Within a Hair's Breath

I came THIS close to going short, but I decided to stick with longer for now. I haven't been styling my hair much and so I think that may be my main problem. It's the whole "put no effort into it, and don't get what you want out of it" thing. :) If I put a little time into it, I really do like it. So thanks everyone I talked to and agonized with for giving me feedback and listening to me. Good to know I have so many friends willing to help me with my image crisis. And thanks to those, and you know who are, who like my hair as it is now. Makes me feel good to know I don't look bad, but just in the mood for a change. :)

Lauren, Monica, and I went shopping in San Fran today to escape the heat. It did get rather warm in the city, but no where near as bad as the 110 it got to here in Livermore. Yuck. I can't really go into the city again, so I will have to rely on the pool to keep me cool. The air conditioning isn't really keeping up with the heat. Annie turned it off while we were gone to save money on the electric, and it was an oven when Lauren and I got home. We promptly stripped to our underwear and t-shirts and I made us some iced raspberry tea with the AC going full blast. It is 106 here still at midnight. YUCK. It should be cooled down enough to sleep in an hour or two. Good thing I'm a night owl. Ah, cold drink, sudoku, and modern air conditioning. It's a good thing.

Oh, the shopping! I was SO good. Lauren found some awesome fabric for curtains for her room this year at school. She got a really good deal, too. The one fabric was very pricey, and the other was a good deal, so the expensive too-die-for fabric is the focal point and the coordinating good-deal fabric is the bulk. The second shop we went into today was this purse shop where the designer was the owner. She had some gorgeous things. And all very pricey, but not unreasonable for the quality. But, I am being careful with the money (trying to build savings as many of us are) and so I was standing firm on not spending money on anything I hadn't planned on. I had three things on my list: high heeled shoes from the major sale and Loehman's, underwear (a girl needs cute panties now and again), and make up for Mama and me from Victoria's Secret. Well. I'm in this cute little shop just minding my own business and reveling in my own resoluteness, when it caught my eye. This dark red all leather handbag. It wasn't small (which I liked), it was a rich red, it had a woven leather pattern with a canvas/heavy linen lining, and the leather was soft like butter. Yes, I knew it was soft because somehow it was in my hands the heartbeat after my eyes landed on it. I know not how that came to be. And so, there I was, embroiled in a mortal battle of wills: the will to not spend money, and the will to have this which made life worth living. Okay, that was a little dramatic, but you get the idea. The next question was, "How much?" I held my breath, knowing this was a moment of destiny. If it was divine intervention that placed this thing of beauty in my path, it would cost less than the limit of my credit card; if it was cruel temptation and a test of my faith in the path of fiscal responsibility, then it would be beyond my means. And I reached for the tag... And it was $50. My heart began to pound. I had the means to purchase it. Now did I let down my fortified walls of reason and fiscal conservatism and purchase the new center of my universe? No. Yes! NO! YES! No! YES! no! YES! no YES! no YES! no YES! And so down came my backbone of steel to kneel before the alter of Beauty. I paid for this new rich, luxurious, awe-inspiring, treasure and put it to use immediately. I carried in the store bag my old purse and my sweater (for when the sun went down and it turned cool) and walked down the street without touching the ground (it was a dirty street after all) grinning happily. I knew that when I return to Notre Dame, and my mother lays eyes on this new wonder, she will abscond with it like a ferret in a room full of shiny objects. I know what the future holds for me. She will take it. I will take it back. She will take it again. I will take it again. And so life will continue, until the end of time. Or the purse wears out, whichever comes first. We then went to the Billion Dollar Babes sale to benefit the fight against breast cancer. Here the top fashion designers put their up coming fashions on sale. There were $2000 dresses selling for $200. I didn't like them, but it was a good deal. I did try on a few things, and I have decided I need to lose like 10 pounds. Maybe 15. Unless I can just tone up the fat areas. Swimming is good exercise. And as much walking as we did today just shopping, that must count as at least one workout, maybe two. Okay, back on topic. I didn't find anything at the sale, but Monica did. She bought a nice dress. I did find that a lot of those dresses were ones I could make with better fabric. And the jewelry. Most of it looked like high quality beads on standard gold or silver jewelry craft wire. I can do that. And some of the things that Lauren has made was as good as what they were selling. I can do that. We then went to Nordstrom Rack where there was a great deal on some really cute panties. And so I got one thing on my list. Yay! We then wandered around shopping some more and Lauren found a new undergarment. She was pleased to find a good deal and a perfect fit. I was disappointed by the shoes and didn't find anything worth buying. Bummer. When we went to Victoria's Secret we found that the make up is being repackaged and won't be released until August, so I'll take a look in two weeks, and see about getting it then. To amuse ourselves we went to Sephora and checked out their make up. I wasn't impressed by their stuff. Then we had dinner and walked around and came home. In the end, I spent less than anticipated, crossed off only one item from my list but for a very good deal, and overall was very satisfied with the day. Fun, great deals, serendipitous finds, and great company. Good day. :)