I always wonder what percentage of the homes on this planet have something in them from IKEA. Of course who's to say there isn't an intergalactic franchise out there somewhere, it's not beyond the unimaginable.

I know that there isn't a room in our house that hasn't got something from IKEA in it. Take my office for instance. I am sitting in my IKEA cream swivel chair, at my glass 'scripted' IKEA desk, underneath 2 IKEA glass shelves and between 2 IKEA white book cases. That's before I even turn around to face the set of IKEA glass topped drawers behind me, which sit underneath 3 IKEA orchid canvas prints. I hasten to add that the other rooms in the house aren't quite so Swedish in their design and I have never had anyone come to visit and have them ask for a yellow bag and a tape measure at the door.

It's actually quite incredible if you think that the shop, founded back in 1943 by Inggar Kamprad, a 17 year old Swedish boy  who started off by selling pens, watches, jewellery and nylon stockings, has since gone on to become the world's largest furniture store, with 120,000 employees based in more than 29 countries, selling just under 11,000 products.

Incidentally the name IKEA is an abbreviation for "Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd" which is the initial letters of his first and last name, the farm where he grew up and the town he lived in.

Despite claiming that the reason you can never find a member of staff is so that the prices can be kept low, IKEA must surely be making more money per second than their customers can pocket the free pencils. But that said, it is unofficially the world’s largest charitable organization, so can be forgiven for mercilessly emptying out our bank accounts time after time.

I have to say I do love IKEA. There's no where else quite like it. There's certainly no other shop that has the power to convince me that I simply have to have something, that half an hour before I never even knew existed. Every time I go there I spot another weird and wonderful gadget designed to save me time and space. I discover a new and improved way to arrange my clothes, display my books and stack my spices and I always find a new range of crockery that's just crying out to be bought.

It's the sort of shop where you go with the intention of buying some bag clips and a couple of candles and then somehow find yourself coming through the checkout (or should I say slinking through, while silently praying that your credit card can take the battering) with a Billy Book book case, an assortment of glasses that you have no place to store, a single mattress, a new bathroom sink, 8 large wicker baskets that will now need filling and a ceiling light. One that comes in a box the size of a pack of cards and requires an advanced diploma in origami  to put together.

The fact that all of these flat packed and bulky items are highly unlikely to even make it into your car is neither here no there, unless of course your small 4 door hatchback has somehow  magically metamorphasised into a horsebox whilst you have been shopping. Then again, I have seen someone squeeze a single mattress into a Mini Cooper before and we once fitted an entire kitchen into our 7 seater, so the impossible it seems, can sometimes be done.

For all these reasons above I have to say that I also hate IKEA. OK, so maybe not hate. I could never hate it, I just wish that I had more resistance to the hypnotic hold that it seems to have over me once I walk underneath the blue and yellow flags.

On so many visits I have walked the entire way through the store (few people dare stray off the arrows and cut through the displays), written endless lists on multiple bits of paper and spent hours agonising over what will go where. Then I reach the warehouse and find that, surprise surprise, 10/15 items on the list are currently 'Out of Stock'. Worse still there is no known delivery date and I am not allowed to reserve whatever it is I need when it arrives.

A classic example is when I brought the desk that I am at now. There was only 1 of the leg supports (I needed 2) left in the store. I ask you, why 1? Do they sell many tables without legs, or legs without tables? Why did someone else only buy 1 leg? It took 2 more trips to the store before the elusive leg finally appeared and my desk, which was wedged up on a bedside table, stopped wobbling.

Still can't complain, where else allows you to kit out a whole house in around 4 hours.

That's allowing 30 minutes to pick out the items you want from the catalogue, an hour to find them as you slowly walk behind other people 'display shopping' at a snails pace, another 30 minutes struggling to get the flat pack boxes off the top shelf in the 'help yourself' warehouse and then the final 2 hours, stuck in a queue waiting for your 'too big to carry' items to be wheeled out from within the belly of the IKEA beast.

Of course this estimated time doesn't allow for the additional 3 hours that you will later spend driving back to the shop, to buy the bag clips and candles that you forgot to buy the last time. Then queue up for that all important screw that happened to be missing from the original bookcase. The one that is now in several unusual looking pieces and is scattered across your living room floor.

Arhhh, what a store. You've got to love the way they just make you keep coming back for more.

: : : : : : : : : : :

If you all know of a place that needs to be reviewed and included in our listing. That is any restaurant (Chinese, Italian, American, BBQ, Japanese, etc), any place to shop, or any place to find good services in Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler Arizona.

Post it in the comments and we'll get listifying.

I am gonna get a Sailor outfit and my bunny bag this week! ^-^;;

Since its on sale... well the bag is, not the outfit. But even still XD

What I really wanted was that ichigo kimono-type outfit...
I shall have to show it one day. ^-^;;

But Yep. If you dun know what I'm talking aobut, in about a week you will!! XD

--Kimiko--

an approximation

I've grown to appreciate empty space, a clear counter, an uncluttered coffee table or desk, a cleaned out fridge, a tidy yard. To me, empty space epitomizes cleanliness - less dust catchers to catch dust, lest dust catchers to have to shuffle around on cleaning day. Less things to break, less things to go bad, less things to be attached to emotionally, less things to own you. Less = more freedom, more time, less anxiety, less work.

Some people would find this incredibly boring and I'm not saying I don't enjoy a pop of color or have a touch of sentimentality, it's just that by keeping things to the bare minimun, I get to keep my sanity. My father makes reproduction Chippendale furniture and while it is indeed beautiful and intricate and takes much talent and patience to make... seeing all those tiny grooves in the carving for dust to settle in, and the delicate laquer finish I can't place a coffee mug on just unnerves me to no end. I much rather prefer a Parsons style table - sharp edges and flat surfaces - cleaning is a breeze. Wow! I sound like I have OCD. Truly, I don't.

To some people, empty spaces cause anxiety. These open areas are just begging to be filled. They become an excuse to go shopping. There MUST be something in that corner! I have watched my neighbors do this over the past few months. They cordoned off an area in their front yard for their two small dogs to safely play outside. The fenced-in grassy area soon acquired an ironic fake fire hydrant, a bird bath, a sundial (dogs need to tell time too!), a concrete bench that they will never use, and a few rabbit lawn ornaments. There is something in each corner and it looks less attractive than it did when it was just simple lovely grass. I'm sure the dogs appreciate the effort though.

The fire hydrant will lose its paint, the bird bath will have to be maintained for mosquitoes and algea, the sundail will tarnish and is just as useless as the bench and the rabbits. Yes, I'm sure these little decorations have given the owners some joy but what I'm trying to point out is that true joy should not be coming from filling voids in your surroundings. All of this... well... crap will end up filling a landfill one day.

Is it just a matter of taste? Maybe. Indeed, I may be a snob. I do find some nic nacs and decorating ideas adorable. This ingenious use of vintage flashcards as a wall decoration is just beyond brave to me. I supose the clean, sparse, modern surrounds don't hurt either. (So much storage space to keep things tidy!)

Apartment Therapy

 This article from Apartment Therapy (a fantastic website) addresses maintaining a balance between cluttered traditional and cold modern environments. I also thought this article of 18 ways to declutter your surroundings is gentle with its baby steps - it eases you into making changes. Once you start to see how much stuff you have in your box to give to charity, you will become more aware of your wasteful spending habits. (For me, it was a ton of skirts that I compulsively bought but never wore.) It's a little frightening at first to confront your bad habits but it's so good for you in the long run.

Wash hands before grocery shopping.  Because the Modern Lady desires perfectly ripe fruit, the fondling of oranges, apples, and peaches are a necessary evil.  Proper etiquette requires fondling fruit with clean hands.  It is also good to carry hand sanitizer in a handbag and apply the cleanser after grocery shopping because a lady is unaware what types of strange hands have fondled the fruit and cereal boxes prior to her purchasing them.

One of the Modern Lady’s secret weapons is the list.  She frequently makes to-do lists to keep her life flowing in a smooth and orderly fashion (this keeps nervous-breakdowns at bay).  The grocery list is created prior to a trip to the store.  This keeps the focus on immediate food needs and makes shopping more efficient.

Never stray from the grocery list.  A Modern Lady avoids transforming into the Greedy Lady by convincing herself she needs a bag of potato chips that is clearly not on her list.

A Modern Lady is not manipulated by sales.  Unless the “sale” is something a Lady eats or uses frequently she avoids them at all cost. 

A lady doesn’t place the ice-cream in the vegetable section.  Putting things back where you found them is something the Modern Lady was probably taught when she was just a young child.  She applies this handy principle to grocery store items.

Features:
♥ Waist Minimizer
♥ Bust Enhancer
♥ Adjustable Hook & Eye Opening
♥ Lace Up Back
♥ Comes with matching pearl trim g-string!

Available Color: White
Available Sizes: 40, 42, 44

Lingerie Fit Guide:
In general, the lingerie fits a bit smaller than your normal size. It also depends on the style of garment that you buy. Baby dolls and a-line gowns will allow for more room. You will need to decide if you like your lingerie to fit close to the body or to have a little room. If you prefer more room or if you are big busted, I would suggest buying a size up. Also, check the size charts to have a clearer understanding of how the garments run.

These leather shoes mold to your child's foot and contain no arch - an important feature in your child's sensory and neurological development. 

I recently dug up TruckMan's first pair.  He wore this pair of shoes for at least a six month period- they held up really well considering all of the long walks around the neighborhood we took!

Can I just say that I love these shoes?  I am already getting very excited to order some for BabyBear.

Check out their current 20% off selected items... but hurry, it ends October 30th.

This treasury is made by Vernon Bea. Check out the great items (:

A fedora, to be exact. Pinstripe fedora, to further describe the item, and then to add more it has a skull embroidered on it. I don't often journey into Spencer's, but I was accompanied by two female friends (I'm not dumb, afterall) who wanted to look at costumes and the like.

Browsing around I found a disorderly stack of hats. I have always liked hats, but I should say I don't think they look particularly good on me, so I never bought myself one before.

Sort of like something dagerous but alluring, they called out to me for years. There si something manly about a hat, you know. The fedora, in particular. The men we ksee who wear them are the height of manliness, after all. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Old Blue Eyes, countless gangster bosses, and so many more wear them. They are exciting. They are sexy. They are manly. A doff of the hat when meeting a woman on the street. Pulling one down just over the eyes can lead to looking mysterious (Yes there are rules of etiquette for the wearing of hats. Manly rules). Hopefully that explanation shows why I desired one for so long. But it's easy to wear it wrong, too.

Back on topic. I put the fedora on and it felt right. Like my head was meant to wear it. But I was still unsure, so I consulted my companions. They both smiled and said "Yes. You can rock that hat" with wide eyes. Perhaps, the manliness was working already. With only slight hesitations I approached the counter and purchased the thing.

There was no going back. This was my hat, and I was damned if I wouldn't ever wear it. I ripped the tag off outside the store and placed it back on my head, where it stayed most of the day. It takes some getting used to, feeling the brim on my ear tops. It drove me crazy for a long time, but slowly I began to forget it was even there.

The love/hate relationship over, I will wear my fedora proudly and slightly tilted to the side. The same way as Bogart, Indy, and Sinatra. The women who complimented me on it can't be wrong, after all.

NOTE: After getting home I read up on proper fedora etiquette and wearing. I will have a permanent link set up, but here's one to the Art of Manliness blog.

First up, most of the things I bought in Taiwan were from either department stores or from the many night markets Taiwan has to offer. So most of it was quite affordable, clothes ranged from 100 Taiwan New Dollars ($3 US) to 2,600 TND ($80 US), nail polish was 75 TND ($2 US), shoes ranged from 100 TND ($3 US) to 250 TND ($8 US), and jewelry that ranged from 50 TND ($1.5 US) to 4000 TND ($124 US)

Most of the items I bought were all in really great quality, the one shirt that was in terrible quality was a black shirt with glitter designs that I had bought for 100 TND. After I washed it, most of the glitter came off and it was just a mess, so stay away from glued patterns on shirts, it'll most likely come off in the water.

First, is this gorgeous white evening dress that I got at ARK in Taipei 101's department store. Beware that ARK is rather pricey and they don't give discounts, so if you're on a budget, skip this place. This dress was the most expensive thing I got in Taiwan for 2,600 TND ($80 US):

Next is this cute two-layer top with necklace that I got at the night market at the National Taiwan University (Taida University) in Taipei. I think it was either 150 TND ($5 USD) or 300 TND ($9 US). The store we visited was pretty much the equivalent to the Forever 21 here in the States, but more affordable.

This necklace was also bought in the same night market as the top above, but at a different store. It was 150 TND ($5 US):

And if you just walk above the Taipei's Taipei Underground Mall, there are tons of mom and pop stores that sell very affordable merchandise ranging from beauty products to suitcases. We were able to find nail polish that sold for 75 TND ($2 US) which was amazing and for the quality, it's worth it. My only regret is not buying more.

Sometimes you have to be a little lucky in Taipei to get a great deal. Taipei isn't as strict as American cities where if you sell something on the sidewalk, they tell you to pack it up. In Taipei, it's common to see sellers just spread everything they have on the sidewalk and for customers to start snatching for what they want. Even better is when what they're selling came from a store that went into bankruptcy, which means, you can get a purse which use to sell 2000 TND in a department store, for like 200 TND. I bought a total of three purses from one of these sidewalk vendors, he just stacked them pile high and we just chose, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the third one:

But the best place to shop for jewelry in Taiwan, is probably at Danshui. The night market there is incredible, everything is really affordable and if you want cheap costume jewelry this is the place to be at because street vendors set up portable stands and sell jewelery at mostly 50 TND ($1.5 US) each! Like for example this necklace which would probably sell from $8 to $15 easily in the US, was only 50 TND:

Same thing was this pair of earrings, also 50 TND, you can't get a better deal than in Danshui. Plus the scenery there is awesome:

Traveling down Taiwan, this purse was about 2000 TND ($62 US) that I bought from a department store in Hsinchu called Far East Department store (FE21). It's real leather, imported from Japan, just a really gorgeous purse:

Here are two pairs of shoes I bought at a night market in Hsinchu. I think the two of them were 500 TND ($15 US) together, a lot of haggling went into these:

And a top that I got at the same night market in Hsinchu for 100 TND, so worth it. If you go to the night markets in Taiwan, most of them will have a vendor that specifically sells clothes for 100 TND, you just have to make sure it fits you (since a. they don't let you try tops on, b. they only have one size, size skinny and c. it's good quality):

If we go east of Hsinchu, we hit Yilan, which is a beautiful place to visit. The night markets there are fabulous, with very delicious, but affordable food and great deals on clothes and such. We ate more at Yilan than shopped. I bought two pairs of sandals, one which I left in Taiwan and this one I brought back:

And if you're in Yilan, don't forget to visit the National Center for Traditional Arts where an incredible intricate gold engraving exhibition of acclaimed Taiwanese gold engraving artist Wu Chin. You can also buy his pieces in the museum's gift shop, my mother purchased one for about 4000 TND ($124 US):

Traveling further south in Taiwan, a purse from a little shop we found in Tainan. I think this was about 200 TND ($6) or less, also a lot of haggling went into this:

And that pretty much wraps up all the shopping I did in Taiwan. Spent a lot of money, but for the amount of quality and quantity, it was all worth it. Hopefully, if you visit Taiwan, you'll be able to have the same great deals I got. Plus, it never hurts to ask locals where the best places to shop are.

I got mail today!!  I love getting mail.  K always insists on checking our mail and I never have any...so sad.  But I had lots of mail!  I got my absentee ballet today, I'm so excited to vote!  Are you guys all registered, those of you who are old enough?  If not, you should.  I linked an absentee voting site to this.  If you're off at college, you can vote absentee.  And I also got a letter from Em and mailed one back to her. [I sent it to your home address, don't worry.  It's not as long as yours, but it's still pretty long.]

I also got to work in the costume shop yesterday again.  We started sorting through the purses, lots of purses in that storage room.  Hmm....we didn't actually do too much.  Sorry to all of those who were expecting a detailed account of my theatre misadventures.

I've been hanging out with my floor a lot more now that Sven and I have broken up.  To all of you out there who are concerned about how I'm doing, don't be.  I'm actually doing better now then I was before.  We just weren't the right match and I was feeling pressure from him to hang out with his floor, so I was feeling very guilty for not hanging out on my floor, and I've hung out with them all week and decided that they're amazing!  I taught KT and Ang how to knit and got them hooked on it, so my mission in life is one step closer to being complete.  I think I might try a shawl next, after I finish my knitting for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

But now it's the weekend, and I don't have very much homework, so I think I'm going to just take it easy.  I'll probably do my laundry, some knitting, watch some t.v.  I'm going to read a real live book that's not assigned for class, hopefully.  It'll be good; just a nice laid back weekend.  And then a week from now I'll be on my way home for fall break!  Yay!  I can't wait to see everybody!  And more shopping!!  Sorry Mamiami, I know that's your favorite.  Just Savers, Bibelot, and Cub...oh and maybe Kohls.  A winter coat is in order.  It was FREEZING today and raining for most of the day.

Well that's all I've got for you this time.  Theatre Nerd signing off.

I went shopping with a girlfriend of mine today and it felt so good to just get out!  Work has totally consumed my life lately and I just want to remind myself I have an identity outside of my job.  Tomorrow, we're carving pumpkins, stuffing our faces, toasting marsh mellows, and enjoying the overall beauty of Fall and my favorite holiday - Halloween!

You could call it an experiment, since I have only bought one item on the internet yet. The thing I bought, 2 years ago, was an iPod on apple.com

The reason why I will shop online is because I want to see whether or not it'd be cheaper.
I have reason to believe it will be because:

- I will not be tempted as I would be in a store decorated with cosy Christmas ornaments.
- The Christmas atmosphere (aka buy expensive stuff) which you see in malls will not be anywhere near me or my computer.

The shopping will be done from behind my computer in my bedroom. I am preparing a list of Christmas presents which I will give to my family.

This blog is dedicated to tell you about my experiment. I hope to be able to update it regularly.

Tonight, I will start my first experiment where I will scout for Christmas presents on the internet.

The first site will be a nice christmas site which I discovered last sunday. It is specialized in christmas shopping , has lots of gifts and looks nice.

Please visit regularly for updates of my experiment

I was trying to talk to him about a website I had found that would do a "managed divorce" with a "clean break" order and NO solicitors for £300 plus court fees. I had called him earlier in the day about it and we'd had a brief discussion but as he was working he couldn't really talk. Last night it was only around 10.30pm when it all kicked off ... I tried to talk to him about the grounds for divorce and said that if I divorced him, then the court fees of £380 would be waived as I am on a fixed low income.

Well ... he squared up to me - got RIGHT in my face and he was shouting and yelling about how HE was going to divorce me and about how HE didn't want the come-back from the courts about blame as the resopondant. He didn't even attempt to listen to what I was saying - he assumed everything, put words in my mouth and the fight that ensued afterwards was awful.

He was right in my face and I mean RIGHT in my face and I just flipped! I slapped him on the face. I truly didn't know what else to do at the time. I remember looking at him - he was bright red in the face from all the anger ... his face was all screwed up and I remember thinking he looked like a poison dwarf and at that point I felt my own anger bubble to the point I felt the need to physically hurt him. I slapped him good and proper too.

He stood there shocked for a bit and pushed me HARD into the sofa. I stood up a little bit stunned and then pummelled him hard. I'm not as strong as I used to be, but I AM still a kickboxer and I have my 2nd brown belt! (for those who don't know, I am just one belt away from blackbelt in kickboxing ... but I haven't trained in months ....) anyway ... it was awful. It has NEVER got violent like that between us before.

I was going to walk out and sleep at my new house until it occurred to me I have no beds/mattresses, no pillows or duvet there, or actually anything other than a floor to sleep on. Needless to say I crawled back into the house and slept on the sofa.

Geriatric Care

Elder Home Care

Senior Caregivers

I must declare that I am ordinarily one that does not aim at shopping online, but my thought on that has changed since I purchased my Acura Radio Install Kit from ebay.

Not only was Acura Radio Install Kit spectacular, but the shopping experience was breathtaking too! The secruity that ebay has implemented is truly safe.

I bought my Acura Radio Install Kit with ease and the low price was terrific. It was the cheapest cost you could possibly uncover for Acura Radio Install Kit.

My Acura Radio Install Kit arrived in a week from my seller. The Acura Radio Install Kit was exactly as it was described! I’m so at ease about ebay, I am sure I will purchase more!

For more: http://blog.techteam.gr/sam1563/2008/10/10/acura-radio-install-kit-review/

 Besonders gerne kaufe ich hier Taschen und Gürtel, Ware die kontinuierlich  neu hereinkommt. Außerdem gibt es noch eine riesige Auswahl an Accessoires wie Halstücher, Hüte, Krawatten, neben dem üblichen Kram wie Röcke, Hemden, Kleider, Parkas, Hosen und was man sonst noch alles zu Bekleidungszwecken nutzen kann.

Besonders angetan hat es mir im oberen Teil die Ecke mit den alten Kleidern. Hier finden sich üppige und schwere Kreationen aus Samt und Spitze, mit Schleifen, Pailletten, Rüschen und Unterröcken versehen. Nicht unbedingt alltagstauglich, aber bewundernswert, anders und inspirierend. Ganz zu schweigen von dem Spaß, den das Anprobieren macht!

Mehr Infos (auch zur Filiale in Hamburg): www.vintage-rags.de

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Mrs. Samsel,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Samsel are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.

2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5- minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the st ore suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least ..

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here! '

So I went shopping today to find a few things for Paris. Really, I just wanted an excuse to go shopping. I had already gone yesterday in search of a dress for our Moulin Rouge outing, and came home with a cute, but probably overpriced dress from TopShop (sort of like a British H&M). Basically, for 45 quid (aka $90), I knew I could get loads more if I was only savvy enough. So I finally went to Primark.

For those of you whom have only just heard of this bargain mecca, Primark is like nothing we have in the states. I would say the closest thing to it would be Ross or Marshalls, but somehow ridiculously cheaper. I was lucky to have been noncaffeinated this morning, or I might have put myself and others at risk of hanger strangulation. That crap happens.

Granted, one must have an open mind when shopping at Primark; the clothes are not the finest quality and sometimes the selection is sparse-- but where else can you find pants, skirts, dresses and accessories for under 5 quid (quid, by the way, is slang for pound). Even in USD, that's pretty freaking good. Due to my constant need for new clothes (I have California clothes suited for warmth, not so much for the London tundra), I may just have to ban myself from shopping elsewhere. Not that I even allow myself in all the "expensive" shops like Gap, H&M, Jigsaw or Banana Republic anyway (I say expensive because any $50 skirt x2 is effing expensive, not to mention depressing).

Anyway, I had a pretty good day at Primark because it destracted me from the fact that anyone spending their bloody useless dollars in the UK is automatically impoverished. What did I buy? I'll tell you:

- a rolling suitcase for 19 quid (it's pink and I needed a non-apartment-sized piece of luggage for Paris)

-a pair of brown leggings

-a black sweater

- a long-sleeved black shirt

- hair ties

-headband

-hair clips

-pajama set (the kind your mom probably got you after you graduated from your onesie-- minus the santa or polar bear graphic)

-a round brush for my hair (it was a pound!)

Well, that's it, and considering that half of that was the suitcase, I think I fared pretty well (although I do think I may have been overpriced for the hairties-- 1 pound for 300?). I basically matched what I spent on the Topshop dress and was 6 quid under, in fact. It feels good for my dollar to go far. For once.

Now, only to return the dress as not to undermine today's purchases....

Second Hand Shopping macht Spaß! Besonders, wenn ein Laden so liebevoll gestaltet ist und gewissehaft augesuchte Kleidung hat und sich dann auch noch auf Schuhe spezialisiert hat. Für Vintage-Boots Fanatiker ist dieser Laden in Uni-Nähe das reine Paradies. Tretet ein!

Ich muss ja gestehen, dass mir die aktuelle Stiefelmode bei Goertz etc. absolut nicht zusagt. Ich finde einfach nicht das perfekte Paar! Kleidung kaufe ich in Second-Hand Läden eher selten, da diese mir meistens du bunt und oft auch zu groß bzw. zu lang und an den Schultern zu weit ist. Für Schuhe und Taschen aus Epochen vor den 90ern habe ich jedoch eine echte Schwäche! Tolle Farbe, schöne Formen, feste Absätze, perfekte Verarbeitung und und und... Leider habe ich die absolute Durchschnitts-Schuhgröße 38/39 und bin auch hier nicht auf der Suche nach dem perfekten schwarzen Winterstiefel mit hohem Schaft gekommen. Die meisten Schuhe gab es zwischen 36-38. Allerdings verriet mir die wirklich sehr aufmerksame und hilfsbereite Verkäuferin, dass alle zwei Tage neue Schuhe kämen. Dabei seien auch genauso viele große wie kleine Größen, nur natürlich verkaufen sich die größeren schneller. Also: regelmäßig vorbeikommen um neue Lieferungen abzupassen!

Auch für Lederhandtaschen lohnt es sich vorbeizuschauen. Wir entdeckten einige Schätze die aussahen wie alte Arztköfferchen, aber auch schlichte Umhängetaschen.

Gegen Ende des Jahres verändert sich das Sortiment dann drastisch: Die ganze Zeit über werden verschiedene originale Anzüge, Uniformen, Kleider etc. gesammelt, die zu einer Vielfalt an kreativen, ausgefallenen und wirklich schönen Kostümen für Karneval führen. Der Laden ist für sein hochqualitatives und ausschließlich aus "echt-alter" Kleidung bestehendes Angebot bekannt und hat für jede Verkleidungsidee eine passende Umsetzung parat.

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Kontakt: Zülpicher Str. 6, 50674 Köln, Tel. 0221 240 68 10

geöffnet: Mo-Fr 11-19.30 Uhr, Sa 11-16.00 Uhr

These are the cutest Halloween buttons ever! Kawaii Not is offering this limited edition Monster Kawaii Pack. The $7 set includes 5 buttons, surprise candy, and goodies, and it's available until October 31st. You can find it at the Kawaii Not store. My favorite is the zombie (I think?) with cracked skull.

I still don't know what I'm doing for Halloween. Do you have any cool plans? Have you picked out a costume yet?