Retail Therapy

After the "performances" my children displayed at my sister's wedding last weekend and the humiliation I endured during the toast, I knew I'd need some major therapy.

Dr. Phil won't return my calls, so I went for something even better....
{Retail therapy!}
Mimi (my mom) and I decided to brave the local DSW shoe store yesterday morning with the girls in tow.
It was her brilliant idea to give them a nice sugar high before we went shoe shopping. I could have warned her, but I decided instead to keep my mouth shut so that she could experience what's it like to shop with my kids. Then maybe she'd feel my pain instead of snarking, "Well, you kids never behaved like that!" all the time.

So after inhaling one of these

we made our way across the parking lot to DSW shoes.


I love shoes and handbags because no matter how much I begin to resemble the Pillsbury Dough Boy, I can always wear my favorite shoes and carry a fabulous bag. I feel a little bit better about myself if I am wearing a sexy pair of shoes.


I know what I like, and I am a fairly quick shopper. I can't say the same for Mimi. She meanders down the aisles the way one would take a stroll through a flowery meadow. I survey the area quickly, my eyes scanning the terrain for the finest footwear, before I decide on a pair or two to try on. I also like the meandering version of shopping, but not with two children who have decided that they too would like to try on shoes and/or dance barefoot in the boot section to the overhead elevator music.


I spotted a pair of these delicious grape colored Madden Girl booties as soon as we walked in the door.
Hello, lover.

Have you ever felt that a pair of shoes was blogworthy?

They were priced on sale at $49.99.

Bummer....except that I had a coupon for $20 off a purchase of $50 or more AND a $30.00 gift card in my purse!

With a $4.00 water proofing spray, those lovelies came home with me for only $5.00. If you time your gift card purchases with store specials, you can really get a deal! Now I need to be brave and find some skinny jeans and a long sweater or top to go with them, or at least a pair of really straight leg jeans.

Our last stop was Wal-Mart, because it was closer than Target, it was close to lunchtime, and the girls were getting whiny because my mom took 45 minutes to choose a pair of flats that resemble about 10 other pairs of flats she has at home.

It's better that I don't write much about the Wal-Mart experience because it's best left forgotten. I will say that at one point I lost track of Mimi and the girls and was able to track them across the store by listening for high pitched wails.

My final deal is one that I found over Labor Day weekend. I remembered that last year Lifeway Christian Stores offered a Buy 1, Get 1 Free deal on Christmas cards. I decided to stop in and see if they might have the same bargain again. They did! I got 36 beautiful Christmas cards for only $10.00.

This is a great way to save on Christmas cards, which can be pricey. I've been toying with the idea of possibly doing a photo card, but that can always be inserted inside the envelope before mailing. (Plus, it would require getting T in a good enough mood to go somewhere to be photographed, and the girls would have to hold still longer than 2.4 seconds.) I like to send out a personal message in my cards, rather than just printing "Love the 'T' family."

Isn't the glittery snow pretty?
Now I can store these in my downstairs closet, and hope to get them addressed and mailed early this year!
{Did you find any bargains this weekend?}


I'm editing and linking this oldie, but goodie up to Beth's "Show Me Your Shoes" party at The Stories of A to Z.