sensory pleasures

after the joyful pleasure of dealing with the Time Warner store downtown, some strange cosmic shift happened and my bf said "do you want to go shopping or something?". carpe shopping my dears. and so i did. we toodled over to Anthropologie - because where better to look at lovely things so soon after xmas without dealing with too huge a hoard.

as we wandered through their winter wonderland, i was doing my regular routine - get in the zone and cruise the whole thing. after awhile, my bf giggled. i asked him what was funny and he said "women - you just love to shop for anything". true i said. a couple of racks over, he giggled again. i asked again and he said "why do you all touch everything? even if you don't look at it fully, you walk by and touch it." i realized this was completely true, of me at least. i love to touch the stuff. i enjoy the online shopping as much as the next gal... but touch can grab me. this red silk dress? pulls me in like a magnet. cashmere blend beret? super magnet. some things i touch can repel me, if they seem too rough, scratchy, odd...

so it became clear to me as i inhaled deeply while fondling these soaps... that shopping is magnified a thousandfold when you make it full on sensory experience. who knew it could possibly get better? but it just did.

screw black friday, try grey wednesday!

once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far, away, i worked at a Mall. it was right after i had moved back from living in Paris. i hated it. not my cup of tea. i would rather have pulled out my eyelashes. however, that is not the point here. the point is that that particular period in my life was when i discovered the earth-bound version of hell that is "black friday". i vaguely recall hiding in a dressing room at one point to get away from the madness.

i don't know what evil genius came up with this idea. but they should be a villain in a super-hero movie. 98.4% of america runs screaming to any available shopping area near their homes and loses any sense of sanity they may have been gripping on to. i see images of it now on tv and it gives me shivers. all this for maybe, $5 off some item that will without a shadow of a doubt go ON SALE AGAIN. it's beyond insane and i just do not understand it.

now, this year, it will certainly boost the droopy economy if we all do shop - and we do all know i love to shop - and so i say: "SHOP! DO IT!" but you don't need to get an arm ripped off in the process.

i'm coming up with my own plan. i'm going to celebrate grey wednesday. i am going - wait for it.... to the MALL to meet my mum tomorrow. i love a good mall. nothin' like it. and on grey wednesday, i shall be free to peruse things at my leisure, and without fear. and i do know for a fact that Neiman Marcus has a load of things marked down, as does Anthropologie, Saks, Barneys, and JCrew. and i imagine that the other shops will follow suit. and for any of thee who are locked to the computer - chickdowntown and amazon.com are doing an "early" black friday deal, and i can only imagine that other sites will be following any moment now - so CRUISE the shops, or the web and find your early deals.

take that black friday! hazzah!

small things make big happy

some people are of the major blowout birthday celebration variety. me, not so much. i prefer to have my attention paid to me one on one or in a small group. people may feel free to press lavish gifts upon me - i have no problem with that, just without all the hub-bub. that established, yesterday was rather perfect as a birthday. i had my hair cut and styled, ended up a bit fabulous. then went and had nails done - (more on that in a mo... )

then J, my love, came home early to me bearing gifts and cupcakes from Crumbs. a gorgeous wrap cardi in a gorge cobalt blue, and a HOT cream colored turtle-neck sweater dress. love them both and will be wearing the cardi to within an inch of its life, i can tell already. however, the best gift (aside from his love) was this pair of earrings. bit of back story here. he is not the biggest fan of picking out gifts, so in the past i have guided him to what i might like. but the times when he picks things out on his own - those are the ones that make my heart smile. (one of my faves - a bathtub shaped soap dish) anyhoo - back to the story at hand. now we all know i loves me some jewelry. it's just a fact. so, i open up the clothing, love it, and then he hands me a little fabric pouch which i instantly recognize from Anthropologie - and i said out loud "ooh!" because little fabric pouch equals jewelry. math people. simple math. opened up the pouch and therein were these beautiful, intricate swirly earrings. right up my little boho alley i must say. and a happy birthday to me indeed.

sale time! WHAT!

the hotter it gets - the deeper the sales get. it's like retail's way of making us feel a little bit less schvitz-encumbered. i, for one, appreciate the effort.

anthropologie. land of the pretty pretty things. every time i walk into anthropologie, my blood pressure goes down. it is a happy place. things for the house, things for your self - they have that. and when it's time for markdowns, oh the heart flutters.

if you happen to be in proximity to a store - i would say go. your soul will appreciate the pretty vacation. and if not - peruse the website and gaze at the prettiness on your screen.

see - hot and sweaty just got a little nicer, right?