Just Maggie

Christmas shopping

Tis' the season! Oh boy have I learned something new. I know, people have been doing it for years but to me I finally broke down and tried it this year for the first time.....on-line shopping! It is soooo great! I thought it would take away the greatness of going out to the stores , listening to Christmas music playing, looking at the decorations and just getting into the spirit. Boy was I wrong! I didn't realize how much stress it was to deal with the traffic, wait in long lines and walk through a store trying to find something that you think that special someone may like. This way, I can browse on-line and order what I want and then it arrives just days later...its great! Sometimes you can even get things shipped for free. I found on Overstock.com that they are only charging a buck for shipping...shoot, I would spend more than that on gas just to get to one store. I have found myself less stressed and more in the spirit of the holiday because of it. I'm able to play Christmas songs on XM radio as I'm browsing and just relax for a bit if I get tired of looking and then go back to it. If you have not tried it yet, you should really give it a shot, you may be pleasantly surprised:)

A trip to the mall

Last night I went to the mall to get a ring sized and decided to take a walk through JC Penneys. Mind you, I am not a woman that likes to shop. Actually, I use to truly hate it. But, I thought, I have a gift card to the mall so lets take a walk and see what I can find.

Well, they had a 70% off sale throughout the entire store. I was just amazed at all the little red stickers everywhere. So I ended up buying 3 pairs of pants that were reduced to $9.99 a couple of shirts that were $36 down to $12 and two of these wraps that normally are $25-30 that I got for $7.99. I was in my glory.

After getting several new outfits I decided to head over to the bathroom stuff. Now that I am moving into a place with 4 bathrooms I need to get some new decor for a couple of them. Now, either I am really out of the loop or this store jacked up the prices big time. I went to get the seat cover, rug that goes around the base of the toilet and a bath rug...ok, are you ready for this..the bath rug was normally $51.00!!! I had to ask the cashier if that was a mistake or something. He said nope, thats the normal price. But, he says, its on sale today for $32.00!!! Oh my lord, $32 for a rug that lies in front of a tub. Unbelievable. I rembember when you would see sets of all 3 for sale for $9.99! But seriously, shouldnt they be like $10 to $15 tops normally?

Ok, I will stop beating that dead horse. I just had to get it out of my system. Don't get me wrong, I still love the store, I just think they over price on certain things.

Shop til you drop!

Yesturday I had my niece visiting me from NY and we decided to go shopping. Keep in mind, I am not your typical female, I hate to shop! But, I started a new job about 3 months ago and I could really use some nice dress clothes for it. For Christmas I told people I really just wanted giftcards to like the mall and a couple other stores that I like to visit.

Well, I was given a GC for $250 to one mall and have about $200 to another. My neice wanted me to wait until she came down to go help me spend it. And that is what we did. We spent a good 3 hours at the mall going to all the different stores and it just amazes me how a name will determine the cost of an item. Ok..this is my pet peeve, We went into one store and it cost me $100 for one pair of pants and one sweater. I really didnt want to get it but I thought, ok, I will splurge just this once. Well, when we left we went to a different store and I found the same pants and 3 sweaters and purchased them all for $50.00! Now come on, why on earth should store number 1 get as much as they do when the same or similar items can be bought elsewhere at a fraction of the price? I understand that a brands name will determine the cost, however, it just really ticks me off that I see this and have to go back to store #1 to return what I got because it just makes me ill to go home knowing I paid those ridiculous prices.

I wouldn't say that I am cheap, but I just think that its sad how much it can cost to put a shirt on your back. Today, we are going to another mall to try and do this all over again. At least now I know what stores to hit right off the bat:)

My niece and I