Category Archives: Shopping

It's not a tu-mah

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I still have a monster headache, but things may be showing slight signs of improving. For one, I found wedding shoes! And they’re pretty, too! I ordered about 5 pairs from Zappos, and I was thrilled to discover that one pair actually fits, feels comfy, and matches the dress. Hooray! And I’m excited that Zappos has free shipping and returns, so the other 4 pairs of cute-but-rejected shoes are already safely on their way back to the Zappos warehouse, free of charge. Very nice. I also found jewelry to go with the dress, but unfortunately I can’t find a link for that. Oh well, you’ll see it when I post the wedding photos.

On Tuesday, Dave and I were supposed to go meet with our wedding photographer, and Dave had said that he didn’t want to go because he wasn’t feeling well. I went into shrieking harpy bride mode, i.e., “You have to come with me, I can’t be expected to make all of these decisions by myself!!” So he got in the car. We got about 2 miles from the house when I had to pull over to let him throw up. Oops. Apparently he really wasn’t feeling well. So we turned around and went home (with me feeling horrible for dragging him out of the house when he was sick), and we’re going to reschedule with the photographer next week. No biggie. I’m still not sure what was wrong with him, but he appears to be ok now.

In other news, there is now the tiniest, faintest sign of a dim little light at the end of this loan tunnel, but both Dave and I have become far too jaded and disillusioned with the whole process to really get our hopes up at this point. But hey, keep your fingers crossed for us out there.

Not much else is going on in our little world. We’re both still worrying a lot, but at least things are starting to look somewhat manageable. Only 3-1/2 weeks until the Big Day!

shoe shopping detour

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Yesterday, as I left work, I was on a mission to find shoes to go with my wedding dress. I’m meeting the alterations lady tomorrow, and it’s important to know what kind of shoes I’ll be wearing, so she knows where the hem of the dress should be. Ok. So I leave my little parking garage, go to make a right turn onto a side street, but the street is blocked off by police cars, and the policemen are directing all oncoming traffic to make a U-turn and go back. I tried a detour a few blocks later, but that street was also blocked off by police cars. Since this was around 5:00 p.m. on a weeknight (and in a neighborhood that contains a LOT of offices), traffic was insane. While I was sitting in gridlock, I noticed that the news helicopters for all 3 local network news stations were circling in the air overhead. I called Dave and told him to check online and see what was up. He didn’t find anything. I looked it up this morning, and it turns out there was a failed attempt at a bank robbery right near where I work. (It was actually closer to Dave’s office than mine, but he only works about 1/2 a mile from me.) You have to register on that site to be able to read the story, so I’ll just copy & paste my favorite part:

“He was reaching to put money into the fanny pack which he had in front of him with his right hand, the gun went off towards his left hip,” said Ray Lauer, F.B.I. special agent.

Authorities said the robber barely missed himself, but he may have shot a hole in his sweater. Surveillance video also shows money being blown into small pieces.

As a trail of cash spilled out all over the bank floor in front of the counters, the suspect made his getaway.

A fanny pack. Oh good god. I know it wouldn’t be funny if anyone had gotten hurt, but that story cracks me up – it makes me think of the bank heist from “Raising Arizona” where the guys bring in the baby (still in his car seat) because they don’t want to leave him in the car. Then they set him on the roof and drive off. With this story, the amazing part is that the dude got away. The police and FBI are looking all over for him, and he just up & vanished. Which I suppose is fine, since all he succeeded in doing was blow a lot of cash into teeny-tiny bits.

But seriously, y’all. A fanny pack. I’m just sayin’.

And now, back to me: Because of the insane traffic, I ended up on a very extended detour, and lo & behold, I passed a Payless ShoeSource! I know the Manolo would be horrified with me for purchasing cheap footwear, but you know, I looked all over for nice shoes, and I couldn’t find any that I liked. Plus, I’m only going to wear these shoes once, and no one is going to even see them because the dress is floor-length. And after the fortune I’ve spent on the dress, I have a hard time justifying another fortune being spent on shoes. So I went with the cheapies. But they’re cute! (I don’t know why I can’t link directly to the shoe, but on the 6th row down, it’s the “Sparkle Strappy Sling.”) And they’re relatively comfortable for $20 shoes. So I’m happy. Yay!

shopping!!

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Originally posted: August 29, 2003

I was very bad yesterday. I honestly had good intentions of going to the gym after work, but somehow I got distracted on my way home and went shopping for super-cheap clothes instead.

First I hit Goodwill. Purchases there include:

* Very short blue dress with spaghetti straps and a black meshy overlay & black flowers sort of woven into the mesh. The skirt only comes about halfway down my thigh. It’s pretty hot, if I do say so myself. Price tag: $5.99

* Off-white sundress with tan, olive & pale blue flowers on it. Price tag: $3.99 (I’ll end up spending more on that one later, because I need to send it to Mom to have her alter it a bit – postage will probably end up costing more than the dress itself.)

Then I went to Ross Dress for Less, where I bought:

* Oatmeal cardigan sweater to wear with the off-white sundress from Goodwill – $9

* Pink short-sleeved shirt with China-girl collar (I think it’s called a Mandarin collar, technically?) – $7.99. I think I’ll probably end up returning that one, I didn’t like it as much when I tried it on at home. That type of collar just doesn’t look right on me.

* Black see-through shirt with peach & brown flowers on it, comes with a matching black shell to wear underneath. It’s button-down, 3/4 sleeve (my favorite), but kind of loose & flowy at the end of the sleeves. That was my big ticket item for the day – $16. And it’s 100% silk.

I also got a pair of shoes at Ross (I think they were $13), which I think I’m also going to end up taking back. You can’t really try shoes on there because they have the ridiculous security method of binding them together with a piece of plastic (what’s up with that, anyway?). So I found these shoes, and they fit my feet, so I bought them, took them home, cut the plastic & tried to walk around in them. Kind of a pricey way to find out whether or not you actually want the damn shoes. Anyway, they look awesome, but I’m not at all sure that I’m meant to wear heels this spikey – I just see a big trip to the emergency room in my future if I keep these. Sprained ankles, anyone?

Man, this blog sure is girly when I re-read it. But I think it’s a pretty good representation of me, so there you have it.

As for skipping the gym, I guess I’m going to be like Carson on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy – “Shopping is my cardio!”

Ah well… going to Serafina’s and Giggles tonight with Scott. Should be fun, I’m excited.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!