It's Superbowl Sunday and the streets are quiet with anticipation. The TV is warmed up here, not so much for the game or to watch Prince shake his tiny ass during the halftime show (though no doubt both will be entertaining), but to watch the commercials during the breaks. The sponsors pay as much as $2.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime and some of these ads are brilliant. It makes for a good evening teamed with a cold beer and some leftover ribs. In the time remaining before the game starts, here's a few bits and pieces of things that have been on my mind today:

-I wanted to acknowledge the passing this week of the brilliant Molly Ivins. A native Californian that embraced her adopted state of Texas, she was irreverent and sharp and noted for her colorful euphemisms in her writing. A fascinating commentator and liberal, she could observe a situation with a humorous perspective, embellishing it with a turn of phrase that was usually dead on. Hers is a style I've always aspired to and she's a role model for me. I love the story about her firing from The New York Times in 1982; she wrote about a "community chicken-killing festival" and called it a "gang-pluck." Genius. She was the writer that nicknamed George W. Bush "Shrub." Taken too soon at the hands of breast cancer, celebrate this witty and articulate writer and please read one of her books. If you're not a convert yet, you will be. I leave you with a quote of hers that sums up why I appreciate her so much:

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."

Rest in peace, sister.

-I'm still thinking about Fashion Week and I had a good plow through The New York Times Style section today. Despite my scoffing at the pretension of khaki, I do like the styles they're showing for the next season. It would be lovely to have the disposable income to spend thousands of dollars on an article of designer clothing, but I am squarely a product of a middle class background. I've had to work hard and save my entire life. As much as I would love to have a Chanel bag, I can't reconcile the logic of spending $3000 for a little quilted bag on a chain, just because it comes with an embossed logo. It just seems patently wrong. I believe you can dress stylishly and elegantly while still being mindful of expense.

To that end, I have to applaud those designers who have the solid business sense to make their fashion accessible to the masses by partnering with lower end stores like Target and H&M. This is a stroke of genius. Most fashion trends only last a season---isn't it wonderful that we common folk can have a piece of one of these trends thanks to these partnerships? I saw that the design team of Proenza Schouler are debuting a line of clothing at Target this spring. They follow other reputable designers (Isaac Mizrahi, Mossimo, Liz Lange) who have designed for Target. And what they're showing is marvelous.

H&M must also be credited for their artful association with designers. They've shown collections from Viktor & Rolf, Karl Lagerfeld and a sports line in collaboration with Madonna (coinciding with her World Tour last year). H&M's real coup was their roll out of Stella McCartney's line in November 2005. The day the Herald Square store premiered her collection, the lines of people were wound around two blocks; the entire collection sold out in three hours.

My mother always said that a woman should spend top dollar on classic items--a good cashmere coat, a classic business suit, a handbag, a matched set of pearls. a perfect black dress--the things that never go out of style. But the other items: participate in the fashion trends but don't go broke doing so.

TopShop, the chic discount London clothing chain, is opening a US outpost in New York this year. I'm thrilled to have yet another outlet to explore. And there's always the annual Barney's warehouse sale in the spring.

-Finally, a poem by William Herschell:

Ain't God good to Indiana?
Folks, a feller never knows
Just how close he is to Eden
Till, sometime, he ups an' goes
Seekin' fairer, greener pastures
Than he has right here at home,
Where there's sunshine in the clover
An' honey in th' comb;
Where the ripples on th' river
Kinda chuckles as they flow--
Ain't God good to Indiana?
Ain't He, fellers? Ain't He, though?

Oh, please, I'm not even being objective here. GO COLTS!!!