Strange
I think I've actually developed some sort of obsession with household goods. I like shopping for them, even ones I know we don't need or have no space for at the moment. I even wander the internet for them. Organize.com (which has always been one of my favorite shopping sites) is having a clearance on a bunch of stuff right now. I can spend an hour in the Home/Kitchen section of Marshall's alone.
I'm all excited because I ordered an iron from my credit card reward points and found a delightful green tea kettle at a thrift store today. I don't need the tea kettle because I've got an electric kettle, but I like the romance of the classic kettle enough to have coughed up $4 for it, though I'm quite glad I found a pre-loved one instead of looking for a new one. I was getting frustrated by them being ugly, tiny, or $30+.
But alas, said teapot leads me into a shopping confessions blog, the likes of which I have not posted in some time because I've been doing very well. Partially brought on by the fear of not eating after Ryan stopped working and I'd been getting shit hours at Wendy's.
Let's start with today. I went thrifting while Ryan was playing in a booster draft for Magic at the Volunteers of America store on the corner of Waverly and Sagniaw in Lansing. The haul:
And the other day(last Tuesday or Wednesday, I think), I visited the newly-opened HomeGoods store (from the Marshall's/TJ Maxx line) in Frandor and came home with the following:
Yesterday, I also bought books. But also got some free ones.
I think the real treasure of yesterday's dive through used books and free used books was the 1910-published book of nature poetry hiding in the free boxes. It's called Lavender and Rosemary, Nature Thoughts for Nature Lovers and was published by The Platt & Peck Co. of New York, with poetry selections compiled by Edith Stevens. It is in remarkable shape for being paperback, with edges of the covers in somewhat rough shape (but no more so than a used college textbook after a few semesters of use), clean, unmarked and gently-aged pages, and not even a reading crack in the spine.
One of the poems:
Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs-
To the silent wilderness
Where the soul need not repress
Its music, lest it should not find
An echo in another's mind
While the touch of Nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart
Radiant Sister of the Day
Awake! Arise! and come away!
To the wild woods and the plains,
To the pools where winter rains
Image all their roof of leaves
Where the pine its garland weaves
Of sapless green, and ivy dun.
Round stems that never kiss the sun,
Where the lawns and pastures be
And the sandhills of the sea,
Where the melting hoar-frost wets
The daisy star that never sets,
And wind-flowers and violets,
Which yet join not scent to hue,
Crown the pale year weak and new;
When the night is left behind
In the deep east, dim and blind,
And the blue noon is over us,
And the multitudinous
Billows murmur at our feet,
Where the earth and ocean meet,
And all things seem only one
In the universal Sun.
--Shelley
The problem with bringing home books, of course, is where to put them. We are already pretty much out of shelf space, and really have only so much floor space on which to begin stacking. But since books seem to be the only things I can really, really not say "No" to, solutions must be found. I'll call maintenance tomorrow and see if it is permissible for us to install shelves on the walls. If yes, you bet your ass we're throwing some up!
I'm all excited because I ordered an iron from my credit card reward points and found a delightful green tea kettle at a thrift store today. I don't need the tea kettle because I've got an electric kettle, but I like the romance of the classic kettle enough to have coughed up $4 for it, though I'm quite glad I found a pre-loved one instead of looking for a new one. I was getting frustrated by them being ugly, tiny, or $30+.
But alas, said teapot leads me into a shopping confessions blog, the likes of which I have not posted in some time because I've been doing very well. Partially brought on by the fear of not eating after Ryan stopped working and I'd been getting shit hours at Wendy's.
Let's start with today. I went thrifting while Ryan was playing in a booster draft for Magic at the Volunteers of America store on the corner of Waverly and Sagniaw in Lansing. The haul:
- Teapot ($4.04)
- 3-hole punch ($1.51 -though a legit supply for my binders of win and school stuff)
- Book for Mona's Mother's Day present ($0.50)
- Skirt ($1.99)
- Red dress ($2.99)
- Brown casual belt ($1.99)
- Pink tank top ($1.99)
And the other day(last Tuesday or Wednesday, I think), I visited the newly-opened HomeGoods store (from the Marshall's/TJ Maxx line) in Frandor and came home with the following:
- New pillows ($16.99 for two) -> Legit need. Not counting in total. Also, they're AWESOME. I never knew how crappy our pillows were until I put my head on these.
- Set of 4 red ramekins ($3.99)
- Set of 10" silicon-tipped stainless tongs ($4.99)
- Spiral pillar candle holder ($3.99) To be consecrated for ritual use later and housed on my altar.
Yesterday, I also bought books. But also got some free ones.
- Piers Anthony With a Tangled Skein, For the Love of Evil, and And Eternity from the Incarnations of Immortality series ($6 total)
- Anne Rice Pandora and Interview With the Vampire ($6 total)
I think the real treasure of yesterday's dive through used books and free used books was the 1910-published book of nature poetry hiding in the free boxes. It's called Lavender and Rosemary, Nature Thoughts for Nature Lovers and was published by The Platt & Peck Co. of New York, with poetry selections compiled by Edith Stevens. It is in remarkable shape for being paperback, with edges of the covers in somewhat rough shape (but no more so than a used college textbook after a few semesters of use), clean, unmarked and gently-aged pages, and not even a reading crack in the spine.
One of the poems:
Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs-
To the silent wilderness
Where the soul need not repress
Its music, lest it should not find
An echo in another's mind
While the touch of Nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart
Radiant Sister of the Day
Awake! Arise! and come away!
To the wild woods and the plains,
To the pools where winter rains
Image all their roof of leaves
Where the pine its garland weaves
Of sapless green, and ivy dun.
Round stems that never kiss the sun,
Where the lawns and pastures be
And the sandhills of the sea,
Where the melting hoar-frost wets
The daisy star that never sets,
And wind-flowers and violets,
Which yet join not scent to hue,
Crown the pale year weak and new;
When the night is left behind
In the deep east, dim and blind,
And the blue noon is over us,
And the multitudinous
Billows murmur at our feet,
Where the earth and ocean meet,
And all things seem only one
In the universal Sun.
--Shelley
The problem with bringing home books, of course, is where to put them. We are already pretty much out of shelf space, and really have only so much floor space on which to begin stacking. But since books seem to be the only things I can really, really not say "No" to, solutions must be found. I'll call maintenance tomorrow and see if it is permissible for us to install shelves on the walls. If yes, you bet your ass we're throwing some up!