I <3 Zappos, Part III

They sent me a thank you card. They sent me a thank you card saying they were happy to help me exchange my shoes. It was handwritten! Handwritten by the customer service rep who handled my case. Awesome.

Summer Holiday

We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
We've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you.
for me and you.

Too bad it's been raining for weeks on end in Amsterdam and it will continue to rain every day we are there. The sun's expected to come out the day after we leave. C'est la vie. Or rather, zulke is het leven. Or is it het is het leven?

I <3 Zappos, Part II

After having called their customer service department, I love these guys even more.

Backstory: those great sandals I bought? Well, one of the shoes makes a “whooshing” sound when I walk in them. I think it’s due to the fact that air is escaping from the cushion as I walk on it. I wore the sandals for 2 days and during a conversation with a friend, she said that Zappos would exchange them for me. Since the soles were pretty scuffed up (after having walked outside in them) I was wary. I talked to the customer service rep and she said Zappos would exchange the sandals (since it was a manufacturer problem) and ship them to me overnight. No charge. Awesome.

That all happened last night. When I got home from the gym tonight they were waiting at the front door. I am now officially an evangelist for this site.

In a nutshell – here’s why I love Zappos:

• Short wait time on customer service line and I called at 6:30 pm. Compared to the 30 minutes I spent on hold with my insurance company earlier this week – this is a HUGE gold star.
• Great customer service. The woman on the phone was incredibly nice, easy to talk to and very efficient. Compared to the completely incompetent nincompoop I first talked to at my insurance company last month – this earns them another HUGE gold star.
• Free overnight shipping. I love it.

Interesting side note: in the niche marketing seminar I attended with co-workers last month, more than one speaker brought up the fact that companies are scrolling blogs looking for mentions of their product. Who knows – maybe someone in Zappos’ marketing department may come across this post. If so – hello Zappos employee.

The Decemberists with the LA Phil

What: The Decemberists played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Where: The Hollywood Bowl
When: Saturday night

This was an amazing event. It was big, it was loud, it was over the top - it was freaking amazing! The first two opening acts (Band of Horses and Andrew Bird) were great and I'm looking forward to devouring their music catalogues in the next week. However, they were just the yummy, but not quite fulfilling appetizer served before the main event. This concert has been the highlight of my summer and ranks in the top 3 best concerts ever.

We had great box seats, brought in a picnic dinner and 2 bottles of wine, sat under the stars listening to great music and had one of the best nights out in a while.

Entertainment Weekly has a column about the show and the orchestra's pairing with the band.

Pitchfork mentions the concert, but their pictures are much better than its review.

Also, the Hollywood Bowl is a fantastic venue - I'm saddened that it's taken me 3 years to get there.

I <3 Zappos

I love Zappos. I love Zappos as much as I love shoes. Why do I love Zappos so much?

1. Selection. I wanted a pair of Born sandals and neither Nordstrom, Macy's or the Walking Company carried a design that I liked or my size. This brand came highly recommended by my friend S. because they're comfortable walking shoes. As an owner of enough uncomfortable but gorgeous shoes (hello Carlos Santanas!) I chose to follow her advice.
2. Quantity. I went onto Zappos on Thursday and found they had a HUGE collection of Born sandals - more than the three above mentioned stores had combined.
3. Free Next Day Delivery. The shoes arrived this morning (Friday). Did I mention I bought them Thursday?

Never Doubt Paula

OK. Lesson learned. I've watched Paula's Party enough times that I should trust the woman. So, when a recipe calls for butter - never, under any circumstances, substitute it with margarine. Ever. I can already hear Paula chastising me for doing that.

Over the weekend I made spritz cookies for a friend's birthday. The first batch came out great. But when it came time to do the second batch I realized I didn't have enough butter. I did, however have margarine (Brummel and Brown to be precise). And the recipe - in my Betty Crocker Cooky Book - called for 1 c. butter or margarine - so I figured I was safe. I was not safe. The cookies were not safe. In fact, the second batch of cookies never came to be. The dough turned gummy - it was the same consistency of silly putty. In fact, I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon the recipe for silly putty.