Monday, November 28, 2011

I Love a Good Sale!

I have a bit of a shopping problem. I shop. A lot. BUT, I pride myself in being a bargain shopper. That being said, I love a good sale! However, I did NOT venture out at midnight on Thanksgiving to partake in Black Friday madness. No way! Instead, I sat in the comfort of my home the day before Thanksgiving and today, Cyber Monday, to do some sale shopping.



I somehow managed to buy a couple of things for myself while buying Christmas gifts. A little bit of "one for you, one for me"! Is that wrong? I mean, it (er, they) were on sale!  I did get some great bargains for the Christmas gifts I bought. Old Navy and the Gap had sale prices on Wednesday, with an additional 15% off and free shipping over $50. Granted to get over the $50 I did have to add a little something for myself. I was already buying four gifts for a little over $40 so I had to bump it up to $50 for that free shipping. I actually love free shipping more than a sale price. Combine them and I'm over the moon.

Anyway, I bought a couple of gifts for my husband online today using a coupon and free shipping (now if I could just get rid of the darn sales tax . . . ). And, I, um, bought myself something too. It was 30% off! I couldn't NOT buy it. Right? I mean, if I told my husband to buy it for me for Christmas, he wouldn't buy it today and he'd pay full price. I'm saving us money!

(Sometimes, I actually think I could be a shut-in. Just give me access to the internet, TV and grocery delivery [for the record, I haven't tried this . . . yet] and I'd be all set.)

I think the gifts I bought will bring smiles to the recipients' faces. I do actually put a lot of thought into my shopping and gift giving. In fact, I think I wouldn't have actually found a couple of these gifts if it weren't for the internet.

I still have a few small things to get, like stocking stuffers for my husband and parents. But the bulk of my shopping is done. And it's not even December! Woo hoo. Aside from the gifts for my husband - and myself - the majority of the gifts have to be shipped to friends in other states. So, now I just have to wait for all my packages to arrive, wrap them up and then go wait in line at the post office!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Another Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

I've just got home after spending nine days in Arizona. I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head to jot down, but right now, after paying bills and catching up on mail and email and Internet trolling, I'm too foggy to to put down any individual thoughts. So, it's time to borrow from http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/ for another Fill-in-the-Blank Friday. Here goes:


1.   A nervous habit I have is  picking my left thumbnail. I don't bite it, but I will tussle with its ridges which always leads to it breaking. I do put it between my teeth, which is weird, I know. I don't bite it, just sort of push on it. That also leads to it breaking. Poor nail, there is not much hope for it. Unless I splurge for a manicure, then I'll leave it alone. Until the nail polish starts to chip. Then, it's history.

2.   Something that makes me sad is the puppies I saw in the mall in a store in AZ. So freakin' cute, but it's really sad to see them cooped up in their glass-fronted cages. It looks like it smells inside those little boxes. Most of the puppies were asleep, and while I know pups sleep a lot in general, I just couldn't help thinking that maybe they were drugged. I hope the store owners truly care about and care for the dogs, but it's just so sad. 

3.  Today I am thankful for my husband's patience and ability to put up with my moods; money in our bank accounts; just the thought about sleeping in on Sunday!

4. My favorite room in my house is, based on color alone, the powder room! It's only a toilet and a sink, but the color is the color of Sedona (I was just there on Tuesday, so I can really attest to the likeness!). We had a guest bathroom in our FL house that was the same color. It's this great terra cotta orange. Now that I think of it, I think our guest bath in MA was this color too! We call it the Arizona bathroom, for the color and because we have pictures of a cactus and the red rocks of Sedona on white shelves in there. Corny, I know. But for comfort, my favorite room is our den/great room. We have a huge sectional couch in there; the fireplace is in there; and we have to softest, coziest throw on that big ole couch that we bought last year at Pottery Barn. I snuggle under it every night. Even in the summer, when the a/c is cranking away. Check it out at: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/faux-sheepskin-throw/?pkey=cdecorative-throws

5.  I can't stand a lot of things! But, I can't focus on one particular thing right now. In an effort to be positive, I'm just going to let this go! Big step for me!

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would treat myself to some new sweaters. It's getting cold now (well, it's in the 50s and 60s, and to me, that's cold!), so I'm wanting to stock up on warm and comfy clothes. And, since I had a birthday last week, and since my parents and my in-laws were generous with cash gifts (the all live in MA, so I really don't mind getting a birthday check - no sense in them buying and shipping a gift), I technically do have $100 to spend on myself. But, then again, I did splurge on a pair of Tory Burch flats while I was in AZ. So, that $100 really should go into the checking account. It should. But, we'll see . . . 

Here are my cute new flats:


7.  The last person I hung out with was my husband Jim. This is par for the course. We laugh at ourselves about how much time we spend together. We are a bit inseparable! Comes with having moved to CA and not knowing anyone when we got here. Sadly, we've been here a while and still don't have regular friends to hang out with. Thankfully, we enjoy each others' company and we like doing things together. We did spend time with friends in AZ though, so other than Jim, the last person I hung out with was Megan. And Mark, her husband. And Taiya and Alexa, her amazing 6-year-old twins. Back up to number 3, I'm thankful for them too. They are kind and they make me laugh and they make me feel loved. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

Trolling the few blogs I follow, I found this neat, little Fill-in-the-Blank questionnaire thingy. First, to give credit where it's due, I found it at: RED locks & BOLD frames (http://katerees711.blogspot.com/). And from there I found that it originated at: the little things we do (http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/). I am amazed at how many people have posted it on their blogs. Add me to the list! Here goes:



1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is being able to wear my new boots today! My husband bought me a most extravagant and totally fun pair of Jimmy Choo motorcycle boots in July (July!!) and I am finally getting to wear them today! I have trouble with boots -- my calves are too big for my size 6.5 feet. I can NEVER get boots to zip. Never. These fun little kicks only come up to mid-calf so I am finally, FINALLY, sportin' some boots. Kick ass ones, to boot (ha, to boot!).

2.   Colder weather makes me cold! But I do love a new sweater. In fact, in honor of my upcoming birthday, I treated myself to two new sweaters at the yearly Women's sale at Nordstrom on Wednesday. I never shop at Nordstrom, but I can't resist a good sale. The sweaters were both half off! Woo hoo. Bring on the nip in the air!

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are  no re-runs (I'm pretty much addicted to TV); money in our checking account (sigh of relief when there is money left over after paying the mortgage, with room to spare for above-mentioned sales and such); the thought of getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend when we turn the clocks back for daylight savings.

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose  flip flops. I also choose to live in a climate that allows for year-round flip-flop wearing. I know I just waxed poetic about my snazzy new boots, but put a gun to my head, and I am going with flippers.

5.  My personality type is a weird mix of introverted and extroverted. I was incredibly shy when I was little -- I wouldn't talk to men (probably should have hung on to that personality quirk in my 20s), wouldn't speak out loud in class (got over that around 3rd grade and quite made up for it by 6th grade when I drove my teacher, Mr. Anderson, CRAZY). And on the flip side, I have had extreme moments of being extroverted in high school, college and in present day. But, I still revert back to the shy girl sometimes. I don't like to go to a party where I only know the host but I'll talk to anybody in Target or at the gym. Go figure.

6.  I have a serious problem resisting  a sale! I can justify the purchase of most anything if it is bargain priced! 
 
7.  My favorite color to wear is  a toss up between grey and purple (for the record, my all time favorite color is orange, but it's not the top choice of most fashion designers -- I do own some fun orange clothes, but it doesn't make a regular appearance). Purple was my favorite color as a kid. So much that I would actually NOT use the purple crayon because I wanted to make it last. Grey can be kinda dull, but I have some really cute sweaters in various shades of grey, from light, oyster grey to warm, cozy, charcoal grey.