principles vs. cashmere
I feel very conflicted about Black Friday.
A deathly stampede at Wal-Mart? A woman wielding pepper spray to get an Xbox? Camping out in front a Best Buy nine days before Black Friday? Really? When I heard about these things on the morning news I was shocked.
For like a second.
Ali wore everything he owns to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I can only imagine what he would have done if the temperature hadn't been a balmy 50 degrees...
But then I had this thought:
Why are we surprised when normally calm people start channeling Lord of the Flies, especially after they’ve been standing in a crowd with thousands of other people for hours, in the middle of the night, in order to purchase one of five discounted 70″ flat screen televisions?
We visited not one but TWO Dylan's Candy Bar locations. Marketing at it's best.
Look, I like a good bargain as much as the next person (maybe more seeing as I’m half-Indian) but doesn’t this entire tradition scream bizarre?
I was pondering this last Friday when it suddenly came to my attention that Bloomingdale’s not only had 40% off cashmere but also had a sale on a fabulous selection of Splendid and James Perse.
My next thought was “Stop worrying about the fate of the world and get thyself down to 59th and Lex Ameena.”
Dear Gordon Ramsey - For someone who spends his life fixing other restaurants' issues...you may want to spend a couple of minutes on your own crappy restaurant.
And so I did.
Scary how that works, isn’t it?
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
NY looks like a lot of fun, the last time I was there I was only 14! Didn’t quite appreciate Bloomingdales then, haha.
Also, I want to hear more about the Gordon Ramsey restaurant crappiness!!
From the average food to the average decor to the average service, the restaurant was not impressive in the least!
Glad you found some great deals at Bloomies! I am not as brave when it comes to dealing with Black Friday madness.
Good to know about Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. Just based on your picture the decor looks quite blah!
Definitely don’t waste your time going to Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant Sam…it’s really underwhelming.
Maya seems to be having so much fun at Dylan’s. I loved the shot of you and ali at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant 🙂
Thanks Nishi!
I wish I had something like that in Bahrain. One day to shop until you drop. Sigh!
Hope you shopped a lot.
You’ll have to visit the USA one Black Friday…you’ll be astounded at the madness!
My husband runs off from malls/shops when he sees them bursting with people so even if I am brave enough to enter such places he would bribe me off saying I will buy you not one but 2 such TVs/Dresses etc etc if you drop your agenda of shopping in these sales…. well who am i to complaint then 🙂 🙂
I just leave Ali out of the whole thing! I know better than to drag him along…
hmmmm Well I dont mind going for discounts but not like this .. usually htese discounts are all the time now …
and gordon ramsay .. really I hope he listens , he has enough to say about others ..
and pepper spray for Xbox Really .. whats going on ..
Gordon certainly does have enough to say about others, which makes his sub-par restaurant all the more confusing.
Here in the UK Black Friday’s haven’t been as bad as what happened in America. Nonetheless the cues do exist here but no drama. Besides I think its quicker to order you deals online as it has more benefits: 1. You can search for more items than physically walking to so many different stores. 2. You can order and get them delivered for Free, against having to purchase and fit into the cars, 3. You have a good return policy in other words if you want to return them you simply get them to come pick it up.
I do prefer online shopping most of the time but I have a serious weakness for Bloomingdale’s. It just makes me happy…as shallow as that sounds…
The pepper spray thing was crazy. My cousin told me he was at Walmart on Black Friday when he saw a customer pull an associate’s hair because she wouldn’t let the lady push her way through the crowd. One word…craziness. I imagine Bloomingdale’s was a bit more civilized. 🙂
The people I feel sorry for the most are the employees! Talk about a thankless job…
I could never shop on Black Friday. I find crowds of people shoving and items thrown all over the place such a turn off. Hope you’re having a great time in NY and the shopping is good:)
I totally agree with you! Luckily Bloomingdale’s was orderly and calm, otherwise I would have left for sure!
I feel like the deadly stampede wasn’t the first one over the last few years. It’s crazy to me how nuts people get on Black Friday. My friend goes nuts- there are maps, ads, highlighters, coupons, and a detailed agenda involved. She scares me a little….
I’m not sure if your friend scares me or inspires me…truly. I am impressed!
So, tell us, Ameena…what wonderful goodies did you get? I read someone else’s blog which said Ramsey’s restaurant was not so good. Looks like you’re having a wonderful time in NYC!!
I bought a gorgeous cashmere V-neck sweater, a Splendid shirt, and a Splendid sweater. All three were pretty good deals!
I went to the parade too!! I was shocked by how rude people were there – I knew that it would be crowded but come on – women who are pushing people to get to the front after we’ve been standing there for 90 minutes, get a life!
Surprisingly we had no issues at the parade…but we were not in the front as you can see from the picture so maybe that’s why?
That marketing works well, huh?
I absolutely love your line about Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant. I’ve never been there, but it just goes to show how many people can be critical of things without being on top of their own stuff.
I probably shouldn’t point fingers at Gordon seeing as I am guilty of doing the same thing…
They could be offering the Hermes Birkin for $100 and you would not get me out there fighting the crowd. Not worth the aggravation and potential trampling to save some money.
For a $100 Birkin I may just fight a crowd…
Oh believe me, I was fast asleep in my bed come black friday….however my little brother did not come home till 5 am.. My sister and I had some questions for him. Mainly because he did not bring us anything!!
He didn’t buy you anything because he’s a boy. And boys are selfish.
LOL Ameena, that is sooooooooo true…
I can barely stand shopping on a weekend that falls in the second half of November so black Friday would be a nightmare! I would probably find the tech deals a little hard to say no to though – I’m surprised Ali didn’t drag you best-buy or something 🙂
And that’s hilarious about Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant! What was wrong with it?
The restaurant had a number of things wrong with it: bad service, average food, pricey, blah decor. It was just very disappointing!
I went shopping once during Black Friday, but I won’t do it again. I just don’t enjoy myself amongst a huge crowd. No sale is worth being pepper sprayed for daaahling.
*kisses* HH
p.s. Gordon Ramsay LOL
I’m with you on the crowds but luckily Bloomingdale’s was very orderly and calm!
Nothing wrong with taking advantage of a good sale, right? I ordered a bunch of maternity clothes online…because I’m all about taking advantage of the sales, just not in PERSON 🙂
Somehow I totally missed Cyber Monday. I may have been the only person in the USA who was actually doing work on her computer. 🙂
Black Friday brings out the best and worst in me. Worst because I wage war on every woman in every store. Luckily it’s not that hard for me because I traveled in Mumbai’s local trains for 2 years!!! Best because after I buy what I want at the price I want, I turn into the most loving, caring, positive, happy human being ever made! So there!
Looks like you guys had a great time. Maya looks adorable as always 🙂
I hear that trains in India are totally chaotic. I’m sure Black Friday is a walk in the park for you!
Haha.. that sounds very familiar, besides not everyone is destined to save the world anyway.
I never went to Black Friday, too scary and I missed the Cyber Monday as well yesterday. What can I say, I’m on a very restricted “shopping-diet” right now.. 😉
I can’t watch Gordon Ramsey’s show. He’s a bully (that apparently couldn’t handle his own restaurant!) Ha!
Thanksgiving day’s weather was perfect. Not cold at all. Poor Ali. He should visit NYC more so he gets used to the weather by the time you guys move here.
I missed Cyber Monday too…I guess that makes two of us!
I’ve noticed that Black Friday is truly spectacular for the big ticket items. I know that Macy’s next door to me is having constant one-day sales with preview days that Black Friday there doesn’t seem that special.
I agree…Macy’s has better sales on random days than they did on Black Friday. Strange.
I hate Black Friday. It’s tradition that my family and I stay in Chicago the day after Thanksgiving. As someone who generally hates crowds (and sometimes I think people in general) it is painful. I love being with my family. I love the city. But I think if I was jabbed in the side by one more shopping bag I would have gone crazy.
I totally agree with you about the crowds Liz but luckily Bloomingdale’s was not chaotic at all!
Maybe it’s because I’m 9 months pregnant, but Black Friday held no appeal for me. What the heck do I want that bad? This is why online shopping was invented 😉
Oh and crazy, but my body itches like crazy when I wear cashmere. Sort of sad actually.
I don’t blame you one bit. At 9 months it was a huge effort to get out of bed, never mind go shopping.
I guess if you really, really want something it’s worth braving the crowds but I’m usually just feeling so lazy the day after Thanksgiving that it’s never happened. People do get crazy. It’s almost scary!! A NYC Thanksgiving-so awesome!
I didn’t encounter too much craziness luckily…it appears all the hard core shoppers were contained to California!
Are you still in NYC?
I didn’t get out of the house on Black Friday.
No, I’m back in Los Angeles. Unfortunately.
Haha wow you braved Black Friday in NEW YORK? Props to you, Ameena, I didn’t dare get myself out there…plus it’s probably better for my wallet 😉 Not going to lie though, I am expecting a few cyber monday packages in the mail soon!
I totally missed Cyber Monday…not sure how I let that happen! Or how Ali let that happen!
I don’t go near Black Friday or cashmere since it’s too hard to remove candy stains from it. But that restaurant…is that really Gordon Ramsey’s? I’m appalled. I mean really.
Ali in all his warm stuff makes me smile. Ear-to-ear even. But that’s the Chicago in me.
I was appalled too…Gordon is a massive disappointment!
seriously, people need to cool it! i got awesome black friday deals shopping at a normal hour, not waiting in line for 9 days or pepper spraying anyone. what horrendous behavior.
I leisurely entered Bloomingdale’s at 10:30 am and got fabulous deals…I totally agree.
I am waaaay to scared of Black Friday. I’ve never gone. I don’t really like shopping in normal circumstances though (except online).
I’m curious what the other half is when you say you are half-Indian?
too*
My mom is Canadian…
It gives me such Schadenfreude-istic joy to hear that Ramsay’s restaurant sucked.
Are you not a fan of Gordon? I wish I’d checked with you prior to going so I wouldn’t have wasted my time and money!
You couldn’t pay me enough to go out in public on Black Friday. I don’t do well in crowds. They make me claustrophobic.But I’m glad you had fun.
I loved your Husband’s guest post…and the photos he used were fab.
Safe travels home.
Thanks Andrea.
I usually don’t do well in crowds usually but there’s just something about the Bloomingdale’s on 59th and Lex that makes it all worth it. 🙂
Black Friday scares the bejesus out of me. No TV is worth my face getting punched by an angry old woman who has lost her marbles.
Now for cashmere, I could see myself wavering…
Not just any cashmere…40% OFF cashmere!
You know me I LOVE a good deal, but I do not shop in the middle of the night. I also loathe crowds. I would rather pay full price than deal with Black Friday.
But my sisters and mom and I did go to my favorite thrift store Friday afternoon and everything was 1/2 off. And there were no crowds.
I do not shop at night either. I went at the more reasonable hour of 10:30 am and still got great deals!
–I have never gone out Black Ugly Friday.
The people are greedy freaks w/ pepper spray.
On the other hand, I love your photos 🙂
Thank you for the compliment. 🙂
Ali wore everything to the parade? As in: the orange sweater is under there somewhere??
Derek’s partner’s apt where we always stay is at 57th & lex. so close!!
Haha…the orange sweater didn’t make it to NYC – mostly because I packed Ali’s carry-on!
Too funny.
I swore I wasnt going to do any shopping… And then Erin Condren AND Kate Spade had huge sales.
Just think of it as contributing to the flailing economy.
Why don’t I know who Erin Condren is? I’m off to Google…
It’s so funny – I definitely turned up my nose at the whole Black Friday and even the Cyber Monday thing, thinking “I’m so much better than all you sad sops”. However, did I cross the US-Mexican border in search of cheap booze and cheap Christmas presents? You betcha!
We all have our weak spots…
We definitely all have our weak spots…Bloomingdale’s is mine!
You are so hilarious. I was at our local small town Wal-Mart, picking up unhealthy food at the hot counter, late on Thanksgiving evening. Sounds very sad, I know, BUT I am Canadian, AND I had already celebrated the same holiday in October, AND I had literally just returned from a fabulous vacation, so there was no food in the house (or water, but that’s another story)… Anyway, the woman at the counter put the food in a bag and asked me if I would be eating in. I just looked at her with a puzzled expression. Apparently, she thought I would be setting up my dinner in the AISLES of Wal-Mart, where many people were hunkering down for the night (it’s open 24 hours). Sigh. How I wish I were at the corner of 59th and Lexington Ave. instead…:)
Eating in? At Wal-Mart? Now that’s interesting. Although I will say that once I bought Maya a snack at Target (on a non-Thanksgiving day) so I guess it’s sort the same thing?
I too was shocked to read about the black Friday madness….
Anyways all we can do is learn from all this and hope for better and non crazy friday next year.
The parade looks like fun…
I am shock to hear about G Ramsay place, seems like its time for him to get back in his own zone…
We can hope for better Black Friday 2012 but things only seem to be getting more violent!
Maya is basically a drug-sniffing dog when it comes to Dylan’s Candy Bar. I feel like this skill will also translate into sourcing sushi and jewels when she’s older.
I’m really proud of you for Committing To The Cause and hitting Bloomingdale’s. Black Friday? Completely stressful. And yet so completely cathartic when all is said and done. When you go into your closet to admire your haul, just know that I’m doing the same thing in MN.
I did admire my new stuff this morning. And I thought of you in MN! 🙂
Black Friday shopping is always crazy and I seriously hate being in a crowd so I’d pass on those..although I used to line up before too…but not 9 days prior the day though!
9 days seems…extreme, yes?
Walmart and Bloomingdales aren’t the same. I give you credit actually. After fighting crowds to get into my office to watch the parade, I had nothing left. As for comments about cyber monday, I wish they made it cyber saturday when everyone was off from work.
Exactly! Since most of us work on Monday wouldn’t a Saturday make more sense?
And there the principles go … 😉
Ha.. I love what you said about Gordon Ramsey. I know, I heard about all the Black Friday chaos, and that’s why I just shop online… there were some great deals online too. I don’t get how people can camp out for 9 days in front of a store.
And btw.. did you try Devi? What did you think? Hopefully you liked it.
We didn’t make it to Devi because we realized that Bukhara Grill was much closer. It was really good but Devi next time for sure!
I boycotted Black Friday, but that’s easy to do when you can’t afford to buy anything anyway. I was also afraid of being shot (there’s been a lot of that going on lately–no pizza joint or CVS is safe anymore). I’m not surprised by crazy behavior, either…we’re more influenced by the crowds around us than we’d like to think. If they were completely alone, I don’t think people would kick an injured man on the ground to death, even if they were promised a $5 plasma TV on the other side. But people will stand around and do nothing in an emergency if everyone around them is doing nothing too. The solution? Cyber Monday.
Scary what people will do for a TV. I fear my husband for this reason alone.
And what’s going on at CVS? We haven’t had any CVS-problems in LA that I know about.
i totally forgot you were coming to nyc for Thanksgiving! Hope u had or are still having a great time! i refuse to leave the house on black friday. even the bodega two blocks away has a bloody black friday deal. nope this girl shops on cyber monday. yep. you are one brave woman! and i’m signing up to get your new posts by email cause i always want to kick myself when i’m late.
Yah . . . it took all my strength not to exhaust my visa online when I saw the sales. I dont blame you for getting sucked into it. 🙂
Shame about Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant. I would have expected it to at least be prettier.
Shame on Gordon Ramsey is right! He’s totally overrated.
You know the saying “When in Rome” – well… there should also be, “When in New York on Black Friday.” You do what you have to do. I would expect nothing less from you.
And p.s. I have actually used the phrase “when in Rome” … while in Rome. It was great. But definitely lost it’s charm when I had to explain the meaning to the Spaniard. Oh the things we do for love. 🙂
Now I suddenly want to visit Rome. 🙂 But in the meantime I am excited about Spain!
Ha! I tend to stay away from Black Friday shopping but man, oh man, I do feel tempted. I think the horrendous traffic here in Austin keeps me at home. I hope you have a great night, friend!
Imagine me sitting in Starbucks laughing my bum off at this post. Seriously, I loved the entire thing. I have a few comments to make.
1. Ali doesn’t know what cold is! It was low 30s today and I was in a sweatshirt half the time…and it was snowing! 😛
2. Black Friday IS bizarre. I’ve never done it and I don’t plan on it. If I’m a poor mother who needs deals one day….maybe. Maybe.
3. The Gordon Ramsey note was classic! You really made my day with this post.
I think Ali almost died when we went to Minnesota earlier this year. It was 30 degree or something. The crazy thing is that all the other local wedding guests said we were lucky it was so warm!
Looks like you guys are having such a great time :D. Wanna hear something funny I heard from the hubby while grocery shopping with him? When you see a bunch of little old Chinese grandmas crowded around a certain spot, you go there because that’s where the deals are gonna be. What’s my point? Sometimes you just gotta be a little old Chinese grandma and go with the flow, my dear. Haha! 😉
PS
I spent more than two hrs cleaning up throw up today and totally thought of you. You’re welcome. 😛 lol.
Omg, I didn’t mean you’re like throw up. Just thought of you cause you’re always posting about Maya throwing up. Hope you didn’t take it the wrong way. And I’ll stop spamming you now.
Swap out Indian Grandmas for Chinese Grandmas and you have the same scenario! And please…I am the queen of cleaning up barf. I’m grateful that you thought of me. 🙂
I have to say (in a non creeper way!) you are absolutely stunning. Your very effortlessly beautiful.
How sweet are you? Thank you Sarah!
Black Friday scares me. The last 3 I have lived overseas so I have done online shopping. Safer for me. I also think it is funny to see people rush to spend money on things they don’t need and can’t afford just because they are told to shop on that day. We bought our new TV days before Black Friday (a better deal because it was a floor model with a scratch that knocking hundreds of dollars off the price effectively made “disappear”). Sure enough the ones on sale here on the base on Black Friday disappeared fast (heard they really only had 2 of them), so it was not worth fighting with people over. Hey, I am Jewish, finding a good deal is in my blood!
Well said!
I feel the same way about Valentine’s Day actually…why on earth should we buy red roses and overpay for dinner? Just because someone said so a long time ago? Ridiculous.
whats weird to me is that i see these sales everyday. Why friday madness? although it i good people watching!
I have never set a foot outside on Black Friday. There is nothing I need so bad that I must risk life and limb. My daughter went to the mall with friends at midnight Thursday and she said it was quite busy. I was comfortably asleep. Unfortunately, my hubby is a retail store director for Sears and he had to be at work at 5.30. Not fun drinking coffee at 3am let me tell you.
I am most disappointed at hearing Goran Ramsays restaurant sucks. He’s a cool guy.
But, apart from that experience, hope your trip was a good one.
Was Ramsey’s restaurant really that bad? Never really liked him much anyways 😛
The pepper spray in Wal Mart was surprising, yet stupid. Apparently the lady used it to protect herself??? Ummm, sure 😛
Love NYC, shopping and of course eating. It’s great you were able to find some good deals at Bloomingdale’s.Good fun!
It’s all about Bloomingdale’s and eating for me too. 🙂 Thanks for reading Asmita!
That black Friday stuff shocks me – I would never go shopping on black Friday … not worth it.
The Black Friday sounds like a very big deal and the more i read about it, the more i get tempted…and you madam just provided the icing on the cake!
what fun to line up and finally get something so out of reach…unless of course it goes off the shelf by the time you reach the counter!:-)
I didn’t line up Suruchi…I think that the lining-up-the-night-before-at-midnight whole idea is pretty time-consuming, although it must be really fun to do it at least once!
I hope to visit NYC someday. I will definitely go for the food there! hehe
My first visit to your blog and I love your writing…A wonderful space..will be a regular now on..
Thank you Gayathri! And welcome. 🙂
everytime i see bloomingdales I think of your obsession…and about gordon’s restaurant? I WANT DETAILS!
I avoid Black Friday at all costs, however cashmere at 40%…I’m in!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving
Thank you my friend. I hope you did as well. 🙂