It’s beginning to look and feel a lot more like Christmas. Last night Lena and I did a little holiday shopping downtown, and we splurged on $1 tacos — hooray for Taco Tuesday and Feliz Navidad to you all.
We also treated ourselves to buy-one-get-one frozen yogurt because of a Christmas promotion. I sampled the fro-yo flavored like egg nog, but I wasn’t impressed enough to commit to a whole cup. I wish La Berry would introduce some additional holiday flavors like peanut blossom, spritz cookie, peppermint stick or frozen hot chocolate. Now those are sweet holiday traditions I can stand behind.
I put up my re-gifted Christmas tree and decorated it more than two weeks ago, but I was waiting for Lena to return home before I posted a photo of it. She visited family in China for three weeks, so our dazzling little tree was a nice welcome home surprise. It is borrowed from our friends, Chris and Beth, who were given the same tree a few years ago as a way to add holiday spirit to their apartment. It’s such a perfect example of the season of giving. Lena and I were also fortunate that their cat, Frank, just happens to love eating its 100 percent artificial needles.
Silly, kitty.
Lucky, me.
I think my first solo attempt at decking the halls looks pretty good. Granted, I decorated the tree using only materials accumulated during a few passes through the Target Christmas aisle, so everything matches perfectly. I also hung two stockings on the washing machine closet knobs to finish off my stint as a holiday décor maven. This year my decorations aren’t elaborate or the ambitious endeavors I see on Pinterest, but I had to start somewhere.
It also feels a bit more like Christmas time despite Savannah’s 70-degree temperatures because I dragged jet-lagged Lena around the mall for a few hours on Sunday. We were able to check a few items off of each of our shopping lists and feel the crisp December chill every time we wandered near the terrible small mall’s air conditioning vents.
Tonight I went to downtown Savannah for Fashion’s Night Out, my city’s petite version of a national event where shoppers indulge in special FNO discounts and promotions. The event should have been bank account-busting fun, but I walked away with only one purchase: a new set of bracelets. I simply cannot enjoy shopping solo in Savannah. I’m picky and the kind of person who needs multiple forces to align before I’ll make a purchase. In various combinations, these can include:
- A sale
- A mom or a sister
- A shoe sale
- A mom or a sister yelling at me to stop being so picky and just buy the darn thing
I ran a few errands this afternoon and I was…
- Besieged at Publix because the grocery store was giving kids free hot dogs and free cookies. (Not fair.)
- Caught in a downpour while wearing a white linen shirt. (Not fashionable.)
- Hit on by a man waiting in line at the ATM. (Not endearing.)
- Grossed out by my wrinkly, jiggly old neighbor attempting to ride a bicycle shirtless. (Not attractive.)
- Witness to kids climbing a locked gate into the high school down the street. (Not legal.)
And now I’m not leaving my house again today even though it’s thunderstorming like crazy and my power keeps flickering on and off.
Ahhhh, it’s another day in paradise!
The title of this post is a stupid pun, but I’m 100 percent serious about my argument:
People in the state of Georgia do not understand the importance of the cart corral.
Every parking lot at the grocery stores, big box chains or discount retailers I visit looks like a war zone. Fallen comrades lay on their side in the gutter. Carts are snagged by one wheel on the curb, temporarily immobilized but oh-so-close to freedom. Others take refuge in the bushes and shrubbery that divide lots, the visible border between occupied and unoccupied territories. It’s easy for me to personify these cargo carriers, but the truth of the matter is that the only reason they venture astray is because of lazy people. I hate particularly dislike lazy people.
Egregious offenders frequent the Kroger market near my office. What’s interesting about this store is that it sits in Savannah’s tightly packed downtown area. Because space is at a premium, the store offers a modest parking lot flanked by city streets. Most days, the sidewalks, bus stops and even neighboring lawns are adorned with Kroger carts. Signs in the parking lot warn patrons that taking a cart off the premises is against the law, but no one cares.
At the grocery store after work today I was forced to park farther away than I would have hoped to walk in three-inch heels because carts gone rogue occupied the premium spots. As I walked into the store a man who was in the process of wedging his cart into a median instead of putting it in the nearby corral whistled at me. Apparently he thought the scowl on my face was endearing.
Should I be concerned that my shopping list is still longer than my purchased list?
Nahhh. I work well under tight deadlines, right?
Today I went to the grocery store with my mom to pick up some of my staple foods for our kitchen pantry. I bought such novel items as chicken, celery, and hummus. These may not sound all that spectacular to most people but bringing chicken into the house on a beef farm with a father who doesn’t eat fowl is a bit tricky.
While I was roaming around the store I had a reality check that I’m not in New York anymore. First off, groceries are so cheap! I guess being in grainville has its perks. I did have some problems, though. I really wanted tzatziki and after going to two stores in the town over from mine (which supposedly has a bigger selection) it was still no where in sight. I also couldn’t find a decent type of pita, matchstick carrots, or the good kind of Kashi. I miss Wegmans.
Last night this trio from St. Cloud made the news for editing together an Ode to Minnesota video to the tune of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind.
Even CNN is talking about how many remixes the song is inspiring.
The chorus of this version says, “Minnesota: frozen tundra we are fond of.” Considering the high temperature today was zero, I think they’ve hit the nail on the head.
1. I realized I own a necklace that Jennifer Aniston wears in “He’s Just Not That Into You.” The necklace was a gift from my fashionista sista Cora. Surprise, surprise.
2. Lena’s mom has been feeding us more frequently than a newborn the last few days. Today she tried to get us to eat some grapes but we explained we weren’t hungry. She replied, “It’s not for hungry. It just for fun.”
3. Homemade dumplings for supper. I’ve only been waiting a year and a half for those.
4. I found amazing Black Friday deals. We’re talking two sweaters and a shirt from the GAP for less than 20 bucks. Hell might have frozen over.
5. We get to eat left-over dumplings tomorrow for breakfast. I’m in heaven.
