5 posts tagged “shopping”
Today Sean and I went to Babies R Us to look at stuff. We weren't planning to buy anything, but just wanted to look in person at what kind of baby stuff is out there. Sean made me laugh because he said being in the store made this whole baby thing seem awfully real. Dude, like it wasn't real before! He then hightailed it out of there to check out the action figures. Don't worry though - he did come back and look some more - he's just usually a better buyer than browser and I think he wanted to avoid purchasing things we don't need yet. Especially since a lot of things seemed very expensive. I took home the catalog for further research. It doesn't have prices though, so it's not as helpful as I'd like it to be.
In other baby news, I went to the doctor on Thursday. He said that the ultrasound looked fine, but he is sticking with his initial September 10th due date. His logic is that due dates are often give or take a week. I get that, but I don't understand what the point of the dating ultrasound was if he's not going to use that date since that is based on pictures and measurements of the kid. I figure I'm better off throwing a dart at a September 2008 calendar to figure out when Skeletor (that nickname has started to stick) will be born. It's really not a big deal, but the back and forth does bug me a bit. My next appointment is next month, and will probably have the big ultrasound soon after. That's the one that should decide what gender the baby is, and if all its parts are developing properly. I'm looking forward to that one.
It's funny, I didn't think I'd be one of those mums-to-be that only talked about her pregnancy and soon-to-arrive baby. But it seems that I don't have a whole lot else going on right now except for the planning for Skeletor's arrival. Everything else is kinda running on autopilot these days. Not to say that I'm slacking off at work or anything, but when people ask me what's new, I don't have a lot to report outside of pregnancy or baby stuff. I don't want to bore people and overshare this stuff, but really, it feels like my world has gotten a lot smaller lately. My biggest concern these days is incubating this kid in the best way I can. Then hopefully Sean and I will become okay parents to it. I'm not thinking a lot these days about stuff that doesn't directly relate to pregnancy or babies. I wonder if this is what they mean by "mommy brain".
Well, I discovered that the store was having a 25% off sale on most purses, and I saw one that I liked. As per usual, I hemmed and hawed, but took a picture of it with my camera phone before I left without it. I knew the sale was going until the 20th so I had some time to think about this.
At the end of the day, I was still thinking about it, so I decided to first check a couple of other stores in the neighbourhood to see if I found anything else I liked for a better price. No luck at either place.
By this time, I was running late and really needed to get home and take Leia out for a walk. I then made the decision that since this purse had been on my mind all afternoon, I'd better just buy it, or I would spend forever looking for its equivalent. (Look! I applied a lesson I learned from a previous shopping experience!)
This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it's pretty spiffy. It's a deeper pink than my last purse. Honestly, it's bordering on purple, but for the sake of tradition, I'm calling it pink. Everything I carried in the last purse fits in it and the front pockets are easy to open so I can get my keys and subway pass out with one hand. And it was 25% off so it fit most of my major criteria for a good purse.
I wasn't due for another purse bender for a couple of months, but I guess the change of season inspired me. That, or I'm having a girl baby and she's giving me cravings for new accessories.
Sean and I are going to the Dominican Republic on January 24th for a week-long vacation. This is our first Caribbean trip and we are going with friends. We have spent most of January preparing for this trip - lots of shopping and list-making. I just starting putting clothes in the suitcase today, but am certainly not done packing yet. We've probably bought more summer clothes in the last week and a half than we did last summer, which is no mean feat here in wintry Toronto! We've managed to find:
- bathing suit and cover up for me
- 2 bathing suits for Sean - same style, different colours - in case "the first one isn't dry the next morning" said Sean the fashion plate
- "swooshy" capri pants with beading on the cuffs for me that can be dressed up or down
- a button-up shirt that is way too big for Sean ("they didn't have my size so I bought the next size up"), but he doesn't want to return it. I told him to wear a smaller shirt underneath and leave it unbuttoned so people can see he is not that ginormous
- flip-flops for me (in pink of course - probably wouldn't have bought them otherwise as I am a Birkenstock girl at heart)
- dark green pants that button up into capris for me - that way I can leave Toronto in pants and turn them into capris when we get off the plane - makes for one less item to pack!
Sean still needs sandals as he doesn't usually wear them here at home. He usually wears really thick socks with his shoes all year round, which would just be a stupid thing to do on a beach. He also needs khakis as his usual work dress pants would probably be overkill in the "must wear long pants" places. We also need to get a few more toiletry-type things, but the buying is just about done. I also picked up three novels of varying trashiness for me to read - it's been really hard not to pick them up and start them right away.
We're starting to get really excited. Just another week and a half to survive at work and we are outta here!
It's been a busy week at our house. Christmas is now in full swing here - our tree and outside lights are up. However, since some of the lights stopped working as soon as I put them up, the lights out front have yet to be turned on. The shopping is nearly finished as long as I can stop buying "just one more thing". I went to my work holiday party last Thursday so that's another thing checked off the list.
Sean also gave me my present on Monday. Yes, it's ridiculously early, but I would have figured it out if he didn't give it to me then. He got a new tub and tub surround put into the bathroom. Like I said, I think I would have noticed this if he just decided not to tell me about it. I tried to take a picture of it tonight to put up here, but I'm having trouble getting a decent picture since the bathroom is so small. I can either take a picture of a quarter of the tub, or take a picture of the whole tub from out in the hall. Neither picture will do the tub justice, so I'll try and work on that.
He was quite the trickster while doing it. Apparently, he had the guy come in to do the measurements and estimate on November 13th, which was a stat holiday for him. (Sean works for the Ontario government which gets Remembrance Day as a stat, where the rest of us working slobs have to remember while we're working.) On Monday (the 27th) when the guy came to do it, Sean told me he was sick and wasn't going to work. Since his exact words were, "I'm gonna barf", I tossed him the phone to call in, walked the dog and hightailed it outta there to work. When I phoned him throughout the day, he told me he was feeling better, and wondered if it was something we ate. I told him I didn't think so cuz I wasn't sick.
Another thing Sean did to keep me off his trail was telling me that he had bought tickets for a trip down south. My reaction was less than ideal as we got into a big fight about it. I told him that our money should be spent on more practical things (like a tub that we really need badly as ours is falling apart), and that while that trip would be fun for those 5-7 days, the stress before and after from spending all our money with nothing but pictures to show for it wouldn't be worth it right now. I have to admit that our big fight was more me ranting and raving and Sean telling me "you'll eat your words". I didn't take as anything unusual, as this is often how we fight when he wants to spend money on something big and I'm not ready for it yet. Before I came home from work on Monday, he told me that the tickets and information about our trip had come in, and that he'd show it to me when I got home. I snarked at him a little more about it, and spent my subway ride home trying to accept it and figure out how this was going to work.
When I got home, the house smelled really vinegar-y and there was a towel hanging on our door. This got me worried that Sean had thrown up where he shouldn't have and tried to clean it up. He told me that wasn't the case, but that the trip package was in the bathroom and could I please go and get it. Still worried about inappropriate vomitting, I did not want to go in, but after some convincing I stuck my head in. It was at that point that I realized that there was no trip, as there was a BRAND NEW TUB in my bathroom. After my initial shock, Sean told me that he did look at trips and had several that he was interested in. However, he knew that I'd rather have the tub and it would help our home's resale value if we decide to sell in a few years.
I was completed shocked at this turn of events, but I am completely thrilled with the tub, and am thrilled that Sean thought long-term value instead of short-term fun. I am also really happy that Sean can still surprise me after more than ten years together, two of which we've been married for. He is a good husband and not just cuz he buys me stuff.
Apparently when the guy came in, he looked at our old patched and stained tub and tiles and said "Wow. You guys really need this. A lot of people who call us don't really need it, but you guys do." I wish that Sean had negotiated to be a "before" picture and get some money off, but I suppose the photographer would have had the same problem I did getting the pictures.
Of course, getting this tub has started another chain of events. My sunny orange bathroom now looks weird with the white pseudo-marble tub, and the sink is now showing its shabbiness more clearly (this shabbiness is completely my fault with hair dye stains and some spray foam remnants that were unintentionally stuck to the sink). But a fresh coat of paint, a new sink and some matching accessories will make all the difference, and won't be too expensive to do. It will also encourage me to get my hair coloured at the salon since I don't want to stain my tub or sink! If we were really smart, we'd replace the floor too, but I'm a little skittish about us doing that ourselves.
So, what colour should I paint my bathroom? It faces north, and has a window on the north side with that transluscent glass so no one can see our bits when we shower. I don't want to go all white cuz every speck of dirt and pet hair will show. Sean is not into any oranges or yellows, and I'm not huge on blues. I'd prefer a warm colour so I don't look washed out when I look in the mirror. Any suggestions are welcome.
My folks were up on the weekend, and my mom was itchy to go to shopping. She likes checking out warehouse and discount sales whenever she is in Toronto. She asked me what I was looking for and I told her that I was only planning to look for Christmas presents.
I ended up spending nearly $200 on clothes for myself (and one pair of jeans for Sean), and about $15 (including tax) on some porcelain Santas for my mother-in-law to add to her vast collection.
Obviously, I did not stick to the plan.
However, I can justify this unplanned expenditure on sartorial splendour by saying that I got everything on sale, and 2/3 of it on major sale. I estimated that I saved almost $340 from the original prices of everything. So, seeing as I actually saved more than I spent, that means I made money, right? Okay, maybe not, but it was a good shot.
In other weekend events, Sean and my stepdad installed an outside plug and a motion sensor light at the front of the house. The plug will make Christmas lights and weedwhacking much easier, and we're hoping that the sensor light will deter the assholes who live down the street from smoking, yelling, littering, and occasionally drinking in front of my house. Go do that in front of you own house please.
Finally, Sean and I went and saw Alice in Chains on Sunday night. By the time Sunday night rolled around, we were both tired, and while I wanted to see the show, I wasn't looking forward to staying up past our bedtime to see it. (The joys of becoming a responsible adult who can't just sleep in to even things out anymore.)
By the time the show was finished, I had forgotten that I was tired before I had left the house. The show was really tight, the new singer was fabulous, and I remembered how much I like this band. While most of the show was electric, they did play an acoustic mini-set. The show was awesome, and if you get a chance to see them on this tour, you should go - their energy is really high, and you can tell they are feeling good about playing live.
I'm not used to having such an eventful weekend. Maybe I could get used to it.
