Stargurl80's Blog

I have always loved music.  These last couple of years, I've really started to enjoy country music.  I've added quite a few country albums to my already extensive collection.  This past Tuesday, I went to get the new Eric Church album (which is unbelievable by the way!).  When I got back I told a few of my country music loving friends about it, and they asked to borrow the CD so they could burn it.  I obliged because they have done the same for me in the past.  However, it kind of got me thinking.

It is no secret that the music industry is taking a big hit because of music downloading.  It seems like since Napster was started in the 90s, the music industry has been reeling.  It is true, not as many people are actually buying CDs from music franchises and stores anymore.  This has even caused huge music stores like Virgin to close down.

Unfortunately, in a hard economy people are going to go with the cheaper option.  It isn't that difficult to get your hands on free MP3s these days.  With the huge P2P file sharing programs, people are buying music less.  I always try to "support the musician" and buy the album, but I think I'm the minority.

I want to know what all of you people think out there.  Do you still go to your local music store or franchise and buy albums?  Do you pay for albums or individual songs online on iTunes and Amazon?  Do you use P2P programs or torrents to download music for free?  Let me know what you think...I promise I won't tell!

I was walking through the local Macy's this past weekend and I spent some time in the fragrance section.  I am a sucker for things that smell good.  I probably own a dozen different bottles of perfume and about 20 candles.  I'm not even going to get into how many different types of lotion and moisturizer I have!  Anyway, I took about 10 minutes to go around and smell some of the womens perfume samples and talk to the sales associate.  There were a few perfumes that have caught my attention in magazines and on television that I wanted to sample.  Unfortunately, there weren't samples available.  This ignited an interesting conversation between the associate and I.  The talk/argument centered around one question:  what do women base their fragrance buying on?

As stupid as it sounds, I have always though that the actuall smell of a womens perfume wasn't the end all in the decision making process.  This is because there are so many fragrances that don't have samples that girls still buy!  Top notch marketing can sell a perfume even if it smells like old milk, and I will always believe that.  Everything from celebrity endorsements to the bottle shape induce you to buy certain fragrances.  Even brand loyalty for clothing brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie & Fitch can strongly influence a fragrance buy.

I don't know if I'm the majority or the minority here, but I have to smell a fragrance before I buy it.  I bought a bottle of Dirty English without smelling it first because it looked cool, and I regret it.  I want to know what all the ladies out there in the tBlogosphere think about the perfume buying process.  Do you like to smell it first?  Do you like to make it a surprise and risk it?  Let me know!

I have a question for all you girls and guys out there. It is the middle of March and it is time to start thinking about spring! I am a sucker for warm weather, so I am happiest in April when I can finally put the windows down in my car and wear flip flops.  The only bad part about the warm weather is that my closet turns into a bit of an unorganized, inefficient mess. 

Right now, I have a bevy of coats, boots, sweaters and outerwear taking up room in my closet.  As you all know, sweaters, hoodies, coats, jeans and boots take up more room than tees, tank tops, light jackets, shorts, skirts and flip flops.  My question to the tBlogosphere out there is what do you guys do with your cold weather clothing in the spring and summer?

There seems to be 5 feasible options available here:  keeping the cold weather items in the closet and just put them in the back, store your cold weather clothing somewhere other than the closet, go through your cold weather clothing to "make cuts", take your cold weather clothing to the dry cleaner and keep only certain articles in your closet and store the rest.  I think the last option would work the best.  I know for a fact that some spring nights in my neck of the woods are cold enough for me to get use out of my Baby Phat jacket and Baby Phat boots.  Let me know what you think!

What I thought was a little bump on my hand has turned into quite the painful wart.  A friend of mine had a plantar wart on her foot and I remember thinking to myself "thank goodness it wasn't me...those things are painful and unsightly".  Well, here I am with a wart of my own...and I'm not happy about it!

I wanted to make sure it was a wart, so I checked online and verified.  It is on the hands, feet or face?  Check.  Is it raised above the skin?  Check.  Is it round or oval shaped and discolored?  Check.  I made a doctors appointment after conducting my own research where she verified it with me.  I also had them check to see if I had HPV as well.

After doing some research, there are all kinds of wild home remedies for wart removal .  I've seen everything from vinegar and apples to nail files and tumeric!  I am going to give one of these organic wart removal methods a try.  If it doesn't work, then I might go the freezing route.  If anyone has any further information or advice on warts, I'd love to know!