Shopping Booty

State-side shopping was really good to us! I've become a huge fan of DSW, and we were introduced to Ross, TJ Maxx and Kolhs. My sister describes Ross as a step above Winners and TJ Maxx and Kolhs as a step above Ross, but all these stores still sell ridiculously discounted items.

My main frustration was that there weren't a lot of shoes in my size (still!). I'm a 5-5.5, and a lot of shoe manufactures start at size 6. Booo on them!

Both hubby and I spent just under $200 USD each, and we were a bit worried that we would have gone over the 48 hour limit (which was $200 CAD), but we discovered (at the Duty Free shop of all places) that it's now $400 CAD. Whoo hoo! Hubby landed some really nice Bostonian dark brown shoes from the Clark's store in Bellevue Square, an Addidas running hat that he's been looking for (in a shoe outlet store of all places), and a square bamboo cutting board which he is very proud of. My mom got some Royal Dalton for dirt cheap.

Here's a list of my stuff, in order of price:

I got this at the Nine West outlet store for $13.99. We were all shocked as it was marked higher. There were even two sales girls checking the price. But I'm not one to complain!



Also a Nine West purse, but got this one at Ross. This isn't the actual purse, but it's close enough to what I have. Mine has an additional size zip pocket on either end-s of the bag, and the buckle's slightly bigger:



From the Kenneth Cole outlet store:



From DSW, so cute! (Sorry pic is so big!)



From the Sketchers outlet store




And my most expensive purchase, at $49.99USD, I couldn't find a picture for. Booo! They're plain black leather ballet flats with a string bow at the toe, pretty simple looking.

The patio table has landed in Seattle

Well, after all the worrying about US Border Crossing Guards stopping us and searching our car, when we reached the border, that never happened. I think a lot of it is:

1. We've crossed the border with the same car several times before
2. We didn't fit their typical profile of a terrorist and/or drug dealer
3. We gave the guard our passports
4. We didn't lie when we answered the questions.
   
5. All three of us looked him directly in the eye and didn't act nervous or suspicous
   

We spent a total of 30 seconds talking to the guard. He asked us about the patio table and the bike (they were in plain sight for anyone to see), but then waved us through! I suppose that when he scanned our passports, our personal records probably came up, and there wasn't anything suspicious about us. We were nervous cause we sat forever in the lineup even though there were only a few cars ahead of us.

Anyways, mondo shopping tomorrow. Whoo!

The next few day...

Wednesday:

• Go to Chiropractor
• Go to work
• Go home and finish packing
• Go grab something to eat on our way to Seattle
• Crash at my sister's place

Thursday:

• Shopping! Probably at Bellevue Square, my favourite Seattle-area mall

Friday:

• Shopping at Seattle Premium Outlets
• Come home

A couple of notes:

• We will be going down with my mother (help me!), a large patio table and an old bike in the back (don't ask)
• We will be coming back sans large patio table and bike, but with my mom and my sister.

Confused. Welcome to my life. This quick trip down took a bit logistic juggling. I had already booked my days of for Wednesday and Thursday, but after talking to my mom and my sister, we changed it to Thursday and Friday as my sister wanted to come back up for my dad's birthday.

Even though I really shouldn't be spending more money, I discovered that I really need a bit of a break, so we decided to go stateside for couple of day; retail therapy is definitely in order. Hubby wants to look for a pair of brown shoes. I'm looking for a couple of cute pairs of shoes and a new bag/purse. I will post booty when we come back.

Right now, I'm more worried about getting that stupid table across the border.

Billy bounces balls.

Someone with too much time on his hands. I kept on gawking at how nice his (parent's, I'm assuming) house is. I also wonder how many takes they had to take to get all those clips. Like I said, someone has too much time on their hands.

Harry Potter, the next movie

Squeeeeee! I can't wait for July! I've been reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price in preparation for the next and final book, also coming out in July. These stories stopped being children's stories a long time ago.

Darth Vader hits the skies

I'm more than a Star Wars loser than I thought. This is so cool.

[Source]

KOOKY: Multitasking

I noticed today that when my co-op student went to the loo, he brought his laptop with him. When I asked him about it, he said that he likes to "multitask" when sitting on the porcelain throne.

My co-op is a very strange boy.

Vacation Planning

So for the past little while, we've been trying to figure out holidays for this year. I had quite recently realized three things: 1) my summer's going to be very busy with work 2) I have 5 weeks of vacation, of which I have to use up at least 3 and 3) a lot of my co-workers have already booked time off. So I need to get my butt moving with the vacation plans.

Here's what we have planned so far:

• Shopping trip in the US end of this month
• Calgary visit end of June
• End of August - unknown location for 5th year Anniversary!
• October sometime (not Thanksgiving) - trip out to Toronto/Ottawa to visit friends (mostly hubby's)

One of the big things that we're working around for trip #1 & #2 is the fact that we have to cart family around, namely my mother and sister. That also requires working around work their work schedules. Mum is coming down with us for the Seattle trip, and on our way back up, we are bringing back my sister so we can do a birthday bash for my Dad. Then on trip #2, Mum's coming back with us to Calgary, but she's wanting to stay longer. Fine with me, but we have to book the tickets before the end of day tomorrow.

Let's see how everything eventually pans out....

The Ultimate Canuks Fan

This guy actually appeared on the front page of the local newspaper.

More Art!!

Between 11 and 25 March, Swiss artist Felice Varini and his team created an unusual piece of public art that is set to baffle and fascinate visitors to Cardiff Bay barrage. The piece, entitled 3 Ellipses for 3 Locks, was commissioned by arts agency CBAT for the Cardiff Harbour Authority and cost £25,000. A series of three yellow ellipses have been painted onto the working locks, gates and even the outer sea wall to create a piece that took a year to plan. The artist used photography, projection and painting to plan the piece which is his first in Wales and also his first work in the UK. Professional mountain climbers were required to access the barrage's difficult high structures. The piece was designed to highlight the main working parts of the barrage. The Harbour Authority approached CBAT to commission the piece, which compliments another 30 open air art projects dotted around the bay area. From virtually every angle the marks look like splashes of yellow colour against the backdrop of the Penarth headland and the Bristol channel. But on closer inspection visitors to the Barrage are treated to a visual spectacle featuring three perfectly formed yellow ellipses. All you have to do to see Felice Varini's 'anamorphic illusion' properly formed, like in the above picture, is find a precise vantage point somewhere on the barrage.

[Source]

Art!?!

The picture above is a four-story version of Donkey Kong. Made entirely of Post-It Notes. Someone has way too much time and money on their hands.

[Source]

Rest in peace Gramma

I never knew Augusta "Billye" Maver in real life, but I got to know her in cyberspace. I first "met" Gramma through someone on Hitched; it was this lady's grandmother whom she took care of at home.

Through the last year or so, I got to learn a lot about Gramma, especially through her blog that her granddaughter put up. This lady last December turned 100, definitely a huge milestone for anyone. I even sent her a birthday card.

I found out this morning that she had passed away in her sleep. While I never knew this woman personally, I found myself very affected by her death. I actually spent the morning fighting off tears and trying to concentrate on my job.

Please do read through her blog, she certainly was a spunky lady and she has certainly left an impression on me.

Pride and Prejudice: Barbie Style

Bawhahahah! I almost died when I saw this, although it took a second viewing to figure out who was who. The blonde is Bingley and Jane, the Ken doll with the beard is Darcy, and Aladdin is Wickham, who ends up with Lydia at the end. Good times!