Remember the polka-dot skinnies I made with Anne a while ago? When we went to Wally World to find cheap black jeans I could paint all over without fear or regret, we also found a display full of L.E.I. knit pants in an assortment of really great colors for — ready for it? — $13.00 a pair. They call them “jeans,” but there’s really nothing jean-like about them; they’re more of a thin stretch twill that fit like a jegging. I worried a little that the color would wash out in the first spin cycle, but they’re impressively colorfast! And super comfy. I wear them more than I ever expected I would, so my cost-per-wear is probably somewhere around a buck by now and these babies still have a lot of mileage left. Thirteen bucks well spent.

Does anyone else remember rocking L.E.I.’s through middle school? Is it weird that I felt a little nostalgic standing under the bad super-center-florescent-lighting, holding up a pair and remembering all the ways I wore my super flares back in the day? Which my mom paid way more than $13 for, as I recall. I imagine this is how kids of the 80’s felt when Walmart started selling O.P.

Sidebar: A special thanks to all you little magic healers for your great home-remedy advice on recuperating from a cold last Monday! I walked through the grocery store on Tuesday with my phone in one hand and a tissue in the other, reading through your suggestions and tossing nearly every one of them into my basket. I’m happy to report that with your help, I’m on the mend and almost back to 100%. My immune system — and my husband and staff who had deal with me through aches and pains and fever-induced mood swings — thank you!