation, so I ended up wearing it like this instead:

6 - THE MIGHTY FULHAM SCARF. On the subject of football scarves, here we have my new Fulham FC scarf, which was a Christmas present. I'm hoping that it's cold enough for me to warrant me wearing it on Monday night, when FFC meet Chelsea at Craven Cottage. We'll need all the help we can get. Come on you Whites!

7 - THE SURPRISE ENTRY. This was also a Christmas present. Apparently I asked for it, but I have no recollection of doing so, whatsoever. Not that I'm ungrateful, it's very nice and I shall wear it, I'm just worried that my addiction has started to take over my soul. Perhaps it's slowly eating away my free will, making me ask for scarves (or worse, steal them) and then making me forget all about having done so. Sly. This could get me in trouble...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this root around my wardrobe, and that it didn't bore you too much. If you ever get a cold neck, you know who to come to. HOWEVER, if you think my scarf collection is a bit over the top, take a look at my ties (and I don't even need to wear one to work):

There are over 20 here. And, again, there are some missing.

I Can't Live Without Coffee And Dancing! (Or Can I???)

Isn't funny how no matter how broke you are, there are always a few, "non-essential" things you are willing to spend money on? I put "non-essential" in quotes because these are usually things that you could live without but wouldn't want to.

These things are different for everyone, of course. I was talking to my neighbors about this one night and everyone had something different that they considered "essential." One man confessed that if he felt he needed to get another tattoo, he would make it a priority and give up eating for a little bit if he had to. One girl told a funny yet slightly unnerving story about the time she spent the last of her money on a six pack of PBR instead of a sandwich.

The conversation got me thinking about what those things are for me. I realized that I can usually always afford the following things when necessary:

- Overpriced coffee drinks. I don't buy these as often as I used to, but sometimes the only thing that can properly improve my day is a double shot vanilla latte from The Bipartisan Cafe down the street. Also in this category: overpriced chai lattes from my favorite tea shop over in North Portland. These are extra special because it's in a different neighborhood and there is a little bit of driving involved in getting there. When I'm having a bad day, am in need of inspiration, or just need a change of scenery, I'll drive over there (while listening to my favorite songs, of course) and camp out for a couple of hours. It's a good place to write, the tea is fantastic, and there are usually cute hippy boys working there.

- Dancing. Even if I don't drink when I get inside a club, I can always come up with enough money to pay the cover charge and make it past the bouncer. I totally am that stereotypical white hipster who can name where all of the good 80's nights in town are. I have a few friends that always invite me along whenever they go out and as I result I go to the occasional dub step show or Bollywood themed dance night.

Really bad hair day

- Getting my hair done. I learned my lesson the hard way right after high school: Great Clips coupons will lead to a mullet, which will lead to bleaching it in someone elses' sink, which will lead to homemade hair cuts, which will lead to trying to dye it blue in the dorm bathroom, which will lead to green/gray hair, which will lead to going to an cheap Asian hair salon and hacking it all off, which will lead to something I lovingly refer to as "the dyke haircut." To avoid these bad hair days/months/years, I have gotten into the habit of going to nice salons and paying a lot for stylish hair. I justify this by only going once or twice a year. It's so much better than risking another Great Clips catastrophe.

- Shoes. This one is self-explanatory.

Those shoes are mine, betch!

Anyway, this list could probably go on to include even more frivolous things, but those are some of my favorite ways to spoil myself.

And now I'm all in the mood to go drink chai tea and go shoe-shopping. Maybe get my hair done and go dancing afterward. Hi, I'm slightly ridiculous.

That's all I've got for today. Happy Friday! This is The Spoiled Yank, signing out!

Sorry! I was busy spoiling myself!

***The Brit would like to apologise for the delay to the service. This was due to a technical error that has now been rectified.***

I shouldn't lie; there was no technical error. In fact, the only reason this post is late is because I've been enjoying myself a little bit too much since the end of January. I suppose that makes the theme of this post even more apt, as for the first time in six weeks (but seven, yes seven, weekends) I have a small amount of money with which to spoil myself rotten.

Like Allison, I include drinking and eating out in the list of activities that make me happy. Unlike Allison, I probably do them too much. It sounds terribly stereotypical, but a nice, cold pint in a nice, warm pub makes me happier than most other things. I'm not sure if it's a sign that I'm growing old that I look forward to pub nights more than clubbing. I find clubs increasingly frustrating, and yearn for a comfy chair in a corner of an old-fashioned boozer instead.

Eating out turned into an addiction for a while; I've since toned it down so that I only do it when I really have something to celebrate, or if I really need cheering up. There's something wonderful about sitting in a restaurant chatting over a drink while your food magically prepares itself in another room without you having to lift a finger. That sounded offensive to the people that cook the food, didn't it? I didn't mean that - I envy the culinary skills of professional chefs. It's just that eating out is even more fun if you imagine the kitchen to be like that scene in Beauty and the Beast when all the cutlery starts singing in a French accent. You definitely don't get that when you cook for yourself.

I am also guilty of spending a large amount of money on a season ticket for the football team I support. While sitting for an hour and a half in the cold watching a ball kicked around a pitch may not be everybody's idea of fun, for me it's a treat. I especially like mid-week evening games; the walk from the tube station to the stadium takes you through a beautiful park right on the banks of the Thames. The walk is probably about a mile long, and the anticipation and suspense build with each step. Admittedly, we don't always win and on these occasions following Fulham feels like less of a treat. But when we win (as we did yesterday, by the way) it leaves me feeling ever so satisfied.

Other than that, my other vices include buying shoes (as admitted in the comments on Allison's post), books (because I refuse to move with the times and invest in an e-reader) and scarves, of which I have several.

You know what? It's been nice writing about the things I like. While they may not be absolutely necessary, I'm not sure I'd want to live without them. It would feel like January every month if I did that. *shudders at the thought*

Over to you, Lauren!

'Cause I am a Material Girl (Sort of)

It only makes sense, after a week of us whining about money, that we write about the things we spend it on - specifically things that make us happy, but don't really need. This week's topic:

How We Spoil Ourselves

The good life.

I'm going to list off several things I do that fall into this category:

1) Manicures/Pedicures - I used to do my own nails, but then my friend showed me the good life. Having a friend who offers professional spa services out of her house is pretty awesome. I can get used to this!

2) Drinks out - I don't go out nearly as much as I used to - so when I do I really take advantage of that. Now that I'm a bit older I really appreciate going for a few beers at the pub, or having a classy night drinking $8 glasses of wine. I'm no longer into mainlining gin - though a few G&Ts still do the trick.

3) Dinners out - Dinners out always make me happy, but usually end up costing me a lot. So worth it though. You don't have to cook and you get to have something you might not be able to replicate at home.

4) Going to the movies - Oddly enough I went to the movies three times in January. This isn't normal for me, as I usually only go a few times a year. I saw True Grit, The Fighter and No Strings Attached. I'd really love to see The King's Speech.

5) Buying clothes/shoes/accessories - This is probably how I spoil myself the most. I know we need clothes and shoes to live, but I definitely own more than I need. I try not to be THAT GIRL, but I do like clothes and fashion.

6) Sleeping in - Sleep doesn't cost money, but I certainly do spoil myself by sleeping in a few days a week. Yeah, I'm more productive when I get up earlier, but some days I just need the rest.

I hope you all enjoyed this week's post! How do you spoil yourself?

This is from me to you, Tom...see ya Wednesday!

Photo of my last pedi. Sorry if feet freak you out.