Best Shopping Day Ever!

I live just outside of a big city, so when I need to go into the city, I plan my day carefully so that I will be able to stop at all the places I need to in the most timely and efficient manner possible. It's a bummer when a store does not have what I need or want - doesn't have it in stock, doesn't have my size, the right color, etc. This usually means that I will need to stop there on another trip into the city.. a week or a month from now! Such a pain!

But not this week! This week when I went into the city, my day went exactly as planned with extra fun surprises! Let me tell you about it.

I started the day by phoning my parents to see if they needed me to get anything for them while I was in the city - sometimes they do. But they didn't need anything, and my Mom offered to take Otto for the day so that I could be faster in getting things done! Lovely! My parents are so good! So instead of having to get in and out of the van all day, Otto got a fun day with his grandparents (and did they ever have fun - a walk to the the playground, slides, swings, and trike rides down the driveway)! I also didn't have to worry about all the snacks and stopping for eating and all that. Nice.

So...
Stop #1: Aldo Outlet. I went in for a specific pair of shoes in a specific color. Sadly, they did not have my size. But, awesome thing #1 of the day, I tried my size on in a different color, and instead of saying, "Sorry, we don't have your size, you'll have to try another store," the saleslady told me that I could purchase the ones I wanted in my size and they would send me the shoes to my door and they'd pay the shipping! Wow! That made my morning!

Stop #2: Winners. I love to stop at Winners and browse. Sometimes you find something good, sometimes you don't. Today, I found something wonderful! I found a cool green tin can and this beautiful bird cage jewelry holder. The door even opens to store bracelets and other things in the inside! Lovely!


Stop #3: Winners. Yep, I stopped in at another Winners. I just can't help myself! It happened to be in the same complex as the next two stores I would stop at. So every time I've gone to Winners in the past two and a half years, I browse through the handbags to see if I can find a suitable bag that would be fashionable, yet have enough room for all my purse items plus diaper and snack items for Otto. And maybe a toy or book for Otto too. And it would be really nice if this bag were green. Anyway, after over two years of searching, I found the perfect one! I couldn't believe it!


Stop #4: Dollar Giant. Gotta love the dollar stores. The last time I went to this same store, I bought a few microfiber cloths that I discovered I love as my dish rags. I wanted a few more. Guess how many they happened to have left! Yep, a few more! Cha-ching!

Stop #5: My Sewing Room. Picked up a pair of free motion quilting gloves. I wasn't even sure they still carried them, as the ones I had borrowed from a friend were bought awhile ago. Nice.

Stop #6: Fabricland. I am trying to put together a quilt for our master bedroom. I got all the fabric (with several trips) and cut out all the pieces, but I wasn't satisfied with one of the patterns. It matched some of the fabrics, but really didn't match the other fabrics. So I really hoped to be able to find something suitable. I didn't have high hopes because I'd already searched for these colors and thought I'd found everything they had. But I was wrong! I found the perfect fabric and it will look wonderful with all the other fabrics! WOW!

Stop #7: Staples. I wasn't really planning on stopping here, but at the last minute I turned in, thinking that maybe they'd have what I'd been looking for in another Staples, but didn't find. I figured that they might have something because this Staples was in a busier center. And did I find what I wanted? Yes, I sure did! (some white tags for scrapbooking)

Stop #8: The Distribution Center. Okay, so maybe this is indulging too much information, but I really needed a few more pairs of maternity unmentionables and guess how many they had left of my size in stock? The same number that I needed! Nice Nice.

Stop #9: IKEA. I wanted to get a few different sized frames to start getting things ready for my new business venture (more on that soon). And I also picked up a stool for Otto (side note: Otto has thee cutest way of pronouncing any word with an "L" in it, and "stool" is one of our personal favorites recently). I rushed through IKEA, knowing exactly what I wanted to get, but I happened to look in one area I don't usually look in and found the perfect shelving unit for my furnace/laundry room, which I'd been on the lookout for for the past several months! And at $14.99, it was such a great deal! Cha-ching!

Stop #10: Superstore. Kinda boring here, but I got all the things I wanted, including some organic face products which sometimes are not in stock here, and I finally remembered to pick up some finger paints for Otto (which we used yesterday and which he loved so much)!

So a total of 10 stops in the city, and I was able to get what I wanted and more from each stop! That is unheard of! So there you have it, a perfect day of shopping and errands! I was so happy as I drove home, I just couldn't believe my good luck!