HomeSense shopping!

Oh, how I love HomeSense! Seriously - most amazing store in the world! I'm actually amazed at how little I spend there considering how much I find that I really love. Today's purchase was only $5, but it could've been alot more. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First I need to explain why I ended up at HomeSense today. Last night we got Gabe to bed a little late and went pretty much straight to bed ourselves once he was asleep. I wasn't exceptionally tired however (my body was, but my mind was racing) so I had trouble falling asleep until 1:30. During that time that I couldn't sleep however I had to check on Gabe 3 or 4 times. He got my cold so he kept coughing all last night and his nose was super plugged so he wanted to keep his soother in his mouth but then he couldn't breathe so he'd start crying in his sleep. Anyway, as I said, I eventually fell asleep at 1:30, but then I was woken up by Gabe screaming at 2 a.m. Apparently he coughed himself awake and then was really upset to find that we weren't beside his crib, waiting to comfort him. Well, I brought him into our bed in hopes that the pillows would make him so comfy he'd fall back asleep (he's a very cuddly boy and any soft surface usually makes him fall asleep super fast). The only problem with this plan was that he really wanted to be upright. I think his chest was congested and that he was having some trouble breathing while he was laying down. Well anyway, I finally got him propped up in a position that required me to be sitting upright but he eventually fell asleep - and then I had to go pee... I tried to wake Matt up to get him to hold Gabe upright but in the bustle Gabe woke up - screaming. Well, I went pee and then scooped Gabe up and took him into the guest room to sleep on the futon with me. For the next hour he just wanted to lean against me in an upright position so he kept me awake while I tried to spot him but I think I finally fell asleep again at 3:30. Then he woke up again a couple more times through the night from his coughing. So I did sleep in this morning a fair bit - although I'm sure it still only worked out to 6 hours of sleep. But sleeping in that long always makes me feel like my day is really short and that I've got nothing done. Since my own symptoms relapsed a bit in light of my lack of rest I didn't feel like power cleaning, which meant that my kitchen wasn't clean enough to bake, so I decided to take Gabe out shopping. We first hit up Old Navy in search of a hat for him and while I didn't find a cute hat I did find a Flames shirt for him and a scarf for me (for only $1.47!). Well, after Old Navy I didn't feel like going home yet and I was debating taking Gabe down to a splash pool downtown or for a walk at a park but he hadn't had a nap, or lunch, yet so I decided against it. Then lo, across the parking lot, I saw HomeSense! The first place I typically go to in HomeSense is the book aisle. They have so many awesome cookbooks there and a whole bunch of different hobby books. I always check there for presents for people and, well, for myself too :) I saw lots that I liked but none that I loved, or at least, none that I loved that were ridiculously priced. So my next stop was the home decor clearance aisle. Bingo! Gordon Ramsay's Maze for only $5. $5!!! Regular $35! I couldn't pass that one by. Next I went to the baby section to check out their clothes and I almost did what I said I would never do: buy designer baby clothes. In my defence though, it wasn't full price, and it wouldn't necessarily have been for my baby. I can't remember one of the brands but they had CK, Polo and a couple other gorgeous designer outfits. They were so cute! Sweatervests galore! Ooh, and then I found this swimsuit that was so adorable (for me, not Gabe) and so sexy and so well priced... and apparently I have a very long torso. I might go back to Homesense another time when I don't have to push a stroller around and see if I can't find a different size but I'm afraid that if I go up in size to get it longer that it'll just be too big on me. As it was, it looked gorgeous but it was "precariously perched" if I may. And it was a slimming one piece style that totally rocked my post-baby body, which, while it is getting better is still nowhere near the body I had before. So anyway, if I hadn't resisted the designer baby duds ($30 - $40) and if the swimsuit had fit just a little bit better ($30) I would've spent a fair bit more, but as it was I only spent $5 on the cookbook! Yay me! I'm so cheap when it comes to spending. Matt actually had to encourage me to spend money a few months ago and I'm still very hesitant to spend more than $20 on any one thing. If it's under $20 I feel justified, but if it's over I have to really need it (like a new swimsuit or a hot dress for my cousin's wedding) to feel good about spending that money. Apparently a lady I was behind in the line up at Old Navy today didn't feel the same way. She spent $550. I didn't even know you could spend that much at Old Navy! The guy actually offered to help her out to her car! She said "I haven't been shopping in a long time." And obviously she's not planning on doing so again for an even longer time.
Tonight for dinner I'm really not sure what's going on. I had thought about making oven roasted ribs but I never pulled them and by the time I got home from shopping and thought about making dinner it was already 3:30 and that wouldn't have left enough time to slow roast them. I did make a jar of lemon butter yesterday so maybe we'll work that into a dessert, but then again, maybe I'll see if Matt wants to go out for dinner and then hit up HomeSense and check out that swimsuit with me! Going there twice in one day isn't too excessive, is it?

Mrs. Vander Leek ;)