Face Mas-kes

October 27, 2010

It's hard to keep track of the days when I'm not going to work. Staying at home, it doesn't really matter what day of the week it is. As long as I have a general idea of what appointments I have that day, or for the week, I'm pretty content not knowing.

But last night, I realized that at the end of this week is Nathan's Hallowe'en party at school! And Nathan has no costume!

Unlike last year when he declared what he wanted to be way ahead of time, this year, I hadn't heard a peep. So I took it upon myself to initiate a family field trip to who-knows-where to buy a costume for Nathan.

We warned Nathan that he could tell us what he wanted but daddy and mommy were going to make the final decision. He contentedly agreed and said "I'll like whatever costume you choose." Perfect!

Inside the store, there was a lot of really gruesome costumes and props. Nathan wasn't used to this so we rushed him over to the wall listing out the kids' costumes. Staring at the wall, Nathan had never been faced with so many options! So many characters all the kids at school were talking about but Nathan didn't know much about. He named one after another. He had no clue what he really wanted. We'd decide on one costume, then he'd name another. This process got a little frustrating so I made a deal with him.

Andrew would choose 2-3 costumes and Nathan could make his selection from those options. This seemed to sound good to Nathan. He trusted daddy's choices. Soon enough, we were trying out costumes. I was a little skeptical about ones with masks but those ones looked coolest! So I told Nathan that he had to try the masks on and if he was okay with wearing them, then we'd buy it.

The first one was some Transformers guy. Optimus Prime? I don't know. But Nathan kept complaining that it was "stinky" so we quickly ditched that costume. I thought that would be it for the costumes with "mas-kes" but once again, I was proven wrong because Nathan's costume for this year has a mask!

Then, Andrew got it in his head that maybe he would dress up for Hallowe'en this year as well! We gave the costumes a quick look and Andrew tried on a bunch of masks but those ones didn't fit properly at all. My only solution? We'll make one! (Because apparently I have a lot of time on my hands...).

Hopefully, we'll have a functional camera by the time Friday rolls around so I can show you what we ended up with!

Shopping With My Boys

October 4, 2010

Shopping has always been a social thing for me.

All through my teenage years, through university and even now, my sister has been one of my best shopping companions. We've got outlet mall shopping down to an art. Never spending more time than we need to in any one store and always coming out armed with great finds at bargain prices.

In university, I also managed to find a couple really good shopping buddies. For example, my friend Kat and I volunteered at KidsAbility out in Cambridge for a term. That may or may not have been a good decision for us because on the way to our placement, there was a couple outlets and somehow we managed to hit up those outlets every single week and come back with a thing or two.

And now that I'm living with two boys, I was sure my days of shopping with a buddy were over. But over the past 4 years, I have been proven wrong. As I started to encourage Andrew to dress more "appropriately", he became a little more interested in finding his own clothes. Sure, he hates when I shop at other stores and even has a "list"* but for the most part, he's a very willing buddy. And other times, he and Nathan entertain each other while they wait for me.


Then there's Nathan. He has a great time pulling things he likes off the racks. Last year, he even picked out all his own back to school clothing and walked out of the store with them (except that we had to pull him back in because he had neglected to pay for those items before marching out the door to sit on the bench).

I think I've really lucked out when it comes to shopping companions. Which is a really good thing because I'm a wreck when I shop by myself. Like the other day, I suggested to Andrew I stop by Walmart on the way home. I wandered around for an hour and bought a whole lot of things we didn't really need, got a few things on the list I didn't have on hand and I completely forgot all the rest.

I told Andrew that maybe I shouldn't go shopping on my own anymore. He agreed. Thank goodness. It's always nice to have someone else around to help carry all the bags!


Put up your hand if you love shopping with mommy!


Or check out your muscles in the mirror. Whatever works.



*Andrew has a list of stores he absolutely hates and will try to stop me from going in whenever I ask if I can go take a peek. It all started when we were wedding planning and I'd take any chance I could to wander around places like Michaels and Williams-Sonoma. I suppose it's not a coincidence that those two stores are at the top of his list.

Vancouver 2010, Anyone?

January 27, 2010

I just realized something. This year's winter Olympics starts on my birthday! Not only does that mean I get to spend my birthday watching one of my favourite parts of the Games, but whenever I want to know how many days, hours, and minutes there are left until my birthday, I can go to places like the CTV Vancouver 2010 site and check the countdown! (16 days in case you're wondering!)

I knew this year was going to be special!

Oh, and have you seen the mascots?


The other day I brought Andrew to The Bay to help me search for a Team Canada shirt. Amidst all the clothing, I found a Quatchi! I grabbed it and told Andrew that's what I wanted for my birthday.

He laughed.

Then we left.

Without the shirt or Quatchi.

My Black Friday Plunder

December 7, 2009

It's been a week since I got back from my shopping trip and I still haven't posted what I bought. Seeing as how we've already put everything away, it's hard to show you my shopping bags. But, I'll do a quick rundown of what was purchased.

First, craft stuff. Yes, I can get it here. But it's cheaper there. It was the first stop. A great start to our shopping adventures (for me, not so much for everyone else. They were bored and wanted to get the "real" shopping started).

Then, I got Andrew some more snazzy clothing from Gap because apparently the idea is for him to dress better than me. This turned out to be a great birthday gift... heh heh heh

And because our little monster is out-growing his clothes so quickly, I had to get him some stuff too!

Of course, gifts are also a good idea. I managed to snag my friend's future son a few cute items. He'll be here in about a month and I can't wait to meet him!

And a shopping trip down south wouldn't be right if I didn't also grab some new house stuff.

And last, but not least, my stuff. A shopping trip wouldn't be complete if a girl didn't buy a little somethin' somethin' for herself too, right? (Answer: yes). I'll show you where it was from. But if you want to see what's inside, you have to wait until Christmas.

Okay, fine. I'll give you a teeny tiny little peek, but that's it.

That's it! No more. I know it's mean, but hey, someone's gotta be surprised by my Christmas gift. And it sure isn't going to be me. ha ha ha

Edit: Oooh I lied. The first thing I bought was actually alcohol. Wonder how I forgot that...

The Skinny

November 30, 2009

While I was out shopping this past weekend, I won something!



Maggie had a giveaway on her blog and when I got back, I found out I had won!

I'm so excited! Her stuff is really cute, and if you're looking for some cute gifts to give this Christmas, you should really check out her shop over on Etsy!

Black Friday

November 26, 2009

Guess who's crossing the border tomorrow for a weekend full of {hopefully} awesome shopping adventures?

ME!

I'm so excited. I'll be back on Monday with my {hopefully} satisfying collection of goodies!

Wish me good luck and pray that I don't get trampled or lost.

End Of Season

April 7, 2009

This past weekend, I hit up another Bench warehouse sale. It wasn't really that spectacular, but we managed to grab and armload of things we thought we might want. What I ended up purchasing was two winter jackets. Yeah, at that point, I wasn't really sure if it was a smart buy, seeing as how the weather was getting warm and winter was pretty much over. But, those experts always tell you to buy at the end of the season for next year! So that's what I ended up doing.

In the car, I quickly called Andrew to inform him of my latest purchase (y'know, to prepare him for when I came home with a huge paper bag). After hearing me out, he asked, "What? Are you expecting the weather to get really cold any time soon?" Seeing as how the weather was really warm up until the weekend, I didn't really have an answer. But now? Now I do.

Yes, Andrew, I was expecting the weather to get real cold. And I'm so glad I had my nice, new, warm jacket on me today when I was assigned to take a walk to the park with one girl I work with... in the snow.

Christmas Shopping

December 16, 2008

In the past 24 hours I have done an insane amount of Christmas shopping... and none of it was on my Christmas shopping list. (Granted, I didn't actually have a Christmas shopping list until about 10 minutes ago - I know I'm behind). My church is doing a free Christmas turkey dinner and we are planning to have gifts for everyone who comes. I volunteered to be part of the gift committee. I figured it'd be really fun getting involved with this project by getting for people and wrapping it all up in pretty packaging. I didn't foresee shopping at Walmart until 3am or going to Mitchell's to buy almost 200 books. But that's what we did and let me just say, it was one of the most satisfying things I've done in a long time. I got to spend time with people I barely know and do something good.

In other news, I found these cute key chains at Walmart that I'm going to use as ornaments for our tree. Updated tree pictures coming soon!

It's Time

November 19, 2008

Andrew got his toy so it's time for me to get mine. I'd like to get my stand mixer before the Christmas season starts so I can have an excuse to ditch the books and bake my heart out. The only problem is, with so many colours to choose from, I don't know which one to get!

I've narrowed it down to two colours and now I need your help to choose one.

Colour 1: Boysenberry













Colour 2: Reef Blue












Please vote!

Bench.ed

September 20, 2008

My sister suckered me into going to a sample sale today. I've never actually been to one and I wasn't quite prepared for it. But my sister instructed me, over the phone, to go in and hoard all things Bench. I am an excellent hoarder. In fact, I was so good at hoarding, within 15 minutes of being there, my arms were full of Bench-ware and were beginning to ache to the point where they started shaking.

Luckily, my sister soon showed up, we sorted through the pile for good pieces, paid and left. What a rewarding Saturday morning.

What A Deal Steal!

May 29, 2008

The other day as we were driving to the post office, my sister and I spotted a sign. And it wasn't just any sign. It was a sign advertising a sale.

My sister and I gravitate towards these signs like flies to a light bulb. We know we probably shouldn't wander in but we do anyway and almost always get burned... or at least the plastic starts to melt a little.

Anyway, the sign was advertising a sale (50% off everything!) at Value Village where things are already supposedly dirt cheap. We are by no means fans of the place and we were a little hesitant to go in. But the wedding budget was starting to burst at the seams and this was a necessary move.

We ended up walking out with a great few items, including this lovely piece. I plan to hang it in the front hall of my new place... (hah!) I'm sure we'll find some way to spruce it up.



AND! I found out last night that people have been receiving my invitations ALREADY! I can't believe it!

Easter Egg Hunt

March 23, 2008

On Saturday, the one day stores were open this weekend, my sister and I went out shopping hunting. It's Easter eggs season and that only means one thing - Cadbury Mini Eggs are around! These little drops of joy are only available for a limited time each year so I have to stock up on them. Normally, I just buy a huge bag but since we I thought we might want to include these in our wedding some how, I had to buy more - lots more. My sister came along because as my Maid of Honour, it's her job to help me do these sorts of things. And it's a good thing she did because she was the one who swiped the "last" bag off the shelf, pulled me together when I had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the grocery store, talked to the police after the minor altercation and helped me lug a boxful of Mini Eggs to the car.

Warning for my fellow nut-allergy-sufferers! There have been traces of hazelnut found in the 39g package product. Fortunately, I bought the 1kg package. No worries there!