shopping spree.

this weekend, i did a little shopping. well actually, i did kind of a lot of shopping. i hit up yardsales, and craft stores, and hardware stores, and department stores. i got some things that i needed, some things that i wanted, and a bunch of pretty sweet deals. so let me share with you some of my spoils.

Saturday morning i got up pretty early to check out some of the end-of-the-season yardsales. most of what i saw was either a bunch of leftover junk or a lot of baby stuff, neither of which i had any need for. i was on my way home when i spotted one last sale. it was there that i found the best stuff of the day - an all-wooden futon, and a fun ikea mirror. she wanted $25 for both, but agreed to take my $23, since i'm such a convincing barterer. and/or that's all the cash i had on me. we think the futon will eventually live in the basement and give us extra room for guests, once we get a mattress for it. we have no idea yet where the mirror will end up.

after helping me unload the futon, Mark spent the rest of the day catching up on some work stuff, so i got to do some more solo shopping. i was supposed to be looking for curtains for the fireplace room. because our windows in there have been nekkid for far too long. but i didnt find any that i liked in any of the three stores i visited, so i did not buy any curtains. or curtain rods. but i picked up some swatches of fabric in case i decide to make curtains. and i did find some finials for the curtain rods at BBnB that i really like and that i could get 20% off of, so now all i need are the rods. (i'm not really sure why i didn't just go ahead and buy the rods at the same time. just not ready to fully commit yet?)

i also found this awesome little wheely-garlic-cutter that has been on my "i really wish i had one of those" list ever since my sister-with-the-babies told me about hers, but i wasn't willing to buy one for myself. until i found this one that was 1/2 off. score!

another little thing that brought me great joy was the bedskirt that i found on clearance for $4 at Target. i ironed it and put it on the bed in the guest bedroom, and now i can stop feeling self-conscious about the no-longer-exposed frame because it is all covered up and looking fine. doesn't it just make you want to come visit? what? you say you would also like a headboard and some bedside tables? be patient y'all... all in good time.

i made one last stop on Saturday at Home Depot to pick up a small lattice for our thornless raspberry plants. they were about to out-grow the pot we had them in, and needed something to support themselves so they would stop growing along the ground. Mark transplanted them into a bigger pot, the one my Mom got me for my bridal shower, and i think they're really going to like it there.

on Sunday morning, i made the unsettling discovery that i did not like any of my pants. so since i had 30% off at Kohl's to use (and because if you get the 30% you can't NOT go shopping) i spent the afternoon figuring out what size pants* i wear in grown-up sizes** and making the most out of my extra discount. i ended up with 2 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of capris, 2 shirts, and a pair of shoes for me; and 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of swim trunks, and 2 shirts for Mark. i shopped mostly from the clearance racks, except for my 2 pairs of pants, and i ended up saving around 4x what i spent. i think it was a good day.

did anyone else do any shopping this weekend? anyone know where i can find a futon mattress? who wants to help me pick out curtain fabric? anyone have a sewing machine i could maybe borrow? and when are you coming to visit and sleep in my guest bedroom?

*definitely NOT a size 4. what was i thinking? also, neither is Kirstie Alley. sorry hon.

** a rant-y aside to the Womens Pants Sizing Makers of America (WPSMOA: presumably pronounced whip-some-mo'): may i seriously suggest that you get your act together and start standardizing your wacked-out system for sizing women's pants? just because i might be classified as 'petite' does not mean that i am also extra skinny. i'm just a little shorter than average. but according to you and your crazypants, i'm about 6 inches too short for 'average' pants, and yet somehow still about an inch too tall for 'short' pants. and why can i fit into a size 6avg but need a size 8short?  YOU MAKE NO SENSE! thanks for making me feel fat and short all at the same time, all while not making any pants that actually fit me..
what's wrong with the way men size their pants? i know that i can pick up any pair of pants that say 32/32 and be guaranteed that they'll look great on the hubs. why can't we do that? because i would LOVELOVELOVE to find a pair of pants that fits me around my hips and butt and are also a comfortable length - you know, somewhere between needs-to-be-rolled-three-times and hey-where's-the-flood? to be able to pick up a pair of pants in my size and be guaranteed that they'll fit me without having to take three pairs of the same pants in different sizes into the dressing room only to find that NONE OF THEM FIT?
save us some time. save us from dressing room meltdowns. save us from wearing the same pants we've had since highschool because we dread having to shop for new ones. and FIX THE WAY YOU SIZE OUR PANTS.***

*** ok, i'm done now. i feel a little better.