Quick opinion…
or (3) These ?
Shooz
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Category Archives: consumerism
Friday photo-new curtain!
This is the new curtain I bought for the living room window. I ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived in two days, even though it was from an outside vendor!
For those of you who have never seen it in real life, here’s the old curtain:
So, you can see why I’m so happy. The new curtain is much shorter…but it’s long enough to cover the window and for the bottom to be unseen behind the couch. Good enough for now.
By the way…I think pinch-pleated draperies and drapery hooks should be abolished. Gah.
But anyway…yeah. Happy Erin. Hope everyone’s having a pleasant Friday!
Educators save at Borders!
Educator Savings Week is Wednesday, September 26 -Tuesday, October 2.
Current and retired educators save 25% off the list price of books, CDs, DVDs, and more on personal and classroom purchases.Teachers, librarians, homeschoolers, professors and other educators, join us for food, fun and prizes during our Special Reception, Friday, September 28 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Borders stores. Just bring proof of your educator status. Visit us online for more information.
More things I’ve tried on…
I tried this on in “diamond white,” which is slightly whiter than ivory, but slightly less white than white. The color pictured is light gold. It comes in a reasonable-priced version with glass beads, or an expensive version with Swarovski crystals.
(ignore the fugly hair thing)
I liked this one a great deal. However, it only comes in white and diamond white, and I’m liking the deeper, more champagne and gold colors. It’s also a bit more expensive than the others.
So far, my mom and her friend both like Grace Kelly the best.
I did make a brief venture into David’s Bridal. I hated it. I felt like cattle, and I got a superpushy saleslady. Ick.
Hippo birdie (to me)
(I heart Sandra Boynton!)
Thanks to all who have sent and/or posted birthday wishes!
I met up with Jen briefly yesterday, and she gifted me with these:
Ginger cookies! 33 of them! Thanks, Jen! 🙂
And of course, I had already received my awesome camera from Rand. I also won the auction for the pretty little dress (which I hope fits me!), bought myself a new yoga mat $12.99 at Marshalls), and renewed my flickr pro membership.
And Thomas has just pointed out that a tropical storm has been named after me. Aw, how’d they know? 😉
Sadly, I really do have to grade papers today. Wah! No fair! I also need to contemplate a career-altering decision that needs to be made by, uh, tomorrow. (if you want more info, email or IM me…)
Later, Rand and I will be going out for dinner. Apart from the grading and decision-making, it should be a good day. 🙂
eBay will be my downfall
Would it be crazy to buy this:
Just because I think it’s purty? (approx. $50 US w/shipping)
And then I found this:
while searching for something to wear to the World’s Largest Disco, and I want to buy it just to wear because it’s SO adorable.
I need to be stopped. 😉
(by the way, if you’re interested in coming to Buffalo for the Disco, let me know!!)
Retail therapy
So, what does a girl do when she’s about to be out of work for a month? Why, she goes shopping, of course…
I didn’t mean to, really. But I’ve got that reunion coming up…and yeah, I’ve got things I could wear, but who wants to wear something old to their class reunion?
I ended up, among other places, at Ann Taylor Loft. And I walked out with this:
It fits beautifully. I was afraid the straps would be too long, but get this–they’re adjustable. Genius.
And it’s even something I can wear to work, if I can find a little sweater or shrug to wear with it (which I think is going to be harder than it should be. I wish I could knit or crochet).
They also had a cute little black eyelet skirt in my size for $15, so I got it. No photo online…I’ll have to take one.
And curse eBay and its evil ways…although I don’t have any occasion to wear this (yet) I keep looking longingly at this. It is stunning. It is exactly what I’ve always wanted. It is CHEAP, even with overseas shipping and insurance. And it’s whispering “Erin, buy me. I can hang in a closet until you need me…” What, you don’t hear it? 😉
Peanut butter review
There doesn’t seem to be any specific target date for the return of Peter Pan Peanut Butter to store shelves. The last release I saw said it would be at least June…and so, rather than mope, I set off on a quest to find an acceptable substitute.
The first thing I did was try the other two of the “big three”–Skippy and Jif.
(all flavors are creamy. I’m a creamy peanut butter kind of gal.)
Skippy has a good flavor. It’s peanutty and not too sweet. It is, however, a little on the thick side.
Jif is sweeter than both Peter Pan and Skippy, and it has a different flavor. This flavor, I’ve since learned, is from the molasses they add to the peanut butter. I don’t mind the flavor, but I find Jif’s consistency to be its main drawback. It’s thinner than the other peanut butters, and I think that’s what I like least about it.
Rand brought home some Jif w/honey, which isn’t bad.
Reese’s Peanut Butter has a good flavor and consistency, but it’s a little on the expensive side.
Smucker’s Natural peanut butter is actually quite tasty. It has the drawback of, well, being an all-natural peanut butter. You have the oil separation-stirring thing, and the refrigeration thing…making spreading this on anything nearly impossible. It’s great for eating off a spoon, or using in recipes that call for natural peanut butter.
So far, though, I’d have to say that the blue ribbon of peanut butters that aren’t Peter Pan has to go to Skippy Natural“. It’s not natural in the same sense that the Smucker’s is–it has sugar and palm oil added, but it doesn’t have any hydrogenated oils or other chemical/artificial ingredients. It’s peanuts, sugar, palm oil and salt. It has a great flavor and it isn’t too thick. Skippy Natural wins!
TGIF!
This week has felt unbearably long and tiring for some reason. So long, in fact, that I gave myself today off. I wanted to try and find some relief for my back/shoulder pain. I wasn’t able to get an appointment today, but I’ve got one for Monday, so yay…I’m very happy it’s the end of the week, even though I’m looking a relatively busy weekend.
Congratulations to Rand’s brother and sister-in-law, who had a baby this week! We’re probably going to be seeing them tomorrow. 🙂
I ventured out briefly today and got myself a yoga mat at Marshalls. (there were “higher-end” mats there for not much more $, but the one I got has its own little mesh bag w/strap for carrying.) I was also lured in by the book outlet next to Marshalls and ended up buying three books. (they were so cheap! I couldn’t resist.)
OH! and my contributor’s copy of Buffalo Spree came today. The very first thing in the issue’s Money section (which was the focus of the May/June issue)? The profile I did of Adam English! Yay! I also profiled Thomas and the principal of Tapestry Charter High School.
There was one sad little snafu…my name is spelled wrong in the issue. Ah well.
Also profiled, though not by me, Buffalo’s sexiest bagpiper. 😉 (He plays a mean accordion as well. And don’t forget the penny whistle!
I also got a cute pair of Tevas, which I found online for a very reasonable price. Yay! Photos to come.
This-n-that
Ah, time for one of those “dump all those little thoughts into one post” posts. 🙂
First off, a very happy birthday to Debbie! Go on over and wish her well today.
And now…
I attended a free yoga class on Monday, and I loved it. I’m signing up for the 8-week session, which starts in a couple of weeks. The best thing about it is that the studio is a 2-minute walk from my apartment. Yay!
A couple of days ago, I got a surprise…a package addressed to me! Packages are usually addressed to Rand. (granted, that’s because he orders a lot more stuff online…) It was from Stephanie!
Yay for Pocky! Also note the cute Nancy Drew notepaper… 🙂
There’s still no Peter Pan in the stores. Sad Erin. Walter brought me some Kraft peanut butter, which is not available in the states. It’s pretty good. Not as good as Peter Pan, but pretty good.
Thanks, Walter!
I still haven’t gotten around to writing about the weekend yet. I will at least hit the highlights soon…I was very happy that Rand and I were able to head up to Toronto early on Friday to visit Debbie and wander around her neighborhood. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant whose name is escaping me right now. I think it was a Thai place. And…we got to go to the Tea Emporium and replenish our supply. Oh, how I love the Tea Emporium.
And finally, I ordered a few things from Old Navy that arrived yesterday. I’m a big fan of Old Navy tees, and I tend to buy a couple of new ones every year. This year, everyone seems to be making shirts long. And if you’re a torsoless wonder, like me, long has a tendency to be too long. (I have no torso. Seriously.) I really need to learn to operate a sewing machine, so I can hem my own clothes. These tees probably need a good 2-3 inches off of them to fit me properly.
With that, I need to plunge back into my pile of essays…wish me luck!