Sunday, June 05, 2005

Retail therapy

This week was just one of those weeks, where nothing goes right and everyone seems to be thwarting your plans. I started feeling better after a long conversation with my mother last night, so after I finished my housework* this morning, I indulged in a little retail therapy.

First stop - HomeSense. I'm not sure what the American equivalent is - sorry. But I got a milk foamer (it works wonderfully!), and a folding metal table for on my balcony in the clearance section - it's cute and pale green!

Then I hit the new Michaels. When everyone in the bellydancing recital was desperately looking for embellishments for their costumes, this store wasn't open. Now that the recital is a month past, they're open. Go figure. Anyways, I wandered through the bead section - it's pretty good, actually. Then I made a beeline for the yarn section, which - wow. Of all the stores in Sudbury, this one has the biggest selection - it's mostly novelty or borderline novelty, but they do have some fun stuff that I've got my eyes on. I only bought two balls of cotton to make dishcloths.

And then - because you know I can't go on a shopping spree and not hit this place - Chapters. It's simultaneously a house of worship, a den of sin, and a crack house for me. But, I was good and limited myself to only four books, two full price and two discount books.
  • Our Bodies, Ourselves - a reference book I first heard about years ago in my introductory reference course at library school. I've wanted to get a copy for a while, but I was waiting for the new edition, which didn't seem to be available for the longest time in the store. Karen got a copy for Kris, and I did a little dance when I saw it this afternoon.
  • This Lullaby (Sarah Dessen) - from the blurb on the back, it sounds a little like Pretty in Pink. The four or five pages I read while standing there were pretty good, so I took a chance on it. I think I'll read it tomorrow afternoon.
  • The Partly Cloudy Patriot (Sarah Vowell) - Ms. Draggletail mentioned recently she'd just finished the audiobook for Assassination Vacation and found it interesting. So when I saw this book on the bargain shelf, I decided to take a chance.
  • Walk of Fame (Sharon Krum) - it's chick lit and it was cheap. 'Nuff said.
I was good and didn't get the stunningly illustrated version of The Highwayman, done in 1930's gangster/G-men style.

When I went for groceries, I bought some plants to put on the new table on the balcony. Meet the Herb Tarleks!**

herbs01

From l to r: Peppermint HT, Chives HT, Sage Oregano HT (what can I say? It was dark and I couldn't read the label properly), Rosemary HT, Basil A. HT, and Basil B. HT. They're on the table I bought this afternoon.


I'm going to get a proper planter for them tomorrow.

*Not really. I put away my winter clothes and took out my summer clothes, cleaned the bathroom, and declared myself finished for the time being. The kitchen, laundry and everything else could wait until I got home.
**For those of you unfamiliar with the name "Herb Tarlek," he was the tacky salesman on the show "WKRP in Cincinnati." The Rheostatics have a song called "The Tarleks" which prominately feature the character.