Socks for Japan
care packets of new socks to send to the survivors in temporary shelters
As you all probably are aware, on Friday, March 11, Japan suffered a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast, that brought an enormous tsunami (tidal wave) that washed inland, destroying entire towns and the northeastern coastal areas. This earthquake was an event that happens only once every 1,000 years, and was so strong it shifted the main island of Japan by 2.4 meters and tilted the Earth’s axis by 25 cm so that the days are now incrementally shorter. (!!)
The official death toll in Japan is currently in the thousands, though it is estimated that more than 10,000 people were killed, and many more are currently still at risk with no power, water, or food. More than 430,000 people are currently in temporary shelters, and 25,000+ are still stranded due to high water and debris. Roads, hospitals, and schools were destroyed, as well as an entire airport. Currently in some shelters, there is no power, no heat, and the people there are rationed to one riceball per day.
Yahoo slideshow of the disaster and devastation
The stunning NY Times before-and-after satellite photos of the devastated towns
Since Friday we have been watching the television (actually 3 different internet feeds, simultaneously) with growing horror as in my husband’s home country there is now also the possibility of meltdowns in three or more of Japan’s nuclear reactors, stores and supermarkets are bare of food and provisions, lines for gasoline are four and five hours long, and bodies are washing ashore by the thousands. Though none of the family or friends we know personally were in the areas directly affected by the tsunami and they are all safe, many are experiencing blackouts, no trains running, little food availability, and structural damage to their homes.
There are hundreds of thousands more people who were far less fortunate.
Feeling paralyzed and helpless by a disaster of this magnitude, we wanted to do something to ease the suffering.
~~~To Donate Money~~~
Paypal.com allows you to make an immediate donation of $25, waiving any transaction fees for donations to such organizations as Save the Children, the American Red Cross, Global Giving, and Hands On Network. Alternatively, you can click on the organizations linked above to go directly to their respective websites and dinate there.
Mercy Corps is also another excellent organization that works for disaster relief and is accepting financial donations.
Edit 3/15: Also, you can text your donation from your phone, and text fees will be waived for post-paid Sprint customers:
• Texting REDCROSS to “90999” to donate $10 on behalf of the American Red Cross;
• Texting TSUNAMI to “50555” to donate $10 on behalf of Convoy of Hope;
• Texting WAVE to “50555” to donate $10 on behalf of the World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals; and
• Texting JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to donate $10 on behalf of The Salvation Army.
The same goes for Verizon Wireless customers texting the above numbers, as well as to the following, to make a $10 donation:
• ADRA Relief, by texting SUPPORT to 85944;
• American Red Cross Relief, by texting REDCROSS to 90999;
• GlobalGiving, by texting JAPAN to 50555;
• International Medical Corps, by texting MED to 80888;
• Mercy Corps, by texting MERCY to 25383;
• Save the Children Federation, by texting JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222; and
• World Vision, by texting 4JAPAN or 4TSUNAMI to 20222.
T-Mobile also is not charging texting fees to these charities.
~~~To Donate Something Personal~~~
Socks for Japan is a newly-formed organization based in the city of Sano, which is close enough to the devastation that they can physically go to the distressed areas, but far enough away that the post is still arriving. They are asking for new, clean socks – one pair, or more if you can – grouped into envelopes by size and type for quick distribution. You can also enclose a care letter if you like, and they will translate the letters into Japanese, and hand the packet personally to the people currently housed in the temporary shelters. Socks are also in desperate need during times of crises, the sizes are universal, they are small and light and easy to ship, and can be treasured afterwards by survivors as a sign that someone faraway cared. Please click on the link above to find out more about it. (I’ve added the banner to the top of my site as well.)
I’ve already donated some money to Save the Children and the Red Cross, and I am now putting together 38 packets of new socks and care letters to send to Socks for Japan. They are asking for new socks only at this time.
Please, if you can, spare some money (even just $25!) for a donation, and if you’d like to do something more, please find some nice socks to send to someone who has lost everything in the world.
If you can’t donate money or items, please spread the word so that the people in desperate need can receive assistance.
Now is certainly the time to remember how lucky we all are, and, if possible, do a little more for people desperately in need.
****Please share this post with as many people as you can to spread the word!*****
We hope none of you have had friends or relatives affected by these events. Hold your loved ones close and stay safe!
I will resume fashion/DIY posting tomorrow.
xoxox
Carly
I’ve been hemming and hawing about DIY’ing these lovely ruffled Christian Louboutins for awhile. It would be so simple to curl and fold up a piece of leather, creating those frills, and stitch the bottom onto a “pad” that you could tie on or clip on to the front of your sandals..
Well, now there’s no need to since Newport-News has come out with their version. Besides the fact that the NNI version is faux leather and they do not have a top strap, the frilly part certainly looks a lot cheaper than the original since (likely in order to save on production costs) they’ve used a double-layer of vinyl simply glued together.
Double Cross Itty Bitty Single Earring, Sideways Cross Connection Choker, Large Cross Pendant, 
I’ve been coveting a long, sheer maxi-skirt ever since I saw the 
I love how it shows sheer while walking!
If I can source any more of these large matte silver crosses (these are so popular for my rings that as soon as I stock them in the store they usually sell out), I’ll make some more long ball-chain necklaces like the one I’m wearing if people like it. All of these coming soon! And I felt like tacking on my pink ombre fur tail (still 
Completely on the non-affordable end of the accessories specturm would be this Marni bag. I own 4 luxury, high-end bags: a Louis Vuitton rainbow monogram pochette, an Etro wallet, a See by Chloe duffel bag, and now this Marni…all of them gifts, given to me by either my mother-in-law, my grandmother-in-law, or a family friend of theirs. I was so surprised when my mother-in-law went shopping at Nordstrom’s while she was visiting last month – and came back with TWO Marni bags, exactly alike, one in tan (for herself), and one a Valentine’s Day gift for me. She had seen how I was prepping my son’s Valentine’s cards and candy to take to his class at school, and how I had made a cheesecake for my husband and given him a box of designer chocolates, so she misconstrued that Valentine’s Day in the U.S. was some HUGE holiday where gifts MUST be given, and felt bad she didn’t have a gift for me…so she bought one. I was beyond words. It was so incredibly generous of her…a little comical, I suppose, but I didn’t want to rudely correct her and say the Valentine’s Day was not exactly the major gift-giving holiday (well, between in-laws) that she thought it was…I felt so bad that she had felt compelled to spend that much money on me. (Or maybe she just wanted us both to match…?) We all know that I would NEVER spend that much money on a luxury item no matter what…since I’m all about emulating the look and saving the cash!! Right??! Thus when someone gifts me something like this it’s hard for me to accept it as-is, especially when I think of how that money could have gone to better use for my in-laws over a longer period of time, rather than being blown in one chunk on a high-priced impulse purchase (or even bought for half the amount spent by shopping on 
A cheapskate to the bitter end – even in the face of Marni!!;-)
img 
Thick-Framed Glasses, 
I finally made it out to Portland’s H&M (what can I say – I never hang around downtown much) – and this orangey-red bag was calling my name.
I thought it was a lot like this lipstick I found at Sephora – I was looking for a bright red with orange undertones…and 
Just call me Baby G.
Then I got a little crazy with Photoshop. Man, my bonsai needs trimming! (Which is certainly NOT a euphemism in any way.)
Bwahahaha! I do love me my Photoshop, too.
I hope everyone’s having a great week!
