Things I Bought That I Love: Regency Tangle-Free Hair Brush

October 10, 2011

I was the ripe old age of 28 when I realized that if you want to have long, fine, hair, you need to comb it out while it’s wet, or otherwise you will tear out large clumps of it. I always used a wide-tooth comb, then every few months or so, I’d clean out the tangles of stray hair so no one could steal it for a voodoo doll.

I like having long hair, but it’s hard, man. I live in a state of being constantly ten minutes away from having a hair stylist chop off my hair. Mine is the personality type that is a sucker for that, because usually when a hair stylist wants to chop off your hair, you’re like their favorite person in the world for an hour, and I love that feeling. You’re their respite from hours of their boring duties of trimming long hair and doing blond highlights on people. I basically feel like Gaga to them and so I let them chop off my hair.

The Regency tangle-free hair brush does the job of the wide tooth comb but is faster and gentler and you lose much less hair. It separates more strands and afterwards you hair is ready for volumizing product or sheen serum or flyaway goop or whatever. They come in fun colors (I put a big premium on this, as you have probably learned), and are cheap! However, these are not good for a blow out. For those I recommend one of those round, hardcore boar bristle ones that are intense and scratchily, and kind of look like they might try to kill you.

Good for: Girls with long, thin hair who want to have hair like a Beverly Hills housewife.

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Best Friends Rights & Responsibilities Contest

October 7, 2011

When my publisher posted an excerpt from my book back in May, one thing I heard a lot about was a piece I wrote called “Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities”.

(I know, I know, know sharing a bed is not for every set of friends, and you can skip this if your best friend snores or has night time rituals with ointments that smell strange or pharmaceutically).

So, we thought we’d open up the floor, what are rights, rules, regulations, responsibilities you would send to your best friends? What does that special someone deserve? For those of you who did not check it out the first time you can find an extended audio version of me reading them here.

Best Friends Rights & Regulations from Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

(Warning: like every human except Terry Gross or Carl Castle, I detest the sound of my own voice. However, some have known to find it pleasing. Maybe if you squint you may think “ahh, the anesthetizing lilt of an 11-year old girl!”)

Post your rights, rules, responsibilities, et cetera now through Monday, October 10th in the comments below. The best of the best? They win a free signed copy of my book. Show your best friend some love. Along with your rules, make sure to share our Best Friends rules with this Tweet:

Check out @MindyKaling & me’s #BFFrights! Post your rules for a chance to win a signed copy of her new book! http://tinyurl.com/BFFRegs

Can’t wait to see your rules!

To inspire you, I’ve posted some pics of real life and I-wish-was-real best friendships for the ages.

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People I Love Who Invented Things That I Love: Steve Jobs

October 6, 2011

If you’re like me, when you heard about the passing of Steve Jobs, you had a panicked moment where all you could think about was how much more Mr. Jobs had to give the world, and how sad you were to be robbed of the fruits of those years. My love for Mr. Jobs is a selfish one, but it made me think how much I have come to depend on him to be the one — clad in signature black from the waist up, like my Pacific Northwest Johnny Cash- to introduce me every year (or if we were lucky, twice a year) to some technology so amazing and fun you hoped that you were the one who got to break it to your friends.

If you’re also like me, you looked around the internet to learn more about him. I found out a few sad things, of course. One was how he passed away. Mr. Jobs battled a rare form of pancreatic cancer, neuroendocrine cancer. I have a relationship with pancreatic cancer, which has astoundingly, the same one-year survival rate as it did forty years ago - a mere 5%.

Julie Fleshman of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network said it well, of Jobs’ passing: “It is also a stunning reality that even those who have unlimited access to the highest level of care available cannot defeat this insidious disease.” Those of us who know and love people with this sad disease could see from Mr. Jobs extended periods of time off, and gaunt frame, that this was a man fighting for his life. I felt inspired to donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a truly wonderful resource that actively petitions our leaders to provide more money for research for this incredibly under-funded disease. If you want to donate too, you can! Just go here: http://www.pancan.org/index.php
Donating there was something that I bought that I really love.

I also learned that Steve Jobs was adopted. Adopted. My God. This, to me is a movie in itself. Can you imagine adopting a baby and watching him grow up to be this kind of historically important thinker? His brain itself already so miraculous and mysterious. And now, fell into the lap of these loving parents through adoption? In my mind, the Jobs family found him floating down a river like Moses. People can tell me otherwise, but that’s what I’ll always believe, sorry.

I was delighted to find this great picture of him from when he was a younger.

I had this computer! My older brother and I fought over it to see who could play Gauntlet on it. And then I saw this picture, where Mr. Jobs is excitedly presenting the very computer I am writing this blog on:

That’s an almost thirty year span of computers he’s created that I’ve depended on and loved. And for every change in technology, every tweak made to make the computer more and more perfect, I’ve stuck with him to see what would happen next. Many of us have had a lengthy, happy marriages to Steve Jobs creations. That’s pretty amazing.

And then I found something he said which really stuck with me. Mr. Jobs considered himself an artist, which I love. Here it is:

One of my role models is Bob Dylan. As I grew up, I learned the lyrics to all his songs and watched him never stand still. If you look at the artists, if they get really good, it always occurs to them at some point that they can do this one thing for the rest of their lives, and they can be really successful to the outside world but not really be successful to themselves. That’s the moment that an artist really decides who he or she is. If they keep on risking failure, they’re still artists. Dylan and Picasso were always risking failure. This Apple thing is that way for me. I don’t want to fail, of course. But even though I didn’t know how bad things really were, I still had a lot to think about before I said yes. I had to consider the implications for Pixar, for my family, for my reputation. I decided that I didn’t really care, because this is what I want to do. If I try my best and fail, well, I’ve tried my best.

—CNNMoney/Fortune, November 9, 1998

Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs. You are the best.

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Things I Bought That I Love: Zingerman’s Reuben Sandwich Kit

October 5, 2011

This spring I shot a movie called Five Year Engagement that Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller (@nicholasstoller) wrote, and Nick directed. I shot all my scenes in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which I had never been to but had heard was a gorgeous and fun college town. I also got a feel for it when I watched a documentary on the Fab Five, a highly interesting college basketball phenomenon from the 90′s.

The movie- which I think Nick is editing now- is really funny. I’m scared of getting in trouble by giving anything away, but I have most of my scenes with Jason, Emily Blunt, Kevin Hart, Rhys Ifans and Randall Park, and it’s like a United Nations of fun and talented comedy actors. You guys are going to love this movie.

Because of filming, I did not have a lot of time to shop in Michigan. What I did get to do is eat my weight in delicious Jewish deli food at Zingerman’s Deli, a super famous deli in Ann Arbor that, like Oprah talks about sometimes. Their reubens are so good, I became that tedious person talking to my family about them in detail on the phone. But then I found I could actually share the Zingerman’s reuben experience by sending care packages of their food from their very fun and easy-to-use website. That’s where I stumbled upon their Reuben Sandwich Kit, which they can send to anywhere in the country.

Good for: If you are doing long distance with someone who misses having meals with you, and eats meat, I think you could not do better than to send this to them at work. You become the coolest girlfriend or boyfriend ever, and delicious regional sandwiches get to be enjoyed nationwide.

Photo Credit: Hohyung Lee

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Things I’ve Bought That I Love: Dogeared Lotus Bracelet

October 4, 2011

One of the least expected and most charming trends that started in mid-2009 was the advent of the ratty little rope bracelet as a fashion forward accessory. Alyssa Norton did the designer, It-Girl swanky version:

These are gorgeous. But for those of us who couldn’t in good conscience spend a ton of money on a piece of jewelry that literally frays, I looked in earnest for a cheaper version. The problem with rope bracelets is that because I never take them off when I shower, they started to smell like a combination of mildew and my wrist, which I guess doesn’t always smell so hot. I then found and bought, for under $60, a rope bracelet with charms on it that I never take off but somehow doesn’t smell weird, by the designer Dogeared.

It has bling but doesn’t appear to be trying hard, which is the fashion faux pas I commit most frequently. Rope bracelets look best layered over other bracelets, so here are some cute ideas.

Links of London friendship bracelet:

Ettika Multi-colored rope and rhinestone bracelet:

Good for: If you want to look laid back but rich, like say, Matthew McConaughey’s girlfriend or something.

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Things I’ve Bought That I Love: The Winter Short

October 2, 2011

A minor sad irony in my life is that I love clothing, but I can’t put together an outfit for shit. It’s awful. Trying to layer is my idea of a nightmare. You know those restaurants where you walk in and they give you a notecard and a pencil with a million ingredients, and make your responsible for coming up with your burger or stir fry or noodle soup? I hate that so much, and that’s layering to me. I’m bad with components! Just give me the final product!

I have accumulated cool clothes over the years, but always panic when I look at them and end up wearing some version of this:

Thats why I love jumpsuits- I am left to do nothing except put on some underwear, a bra, a pair of earrings and I’m ready to roll. It’s too bad jumpsuits are made primarily for 1970′s disco enthusiasts and Ghostbusters.

So yeah, I need help. I’m a sucker for websites that have lookbooks and you can buy a whole outfit. Usually the whole outfit is too expensive, so I use the lookbooks to approximate my own look with the clothes in my closet. But for the first time ever, I went to a site and bought an entire outfit they suggested.

My friend Zooey is the master and commander of the winter short. This girl can layer. You know that girl who wears patterned tights, cool high waisted shorts, a blouse tucked in, minimal jewelry and flats that are actually flattering on the leg? That’s Zooey. Check her out in 500 Days Of Summer. Mega hot.

I love wearing shorts. To me, they are the ultimate way to look carefee, unpretentious, and youthful. Unfortunately, I cannot get away with wearing shorts that have an inseam shorter than 4 inches. I have some upper thigh chub rub going on that no one wants to see except some very specific fetishists. Shorts these days are very deceptive. They always seemed like there was a lot of material there, because shorts lately are styled so high-waisted they come up to bra level. But they’re still crazy short.

That’s why these Anthropologie shorts are great. They’re sexy but a modest length. I also love this lace-y blouse. Good for under blazers or over a pair of skinny jeans and boots.

Good for: girls and women who want to partake in the shorts trend but also want not to have annoying wedgies all day.

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Things I’ve Bought That I Love: Simplehuman 30L Retro Step Can

September 29, 2011

On the Venn diagram of things that Kelly Kapoor likes, and things that I like, pink is pretty much the biggest overlap.

When I was in my 20′s I thought, okay fine, I’m pushing it, but pink is still technically age-appropriate. Then when I turned 30 I thought: “Oh shit, I love pink so much still. I have to trade this out with tartan plaid or something”. That never happened. So now I’m just this 32 year old woman hoping that Michelle Obama will make pink their signature color or something will make it acceptable for me to like this color normally associated with Hello Kitty.

A pink garbage can, you say? Let me just say something. It’s not bubble gum pink or baby pink. It’s more of a berrypink, which exonerates me. The reason I bought this pink Simplehuman garbage can was that pops of color work well in my old Spanish house.

I learned this in 2007 when I bought my friend and fellow Office writer Michael Schur’s house and I bought these cherry red LG washer and dryers. They were kind of pricey (especially since it was during the Writers Strike and I wasn’t working) but it has become the thing I most like looking at in my house, besides that parrot colony that sometimes lands on the tree in front of my house.

I also think that the garbage can and the washer dryer look like you could eat them, like those iMacs used to look like in 1997.

For: people who might buy their furniture from Pinkberry if that was possible, teenage girls, people who are young in spirit (okay pushing it).
$140 from Gilt.com

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Welcome!

September 29, 2011

About four years ago, I started a blog called “Things I’ve Bought That I Love”. I know, I know. You’re like: Mindy, of course we know your blog. We all lived and died to your postings on that site, you don’t have to tell us. We love you. You’re an angel.

For those of you not lucky enough to have seen my old, very materialistic blog, there’s a link on this site the little ghost town where it lives now, suspended in time and space.

Things I’ve Bought That I Love was created primarily to do something during long breaks at work when our bosses, Paul Lieberstein and Greg Daniels, were editing or on set directing, and we had finished our assignments. Comedy writing is the best job in the world but there can be stretches of achingly boring downtime. Sometimes, instead of reporting back to the head writer when I was done with an assignment - only to sit idly in the writers room playing Word Mole on my Blackberry - I chose to update my blog. Because I am lucky enough to have a little disposable income, I would write about some of my purchases and pack them with anecdotes from work or life so that my mom could read it an have fun learning about my life. I even got some of my funny friends, like Danny Chun and Steve Hely- who I never got to see enough- to post very occasionally. Now Danny and Steve both work at the Office, so I get to see them a lot. Too much, even. Eventually, I got more and more responsibility on the show, and that precious downtime was less and less, so I couldn’t keep up with the postings, and I had to let the blog go.

A few months ago I thought about starting up the blog again, but I saw that someone had purchased “thingsiboughtthatilove.com”. I thought “Oh well, it’s not meant to be.” But now that I have my first book coming out and some writings in various magazines and, frankly, some hot photos of myself I want the internet to see, I thought: let me get my web presence back! Also, 140 characters is too small of a space to discuss the things I want to discuss.

So, stay tuned for some Things I’ve Bought That I Love posts, and hopefully some other stuff too. Visit Mon Amie for links to my loved ones and friends, and check out some photos of me in my Showroom. To reward you for reading this far, I’m going to share a photo of you that my Dad sent me when I was writing my book and wanted some kid photos. Enjoy (if that’s the right word).

Love, Mindy

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