Tag Archives: shopping

Mi fin de semana

8 Mar

Don’t ask me why I just decided to break out the Spanish…maybe it was that Dulce de Leche Girl Scout cookie I ate earlier (which btw, isn’t that fantastic, especially compared to the usual Girl Scout cookie-ness).

Just a little weekend recap for ya:

Like I had planned, I went to the Rec yesterday morning and did a leisurely 8 miles on the bike (my flem kept me from exerting myself too much). Then I went to Panera where I had a delicious egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with really crappy coffee. Oh and my ancient laptop just about got thrown through the window (by me, if you hadn’t guessed). It…is…so…slow… I really hope that we buy a new laptop soon.

After that, I went to the Arvada library where I checked out Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. and The Skinny: How to Fit into Your Little Black Dress Forever by Melissa Clark and Robin Aronson. I’ve already read The Skinny. As in I read the whole book yesterday. I’ll give my thoughts on the book some other day. Overall, it was just ok.

When I got home from the library, I forced myself to clean the house. I REALLY didn’t want to, mostly because I, in fact, loathe cleaning. But I do like a clean house. And I do like serving my husband. So I cleaned.

I rewarded myself for that feat of willpower by laying in bed reading my new book. Then Travis came home from ice fishing and we both took a nap. I got up and made Chili Beef N Pasta for dinner and then we went to see Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler at the Arvada 8. It was a really cute movie. There’s a guinea pig in the movie named Bugsy because he has these giant eyes. He is the cutest thing ever (and the exact same colors as my pet guinea pig growing up, Cinnamon. He was the best pet. When he died, I made him a tombstone, which read “Cinnamon–The Best Pet.” No joke.) Anyway, that guinea pig made me laugh so loud. Seriously hilarious. 

Today, Travis and I left for church and as we were driving by the business sign that has the temperature/date/time on it, the time read “10:40 AM”. Church starts at 10. “Is that sign wrong?” I thought first. “Or are we doing daylight savings time?” I thought second. Ah, the latter. We missed church. Bummer. That means, with the business trip last weekend, our blunder today, our vacation the next 2 Sundays, and Children’s Ministry the 2 Sundays after that, it will have been 6 weeks before I attend another church service. Boo!!

We went grocery shopping and bike-helmet buying instead. Then Travis went to shoot clay pigeons with a friend and I went swimsuit shopping (for the tri). I don’t think I’ve ever felt more annoyed or frustrated at shopping for something (except maybe dressy boots–near impossible to find cute, affordable ones that don’t make you look like a hooker). I want to buy a polyester suit and 2 out of the 3 stores I went to had NOT A ONE. They have them on their websites!! I finally just settled on trying sizes on at REI up in Boulder and buying a suit online (I bought 2 sizes, Please let one fit.) The suit I bought was the Dolfin Poly Solid DBX Back. And I got it for $26.95. Score!

Here’s what it looks like:

Front and Back

Front and Back

I bought the black one:

Sleek and sophisticated, no?

Sleek and sophisticated, no?

I’m really crossing my fingers that one of the suits fits because I really don’t want to look any more.

I also snagged these cute little things for $10.25:

They're pink!

They're pink!

If I’m going to look goofy with goggles, I might as well look girly too.

After my online “shopping spree,” I caught up with my friend Brittany. It was really good to talk to her again (the last time we talked was Christmas!) I miss having a really close girlfriend like that. But those things take time. Brittany and I didn’t hit it off right away–our friendship blossomed over a few years.

I did a quick little 3-mile run (though I’m still not up to par from being sick).

And now Travis (when he gets home already!) and I are going to go hang out with our friends Paul and Carrie. Eat some Papa Murphy’s Chicken Bacon Artichoke DeLite pizza (my fave!) and some garlic popcorn (Paul’s specialty).

What a great weekend!

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Photo Update

28 Nov

Despite my getting sicker (I now have an ear infection!), we had a very good Thanksgiving. As I mentioned before, we went over to my old boss, Carol Ann’s, sister-in-law’s house. Yes, it was a big group but it was a lot of fun. The food was great and we played cards and watched football afterwards. But then I discovered that I was getting an ear infection–and a bad one at that. My ear was throbbing all night (hence my doctor’s visit today for some antibiotics).

But that didn’t stop me from getting up at 5:20 AM to go shopping on Black Friday! I went with my friend Carrie and her almost-2-year-old daughter, Ruby. The first stop we made was Walmart, where I picked up a new DVD player for $35 (because ours has been on the fritz for a long time) and a dustbuster/swiffer/vacuum thingy for cleaning our kitchen floors.

Then we went to the Flatirons Crossing Mall, where I bought these 2 cute things from American Eagle.

A puffy vest--the fabric is so smooth.

A puffy vest--the fabric is so smooth.

 

Long sleeve tee with embroidered detail

Long sleeve tee with embroidered detail

I told Carrie as we were walking in to the store that I love shopping when I actually have money to spend! They were having a Buy One, Get one 50% on all Tops. I asked one of the employees if the vest was included in that sale and he said yes. When I finally checked out (with a different employee), the girl said that the vest was technically outerwear so that it shouldn’t be in on the deal but since I was “braving shopping on Black Friday,” she gave it to me. 🙂

After looking at some tall dressy boots with no luck, we headed over to Panera so Carrie could work a little (she has an internet job that she does 3 days a week from home). I had a chocolate chip bagel and a hot chocolate. Delicious… I heart Panera.

Then we went to the Westminster Mall to go to JCPenney, since they had some really cute boots in their newspaper ad. Carrie bought some white, moccasin-type boots that were super cute but I didn’t find anything that I liked (or thought my feet could fit in–I have very wide toes so the pointy boots are outlawed for me).

After that store, Ruby had had enough so we left. We had been shopping for about 4 hours though so we thought she did very well for having to get up at 6:30 to go shopping.

When I got home, I did some Christmas decorating. Travis helped by putting little screw hooks into the wall. This is what I put up:

Christmas wreath

Christmas wreath

Santa I got from Travis' aunt last year for Christmas

Santa I got from Travis' aunt Terri last year for Christmas

Our little Christmas tree that we bought last year when we lived in an apartment.

Our little Christmas tree that we bought last year when we lived in an apartment. We'll eventually get a bigger one but right now, this will do. 🙂

Our stockings that I decorated.

Our stockings that I decorated. The little santa stocking holders were a Christmas present from Travis' aunt, Cheryl.

The poinsettia plant Travis bought me for our 1 1/2 year anniversary.

The poinsettia plant Travis bought me for our 1 1/2 year anniversary. He knows how much I love Christmas!

Ornaments in the window. I still have to replace the middle one...a couple of the gems fell out (that's what you get from Walmart!)

Ornaments in the window. I still have to replace the middle one...a couple of the gems fell out (that's what you get with Walmart!)

Wreath on the outside door--I'm in love with it.

Wreath on the outside door--I'm in love with it.

Snowman was a Christmas present from Travis' mom

Snowman was a Christmas present from Travis' mom

Nativity set was a wedding present. It's sitting on our kitchen windowsill.

Nativity set was a wedding present. It's sitting on our kitchen windowsill.

Our house decorated with lights

Our house decorated with lights, thanks to my hubby (and YES, it is snowing!!!)

Our garage with the extra lights that we planned to put on the tree in our backyard but couldn't (the back door closes too tightly to run an extension cord through it).

Our garage with the extra lights that we planned to put on the tree in our backyard but couldn't (the back door closes too tightly to run an extension cord through it).

One last thing: I had looked through the Victoria’s Secret catalog and found some boots I liked. I waited until today because I would prefer to buy them in a store, if I could. But after finding nothing I liked, I decided to spring for the boots in VS. They are Skechers so I tried to find them on their website, but couldn’t. I’m thinking that because they aren’t pointy-toed boots, my feet will fit…hopefully!! I bought them today on the VS website. This is what they look like:

I bought the brown ones. I'm excited!! They should get here by Dec. 12th--just in time for our vacation to MN.
I bought the brown ones. I’m so excited!! They should get here by Dec. 12th–just in time for our vacation to Minnesota!

Anyway, I’m glad that even though I’m sick, I’m not just laying on the couch and doing nothing. That is the biggest frustration about being sick: being out of commission for everything. I haven’t exercised all week (though I had dreams that I did and in them, I ended up passing out!)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

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My materialistic dream come true

27 Apr

Ever since I saw a Coach purse however many years ago, I’ve wanted one. Coach is just one of those brands–I love every style and design. The North Face is also like that for me. I drool over just about anything I see that is made by The North Face. They also have one more commonality: they’re crazy expensive.

Which explains why I didn’t have a Coach purse, nor did I think I ever would. I don’t have $300, let alone $300 to spend on a purse. So I relegated my Coach purse dream to the part of my brain that stores all the “Maybe someday…probably never” dreams that I have (those dreams usually involve possessions and things of superficial worth).

But my mom got this gift card for $50 off a $150 purchase. She asked me if I liked Coach purses and I said “Uh…yeah!” She asked me if I would use the gift card if she gave it to me. “Well, $50 off…but I don’t have that extra $100.” And then she said, “Well Dad and I could give you $100 now for your birthday (which is in July).” Sold.

I was still a little dubious about whether I could find a purse that I really wanted for $150. But I was willing to try. So I headed off to the Coach store at Flatirons Crossing and I did find one that I really liked, the only problem was the stupid handle. It was only long to be carried on your forearm, not put over your shoulder. I’ve had purses like that before (and I’ve had a LOT of purses) and it’s always just a little annoying. It’s what separates a great purse from a good purse. So the more I thought about that purse, I knew that if I bought it, I would always be a *little* disappointed about the handle.

Thinking that maybe the Coach store didn’t have EVERY style out on display, I checked out Coach.com. And I found 3 viable options, 2 of which were realistic. 🙂 When we went back to the Coach store yesterday, I found the 2 purses that I liked, tried each on and looked at myself in the mirror. The one I had expected to like better was actually a tad big for my taste. Travis thought the same thing (and the bigger one was more expensive so that was an automatic “I like the other one better.”) I ended up buying the other, smaller one that cost $218. With my $50 off, it cost $182. So I have to pay $82 out of my blow money, $40 for the next 2 months. It’s worth it!

As we walked out of the store, me carrying my ritzy Coach purse inside its own Coach pouch inside a glossy Coach bag, I wasn’t completely sure that I bought the perfect purse. I really wanted one with gold on it but the style I wanted didn’t have that as an option. The one I bought that is very sophisticated and will en vogue even when gold is out. 

Nevertheless, the minute we got to the car (after Travis went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to look at hunting scopes), I transferred everything from my old purse to my new purse. And the more I used it last night and this morning, the more I absolutely love it. My materialistic dream has finally come true!! I am the proud owner of a Coach purse! (And it doesn’t have as much to do with the “status symbol” as it does with the fact that I just really LOVE Coach purses. I mean if you asked me if I wanted a Louis Vitton purse, I’d say no. I just don’t like Louis Vitton.)

So here is a picture of my new beloved possession:Coach purse

Beautiful, eh?

On another note, the half marathon is in exactly a week. Travis and I ran 11 miles today so I think we’re pretty well-prepared.

On yet another note, I never get sick of making analogies between the Christian life and running. So I have another one before I end this post. I have been pretty dedicated to training for this race because I know that if I don’t do the short, weekly runs, I’ll never be able to do the long, weekend runs (or the race for that matter).

My dedication to running makes me think about the dedication I have to other areas of my life, especially my time with God. Too often, I’m not that committed. I think, “Well I have to train because or else I won’t be able to run the race, but it doesn’t REALLY matter if I don’t get into the Word today. I mean, what’s going to happen to me?”

But I think that if I saw the whole race stretched out before me and I saw what would be required of me down the road (or what I would be able to achieve with consistent training), my approach to time in the Word and in prayer would be quite a bit different. God doesn’t want me to spend time in the Word because “it’s a good thing.” It is a good thing but I am not just training for a little stroll in the park when I get in the Word. I am training for battle. I am training for challenges and circumstances that are only possible for me to face and stand against when I am grounded in God. Just as the distance I can run increases the more I train, so the difficulties of the obstacles I can face increases the more I train my soul and mind.

That’s food for thought.

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