Birthday drinks for my friend, Liz tonight at The Back Fence.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to a real (aka. non-hipster) dive bar.  Should be fun.

The Back Fence
155 Bleecker St #A
New York, NY 10012-1438

Have a great weekend!

Ah, January… the time of year that just kind of sits between the festive holiday season, and our yearning for springtime.  It feels like every year next season’s merchandise is launched earlier and earlier, when in fact, it’s probably the same every year and my perception of time has changed.  Whatever…

I used to look forward to J.Crew’s new seasonal releases.  These days, however I find them to be less exciting; more predictable.  Today they launched what I guess is early Spring.  There are a few interesting pieces.  They’ve updated the font on the website, changed the backdrop from grey or beige to bright white…  The offerings, however are pretty much the same.  When clicking on the men’s page you’re immediately shown what they have been pushing for the last few years, The Ludlow Suit.  I own two of these, plus another sport jacket.  I like the Ludlow Suit.  But really, J.Crew?  Is that all you got?  Being the crabby fella I am, I hereby present to you with some additional highlights – some I like, others at which I just had to roll my eyes…

 Secret Wash lightweight shirt in banker stripe $64.50

One can never have too many casual striped shirts.  Or can he?  With the plaid overload of the last few seasons, I am happy to say my interest has returned to the simple stripe.  This one is available in slim fit in their lightweight washed cotton, and would be a nice replacement for the larger, baggier shirts I will (hopefully) need to be replacing this spring.

 Cotton V-Neck Sweater $62.50

Again, another staple that would be a fine addition to any simple wardrobe.  And let’s face it, folks I keep my wardrobe pretty simple.  They usually have this style available at their outlet stores too, so if the price feels a little steep for something like this, you have other options.

 Stripe twill sportcoat in Ludlow fit $168

I bought this style a couple of years ago.  It’s nothing new.  Perhaps they have updated the fit a bit, but I doubt it.  The price, for a cotton sport jacket is not bad.  The sizing, however is lousy.  Why can’t they size their cotton sport jackets by number like they do everything else?  S, M, L just doesn’t cut it for some of us.

Linen herringbone sportcoat in Ludlow fit $325

Yes, this one is back too.  And this may just be the year that I take the plunge on this jacket.  It’s properly sized, and in the khaki/black color it would be very versatile with my existing pants – black, grey, & khaki, plus blue, & white jeans.  I may wait for it to go on sale.  I may treat myself at the end of this quarter.  We’ll see.

 Lee® for J.Crew 101 B regular straight selvedge jean in rinse wash $220

Looks like Lee has jumped on this bandwagon too.  I rolled my eyes, but who can blame them?  If Frank & Mickey say they’re cool, then they’re cool.  And they will sell.  Personally, I’ll stick with my trusty Levis 501′s purchased from the Levis outlet stores for a fraction of the cost of these jeans.  Are my jeans selvedge?  No.  But then, I just don’t care.

 Alden® for J.Crew limited-edition suede shortwing bluchers $525

Now, I’m a sucker for well made, handsome shoes.  In trying to figure out my spring/summer shoe plan I purchased a pair of drivers from Allen Edmonds that once in my possession didn’t look good at all.  Sure, they were on sale but was it worth it?  Not so much.  I don’t wear drivers.  I like heavier shoes.  The J.Crew-Alden partnership has been one of their most successful, and this is a handsome pair of shoes that would look perfect with a pair of white jeans, or navy chinos.  Of course, I could get a similar pair from Bass, so we’ll see.

Alden® for J.Crew limited-edition leisure hand-sewn moccasins $495

Another handsome pair of Aldens.  Seriously, I wish I had a lot more disposable income.  But I don’t…

Alden® travel shoe care kit $130

It comes with black, and cordovan polish, a brush, and a rag.  Eyes rolling…

Flyweight denim dotted leaves tie $69.50

I don’t wear ties very often, but this one is a nice update from last year’s version.  Perhaps I’ll buy it when it goes on sale.

Tipped dress socks $16.50

Finally we get to my favorite – socks.  I’ve gone from procuring various pair with patters of all types, to enjoying simple, ribbed, solid socks that strike a bit of a contrast to whatever pants I am wearing that day.  I will be buying a few of these.

Nice, but uninspiring.  I’m sure I’ll pick up a few new things for spring, but I need to go through my closet yet again and get rid of stuff.  Kristina and I have three big bags waiting to go to Salvation Army.  I’m sure more will follow…

To view more of teh early Spring Arrivals, go to jcrewmens.com.

I’ve gone and done something dramatic this week.  I signed up for Weight Watchers for Men.  I guess I was inspired by Charles Barkley and his Man Food commercial (below).  The benefit of using this system over say just winging it on my own is that since I enter everything I eat, and it’s based on a point scale, I really exercise portion control.  I only started last Saturday, so I can’t say whether or not I love this program yet, but so far it’s not so bad.  Four of the beers I enjoy drinking most are only 1 - 3 points each, and based on my 40 points per day allotment, I can enjoy a couple beers on a night out.

I’m still working with a trainer once a month, though I think that after my six month program ends, I will go back to doing it on my own.  The sessions we have are great, but the exercises don’t translate well for me to do on a weekly basis; especially when I am traveling.  Most hotel gyms are marginal at best, and I am barely able to get in 20 minutes before becoming frustrated.

I am happy by my progress thus far.  190.9 was a surprise for me this morning.  I was figuring I’d be at 192.  This is good.  I plan to continue to make changes as needed so I can continue to lose and keep it off.  I need to be much closer to 180 by February 21st when I leave for a sales conference in Fort Lauderdale.  The following week we go to Las Vegas for Global Shop, and I need to be comfortable in my suits.  Right now I’m still struggling with the fit, but shedding another 6+ pounds should help.  I think I can do it.  No, I know I can.

I’m writing this post from a hotel room in Boston, MA, but by the time it publishes at 4PM on Friday, I’ll be on my way home – cold, tired, and in need of my wife, my couch, and some feel-good movie watching.  Moneyball arrived from Netflix the day before I left for this trip, so I have that to look forward to.  Add some Thai food, a glass of scotch, and the company of my wife and cats, and we’ve got the making of a rather pleasant evening at home.  But before any of that happens I have to get up Friday morning, drive 2 hours north for a meeting, then make my way home.  So, darling if you read this I will be tired, I will be cranky, and I will want red curry with chicken over pad thai noodles.  Oh, and some of those pork dumplings…

One of the problems I face in trying to lose weight is I love food.  I used to write a food blog.  I currently (sort of) run a restaurant photo blog, Cut + Basted.  I love food.  But you know what?  It’s just food.  Still, I’m not one of those people who can live on two shakes plus some nibbles and a healthy dinner every day.  It doesn’t work for me.  I don’t feel satisfied.  And once you finish those types of diets, you gain the weight back because it didn’t make any sense.  On the same token, I also can’t do what I’ve been doing.  Sure, I’ve eaten fairly well for most of the week.  Then on Friday I say I can have a few drinks because I earned it.  But then I have another one on Saturday.  And then we get a day like last Sunday where I go to watch the Giants game and indulge in a few chicken wings, and two beers, then go have a dinner of amazing salty roasted pork goodness, another couple of beers, and pudding for dessert.  And that, my friends is why I only lost .1 pounds this week.  I should be losing 1-2 pounds a week.  But this is good.  It forces me to take notes, and create limits for myself.  DON’T drink four beers and eat chicken wings on a Sunday.  DO get in that exercise 5 days per week.  DON’T have that extra drink because I think I earned it.  DO reduce portion size.

This week, I am traveling.  I have dinners planned with friends tomorrow night and Thursday night.  I’ll eat what I want, but only half of what they put on the plate.  Or if I don’t want to limit myself like that, I just need to remember to eat slowly, and when I feel like I’ve had enough, I stop.  And I won’t drink.  No matter where I go to eat.  They serve club soda in bars too.

Hopefully, next week I’ll post again and it will be something like 192.  Then 190.  And so on…  Because, this just isn’t working…yet.

For some reason, neither of us slept very well this week so the plan for tonight is dinner and Netflix.  I bought some stuff to make a nice dinner, and I think I want to watch Dazed & Confused.

Have a great weekend!