Tuesday’s Shoes

After dinking around with a Dillard’s gift card that didn’t work out, Jerry wound up giving me $100.00 for Christmas, and I knew right away what I would buy with those sweet dollars; new dress boots. Rebecca and I went shopping the Monday after Christmas, and at Nordstrom’s Rack she found a perfect pair of boots for herself. I? Nothing. Well, nothing in the line of boots, but at Hobby Lobby where all Christmas items were reduced by 80%, I garnered quite a collection of items until finally I was pushing about a heaped up shopping cart.

A couple of days ago, I was feeling the urge to get out and find my boots, thinking of the after Christmas sales that would be slipping away and such as that, so on Tuesday in our trusty white Jeep I headed down the hill with DSW in Redlands in mind. By email they had sent me a $10.00 credit, and I’ve had luck finding what I needed there before.

I had the clearance rack in mind so I headed toward the back of the store where it is situated, choosing on my way to walk down the aisle where the boots are displayed. I stopped to peer at a couple of styles that interested me, keeping them in mind as I pointed my size 7s toward the bargain area.

No doubt I have blogged before about scripture that indicates women are to look well to their households, to be wise in the “doings” of their homes . . .that sort of thing, and since I am a follower of Jesus, when I’m out shopping and great bargains find their way within the reach of my searching hands, I seem to always recall that portion of scripture. Tuesday was no exception.

These black boots are exactly what I had in mind. Perfect sized heel. Fine leather.These brown boots are soft and buttery, and although I had not planned to buy more than one pair, just take a look at that color. Gorgeous.  And then I spied this adorable little number that I will wear in the heat of summer.Five pairs! All from the clearance rack where each pair was marked down 30 to 40% off the original clearance price. Would you not think that God was directing me in this situation? Tell me now. As I left the store, two large bags swinging from my hands, I clutched the receipt that proved how much I had saved my sweet hubby. He would be so grateful, I felt sure.

I had to run by Rebecca’s before I started home, and as I drove to her place, I considered taking all my shoes in to show her. “Kind of silly and childlike,” I argued with myself. Childlike won. I wagged in the two bags and we sat in her living room, rubbed our hands over the smooth leather and the fuzzy parts, and laughed together.

You may be wondering about the hundred dollar bill. Actually what happened is that it was not quite enough to purchase the five pairs of shoes, even though they were all from the clearance rack, so I used my debit card. Convenient little thing. The big bill? Still in my wallet. Should I offer it back?

Thievery at Dillard’s

A few hours ago, I came in from a thieving spree; well, at least that is the essence of language used by the lady next to me, and she was involved in the same activity as was I, for, side-by-side, we pawed (in ladylike ways, of course) through the merchandise.   We were After-Christmas-Shopping and the deals we unraveled were of such degree that the elegantly dressed lady leaned a little toward me, and quite out of the corner of her fine mouth spoke conspiratorially, “It’s like stealing, isn’t it.” She looked straight ahead as she spoke. I nodded, muttered a few words of agreement, and now glanced about to see if possibly we were being observed.

Dillard’s was the crime scene. I grieve for you if you don’t have a Dillard’s in your life, for of all the department stores encountered in my now elongated years, I consider Dillard’s to be the paragon of such places. Your understanding of my passion for this store will be enhanced by knowing that in my home place of Southern California, where I have lived most of my adult life, and where all my four children were born and reared, there is no Dillard’s, and yet I judge them the epitome of fine stores. I rate them above Macy’s, The May Company (did they merge with somebody?) and even Nordstrom’s. A few months ago when they announced the building of the new mall here in Lake Havasu, I was ecstatic to hear that Dillard’s would be one of the anchor stores.

I defend my choice by telling you this; Dillard’s puts on the the finest clearance sales of any department store I know. Their stores are beautiful to start with, showing lovely clothes and fine housewares…but it surely is their sales that set them apart. Often they advertise prices at 50 or 75% off the already discounted price. Today was such a case, and I bought this stash–four pairs of DKNY tights, eleven pairs of Hanes nylons, and four HUE slippers for the grand sum of $36.94.

Never before had I considered indulging in Dillard’s fine sales as a form of thievery, but ever since that lady spoke in those hushed tones today, mentioning the word stealing, I’ve kept my ears tuned for a knock on the door. So far, everything seems okay, though. The mall is less than two miles from our rig here, so if there’s anything you want me to pick up, just give me a call. 🙂

Amazon Power Shopping and a Cruise

I’m almost of the mind to post the entire article here, for I’m afraid you won’t go over and read the whole thing. This morning I stumbled across this intriguing article that lists all these neat ways to shop at Amazon and related places. I hadn’t even heard of most of these services. Some of them are just for the sake of convenience; others, though, appear to be real money-saving opportunities.

Okay, with gas prices now well over $4.00 a gallon, and with our propensity to drive a lot (actually for some of us it is necessity–we just don’t have a choice), we must find a find to compensate for all that money we’re hosing into our gasoline tanks. Maybe some of these online shopping deals will help us. If in the next few weeks, you find you’re saving an enormous amount of money because of the timely info you’ve found on my neat blog, and your tender conscience says, “You should share some of that money with Shirley…let me know, send the money, and we’ll set up a fund for something…I don’t know…maybe a cruise fund. Then when one of my readers is quite stressed, or just feeling lazy, or has a special birthday or anniversary, you can apply for a grant from my special fund. (I’m getting inspired about this as I write!) Ist rule: I’m completely in charge, make all subsequent rules, and may just use the money that floods in to take cruises myself. Been thinking I’d like to do that sometime soon.

Top 10 Amazon Power Shopper Tools

Anyway, check out this link and let me know what you think. I’m whetting your appetite by listing number 8.

8. Browse the deep discount bin at JungleCrazy

JungleCrazy shows only items at Amazon that are at least 70 percent discounted (from original retail price), making it a great place to browse (and search) if you just know you can get a certain item cheaper than you’re finding it. The site’s RSS feed dishes up the popular hits, so you can quickly scan to see if that 2 GB USB key drive can be had for a lot less. (Original post)

You won’t believe the bargains at JungleCrazy. Even have an amazing 1 cent bin.

“Step right this way, ladies and gentlemen,” she says.

Can’t wait to hear how much money you’ll be saving as you happily shop. Can’t wait to see how rapidly our special cruise fund will multiply because I know you will immediately start spending–thus saving–and since you, my readers, are known for your tender and true consciences, you will share a chunk of your saved money with me, the dear one who helped you find such bargains. If ever there was a win-win situation–this is it.

It just occurred to me that President Bush surely will love me when he hears of my economic contribution, and in a circular way will be contributing to our cruise fund. Got your rebate yet? Recall, we’re not to save that money–we’re to spend it. Get the old economy roaring back.

Cheers to your discount shopping and to my cruising!

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My devotional blog is here.

Hail Power Shopping!

Not sure whether it can be detected by any known test, but if such were so, I believe my DNA would indicate a dominant bargain hunting gene. Southern California, where I have lived most of my adult life, is replete with fine discount stores–even discount malls, where every store offers its merchandise at slashed prices. When my children were home, the day after Christmas always found us at South Coast Plaza for splendid after Christmas sales. Jerry didn’t usually join us, for he isn’t a shopping gene carrier, although, when he does shop, he doesn’t mind a bargain or two.

I’m a bit surprised at myself, given my proclivity for bargain-shopping, that I haven’t utilized the internet more, for I’m convinced there are great buys to be found there. This morning, I came across what appears to be such excellent shopping material that I have bookmarked this source, and I certainly want to share it with you.

In the past 10 years, the internet has completely revolutionized the way we shop—so much so that there’s rarely a compelling reason to make purchases offline anymore. But the rise of online shopping has also given rise to an ocean of choice, and you want to make sure you’re getting the best deals available to you. If you’re a die-hard bargain shopper, you can spend tons of time looking for deals on the internet—and you can be very successful. But if you don’t have an abundance of time to dedicate to bargain hunting, you can still save buckets of cash by following just a few simple tips.

Read the entire excellent article here.

Several of my friends already do a great deal of shopping on the internet, and seem quite pleased with the results. If you are one of those who shop in this way, I’d like to hear from you. Do you have favorite places, has such shopping worked out for you, do clothes fit when you order them, have you had to return anything…and was that a great hassle? Let us know.

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My devotional blog is here.