It’s The Little Things: Paper Straws

Folks. I have a problem. We can joke about. Pretend it is a silly thing. A small thing.

But it is getting a bit out of hand.

It is kind of my habit or need, if you will, to have a supply of every possible thing. Imaginable. Just in case. You never know.

“Just in case. You never know.” That is the mantra of my life, by the way. In one word it can be summed up to: greed paranoia.

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I have always been a Straw Freak. I bet you didn’t know there was such a thing. Well there is. Here I am. “Nice to meet you.” I cannot drink out of a glass without a straw. I make weird slurping noises. It is like I have been drinking out of puddles all of my life. My lips cannot form properly onto the glass.

I am sure at this point you are crossing off the word “straw” in Straw Freak.

I don’t blame you.

Also. I cannot drink water with a straw. Or milk (unless the milk is from a donut shop in a small container purchased on the way to the airport between the hours of five and seven thirty in the morning. Jealous of my husband now?). It is simply not done. Sends shivers down my spine, it does.

If I am at a restaurant, I always grab extra ones. Especially at Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf. Their straws are the absolute best. They are big. They are purple. They live in my purse where I can stroke them daily.

Shhhhhh!

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So, I started seeing these gorgeous paper straws popping up all over the place. And the Need Beast in my heart grew.

I finally caved and purchased some hot pink paper straws from Amazon.
.

But the Need Beast was not satisfied.

So I bought a small pack of twenty yellow polkadot and stripe ones.

But he longed for more.

He wanted. All. Of. The. Colors.

RRRROOOOOAAAARRRRR!

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But I did not want to pay for them. Well, the other day Anthropologie had free shipping on anything. That’s right. Anything. Do you want to know what I bought?

Clothes?

Nope.

Shoes?

Nope.

Jewelry?

Nope.

Shocker: I bought straws.

Eight boxes of fabulous clearanced paper straws. Eight boxes of 144 count straws (seriously, the best price I have found is on Anthropologie. Who knew?). This, combined with my previous Amazon purchases, left me with a total of 1,196 straws.

My husband was very impressed with this number, folks.

You should have seen his jaw clench.

I think it was in anticipation of the fun sipping he will be doing all season.

Don’t you?

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I am so ready for this summer. For margaritas by the pool. For lemonade. And piƱa coladas.

All made more exciting with the use of colorful, happy straws.

It’s the little things: Making a drink even better.

Do you have paper straws in your house? Do you drink from a straw? Do you have weird rules about straws? Please share. My Need Beast really wants to know.

* The Amazon link is an affiliate link. The straws for this link are $1 more than what Anthropologie is selling their straws for. However, I provided the link in case Anthropologie runs out. Also, I get free shipping on Amazon but not on Anthropologie. Purchasing through the Amazon link will result in a small commission for The Need Beast this blog.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.