While we’re on the subject of fashion
Plus-sized clothes shopping is a major drag. Your choices many times are between outrageously expensive or garish – or just plain frumpy. Mumu anyone?
But I’ve found some cute and fairly affordable things lately (not that I’ve bought most of them, but I’ve seen them). Read the rest of this entry »
Shoe Angst
So the last few winters I’ve been limping by on almost nothing shoe-wise. A pair of out-of-season-looking white tennis shoes was really the only close-toed shoes I had that still fit. I have some black loafers but my foot has widened, apparently, so they no longer fit.
So needless to say, it was time for some shoe shopping. If I had money running out of my ears, I would adore shoe shopping. But since I don’t, I obsess about finding the “perfect” shoe that will serve a versatile purpose. For instance, yesterday I set out looking for Black Mary Janes, with a low heel – something I could dress up or dress down.
I found this Mudd shoe that I really loved:
… but alas, it didn’t fit right. Perhaps if they had it in a wide (apparently Mudd doesn’t make wide shoes).
I looked at many similar shoes, but none of them worked either, either for aesthetics or fit.
So, I spent all day today trying on many, many shoes, finding that I have gone from a 7 1/2 to an 8 wide. Ugh. I mean, I’ve been schlepping around in flip flops pretty much ever since we landed in TX, so I just haven’t noticed. And let me tell you, like larger womens’ sizes, it’s not always easy to find cute shoes in wide widths.
I reluctantly settled for two different pairs – based much more on comfort than looks. I’m still not really satisfied, though. I really want a shoe exactly like the one pictured above, but haven’t found one in my size yet. Let me know if you run across one. 
Anyway, the shoes I wound up with:
Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams
The annual Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog debuted today. Not that I can afford a single thing in it – but it’s always a fun read.
How ’bout a life-sized lego replica of yourself, for a cool $60K? Or an authentic Guinness home pub for $250K?
If those aren’t your taste, what about a custom Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course? They start at $1 million.
I’m really curious to know how many of these so-called “WOW” gifts that NM sells each year. On second thought, it would probably turn my stomach.
Shoe Fetish
My daughter has a thing for shoes. I mean, REALLY. She notices them like an adult would. If you are wearing shoes she deems “cute,” she will tell you. She asks to buy shoes when we’re in the store. She puts shoes on each morning – even if still in her PJs – and will change into different pairs throughout the day.
So yesterday, we went into Payless to find a pair for Gabriel and possibly a pair for her too. Unprompted, she told the sales lady, “I’d like a pair of black shoes.”
Then, Mikaela looked over to the rack, where a pair had caught her eyes. Picking them up, she gushed, “OH! Look at these!” She then looked up at the sales lady and said, “I’d like to buy these!”
Love me a good yard sale
I rolled out of bed this morning at 6:30 and got on the road for one of my favorite hobbies: going to garage sales. Yesterday, I already had all the sales I wanted to visit singled out. I took all the addresses and made myself a route map on mapquest (I love their multiple-stop directions option).
So anyway, I got up and headed out for 8 sales that sounded pretty good. Several were a complete bummer, but a couple were really good. I wound up with a DVD player (ours just broke), Trivial Pursuit DVD Pop Culture, UpWords, a Step 2 ladybug sandbox with cover, a bunch of toys and dress-up shoes for Mikaela, and a Woody (Toy Story) figure for Gabriel. Oh, and a sexy lime-green pair of sequined flip-flops for me! They were new with the tags on. I spent less than $20, so I felt like I came out pretty well.
I don’t know what I love more … finding a great bargain or the thrill of the hunt!
Wal-mart
Good old Wal-mart. As much as I grumble about hating it, I wind up finding myself there more often than I want. Mostly because I tend to do my shopping after the kids are in bed, and that usually means Target is closed. And let’s face it, Wal-mart is usually cheaper, anyway. Too bad they’re so un-hip. If you could give me Target’s products at Wal-mart’s prices … then I could just go ahead and die happy.
But I digress from my original intent: Wal-mart’s toy selection. Have you perused the toy aisles at Wal-mart recently? I literally can’t find anything that fits the criteria of 1)worthy of spending my money on and 2) my kids don’t already have it or something similar, especially when it comes to girls’ toys.
Let’s see … you’ve got your Barbie aisle – which I’m going to try to avoid for as long as I can. Body image issues, anyone?
Then you’ve got your dolls, which Mikaela already has too many of. Then comes the “little” toys – Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pocket, Ponyville, et al. Those are just one more tiny piece of detritus for me to cut my foot on walking through their room at night.
Then you’ve got your Bratz aisle – and if I need to explain to you why I don’t want my 3-year-old playing with these, you need to go take a parenting class.
Nearby is the dress-up/makeup sets. Dress up, I don’t have a problem with. I’m not ready for makeup, the reason mostly being Mikaela loves to make messes and I don’t want to find the dog with lip gloss smeared all over her.
Lastly are the “homemaker” play sets. You know, the ironing board and iron, the broom and vacuum, etc. Seriously? I HATE doing these things, and I’m not sure why my daughter would think they’re fun.
Seriously, though … Wal-mart’s toy selection makes me sad. Everything is so uninspired and just doesn’t scream “I’ll spark your child’s creativity and imagination!”
Maybe I’ll just give her a cardboard box.
In the bag
I have been on the quest for the perfect tote (purse). (I have been temporarily sidelined by budgetary constraints, but I will be buying one of these in the not-too-distant future.)
I am extremely picky when it comes to picking out things like purses. I always start out with a general idea in mind about the size and shape I want. Then, I start looking, saying to myself, “I’ll know it when I see it!”
What’s frustrating is my cheapskate side. I always want to pay about $10 for something like a purse, but I don’t want an ugly one. Unfortunately, all the cute purses I’ve found are also really expensive (to me, anyway). It’s made me wonder how hard it would be to make one myself!
Anyway, here are my top purse picks, from etsy.com [by the way, this is NOT a sponsored post ... just my opinion!]:
Read the rest of this entry »
Drop everything and run!
I don’t know if all Targets are the same, but ours just put the last of their Christmas items on sale for 75% off. I got 4 really cute placemats for $1.96. There were many bigger things I wanted, but not really in the budget …
I eventually want to be like my uncle (well, in this one respect, anyway): he and his wife have a ‘present closet’ that they keep stocked with things they find on super-cheap clearance sales. So, every holiday or birthday that comes around, they just pull something appropriate out of the closet and wrap it. Saving and giving … what could be better?
Rhetorical question of the day
Is there anything ruder than a bargain shopper?
I went to peruse Target’s after-Christmas sale (the only time to buy Christmas decor, if you ask me), and I nearly lost an eye to an old lady. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but seriously, there was all kinds of bad shopper behavior there: people blocking an entire aisle between themselves and their cart, people squeezing directly in front of you at a display you’re currently looking at, etc. Rude.
Of course, whenever I mention something like that, Jay sniffs and says it must be the Californians (who’ve come here in droves, mostly because of our tech-related businesses). Like Texans aren’t capable of being rude.
Cute shoes
Every time I go shoe shopping, I don’t know what “exactly” I’m looking for, but I always know it when I see it.
Merry Black Friday
It’s 7:16 am and not only am I up, I’ve just gotten back from a shopping trip. That means it could only be … the day after Thanksgiving!
I got up at 4 this morning and went to Old Navy and Target, both of which were having great sales this morning. I got some steals, including a cashmere sweater at Old Navy for $29 and a huge baby doll set at Target also for $29. I did, however, have to put up with standing in a line out in the cold wind, and once inside, people’s shoving. So much for the spirit of Christmas.
So, yesterday, our Thanksgiving meal went pretty well. Our company was 3 1/2 hours late, but I was running a little late on the food, so it worked out. The food was pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I’m so good at fixing things from cans and boxes. 
My family partook in our annual Thankgiving-evening tradition last night: we watched A Christmas Story while decking the halls. Right now, the kids are listening to Christmas music in the living room, which is only being lit by the tree. Gives me the warm fuzzies. Now all we need is a breakfast casserole and some Yankee holiday-scented candles lit.
2007 Christmas Dream Toy List
If money were no object, I’d snatch these high-end playthings up. I might be able to afford one of these as the kids’ “Big Present,” but I’m done with their Christmas shopping already (yay!).
Okay, so some of these things aren’t really that expensive … but you’re paying more than the toy is actually WORTH for the ‘cool’ factor, so I’m sticking them on the list.
Not her idea of fun
Mikaela and I were walking into Wal-mart tonight when she said, “Mama, you wanna go somewhere?”
“We are somewhere, Mikaela.”
She paused and said, “Wanna go somewhere else?”
Small-town blues
I am generally a city-girl, although I do love visiting the country. Now that I’m living here (in the country), there are definitely some pros and cons. The biggest con being that a round-trip to the nearest Wal-mart, Target or HEB (grocery store) is about 25 miles.
So today, I found a local supermarket. It was pretty small, and as soon as I walked through the front door, I was taken back to my childhood in Birmingham, AL – where my mother used to take me grocery shopping at the Food Giant in Roebuck. It was always dingy-looking, and half the overhead lights were burnt out. And it smelled like penicillin.
Anyway, this old grocery store might be a good place to stop for a gallon of milk or a forgotten dinner ingredient, but I’m definitely not buying anything out of their meat case. Yuk.
It’s that time again …
For the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue!
Why do I care, you may ask?
Hey, I may have a Wal-mart budget, but I have taste. And besides, it’s fun to look at the fantasy gifts (pages 94-107). My favorite is the interactive media wall straight out of Minority Report.
The dilemma
Shopping for clothes sucks.
Especially when you’ve got a hard-to-fit figure.
And really especially when you’ve got a hard-to-fit, plus-size figure.
Most department stores have such appallingly ugly plus clothing that I’d rather hang myself than be seen in them. Macy’s is a good exception, thankfully.
The other thing about plus clothing: many designers make tops that could easily be mistaken for maternity tops. And what non-pregnant woman wants to be asked when she’s due?
Wal-mart in the wee hours
Ever been to Wal-mart really late (or really early)?
It’s a freak show, man.
Adventures in Christmas Shopping
I went to several stores tonight to find some things we needed for the kids’ rooms. We have decided to make Mikaela’s room into the bedroom for both kids, and Gabriel’s room into a playroom. They’re still so young, I don’t think they’ll mind, but we’ll see.
Part of the reason for this change is the gi-normous train table that Jay built for Gabriel’s Christmas present. It is going to take up half the room, and that + a bed = nowhere to play. So, the giant train table and the rest of their many toys are all going to get shoved into one room, and hopefully the other will stay clean (ha).
Anyway, I went to Wal-mart tonight to get paint for the train table. What an ordeal. The first time the guy mixed the paint, the color didn’t come out right, so he had to re-do it. After he re-did the color and handed me the can, I walked back the the back of the store to continue my shopping. All of a sudden, the can fell out of the cart, hit the floor and popped open. I skated around in a pool of black paint while an employee called a janitor. The janitor gave me a dirty look when he arrived. I SAID I was sorry. The lid probably wasn’t on good, anyway. Hmph.
So, I hurried and finished my shopping and headed for the door. On my way home, I stopped at Walgreen’s drug store. I wanted to find a decongestant and a back massager for my aching back. I found a cute small one called “the atom” or something like that. When the cashier rung me up, she couldn’t stop smirking. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t going to use the massager for any perverse reasons, but why bother, she probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway.
Now I’m back at home, and my son – who has had a cough all day – is burning up. I hope he gets better by Christmas. Poor guy.
Brrrrrski
It got chilly! I actually had to break out my closed-toed shoes tonight, as well as put jackets on the kids.
We went shopping tonight during the ‘Horns game. I shop while my husband rants and raves at the TV; it’s a great arrangement and probably keeps us from killing each other.
I enjoyed the shopping, but my excursion ended on a sour note at Wal-mart. Let me pause here and clarify my hate for Wal-mart… I wish I could convince myself never to walk in that place again, but alas, I am a cheapskate (oh, all right, I’m poor) and keep caving to their low prices.
I digress. Every time I go in that place, I wind up choosing the lane with the slowest cashier. Tonight was no exception, and when I was next in line, the people in front of me made a request that the cashier couldn’t figure out. So she called the manager. He couldn’t figure it out, either (even though the problem was relatively elementary), but the two of them bumbled around for TWENTY MINUTES before the customer just said to forget it.
So, I guess Wal-mart’s math goes: Low prices = lousy employee pay = lousy employees. Well, there’s also much to be said about the near-slave labor that products are manufactured under to maintain those low prices too, but I’m not going to get into that.
The bargain queen strikes again
I don’t know why, but every fall, I wait until the first day I step outside and feel a cool breeze – like today – to think about purchasing fall/winter clothes. So, this morning I realized I had nary a stitch for my daughter to wear this fall … everything she has now is spring/summer (save a couple of hand-me-downs).
A woman on a mission, I left the house this morning determined to find the child a cute fall wardrobe on a shoestring budget. I scoured five stores – one consignment shop, two Goodwills, one Salvation Army, one thrift store (And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.) I returned home, having spent a grand total of $47.47 on the following:
- One pair of khakis and two pairs of jeans
- Two long sleep shirts – one is Pooh and pals, the other is a retro “Cabbage Patch Kids” t-shirt dated 1983 on the tag. It features a girl on a swing with 3D (yarn) braided pigtails coming off of the shirt.
- Outerwear: one beautiful Gap lambswool sweater/’coat’ lined with 100% cotton, and one fleece pullover from Old Navy
- 12 long-sleeved shirts … some striped, some with flowers, several are embellished
- 3 dresses
- 3 Sandra Boynton books, an Anne Geddes baby counting book, and a kids’ science book
All the clothing was in perfect or near-perfect condition – no stains, holes, or major wear. Oh – and the best thing? I found great name-brands at a fraction of the price. Brands in this bunch of clothing included The Children’s Place, Baby Gap, Old Navy, Sprockets, OshKosh, Specialty Kids and Cherokee Kids. They’re currently getting a good wash and they’re about to be as good as new.
I do still need to find some more pants for her, but I think that’s a pretty good start for the money, eh?
