Supply Run!

So I am taking a sort of break from hands on projects today.  I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to seek out some supplies for future projects.  It's one of those things where I have 90% of what I need and am missing that 1 item that's preventing me from starting it.  I was armed with a sales flyer and a stack of 50% off coupons.  Seriously, if you aren't on their mailing list (email OR paper mail) you need to take advantage of it.  One - you get to make your own sales.  Two - you can use more than one coupon at the register.  Today I used 4 of my 50% off coupons (it's coupon commotion) and combined with sales, I saved 45% off my entire bill which was a hefty chunk.  Honestly, it's the only way these projects are affordable.

So I did pick up another bag of Poly-Fill to have until the next ice age probably.  I will need some amount to finish the pillow and then I have another project lined up which should hopefully even out the bag and I won't need any more.  *fingers crossed*  I might be in an infinite loop.

I also picked up piping material ($0.59/yd) which will allow me to work on some experiments I have in mind.  Eventually I am going to reupholster the chairs in the living room (haha, I have had these for 3 years telling myself this), so might as well learn how to make piping now on the smaller stuff.

I am most excited about my colored copper wire purchase today.  I will be making a can tab purse as one of these upcoming projects.  There were numerous ways people have done these in how the fasten them to each other.  A lot of people used nylon cord or crocheted them together, but there was one post that explained how to do it with wire.  At first I thought that was obnoxious, but I realized it allows for some vibrant colors to be worked in too.  I am probably going to contribute blood to that fiasco, but hopefully it'll look cool in the end. To start, I cleaned a load of tabs and am letting them dry.

I have no idea how many I need, but I figure, might as well start with a bunch and see how far I get.  

Using Coupons at Target

In the past week I went to Target twice (imagine that) and had two completely different experiences involving the use of coupons.  Enough so I wanted to share them here.  And more so to say that in both instances I was right but each time the cashier was "wrong".  Also an important fact, my husband worked for Target for about 9 months and knows their policies.  Here is my tale.

I preface this first tale with this; I am not what I would consider an "extreme couponer", but I will push it right up to the nose of where I know the line to be.  I don't try to scam stores into taking more than what I can logically account for with items and number of coupons.  When I see a coupon for buy one get one free,  I immediately search my book to see if I have a coupon for the "buy one" part.  I had found a coupon for buy one get one free on mascara (Cover Girl if you care) and I did in fact have a coupon for $1 off Cover Girl products.  I also wanted to pick up another eye liner which I was also going to buy in a Cover Girl brand because I had another $1 off coupon for any beauty product.  So are you with me so far?  I have three Cover Girl items and three coupons.  Two mascaras (one free, and one will get the $1 off) and the eye liner (also $1 off).  I have done this quite a few times before and NEVER had a problem at the check out.  I should have known there was going to be an issue when the girl stopped to read IN DETAIL the cat food coupon I had which read off a number of combinations of canned food you could buy to save $1.  So when she got to the buy one get one coupon, it should have been no surprise that she had to call over a manager and have a discussion about what I had and why it wasn't going through.  And at this point I was like, what's the problem?  She was like, well, it looks like you are trying to use too many coupons, we only accept one per item (now I am mad because I have 3 items and 3 coupons - I am NOT stupid).  I actually bought exactly what was pictured and the manager added, well you didn't buy the item, to which point I might have had an outburst.  FYI - If you are a manager you better double check before accusing your customer of something that's not true.  It does wonders for customer service.  Also, at this point, another customer loaded their items back in their cart to find another line (I didn't blame them).  I had pulled out the items and was showing them exactly what I had bought and what coupons I was using and how.  She was not listening at all.  In the end, she "gave me the deal" but as I walked away I heard her explain to the employee, "we only accept one coupon per item" to which my head imploded.  I had to get home otherwise I would have gone back and had them explain what I was "getting away with". Sigh...

The second tale is with another cashier a few days later.  I was trying to buy a handful of items and didn't have any coupons on hand to offset the cost at all.  Mostly because they were medicine/treatment for Colin's eczema and therefore not something in the usual kit of mine.  I bought a giant tub of Aquafor (or as we call it in this house - grease) which had one of those "instant" coupons on the top of the jar, but it was for their sunblock, so I was like oh well and just set it on the belt.  The cashier rings up my stuff and notices said instant coupon and says, "Oh you have a coupon here" and I told him "Oh that's for the sunblock version of this stuff".  He proceeded to take it off anyway and said, "Well, let's try it".  What do you know, it went through.  He was pretty pleased with himself and I wasn't going to argue.  My conscious was clear since I explained why I did not intend to use that coupon.  But hey, what a nice bonus.

So do the two tales cancel each other out?  Sort of, but I really have to wonder about the training at that store.  We have had a few other incidents with a couple of cashiers just not being smart enough to know how to ring things out.  One instance I recall was trying to get the Coke Zero free because we had bought the required amount (4 cases).  The dude was so confused, he tried to give us a $5 gift card and we were like no no, the Coke should just be free.  I guess if we were smart we would have just taken the $5 card since it was worth more, but again, we aren't trying to scam people.  The real lesson learned here is that I now have a favorite cashier to go to if he is working.  :)

Money Saving Tips

One of the magazines I subscribe to did a feature article on how to save up to $5,000 a year with their money saving tips.  I am always up for saving money in places I wouldn't think to look, so I was pretty excited to see what advice they had to offer.  Upon reading the article, I realized this must be for really stupid people who are already too extravagant in their daily lives.  I was a bit annoyed since nothing they told me was really earth shattering and nothing I could really use to help save me some money.

Here's a few examples of their money saving tips:
Can't afford those cute shoes?  Try talking up the sales associate with how much you love them, but they just aren't in your budget at the moment.  See if they would be willing to tell you when they go on sale.  Note, this generally only works at high end department stores. 
Ok, here's the thing.  I don't shop for shoes at high end department stores.  Ever since I was told by a rather stupid male salesman, "we generally don't carry that size" even before going to look for them, I have just opted to shop where I can see what sizes they have available and try things on my own.  Important to note, I rarely spend more than $75 on any pair of shoes I have.  Sometimes this means taking a few trips before I find something I want, but that's ok with me.

On saving on cereal - Use coupons and watch your weekly sales flyer to combine sales with your coupons.
Really?  This is like grocery shopping 101.  They also quote a box of cereal to be about $6 which I makes me wonder where the hell they are getting their data.

On saving on land lines - Cancel call waiting and caller ID.
Who has a land line these days?

On saving on cell phones - Two ideas, one to check how much you are paying for a texting plan and then how much you are paying for a data plan.
I am not sure how other people's plans work, but our data plans include unlimited texting and we are on the lowest option for both of us (including lowest option for family plan minutes). 

On gas - Check to make sure what kind of octane your car really needs and then only use that kind.
*scratches head*  Do you really think people are putting in premium gas for the fun of it?  And to those who bought cars that require the upper end gasoline, I guess let that be a lesson to you.

On mortgages - Stop paying PMI on your mortgage.  If you have invested 20% of the value of your home already, consider cancelling this and saving a bundle.
Well that's all fine and well, but if it's anything like our loan, you have to pay PMI for 5 years regardless of the value ratio you have in your home.  And if you are a home owner and forgot about this, well then I guess that's a good thing to point out.  Although, PMI is expensive, I don't see how most people would forget the rules which make it go away.

Anywho, the 6 page article goes on like this for everything from general groceries, to savings on the home, cell phones, transportation, etc.  You might as well have told people to stop buying high end sports cars and maxing out their credit cards with eating out.  I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around who would be wowed by all the article's money saving tips.  I mean, I can see a few of them being useful to some people, but by and large, I like to think the average human being has more sense than what they have the article tailored to.  It's kind of like why would anyone buy anything full price at large department stores (ie. Macys), or go to Bed Bath and Beyond and pay full price for anything (how many 20% off coupons can one really use?).  Maybe someone somewhere is now saving loads of cash and I should just be happy for them.  In the meantime, I'll continue doing what I do to save the money I know how to.

Black Friday

I thought it would be seasonally appropriate for me to chime in on what is being touted as the "busiest shopping day of the year".  I will go ahead and agree that it is probably the busiest day for the shopping centers aside from the final days before Christmas when people again loose their minds and decide they need to buy 300 other things to make the "perfect Christmas". 

Many people asked me if I was going shopping on Black Friday to which I replied, "Hell no!"  The reactions I got were bipolar in nature.  I either got the people that gave me the sympathetic nod of understanding or, "Why not?!" as if I was some kind of alien.  Let me tell you why not.  First, I hate crowds.  I avoid them like the plague.  There has to be a really good reason for me to deal with crowds (see this post).  Secondly, I would have to get up at 3am or earlier to wait in line in the cold and throw elbows to make sure I wasn't stampeded.  And lastly, I would have to deal with the rude people which when coupled with crowds is toxic.  I tell people I wouldn't be able to handle it and I would be hauled away and convicted of murder before the day is out.

So why do people get all crazed up and brave the hysteria?  I think there are is a small percentage of the population that really targets the stores they want to go to and exactly what they want to buy.  A+ for you guys.  You take advantage of the sales that apply to the things you really need to get.  I believe the rest of the crowd is out there for the "good deals".  And this, I have to say, is really stupid.  There are only a few really super awesome good deals that the stores have which are generally sold out moments after opening.  The rest of the sales from what I could see were good, but not really all that different from sales at any other time of the year.  For instance, the Micheal's ad (I realize this isn't Best Buy but bare with me) that came Thanksgiving day was filled with 40% off sales.  They are always having 40% off sales.  They did have a small selection of items that were on really good deals, but it's nothing I wanted to buy.  The Bed Bath & Beyond was just a 20% off your entire purchase.  Um, ok really?  I have about 20 of those 20% off coupons and if you get the right sales person they will let you do multiple transactions.  No deal.  Saving $150 off a TV, hmm, tempting, but again, you won't have it in stock by the time I get there and well, my sanity is worth $150 to me.  The $1.39 DVDs at Wal-Mart were tempting if you really wanted to own Ice Age 2 or Lord of The Rings (non box set).  The other things I really considered was the $70 Cuisinart Food Processor that was on sale from like $150.  Clearly I didn't make it.

I shop to the lists that people have given me for what they want for Christmas.  I am not getting out of bed at 3am to save on wool socks for my dad.  It's just not going to happen.  Which brings me to another point on these sales.  The sales are on things that no one asked for or on things I don't really need.  The sales on clothes I might go for, but it would be for me and not other people, which just seems wrong this time of year so I don't bother.  I always tell myself, other people are getting me stuff for Christmas and just to be happy with that (not to mention if I still want something after the holidays the sales after Christmas are even better).  They can come out for the super dupper awesome deals, but again, nothing I have asked for is going to be in those ads.  Wait, I take that back, they might be able to use the 50% off at Borders (which goes all weekend) to get me a book.  Also both of our families (Rob's and mine) are born deal hunters and have never relied on the deals of Black Friday for their Christmas shopping.  I don't know if they ever have in the past, but certainly not as of late.  My dad has actually really gotten on the whole on-line ordering.  He says, "If I can shop from the comfort of my own home and get everything delivered to me, why would I bother standing in line at some store?"  You might see where I get my attitude from.

This opinion on Black Friday might change when I have kids and there's some Tickle Me Elmo that will break my kids hearts if they don't get it.  As far as I can tell though, that's a good few years down the road.  For the first 5 years of their life they don't really care what they get because they don't have school friends to tell them what they are missing.  Until then I will enjoy decorating my tree and eating leftovers while watching holiday movies. 

Bound to Forget Something

Here we are just a few days away from the most complex cooking days of the year.  Of course it results in the most delicious comfort food, but it's not exactly a simple meal to pull together.  I am sure years ago it used to be, but we are the Foodie Generation.  We like different and interesting takes on the classics which usually adds a layer of complexity to cooking.  A lot of times it means just adding some extras to make the dish "yours".  Now remembering to get all those "extras" is a feat in and of itself. 

Rob and I are splitting our holiday cooking with friends of ours that are coming over to celebrate.  So before grocery shopping this week, Rob and I looked at the portion on the meal that we are responsible for and took an inventory our pantry for select items.  We even went so far as to check, ok, got the stuffing*, but what does the stuffing take.  I think 9 times out of 10 that's where people get tripped up; remembering every ingredient that goes into a dish.  It's not a lot of fun to find out on Thursday or even Wednesday that you actually ran out of vanilla last time you baked and haven't replaced it or you are running low on flour and various other kitchen staples.  So we triple checked our list and tried to think of everything.  I was determined to have ONE trip to the grocery store.  Rob was a hero and went after work to deal with the mob and got everything on the list.  Sweet!  That night we made enchilada lasagna for dinner which called for onions.  I went to our onion bag and came to a very sad realization that we only had three small onions, two of which I would need to make dinner.  Dang it all to fudge! 

Needless to say, our one trip out wasn't exactly a success, but it wasn't a total failure.  I had to run to Target today to get some household staples knowing all weekend was going to be a zoo at any shopping center.  Thankfully, Target has decided to start carrying groceries including bags of onions.  Wohoo!

*No, I do not "make" stuffing.  If you are a super foodie you can go harvest your own fruit bowl and exotic breads and make your own special creation, but my Thanksgiving prefers Stove Top.

The next challenge in Thanksgiving cooking: Appliance Logistics Management

The Jean Quest

For a long time now, I have been on a quest to find jeans that fit me.  The last time I bought jeans that actually fit, I was in DC the first time, roughly 2006ish.  I have despartely been clinging on to the handful of jeans that really fit, but two of the four pairs have holes in inappropriate places and are wearing thin.  Another pair was essentially ruined in my first craptastic job rotation with filing cabinet grease of all things.  I have one last pair that is acceptable to wear in public, so needless to say, the options are getting slim.

Of course, if you looked in the drawer were I keep my jeans, you might say to yourself, "But you seem to have plenty of jeans in here."  And you would be right, but half don't actually fit and the other half have been accounted for above.  I bought 3 pairs of jeans from Old Navy when they were on sale and appeared to fit me really well in the dressing room.  And they did.  And then I washed them and wore them.  They fit every place except the waist.  And you might be thinking, "Doh!  She shrunk them!"  Not at all!  They seem to loosen up after wearing them and so the top really doesn't fit unless they are sitting at my hips which then puts the crotch of the jean about 3 inches lower than it ought to be.  Sigh. 

As best I can figure the jeans fads took a turn for the worst right after I bought my last pairs.  They went from what I will refer to as my "normal" to super ridiculous low rise, show your hoochie coochie, half inch zipper jeans.  Umm no thank you.  That fad hung around surprisingly longer than I expected.  They got rid of every resemblance of my "normal" and put in these impostors that claimed to be the same fit, but came with an annoying gap between the waist and the back of the jean.  This was the problem with the 3 pairs of jeans from Old Navy and in fact is still a problem today with all the pairs of jeans I try on.  Apparently at some point people's asses just morphed into their backs and eliminated the need to have jeans that accommodated us freaks with a waist and a rear end.  Today, the latest fad is the Skinny jean.  Note to all fashion designers - this has been your worst idea ever.  EVER!  Only a fraction of people actually look good in Skinny jeans, but the general public is unaware of this.

I feel it's important to state that I had never really had a problem finding jeans that fit until this roller coaster fashion wheel of jean designs began.  I haven't really gained or lost enough weight in the last 10 years to really affect how jeans would fit me.  In fact I am still wearing the jeans I bought way back in 2004.  Desperately clinging onto them and hoping that will power will stop them from wearing too thin for wearing in public.

On occasion when I have been in high spirits or have had enough to drink, I get this bright idea to try on every pair of jeans I can.  Rationale, there has to be SOMETHING out there that fits.  Those trips resulted in a lot of anger and no where to direct it.  Today was another one of those such trips.  I felt pretty optimistic as I had insider information on where someone found jeans that fit really well.  Sadly, that turned out to be a giant bust for me.  Like all the other pairs, they fit everywhere but the waist.  I said screw it, I am here (mall), I am going to give it a go.  I tried on another 20 pairs of jeans, different brands, different stores, and finally I had a pair that fit.  Like honest to god fit.  They were long enough, stylish, and had NO GAP!  Holy crap!  Who was the genius behind this invention?  Not Your Daughter's Jeans!  Right, ok, so I don't have a daughter who has jeans to be some kind of bizarrely jealous of, so that part is not quite right. But they fit and I don't give a flying fig!

They were a little more pricey than I am used to paying, but I said, well, I could buy another 3 pairs of jeans that almost fit or one pair that definitely fits and I will wear for another 5 years (if my last purchases are any indication).  So I was kind of cursing myself for leaving my Macy's coupons at home, but I said, whatever, just buy them.  I think the universe was trying to give a general approval of my purchase since when I actually checked out, the sales person gave me some random 25% off (they were not on sale, I checked after).  Umm THANK YOU!  I was tempted to go back and buy another pair, but I didn't want to repeat the Old Navy mistake at a larger price (ugh).  I will make a final decision on purchasing more after a few wears.   For now I will rejoice in what is most certainly the end of my quest!

You Saved $$$ Today

I love a good deal. I have in fact blogged about good deals I have gotten in the past because they are usually awesome and I want to share. I am convinced that nothing is actually worth the full price it's usually labeled with. There might be rare exceptions, but I think they are so far and few between, we will pretend like they don't exist.

Yesterday Rob and I had a big day running errands. We went to Micheal's, Target, and Wegmans. It's kind of a risky move for a Saturday following a snow storm, but we braved the crowds anyway armed with a shopping list and fist fulls of coupons. At Micheal's we had to get two frames; one for a frame that broke a while ago and one for a collage photo our friends gave us for Christmas. Micheal's had a sale going for 40% off frames and then an additional 25% on top of that. So we bought two frames and some ribbon for the wedding for what one frame would have originally cost us. Not bad!

We moved onto Target where we were only going to pick up some healthy and beauty items because they are usually cheaper here than at Wegmans. (I love my Wegmans, but it's basically true for all grocery stores.) While strolling the aisles at Target, we found they had a lot of things on sale and even found a few target brand coupons hidden in the items (like an Easter egg hunt!) which is great because we can use them in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons. I think on one set of items we bought we actually made money on. Combine the coupons with Rob's discount and we saved over $20 which was almost half our original total. Wohoo!

Wegman's also proved to be pretty rewarding with our coupons and discounts and bottle returns. Not as much as the last two, but I think we did pretty good. What I wish Wegmans was able to do was display the amount saved by buying their brand item instead of the name brand stuff. Most of the time even if I have a coupon, it's cheaper to get the Wegmans brand item, which was almost never the case in GA so it's taken some getting used to.

In total we saved almost $50 on our trip out getting the things we needed. I just can't imagine going out without coupons and hunting for good deals. Then again, I also know there are people who are much better at this game than I am, but so far I think I am doing ok. Here are some sites that I find really helpful when trying to find a bigger discount on something (especially retail stores).

For the crafty types, signing up for AC Moore and Micheal's online will get you coupons in addition to what's in the paper. My sister passed on a 60% off coupon to me from Micheal's that I printed out about 10 of and used them to buy wedding supplies. Huge savings.

Retail Me Not - Great for buying from retailers online, plug in the name of the company and see if there are any deals active
Coupon Mom - Printable coupons for groceries
Coupon Album - Similar to Retail Me Not
A Full Cup - Signed up for this recently, but haven't figured out how to really work it. I guess you can trade coupons you have. I think you can also search, but I haven't had time to go back.
Target - As I was explaining to Rob what I was blogging about, he informed me of this site. Better late than never. :P Also, if he goes with you, he is worth 10% off. :)

So go forth and save!

The Never Ending Quest

Dear People Who Make Jeans & Shorts,

I hate you.


After yet another frustrating shopping trip, I find myself wondering if maybe clothing designers have no idea there are women out there who have a waist AND a butt and that the two are mutually exclusively different sizes!!! I am so tired of trying on bottoms that create that gap in the back. This leads me to believe that many women have either no definable waist or no butt. It drives me nuts! They fit everywhere else until I turn around and see this 4-5" gap from my waist to the back of the bottom. AWESOME! I could totally create a new fashion trend!

I have tried on god knows how many different brands and different fits and come up empty. I have gone to places like Macy's and Marshalls where there are dozens of different designers and cuts available and still had no luck. Every once in a great while, I strike gold though.

Take for instance trying on shorts at Ann Taylor Loft and Banana Republic. The two places I know I can find dress pants that fit. I figured I would pony up $40-$50 on a pair of khaki shorts because I knew they would fit. In both stores I grabbed one of everything and headed to the dressing room. Wouldn't you know it? THEY DON'T FIT! How can their pants fit but the shorts not in the SAME DAMN CUT?!! Maybe the people who make the pants don't talk to the people who make the shorts. Or maybe they think it's summer, you can wing it. I have no idea. This makes absolutely no sense to me. The good news? I found two pairs on pants in Banana Republic that fit like a glove and I got them on sale! Booya! At least it wasn't a total bust.

So I tried my luck at Old Navy because every now and again their stuff fits, but it's on a weird cycle of like once every 4 years. I have bought jeans from them (and The Gap) that I loved and went back 6 months - a year later to find their either discontinued the style or changed the cut. So the last time I bought stuff from Old Navy that fit was about 3-4 years ago. Today I tried on at least a dozen pairs of shorts and tried on a pair of jeans for shits and giggles. Out of 12 pairs of shorts, I found 1 pair. 1 pair! Of course, they do not have my size in any other color I would be caught dead in (hello - lime green? barf), but I have 1 pair of shorts! Oh and the jeans fit too! This time I really did a dance in the dressing room! I thought, I better go back and get a few different washes in this jean because they will change the cut again before too long. I went back out and grabbed the other three washes and what do you know? NONE OF THEM FIT! Same size, cut, and only the wash was different! ARGH! I took my one pair and made a run for it.

So on my 4th trip out this season to find shorts, I returned home with one pair. I am currently in the process of buying different colors online now so I can have some variety. The jeans were a bonus. Now I am sure to have a dry spell for another year or two. At least this time I know to stock up.

Little Earth

There is a fun company called Little Earth that is known for their quirky purses made from old license plates. They also make CD holders and photo albums from them as well. It's a neat twist on using recycled goods to create something new. They have now branched out into make "designer" looks for these purses now. They are the same shape, but instead of having a Colorado license plate, you might have the NYC skyline.

I am happy to say that after staring at these purses for almost a year, I finally decided that's where my Christmas money was going to go. I chose one of the "designer" prints myself in a funky swirl pattern that I think is really pretty. Now I just have to wait another two weeks while it is made and shipped to me. How exciting!

Shopping in Decatur

Today my co-worker Sarah invited me to go shopping with her and another friend in Decatur. There are a whole bunch of little boutiques and what not to poke around in. In my experience, window shopping can be as fun or more fun than the actual purchasing so even if I didn't buy anything, it was bound to be fun.

We started at Taqueria Del Sol for lunch. They were cheap and tasty! I especially liked their shrimp corn chowder. Delicious! We meandered through some shops near that restaurant and then picked it up and drove to the other side of Decatur.

On our way there we made a pit stop at the factory store for Paddywax candles. Apparently these are ridiculously expensive candles. The ones here are probably not the exact color or what have you, but are a fracation of the cost. As if you could tell.

We finished up our shopping and headed back. I picked up some last minute Christmas gifts and enjoyed being out and not in a mall. The weather behaved enough and didn't get too cold. Hooray holidays!

Let the Holiday Shopping Begin!

Yes I know. It's only November 9. I think the stores have gotten bolder as the years go by about how soon to put up the Christmas deals. At this point I think it's just expected to run right after Halloween. I think if it gets any earlier people might get uppity, but for now it's ok.

I went Christmas shopping today. It wasn't that I had planned on starting this early. It's just that I got coupons in the mail. If you are willing to give me a $5 off coupon to use in a store I normally shop in anyway, why not? It spreads out the spending a bit and at the same time, you are getting a deal.

Also with the economy the way it is, I am curious to see how the holiday shopping pans out for businesses. I personally plan on doing things the way I did last year. I don't loose my head over the holidays and am generally on the look out for good deals, so I think it won't be a problem to do it again this year. We shall see I guess.

Here's to some holiday cheer!

I <3 Shecky's Girls Night Out

Twice a year a magical thing happens in Atlanta. Shecky's Girls Night Out comes to town and spreads cheer all over the city! It has been in town for two days (last night and tonight) and a bunch of Lockheed girls went tonight. With no work tomorrow, it's perfect timing!

If you sign up to go with a friend you can get "Two For One Goodie Bag Tickets" for $25. This gets you in the door, the fabulous (and I do mean FABULOUS) goodie bag, plus drinks all night. At first I thought this was silly, but then I thought about it. If I had two beers while I was there the ticket had paid for itself nevermind the goodie bag worth "over $100" (their estimates, not mine).

When Mrs. Volker and I got there tonight we picked up the goodie bags immediately. They were busting at the seams and weighed about 10 pounds. I opened it up and pawed through it. Oh my god. It's like it knew what I wanted! Three bars of Lindt chocolate, hair ties, Aveeno sunblock and body wash, two bottles of flavored water (hello 10 pound bag), coffee, Dove samples, toothpaste, teeth whitening trays, a new razor (as opposed to an old one), and other trinkets.

Needless to say, I could have gone home then a happy camper, but we stuck around for a while. We did the beer and food pairing, had a few drinks, shopped, and even made some purchases. I got a cute little purse and an awesome necklace.

They were also handing out FREE manicures if you signed up for them. They gave us the bottle of OPI nail polish they used when they were done. I don't normally paint my finger nails, but if someone wants to do it for me, I am not going to turn them down.

Overall, A++ night and the company wasn't too shabby either. Good times all around. Six more months until it comes back to town. At least it's frequency is better than Christmas. :)

Close Encounters with Famous People

I don't know how many of you watch the Food Network, but it's in my top ten that I check for interesting shows. Tonight they had a Food Network Challenge for Chocolate Runway outfits. I am pretty sure the model were kept in the fridge until the time to walk the runway.

Anywho! If you have watched it, you may know Alton Brown. He is the host of several shows "Good Eats", "Feasting on Asphalt", "Iron Chef", and others. The show, "Good Eats" is all about how to do it "the right way" and answering the why behind doing it that way. Kind of fascinating and gives me a new appreciation for specific methods. That and he is a little nerdy. Let's face it, I have a soft spot for nerdy people.

Now most of the time I don't have the kind of time he demands for "proper cooking", but I like to watch it all the same. My favorite part of his shows are his trips to the grocery store. The grocery store he goes to all the time is Harry's Farmers Market which happens to be located in *drum roll please* Marietta, GA! For those of you who have no idea where that is, it's in the same town I work in and live 15 minutes from. So I have actually shopped at the store where he shops! How fabulous!!

Of course, I have never seen him there, but I know exactly where he is in the store when I see him on TV AND I am almost certain we have both been in the same exact location. This probably sounds stalker-ish. I am ok with that. He's pretty cool. If I ever went and he was shopping, I would totally ask for his autograph.

He has also been to the library I visit routinely. There was a sign up that you could pay to hear him speak. I didn't make it, but it makes me think he probably lives in the area somewhere. Wouldn't be unheard of. Famous people need to live SOME where.

I'll Take The Bananas

I dislike Publix. It's a well known fact. I dislike it for many reasons. Some of these include not being able to find at least one item on the grocery list each time I go to the store. Last time I went it was turkey pepperoni, the time before that, lady fingers. Before that it was Green Chilie Sauce. You get the idea.

I don't feel like I am asking for things that are harvested from the Planet Jupiter, but sometimes they make you feel like you are. It took three people to find pine nuts. The first two didn't know what they were. Same deal with Chorizo Sausage.

Now I will admit, they did offer to bake up some baguettes while we were shopping because they were out and we wanted a loaf. And they do eventually get you what you need. But the crap you have to go through sometimes is a little retarded.

Of course my favorite part of the trip is the bagging. I am perhaps used to Wegmans process a little too much. The cashier scans and bags together. So putting things on the belt in the order you want them bagged will result in desired results. Not so with Publix because the cashier scans it and tosses it to a bagger who can choose what to put in the bag as things come to them. It's a crap shoot to see what happens with the eggs, bread, and fruit I buy. Let's not even talk about the rest of it.

So now I try to eliminate smashed bananas by just telling them, "Oh I'll take those, thanks." What would make me really happy is if I could just bag it myself. But I guess knowing what's coming makes it easier for me to deal with it when it comes around again. I know I am a little OCD in this cateogry, but since it's a weekly event that will happen for the rest of my life, not much will change it aside from winning the lotto and having other people shop for me. I can dream...

My Birthday and ME!

Some may know, I had a birthday recently. It's finally pushing me into the late twenties, but I am protesting that it's mid twenties until March. Mostly I don't care about that. Although I do know that youth is something to treasure and am trying to enjoy it.

Last year I mentioned the birthday week and this year I am happy to say, I executed it quite well. Andrea and Tyler's visit kicked it off and had a blast with them. Having only a 3 day work week was pretty fabulous. Wednesday I went out after work with some co-workers to help celebrate with a happy hour (or four). Thursday by default was a celebration day because it was my sister's birthday.

My actually birthday fell on an off Friday which was a pretty spectacular bonus. I slept til I felt like getting up, then watched TV for an hour or so and ate breakfast. I took my time getting ready and headed out for my spa appointment. I stopped over to Borders first to use my gift certificate I received. I got the next Jasper Fforde book and one I mentioned before, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

The spa was lovely although sadly, it was not the best massage I have ever gotten, however it was still relaxing. I also spent an additional hour in their locker area in the steam room, then shower, and getting ready. If I am going to spend that kind of money, I plan to use their facility to my advantage and pamper myself.

I headed over to Vinings for some ice cream from Cold Stone for lunch and shopping. I was quite successful on both counts. I even landed on a surprise bonus round at Ann Taylor Loft. Every now and then they have sales for about a month where if you buy $50 worth of stuff you get a $25 off coupon in the next month when you spend $50. They were double the coupons so when you spent $50, you got 2 $25 coupons. My kind of deal.

Rob and I went to dinner out to the Thai Dinner. I didn't really have any particular place in mind, but I had been craving Thai food. Not to mention, they wait on you hand and foot and there's never a long wait for your food.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. I only hope next year is just as nice. :)

Karma - The Universe Balancer

If you are really lucky, sometimes you get the instant gratification of watching the universe balance. My newest favorite is my co-worker who was the first car at a red light being cut off by 2-3 solid red light runners that turned left to get in his lane. He honked at them and the last car had a little old lady in it who apparently flipped him the bird (after she ran the light mind you) and then proceeded to smack into the car in front of her. And for that split second, you see how things could all work out in the end just like our parents told us they would.

Tonight I went shopping at Macy's to find some dresses that would be appropriate to wear to some upcoming weddings over the next few months. I found two nice dresses highly discounted and decided to get them both. Since they were having one of their super clearance sales, I decided to meander a little bit.

I tried on some hideously uncomfortable shoes, played in jewelry and finally into the hand bag section. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular but I am always drawn to the Fossil bags. I usually dig around looking to see if any are marked at what I can afford. This has yet to result in me buying one, but I always look anyway. Well tonight I found one I fell in love with, but it had no price. Huh, what to do?

I found the lady working in the department and asked her. She doesn't know, but is sure there is another one somewhere in the mix. So as we dig through the multiple clearance bins without success, she tells me she wishes some rich person would come buy them all and give them away. I've got to say, there were a LOT of them laying around. She said, "Ok, well I can't find one like it, let's see what something like it would be priced for." She grabs the first Fossil bag and gives me it's price, still in the range of, umm, not really selling me, my dress costs less than that. She says, well how badly do you want this? I said, "Well, I just wanted to know how much it was." She grabs another purse and says "How about *enter ridiculously low price for a Fossil bag*?" Sold! So we walk to the register and she goes to grab her glasses to ring me out. On her way back, she has another purse similar to mine in her hands. She tells me, "Well this one says $XX (more than twice the price she gave me), but this will be our little secret. I would rather give it to you for the other price and make your day." Ten minutes to closing and she just wants to make someone happy and go home.

It's nice when people do nice things for you just like you do for others for no real reason. Spread the love around.

A Girl's Gotta Shop

Yesterday started with a trip to the gym that was over before it even started. Heidi and I have decided that our off Fridays should start with Mat Pilates. We both like the class and it gets me up early enough to actually be productive on a day off. However, this Friday, class was canceled. Since I showed up in flip flops, I felt my options were limited and I decided to return home.

This mishap at the gym allow me to go home shower and take my time getting ready for my hair appointment. I was considering growing my hair out and donating it again, but I hit a wall some point last week and just said, this has got to go. My hair was done by a nice man named Cosmo and it looks fantastic. I have already made my next appointment with him which is a first for me.

After all that, the girls and I went shopping!!! This got me very excited because we visited what I refer to as "The Shoe Mecca". *enter angel music here* It's really called Nordstrom's Rack, but I like my title better. I have big feet. I am ok with this. Finding shoes however is normally a nightmare. It sounds something like this, "Do you have this in a size 10 or 11?", "No" on a repeated loop. This place is fantastic for me finding shoes mostly because they have the largest selection of large size shoes ever. I happily purchased 4 pairs of shoes, one of which was a $4 pair of flip flops. The others were substantial work shoes and a new pair of athletic sneakers, all of which I desperately needed.

From there we hit up the Mall of Georgia and meandered around going from store to store. I definitely made out like a bandit in a few places. I got a cool skirt at Old Navy and purchased a new outfit and some sweaters from Banana Republic. All of it was on sale. Wohoo! I have never been known to be ahead of the fashion curve so I am ok waiting two months for it to go to the sale rack. :)

Overall it was a pretty nice way to spend an off Friday. It's almost like playing hooky from work, but not really. Now I just have to make room in my closet for my new purchases. :)

I Love a Good Deal

Yesterday I spent a good many hours meandering around one of the few outlet malls in the area with a friend of mine. I had a blast going through all of the stores up there. Some were the, "oh just for fun" kind and some were the "ooo my favorite store".

The trip started with a trip to Ralph Lauren which is a store I generally don't go in because I can never afford anything in there. As I was going through their racks, I found the one that is the "top line fancy shmancy stuff'". I found a skirt in my size that had the original value of $1,093 marked down to $599, then it was 75% off of that. What a steal! I had to know what a skirt that cost that much feels like. Let me tell you, it was kind of retarded. It didn't fit that nice and was itchy. So now I know.

We moved through the circuit of all of the stores. Laughed at some, got some good deals at others. Right now because it's January, everyone is having the take an additional 30% off the clearance price. Since my friend and I have the same shopping trends to just go to those racks to begin with, we were getting great deals. At the Nike Store, I found yoga pants that were suggested retail of $60, clearance marked to $14.95 and then 30% off that is like $11.98 or something. Not too shabby I think.

The only downside to all the shopping is that it's addictive. I found myself looking at soup/pasta bowls in a store saying, "I don't have any of these and this mismatched set is only $5." Then I mentally slapped my mind and put them back. But they were such good deals!!

I don't regret a single purchase I made yesterday. They were good and well worth it. I found some stuff I had been looking for and can now cycle out clothes I don't wear in my closet. Wohoo!

Shop Til You Drop

I have spent the better part of today shopping. I had a dental appointment at 9:30 this morning (which went awesomely!) and decided that I could spend the rest of the day shopping for... well odds and ends of everything.

I had a path all laid out and just worked my way down the shopping corridor. I started at Wal-Mart to buy my dads socks. It's the only place I seem to be able to get them. I want to pat myself on the back for going into that mad house now while it was relatively empty. I also picked up some Toys for Tots too.

I weaved my way down Cobb Parkway and had a funny experience at Micheal's. There was a stereotypical person of his cell phone in there. He must has passed me a few times while I was shopping, then I ended up behind him in line. He had his ear piece in and was having what seemed to be a very in depth conversation about something. At the register he completely ignored the cashier. Never said hello, thanks, have a nice day, anything. How rude. The cashier and I had a chuckle about him while he rang me out.

I finally called it a day after being out and about for 5 hours and came home with the goods. I picked up plenty of holiday things, but also got stuff like a new pillow, cat litter, and tissues. All things you need for a merry holiday. I hope from here on in Amazon can come to the rescue. Time will tell.