Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?
12. I revel in birthdayness.

Soup
What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?
The only word I really dislike – and I’m not going to apologize for putting it in my blog, but I am going to asterisk it out in order to keep everyone’s filters from freaking is “c*nt.” I don’t like it because it has negative connotations, because it is used more often to degrade, humiliate or insult, than anything else, and because it’s short and clipped and not warm and welcoming. I especially don’t like it when women use it to refer to other women.

Salad
Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?
I do in the car, shopping, going out, and at the beach. I don’t when walking the dogs. Not sure why. The pair of the moment is a cheap pair of silver wire frames…my favorite pair ever were Anne Klein’s that were sort of round, and black, and very chic. My most recent expensive pair was a set of Maui Jim’s I bought the day after my LASIK was done. They fell apart about six months ago, and weren’t in warranty any more, nor fixable anyway, and I haven’t been able to justify blowing $200 on sunglasses since then. I still have a special fondness for classic Ray-Bans, however.

Main Course
If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?
I am writing a book. Picking the dedication is premature. There are a whole group of people who will be receiving pages sometime in the next six weeks – it will be dedicated to them, probably, and to Fuzzy, and to the baristas at my local Starbucks.

Dessert
Name a beverage that you enjoy.
Well, I’ve just learned that a root beer float made with a can of Barqs and Breyers coffee ice cream (one scoop) has only 290 calories and 7 grams of fat, so I’m kind of in love with that just now. Otherwise, I’m a froufrou coffee drink kind of person. My standard is a venti nonfat almond latte these days, but those dulce de leche lattes are to die for, and when I’m feeling icky soy no-water chais are just magic.

As you know, some of my favorite hobbies are reading, cafe hopping, and recreational shopping, though I’m not at all opposed to sipping froufrou drinks or seeing fantastic shows, either. You may not know that I was also a fan of “Sex and the City,” but I was, and that’s why I was intrigued when I learned about Grapevine.

More than just a shopping site, Grapevine uses the Grapevine Girls, characters in webisodes – web episodes – featuring product reviews, nights on the town, etc. As we follow their adventures, we can interact – checking out prices of their accessories, reading about where they go, etc.

Grapevine is based in Chicago, but webisodes can take place anywhere and the choice of products and services they recommend and link to certainly isn’t limited to the windy city. Personally, I think it’s a great way to involve people in shopping – blurring the lines of entertainment and advertising and making it fun in the process.

Check it out!