Mail Call and Thoughts on Shopping

I have all kinds of fun things to address today. I want to start with the mail call (or rather, the portion I have time to post this morning), because I feel so fortunate to be able to interact with so many creative people.

First, I won a terrific piece of lace, due to a comment I made about what I would do with said lace, on Ricë Freeman-Zachary's blog. A terrific packet arrived in yesterday's mail, and I just had to photo the whole works, because Ricë is not afraid of color. Even without a return address, I would have known this came from her:And, at the end of last week, my Etsy purchase from Megan Noël arrived. I have long been an admirer of her fabulous beaded dolls, and purchasing a pin allows me to own a little bit of her splendor. Once again, I love the way so many of the Etsy sellers take special care with their packaging and include extra little goodies, like this:

And here's a close-up of the pin:


Now to the shopping. We happen to live less than two miles from an outlet store, that has the most unbelievable bargains. It's several outlets, all under one roof, with a central check-out point. Great prices on Black & Decker, women's clothing, men's clothing, great kids clothing, home decor, purses, and SHOES. I love shoes. Shoes don't make my hips look bigger when I try them on. Yesterday, at lunch time, my Oldtimer called me to say that he was at the Outlet store because one of the new employees he has befriended needed a coffee maker. Turns out they have contracted a different shoe seller, so all the existing inventory is 50% off the lowest marked price. Well.

Let's just say we went back last night so I could stock up. I got five pairs of shoes (all in the brown family for some weird reason - I have to go back and look for black) and Oldtimer got three more pairs of footwear, including a good pair of insulated boots for those times of snow-clearing that are sure to be here any day. The MOST we paid for any one pair of shoes was $15. I'm telling you, he was looking at Nunn Bush, Hush Puppies, all kinds of stuff.

Though I have more to show, I had to start with these two pairs. First the ones from Gotta Flurt. I mean, how could I resist? The box alone was worth the $8, don't you think?

And THEN, look at this pair of Sketchers. Even the lining is adorable, and the sides...well, they're already altered for me! Some of the fabrics have a little metallic glint to them, too. These were my most expensive purchase at $15.

I also got a black leather purse for $16, a pashmina type paisley piece for $12, all kinds of wondrous goodies. I love to buy my kitchen utensils there, too. Did I mention the kitchen ware? And we were practically alone in the store...maybe four other customers...this place is the best kept secret, I tell ya.

More later tonight, especially if I go back and find some black shoes! Watch for photos of the pieces I've gotten in recent swaps, too.

Oh, I meant to add one thing - these two pairs of shoes concerned me a bit. They're just so doggone cute, but I'm no young chickie, you know? I love them, don't get me wrong, but I told my Oldtimer I have some concerns. After all, I don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb...