Ode To The Dollar Store

I have to confess an unhealthy affection for the dollar store. It's not just that everything is so darn cheap, most of it being, you know, $1, but also the sheer variety of goods they offer. I mean where else can you buy a squeaky rubber chicken, dinnerware, gift bags, tampons (en espanol), wicker baskets AND helium balloons? It's like the circus for housewives.

Whenever I am feeling like doing some shopping, but the old checkbook won't tolerate a trip to Target, it's off to Dollar General I go. I can spend an hour in there, meandering my way down the aisles, getting much of the same junk treasures for about a tenth of the cost.
















How do I love thee, Dollar General?
Let me count the ways:

Gallon and quart freezer bags
Kiddie book
Three greeting cards
Coloring book
Two peppermint patties
Apple juice
Two photo frames
Brownie mix*

Total: $10.14

*Despite my love for all things Dollar Store, I am a little weird about buying food there. I made the brownies last night, though, and they were DELICIOUS. Of course, I used a glass dish and it took them an hour to bake, during which time I contemplated eating them with a spoon, but who's counting.

Black Friday

For anyone with thoughts of partaking of all that is Black Friday, here is a website that lists the sales that the big retailers are running. Worth checking out!

Ma Petite Shoe

I am a certified shoe-aholic. Unfortunately, my husband has put down his foot (ha) on my shoe habit, so I am now moving on to Sophie. I am always on the hunt for shoes for my daughter. She is on the cusp of walking, so it is now appropriate that she have a wide and varied shoe collection.

She is rather particular about her footwear. It is less about looks than feel, in stark contrast to myself for whom it is ALL about looks and very little about feel. After adding pair after pair of shoes to her collection that she won't keep on for longer than it takes me to turn around and grab my car keys, I found a pair, quite by accident, at Sears the other day. I am not a store snob, but I rarely shop at Sears because in the past I have not found much that went with my tastes there. However, as I wandered through the baby section, I spotted a pair that I thought might be good for Sophie. As it turns out, she tolerates these shoes quite well. They have jelly-ish soles that suit her. Heck, if they made them in my size, I would wear them. I would like to get other colors and styles, but alas I haven't been able to find any more shoes by this brand, Little Wonders, that are similar. So, I went in search of shoes on the interweb. First stop, my beloved Zappos.

Not surprisingly, I found a wide selection of shoes for little tiny feet, many of which were quite cute, but few had the soft sole that I was looking for. Then I found these little cuties:













They have them in different colors and patterns, but I just adored this one. Apparently they have this sand effect sole that mimics walking on sand, which is supposedly good for unsteady new walkers. And then I looked at the price.

$68!!*

Seriously, I love Sophie like crazy and I absolutely positively want her to have the very best of everything but my girl can NOT have shoes more expensive than most of the ones I wear. I know that $68 is not insanely expensive, but she's going to grow out of them in about 43 seconds. Even Suri doesn't get shoes this expensive.**

* Heather - I looked on Ebay. No dice.

**How cute are the ladybugs!