February 18th, 2009 by Kateastrophe

So one of the blogs I stalk, Lizzy the Botanist, had a fun little treat on her blog yesterday called “Pay it Forward.”

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade (or possibly store-bought) gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There’s a small catch though…Post this same thing on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you’re in. Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift!

I was one of the first three comments, so I not only get a little treat but the first three of YOU who comment will get the same from me, pending YOUR participation in this fun game! See the paragraph above for the exact rules

Now, I’m not much of a handmade crafty type of girl, but I sure can cook! So I’m thinking sometime soon the first three comments will get a home baked goody!

Ready?

GO!

February 17th, 2009 by Kateastrophe

Our weekend was simply delicious. Friday night Matt told me for Valentine’s Day he wanted me to go pick out a new pair of shoes. I squealed delightfully and we headed out to the mall . . . where I could find NO SHOES. I’m not sure what happened or what is missing from my brain, but I couldn’t really find anything GREAT. And lately? If it’s not great I’m not having it. So, we decided to go upstairs to the clothes . . . specifically the part where there was 70% off of my favorite brand of clothes. (Please recall my last post for reference to how excited this makes me.) I proceeded to try on everything they had in my size and made out like a bandit. My husband was quite a trooper and actually liked everything I picked out (we have very different taste in women’s clothing, to say the least.) We then ate at Matt’s favorite fast food joint, Del Taco.

I’m going to go on a tangent for just a second here to state, for the record, that I don’t get the fascination with Del Taco. Matt could literally eat it every single day. I can’t figure it out. Wavy cut french fries and tacos? How do those two go together? Call me crazy but I’ll take Taco Bell any day of the week. Tangent ending now.

Saturday I got a mad cleaning bug and spent THREE HOURS cleaning out our closet and drawers and then deep cleaning (and I mean DEEP CLEANING) the bathroom. One of the things I loved about our master bathroom when we bought this house was the clear glass shower door. Thanks in part to the hardest water IN THE WORLD, it is now what I hate most about our house. You can’t just wipe it down. OH NO! You have to get out the bathroom cleaner to get off the soap scum. THEN you have to rinse that off with water. HARD WATER. Which you then have to squeegee off. And THEN you must clean the glass with Windex and THEN, as a precautionary measure, get out the Rain-X. IT TAKES FOR FRICKIN’ EVER. Needless to say just the shower takes a long time and I cleaned baseboards and grout and cupboards and all that crap. The bathroom has never been so clean and I have never been so sick of cleaning.

We spent Saturday evening on a sort of couples date with our friends JoAnne and James. We made restaurant style (read: BOILED IN BUTTER) filet mignon, mashed potatoes and corn and then finished off the meal with warm molten chocolate cakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream. DEEELISH. Matt and I then went home and were the boring old married couple who fell asleep watching old episodes of Bones. Don’t worry though, we’re going to go out this weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day sans the crazy crowd and impossible to get reservations. I’m thinking seafood.

Sunday was spent doing the church thing and then attempting to deep clean the kitchen and family room, at which point my totally awesome vacuum decided to bite the dust (pun intended.) The “won’t ever lose suction” SOB decided to lose suction. We’re having a fight right now, Mr, Infinity and I. I’m going to win by taking him back to his home and exchanging him for a REAL vacuum, most likely named DYSON. That’s what I get for trying to save a little bit of cash. A won’t ever lose suction vacuum that LOSES SUCTION. Bastard.

Monday, at my husband’s request, we did MORE shopping at the outlets in Anthem where there was more 70% off of my favorite clothes. I restrained myself and only bought three things, but my are they glorious. We decided to end the weekend on a high note by seeing Slumdog Millionaire. There are few movies I would claim to be somewhat life changing for me and this, folks, is one of them. It deserves all the attention and awards it’s been receiving. My suggestion is to run, not walk, to see it.

That brings me to today. Sigh. There is nothing quite as lame as returning to work after a long, relaxing weekend full of quality spouse time and shopping. It becomes lame-ER when everyone you work with is in Florida working and you are stuck in the office making solicitation calls. THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR WHEN I SAID I WANTED A MARKETING CAREER, PEEPS. However, appointments at our show are good for the salespeople and what’s good for the salespeople is what’s good for me. Or so I’ve heard.

As you can see, I live a pretty boring existence. Would someone please tell me something amazingly fun you did over the weekend so I can live vicariously through you? That’d be great, kthxbai.

February 12th, 2009 by Kateastrophe

Hi, my name is Kate and I’m a Saleaholic and there is no hope of curing me.

Really, I blame my Mother. My Dad, to this day, calls her Secondhand Jan because she’ll stop at nothing to get a bargain. Couch in the alley? Stop and get it. Twelve dosen roses in the dumpster? Not on her watch! Scouring Savers and Goodwill for that Anne Taylor blouse she’s been dying for? Worth every excruciating trip there. She wanted a new oven but didn’t want to pay the $1200 for it at the store, so she called the outlet and was put on a list to wait for a scratch-n-dent version. Our oven is awesome and perfect but it has a huge dent in the back. Where no one will ever see it. Oh, and it cost $500. BRILLIANT! We owned lots of nice things when I was growing up and not ONE of them ever cost full price. We got free pianos (TWO of them!) free trampolines, discounted couches, carpet, flooring, paint, shutters . . . EVERYTHING!

I’m not so much a secondhand shopper (I get physically nauseous if I enter a Goodwill or Deseret Industries. I blame my Mom, again), but I am a sucker for a sale. I always have been. I HATE paying full price for anything. I simply refuse to do it unless it’s absolutely necessary. Yet, when I see a sale of more than 50%? There is no stopping me. I scour Nordstrom.com for discounted designer jeans and shoes. That 50% off button is AMAZING. I go to the Neiman Marcus Last Call sale twice a year searching to see if my size is available in my newest favorite shoe (never is. Stupid Neimans!). I head straight for the sale rack at any store I walk into and I almost always find something awesome. All this is well and good but the problem occurs when I buy two. Or three. Or things I don’t need simply because they’re ON SALE AND I MUST HAVE THEM NOW NOW NOW. I have like 40 pairs of black patent leather shoes, yet I keep buying more because OHMAGOSH KATE SPADE’S FOR $40????? I just bought three pairs of jeans because CITIZENS FOR LESS THAN $100, SERIOUSLY???? MUST.HAVE.NOW.

The Internets only add to my problems. Damn you, HauteLook.com, GiltGroup.com, RueLaLa and Ideeli.com with your 75% off of Chanel! (Don’t worry I didn’t buy, despite the amazing discount, $1000 is still WAY too much to pay for a purse.) Every day there’s a new amazing sale and stuff I simply CANNOTLIVEWITHOUT. Except I probably can . . . except now that it’s on sale I don’t WANT TO! Also, blasted ShopBop and your daily emails taunting me with the newest discounts of my favorite brands! It’s like a car wreck . . . you just can’t drive by without taking a little peek! (PS – if anyone wants invites to these sites just leave me a comment. I’d love to suck you in to my world of needless sale shopping!)

Then there’s Kelly, the hottest, nicest girl in the world who I work with. That girl has connections! 60% off of Coach, Valentino and Gucci. 70% off of designer denim. 30% off of high-end boutiques. GAH!!! It’s a good think a lot of those clothes don’t fit my gadunk-a-dunk thighs. I’d be in BIG trouble. I obviously already am, but she makes it worse. Then there’s Marshalls. Have I mentioned that I work a block from only the GREATEST MARSHALLS EVER? It’s got rows and rows of shoes. IN BOXES. That are organized. And BCBG, 7 for All Mankind, True Religion and on and on and on. Oh and furniture too. And hair product! They have amazing stuff for pennies on the dollar. It’s unbelievable. Thank you, North Scottsdale clientele. You complete me.

Luckily, despite buying things I probably don’t need, I am able to keep it somewhat in check. I never have a balance on my credit card and I still manage to save money every month but boy is it hard sometimes. This whole “everything on sale for 50-70% off” economy is making me into quite the brand whore. I think this is their plan. Get me hooked on their brand of crack by giving it away and then, when I’m least expecting it, BAM. I’m a full blown addict stealing money and selling all our furniture to support my denim habit.