Yes, I’m fully aware that my plants would get crushed by the extreme water pressure. But a girl can dream, can’t she?!

I just drink straight from the tap without worrying about that other stuff. Yeah, the water might not be 100% pure, but I think bottled water is a big scam and I refuse to pay for that when I’m paying for perfectly decent water from my tap. So far it doesn’t seem to be bothering my family one bit!

Here are the features, according to the manufacturer:

• Oiled leather upper
• Quilted polyester shaft
• Faux shearling lining/sockliner
• Cushiony EVA footbed
• Rubber outsole
• Lace-up design

I went with the black pair (they’re also available in red and ivory, and think they look great. The faux shearling is very soft and seems like it would be quite warm even in the winter months. The fit is great, and they look wonderful with jeans and my new coat. I just can’t wait until the winter so I can see how waterproof they really are. Bring on the rain and snow!

The Cards app from Apple lets you create and mail beautifully crafted, real greeting cards personalized with your own text and photos — right from your iPhone or iPod touch. Take a quick snapshot and with a few taps and swipes, an elegant thank you note or “wish-you-were-here” card is on its way to any mailbox in the world. Choose from dozens of designs and customize your card with a personal message and photo. Then select a mailing address from your Contacts and place your order in seconds. All your cards are saved automatically, so it’s easy to send an invitation or birth announcement to more than one person.

Custom letterpress cards
• Cards combine a centuries-old letterpress technique with your digital text and photos
• Each card is crafted from 100 percent cotton paper and imprinted with an elegant debossed design
• Choose from dozens of designs for eight occasions: Mother’s Day, Thank You, Get Well, Baby, Birthday, Love, Travel and Holiday
• Customize the placeholder text for any occasion, such as an anniversary or graduation
• Add a photo to your card or send one with just text

Location integration
• If you select one of the Travel designs, your card automatically displays the name of your current location
• Choose a photo with GPS data, and the card shows the name of the place where the photo was taken

Prepaid postage included
• U.S. customers can send a card within the U.S. for $2.99 including postage
• Send a card anywhere else in the world for $4.99 including postage
• Select an address from your Contacts and easily personalize it — from Mr. Johnny Appleseed to The Appleseed Family, for example
• To place your order, simply enter your Apple ID password
• In the U.S., your card will include our own Apple-designed postage

Delivery notification
• Cards mailed to U.S. addresses make use of the United States Postal Service Intelligent Mail® barcode
• On the day your card is to be delivered, you’ll receive a notification on your iPhone or iPod touch

Card history
• All your cards are automatically saved and can be viewed in a history list
• You can resend any card to another recipient — perfect for when you have a lot of friends to thank or you want to spread the word about the newest member of your family

Total order price includes postage. For orders with a U.S. billing address, sales tax will be added to the order price. For orders with a non-U.S. billing address, the order price will include applicable VAT.

Sounds pretty cool, huh? And it actually is! The process of creating and ordering a card was even easier than expected. I decided to try this out by creating a Mother’s Day card, and I couldn’t believe how quickly I was able to get it done. I took a snapshot of my son, chose one of the pre-designed cards, added the photo, cropped it with the tool provided, typed in a message, and then filled in the addresses on the envelope. I then ordered the card through my iTunes account. The whole thing took no more than 5 minutes, and the total came to $3.14 after tax.

That is FAR more convenient than having to go to the store, look around at the cheesy, non-personalized Hallmarks in stock, and then slap a stamp on the thing and mail it!

My mom already received the card and said that it looks very nice/high quality, so that was a relief.

The only problem I had with the entire process was that the description said I would get notified upon delivery of the card. That didn’t happen. I got a SHIPMENT notification, but nothing about deliver. No big deal, I guess.

Overall, the greeting card created by the Apple Cards iPhone app turned out great! It’s simple, cheap, and convenient, so I’ll be using this instead of traditional cards from now on!

Have you heard about this? I read an article on Yahoo that says a clothing retailer in Brazil has connected its clothing hangers to Facebook so customers can instantly “Like” an item while browsing. Other shoppers can then see the feedback for the particular item right there before buying.

Obviously the system has flaws, as the same person can press “Like” 100 times in a row — or maybe even the store owners themselves could try to pump up a more expensive item, but still… I think it’s kind of interesting. Mind you, I don’t like that Facebook seems to be invading every facet of our lives, but the feedback from other shoppers is kind of cool.

Here are the product details, as provided by Lands’ End:

• Woven in Italy and brushed for a luxuriously soft hand
• Neat pickstitching detail throughout
• Button tab on sleeve, decorative belt in back
• Princess seams provide shape
• Fully lined for neatness and comfort
• Back vent allows easy movement
• Hip length
• TEMPERATURE RATING – WARMER: 0° to 20° Fahrenheit.

I have to say that I’m really impressed by this coat. It fits great, even in the sleeves (which I usually have trouble with), and looks amazing. I love all the details, especially in the lining, and think this is an exceptional value at $104. I just hope it’s as warm as it looks and will at least hold up to the fall weather. It seems at least as warm as my old Eddie Bauer fall coat, so I’m pretty confident it will be fine!

One thing I’ve been considering is buying an annuity. I don’t know much about these financial instruments, but they seem like a safe way of getting a guaranteed return — which would certainly be welcome in this day and age of financial uncertainty. I’ll have to check around to find the best fixed annuity and then compare it to other possible investments before buying, of course. At this point, annuities seem to be a good option — but I’m open to other suggestions as well.

I’ve worn this rugby once already and think it’s very comfortable. it looks fantastic with jeans, but would also look good with khakis or a nice pair of shorts. However, I don’t really like the three-quarter sleeves. They actually hang a little long on me while not reaching all the way to my hands. As a result, they’re kind of stuck in no-man’s land and make the shirt look ill-fitting. The only solution is to roll/push them up all the time.

Overall, I’m happy with this purchase. But next time, I’ll be sure to pay more attention to sleeve length!