sAy AnYtHiNg

How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?

You give it a free cookie. 

As some of you may recall, back in January my beloved Target broke my heart by making the decision to discontinue giving kids of shopping moms a free cookie from the bakery.  Guess what...apparently I was not the only mother scorned, for lo and behold the free cookie is back!  And all is right with the world again.

 

I Bought a Shirt

 

So, I decided to see what all the hype is about and went to Steve & Barry's.  I will say that I was both impressed and underwhelmed all at the same time.  Impressed because their prices really are that low and because the quality seems generally pretty darn good.  Underwhelmed because even though the store is HUGE the selection for women and kids was something much less than huge.  I did manage to find a cute t-shirt though.  It is black with a gold crown on the front, which, of course, is perfect for a wanna be Diva like me.  Also, it is part of the Venus Williams line "exclusively at Steve & Barry's" which makes it an ever so timely purchase, as Wimbledon is going on as we speak.

Here is the part that made me laugh.  There was a tag on the side seam inside the shirt that was driving me crazy.  It had to be removed.  I did, however, read it before I removed it...seeing as how it was the care and handling instructions.  They were as follows:  Hand wash is cold water, tumble dry on low with like colors if necessary.  Hand wash?  They can't be serious.  The beauty of Steve & Barry's is the low prices...you can get an entire outfit for $20.00, but it needs to be hand washed?  I don't hand wash anything, and you can rest assured I will not be starting with my $8.98 princess t-shirt!

Did You?

Did you go shopping today?  "Black Friday" the biggest shopping day of the the year?  This was the first year that I truly experienced the experience.  I went shopping last year, but at like 10:00am and to like one store.  I got what I wanted and went home, but I was far from finished with my Christmas shopping.  This year, I decided I would go with my friends at 5am and try and knock out all my shopping in one day.

What an adventure.  My friend picked me up at 4:45am.  It was 18 degrees outside.  We drove to the end of our street and had to WAIT to turn on to the main road.  There was traffic at 4:45am AND someone proceeded to tailgate us for the majority of our ride to our first stop, Toys "R" Us.  We passed the mall on our way.  The parking lot looked like it was the middle of the afternoon, that is how crowded it was.  At Toys "R" Us we there were absolutely no parking spots and the line wrapped about 2/3 of the way around the building.  I was floored.  I mean I've heard stories, but to witness it first hand is really quite something.  Astonishingly, when we made it into the store they still had carts available, and we were off.  Unfortunately, the specific thing we went there for ( something my friend wanted) was gone by the time we got inside.  Oh well, we soldiered on and bought a few things.  Then it was on to Target, Wal-Mart, Kohl's, and finally  breakfast.

An FYI, Target and Wal-Mart have the "Black Friday" thing figured out.  Target was even giving little gifts to everyone as they walked in.  Toys "R" Us and Kohl's not so much.  They should take a lesson from the other two for next year.

All in all I would say it was worth it.  I am not completely finished shopping, but I would say that I am about 90% there, and I got some great deals.  Also, the adventure with my girls was a blast!

So, did you shop today?  Did you get your shopping done?  and How early did you start?

The Elusive One

I love jeans,  and now that it is feeling a little bit like fall around here.  You know, the days are getting shorter, the buzz of the late summer bugs is getting louder and louder, and the kids start school in two days.  Which, of course ,means I am starting to feel the tug on my heartstrings for my beloved jeans. 

However, I am then engulfed in sadness as I remember that I don't have any jeans in my closet that love me back;  In other words, I don't like the way any of them fit. 

This has not always been the case.  I have, once upon a time, come across the Holy Grail for women, the perfect pair of jeans.  There came a time though, when I had to break up with them.  They had developed a hole, and it was not a funky stylish hole in the knee or thigh, it was one that made them slightly obscene to wear.  So, they had to go.  Thus, my search for the next perfect pair began, and still continues today.  I have since had a string of unrequited love affairs with several pairs, but alas they just weren't the "one".  The main issue is that, on our first date they seem perfect (as in they seem to fit in the store), but then the second I decide to let them move in with me, they change.  Suddenly the waist band is lower than I remember, or I wear them for five minutes and they have stretched enough so that the crotch is now somewhere near my knee cap.  In either case the one thing I will not abide in my relationship with denim happens...Plumber's Butt.  So my heart is broken again and they too must go.  What is a girl to do?

I still have hope and as I start my search again, I send this little prayer to the Goddess of Denim -- Please let the next pair I find be "The One" and then I promise I will never ask you for another thing ever again. Amen. 

Confessions of a Non Shop-aholic...

Have I mentioned that I really dislike shopping.  I would use the word hate, but I don't allow that word in our house, so I figure I should try to stick to my own rules.  I don't mind shopping for other people, especially my daughter.  No disrespect to my son, I like to shop for him too, but there are just so many more options for girls.  In fact, he can often be heard saying, "Mom, step away from the Girl's section."  I just don't like to do it for myself.  This probably seems odd seeing as how I am a design and merchandising, and please don't get me wrong, I LOVE to have new stuff especially shoes, I just don't particularly like the shopping part.  This has not always been the case, I used to love shopping with my mom, having lunch, and stopping at the Coffee Beanery for an afternoon treat.  In fact, if we ever get the time to do this, I still enjoy the experience, but somehow over the years it became less of a voluntary past-time and more of an evil necessity that quickly leads to mass frustration.  I think it was probably inevitable as I come from a long line of shopping dislikers (grandma, mom -- except in the aforementioned scenario).  This particular affliction posed a problem recently.  As I mentioned in my last post, my 20 year high school reunion is TOMORROW, so I, of course, needed something fabulous to wear for the evening.  I just had NO desire to actually shop for it.

On a Sunday afternoon about 2 weeks ago something amazing happened.  My husband and I were out running a few errands, without the kids, so we decided to glance around at a few stores.  The first 2 were total bombs, nothing to even try on.  My stress was beginning to mount, but we figured we should give the last shop a try just to exhaust all possibilities for the day.  What do you know?...there seem to be some things to try on.  So, we start a fitting room and continue looking with the help of Tammy (who will soon be known as Saint Tammy, by me anyway).  Tammy showed me a top and skirt that had just come in and suggested I try it on, so we added it to the pile.  Now came the moment of truth, actually having to try stuff on.  Absolutely my least favorite part of shopping, I usually start to sweat and get close to hyperventilating.  I decide to try on Tammy's suggestion first.  It was new, it was cute, and most importantly it was on top of the pile.  Hey, I think I like this.  I walk out of the dressing room to show my husband. He loves it (and he actually enjoys shopping so I know he wasn't just saying it to hurry me along, trust me I always tire of shopping before he does), Tammy also is very complimentary.  The more I look at it the more I like it.  They also have fabulous shoes that match and great earrings and a bracelet.  Can this really be happening?  An entire outfit at one place that I like, and here is the really amazing part, it is the first thing I tried on.  I bought it.  Never in my life have I had a shopping miracle like this.  Thank you Saint Tammy!

As you read this I will be on my way with my, first try, outfit.  Keep your fingers crossed that the Fashion Goddess continues to smile on me and that someone else isn't going to my reunion in the same ensemble.  Also, let's hope that the "Goddess of Good Hair Days" is on board too!