January 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Target In January

I recently went to Target. As I do. When I want to buy a mindless variety of ~~unnecessary~~ items.

The reason I had gone there was because in my ~~rummaging~~ cleaning, I found 4 gift cards totaling $100 to Target in my drawer. They were given to me over the last few months as my kids would get them as gifts and then order something off of Amazon and pay me with their Target gift cards. I didn’t mind. I knew I would use them. Or lose them. Whichever came first. I decided to get on using them before I forgot.

With the holidays just recently being over and it being the beginning of the year, a lot of us are not spending money. I wanted to show some inexpensive options Target is offering right now, in case you wanted something new, but did not want a high price tag to struggle with.

I didn’t mean to go to the clothing section. Cross my heart. But that is where I ended up. And I saw the best shirt. Seriously. Run. Don’t walk. And go get yourself this shirt. The only sizes left in black at our Target were XS and Large. I bought a Large for myself (fits perfectly) and an XS for my daughter (now you see why they don’t mind paying me with their gift cards).

The shirt is $16.99 and so similar to the more expensive shirts in my wishlist. See here. And here. Plus, you get 5% off if you use their Target Red Debit Card. It also came in the prettiest seafoam green color. But I needed a black shirt. The back has the pretty key-hole.

Does this remind you of anything? How about my Ruffled Hem Pullover? This was less than 1/4 of that price?! I do like my Anthropologie sweater better. The back is more detailed. But this Target sweater was a great price. At $20, this was a nobrainer and my daughter got one, too. I bought the medium in this although I think I could have even gotten a large. It matches my AG Stevies Cords perfectly.

And this awesome poncho pullover is so cool! At $20, it is simple to throw on. It is the easiest black and white stripes. Goes with so much. It covers the bum. Another steal. Another win for Target. By the way, I have no idea what is on my thigh. I had put those pants on for the very first time five minutes prior to this pic.

I did not buy either of these sweaters. Not at Anthropologie. Not at Target. I do not own a French Bulldog, so it wasn’t for me. There was a popback of this sweater at Anthropologie last week and I would have ended up paying the same amount as the Target price. But I didn’t need it. So I didn’t buy it.

I just have to say… Umm. I’m not sayin’ this is a blatant copy of Anthropologie’s sweater. What do you think? Wink. If you missed it at Anthropologie, Target’s copy is $20.

Gnomes!!! Look at these little darlings. I love ’em. I want to marry them. I want to rub their cold little hard bodies all over my cheeks. I want to… Okay. Let’s quit there. $4 a piece (just the 4 crackled versions in the pot). Adorable.

And a big one to greet folks at the door. I only wish they had two more of him.

And a sad, sad little fellow. He looked so forlorn, I had to take him home to cheer him up. He still isn’t happy. I have a feeling he never will be. But he is a pretty color. Blue. Just like his heart.

This awesome crockpot was marked down from $35 to $17.48. How cool is it? I cannot wait to use it!

Have you been to Target lately? Do you always walk away with more than you came for? The buyers there are doing it right!

* Some pictures shown here were taken from Target and Anthropologie’s websites.

January 10, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

NOW CLOSED: Tenth Blog Giveaway: $25 Anthropologie e-Gift Card

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!

No, this is not dejavu. Or I guess it kind of is. With me being sick, the thought of putting together a giveaway and then mailing the giveaway prize was daunting. So, this month I am doing a repeat of last month’s giveaway. Yup. I am doing a $25 Anthropologie e-gift card giveaway again.

Cause I love that store.

And you guys love that store.

And I am being lazy.

As some of you know, doing the giveaway each month is my favorite part of my blog. I appreciate all of the warm fuzzies you guys give me throughout the month. This is my little way of giving back. Because you guys are so incredibly awesome!

The winner of this giveaway will win a $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie. As soon as I hear back from the winner, I will email them their gift card so they can get shopping. Easy peasy.

I saw something fantastic on The Pleated Poppy’s Blog this week. She speaks of having a word of the year that you strive for instead of creating individual resolutions. I would love my year to be “peaceful.” I do not want any conflict or big ups (okay, I will admit that would be nice) or downs. A nice mellow year would be wonderful.

To enter to win the $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie, simply leave a comment stating what you would like your word for 2014 to be. You can leave an explanation or simply leave the word if you want to remain mysterious.

You can also earn a second entry by following this blog. You can do so any old way on the right hand side of the page. Just make sure to leave a second comment stating you are following.

Limit two entries per person.

This giveaway runs from Friday, January 10, 2014 12:00 a.m. PST to Tuesday January 14, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. PST.

I will be using random.org to pick one winner from the comments received. I will contact the winner on January 15th using the email address provided by the winner in their comment/comments. I will post the winner’s name on this blog on January 16th.

Okay. I think that is it for technicalities.

* This giveaway is not sponsored or affiliated with Anthropologie.

* I will attempt to contact the winner three times. If I receive no response within two weeks, the winner will have forfeit the prize. A new winner will be drawn.

* Past winners are welcome to enter. : )

Thank you to everyone who enters! I appreciate you all so very much!

July 27, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Comic Con 2013 Part I

I love going to Comic Con. Scoring tickets to the event is always miraculous. Something always goes wrong with the ordering system. We have been very fortunate.

And getting to Comic Con is kind of scary. It is a task, in itself. Traffic is a nightmare. You have to buy your parking in March.

As we were about to get to our parking lot, we heard a loud “bang.” Metal on metal. We knew we had been hit. It was obviously not bad, but it was a bummer. The other car followed us, while we searched for somewhere to pull over.

Once we had, we got out to survey the damage.

There wasn’t any.

This is crazy. But his driver’s mirror hit my daughter’s side of the car’s door handle. There was not even a scratch.

Both cars were unharmed.

The driver’s wife started crying. She said, “It’s a Comic Con miracle.”

We left. Everyone wished each other a good convention and we were off.

But I cannot stop giggling. I thought you might appreciate this:

“A Comic Con miracle.”

I love it.

We made our way into the convention. And I stopped in my tracks. The regressed memories overtaking me.

You see…

Every year I look forward to Comic Con. And every year, I am brought back down to Earth by the reality that is Comic Con.

Because, whilst Comic Con is amazing. Awesome. Very, very cool.

It is also draining.

Hot.

Smelly.

And your soul feels crushed as you are packed body to body with other human beings as we are all herded to the next freebee. Body to body. And about 1/4 of the people are not wearing deodorant.

It is dizzying.

I have to give myself timeouts. So, I do not have a giant meltdown in the middle of the crowd.

I make myself leave the main convention for one hour breaks. Here, I can do my favorite thing to do at Comic Con. People watch. Because people watching at Comic Con is not like people watching at other events. It is interesting. You see more than your fair share of body parts. Body parts that are typically covered. And now they are not. Or they are covered in shiny lycra.

But finding a seat to people watch is impossible. There are no seats. Everyone piles onto the floor. Strangers next to strangers. And you look longingly for a place among them. Finding a seat on the floor is like scoring the lottery. I kid you not. It is a big deal.

It is amazing how human beings can adapt. Can change to their surroundings. Hunting for a spot on the floor becomes one’s main focus. A live or die survival instinct. Suddenly, what would have disgusted you the day before, is the most relevant and important thing today. You must sit next to the man in the Superman tights before that lady wearing the Wonder Woman outfit beats you to it.

And then…Victory! …That is Comic Con.

Here are some more photos of the costumes I snapped while enjoying my hard-won spot on the carpet: