SassyBlonde

So here I am, at 2:45 on the way to the mall, sitting at a red light. I occurs to me-- why in GOD's name did I ever think that this would be something I shoudl do today? Then again, it also just occurred to me that everyone else is probably thinking this as well.

Ah well, here goes the fifth cycle of sitting in line at this same light. Blah.

I wonder why anyone would think that coming directly at you when you're stuck behind another car in an intersection would make you get out of the way any faster. Morons. Merry Friggin Christmas.

Hi. Me again.

Just wanted to say that the new BMW Z4 is a gorgeous car (sitting behind one in traffic) and I'm really wondering what I was thinking when I chose a profession that will never allow me to be able to afford one. Heh. Sigh.

All righty-- everyone and their mother's dog is at the mall today. If I sneezed I'd head-butt somebody!

Got some good shopping done today, though-- who knew? Would say what, but some of you guys might be reading this... teehee

On Friday my husband and I went to buy a mattress, with every expectation of getting ripped off. We ended up actually getting a pretty good deal on a really cushy mattress (queen size!!) and were pretty happy with it all around.

Unfortunately, they were supposed to have delivered the thing this morning, and we didn't even get a phone call. My husband just called there and the guy kind of blithely said "Oh, I guess they forgot... they're scheduled to be there between 2:30 and 5:00."

What a bunch of goofs. I could have been online doing work all morning. Aaack.

Okay, dammit-- now I'm mad. I just finished my lesson and the guys aren't here yet. The place close in 15 minutes and I have no mattresses to sleep on!!!!

My husband called over there and they had the gall to tell him that they came by and we weren't home... I'VE BEEN HOME ALL DAMN DAY. I didn't even use the phone because I was afraid they'd show up. *)&#^(*$&^(@*^.

Now they want us to pay extra to get it delivered tonight after hours. *@&^#9 *&$#%(*&$^(&% *&%^#45. NOT FRIGGIN LIKELY.

Finally, they're here and in the bedroom. We finally got them at 9-friggin-30 tonight. Then we had to rearrange the bedroom. Tired now, going to sleep. Crazy $^%(&@^(&%#&^$ mattress store.

Okay. I admit it. I'm now officially addicted to italian charm bracelets. Especially Zoppini and Nomination charms.

( I know, I know-- I must be such a loser-- it's like saying "Wow, I'm totally into this new thing called sliced bread? Have you you seen it? It rawks!")

Anyway, all of the little charms are so cute! I spent about 4 hours on Ebay yesterday bidding-- I gotta stop or hubby will have a cow!!!

Woohoo! I went to Anthropologie today to scout around for some cool duds and found the most amazing perfume-- it's called Plaid Skirt, and is just amazing for everyday wear-- just light enough for you to enjoy but not strong enough to suffocate the guy sitting next to you on the Metro. Maybe enticing enough to get him to lean over for a closer look ...

So good in fact, that when I walked through the door after trying it on hubby jumped me. ;P

Needless to say I went back and got it-- and for $15? A steal.

Also picked up a really fab book: The Fabulous Girl's Guide To Decorum, which is really a how-to for the modern chick. Even with etiquette for ameliorating the one-night-stand-with-the-boss-on-his-desk. Who knew? Fabulous.

Having found out I have no students this afternoon, to Ikea I go!!! They just opened a new one in College Park, about five miles from here, and I've been containing myself for too long!!!!!! Anybody want anything while I'm there?

I'm not usually a brand whore, nor do I usually buy over-the-top designer clothes, but I do have one vice-- Juicy Couture terry warm-up suits.

I just won an auction for my favorites-- a Juicy Couture terry set, in BLACK, which is impossible to find! Now I have to go running so my ass can do those pants justice... later!!

So what have I been doing since September you ask? Where do sassy girls go for a good time? Shopping of course!

I started as a mystery shopper for a nationwide company in October. The job can be really fun, and you get reimbursed, to a point, for the stuff you buy. Fun stuff, but sometimes it helps to act like a ditzy blonde, because the questions you have to ask can be a little dumb. (You can't even insert a word in your question to make it a little more realistic because it might "direct" the person you're evaluating- OY)

So far it's almost all fast food & national retail, but I've had a couple of bookstores and other fun things. Here's hoping for Neiman Marcus or Saks or something like that!!!!

As many of you know, we live in a 75-year-old house which is slowly sinking into the swamp that is Washington, D.C., southwest corner first. This, of course, means that none of the wall or ceiling joints are plumb anymore, especially in the living room.

Nowhere is that more visible than over the mantlepiece of our no-longer-fire-safe-fireplace.

My friend Lucienne had the bright idea of finding something round or oval so it would kind of mask the problem, and today, super score at the thrift store!!!!

A long, lean oval mirror that looks straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog. For how much you ask?

Twenty-five clams. Oh yeah.

Today I made an historic thrift store score-- a Schwinn Majestic ladies' bike from June 1952!!! (The cheesy bell on the handlebars is my own addition.)

Isn't she pretty?!?!?!?

Once again, it has been confirmed that the Best Buy guys are crooks in big-box clothing. Now, I shouldn't complain, because I do my share of shopping there, but my bad experiences have far outweighed my good ones so I don't feel too guilty. The scoop in this article?

Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com.

Bastards.

Thanks to Dr. Mudslide for the heads-up.

There are a very few choice things that every woman should have, in the course of her lifetime, to finally be considered a Big Girl. (Insert Frankenberry laughing here.)

Remember when you were little (you girls out there) and you would play dress-up-- you'd match the shoes and the purse, at least in your own imagination, and feel like a grown-up going out to tea with your teddy bears or your cat? Well, there's a real grown-up equivalent of that in a couple of ways: one is to buy your first really classic pair of heels, the other is to buy your first real handbag.

Now, I'm not talking about your garden-variety, Bought-It-At-Target-And-It-Matches-My-Sundress kind of bag. I mean one which, properly cared for, will probably be an heirloom for your daughters or nieces and which comes with a care prescription and warranty to match. One which will make any outfit a little bit classier and, whether or not anyone else knows it or can tell, you know is about the chicest and most classic thing on the planet.

For a little while now I've had my eye out for my first classic bag, and when the latest knockoff bit the dust, I decided it was time to get on it. Lucky me, Neiman Marcus Last Call offered up just such a gem: a Lambertson Truex Palfrey, all class from the pebbly black Derby leather to the blue suede lining (especially appropriate as it will be accompanying me all summer to the new Elvis musical, All Shook Up.) Seriously, people, I have great love for that store, because I won't tell you what I paid because it will make you ill, but it was definitely nowhere even in the remote vicinity of the retail price. And thank God, because even at the meager price paid I'll be eating Ramen for a while. (Go forth now, this weekend, and shop-- they had five more.)

So now I'm putting on my Big Girl shoes and grabbing my Big Girl bag and going out to a Big Girl lunch with my friends. Now if I could only find my Mom's lipstick...

There are very few things that I pine over heavily in life. Most of the time they happen to be shoes, but every once in a while I find something that truly makes my heart go pitty-pat for reasons other than accessorizing. Case in point: this LG combination washer and dryer.

Let me say this first-- I absolutely love the house we live in. It's not ours, but it supplies almost everything we need with only one major exception: it has no laundry hookups, and since we rent, none will be forthcoming. Considering that the median home price in our neighborhood is $550K, we won't be remedying the situation by moving down the block any time soon. Nor could we really move anywhere else nearby and still keep the business we have-- we'd have to completely rebuild our teaching business and D's job (and maybe mine soon) is a fifteen-minute drive from here.

For the past five years that's left us with only one option: the laundromat, and we all know what happens when I go there. So I've been trying to figure out more cost-effective and less frustrating ways of getting this stuff done, with kind of mixed results. I ordered one of these gadgets from Laundry Alternative and so far it's not so bad: it'll basically dry a load of laundry-- a real load, not one of those oversize ones you can do in a big washer-- enough so hanging it up for an hour or two gets it completely dry, even jeans. I've been looking forward to using the little washer contraption that goes with it, if it would ever get here (apparently it takes two weeks longer to get one of those... weird.) That's all well and good, but what I really want is one of these, because fluffy towels don't grow on trees, or rather, laundry lines.

Now, this isn't just an empty waah, boo-hoo, I don't wanna go to the laundromat question: D and I spend about $130 a month at the laundromat between our clothes and the household linens and towels, and we're trying to cut back on the spending since we're basically busted flat at the moment. And well, laundry really isn't an optional kind of thing, so we're trying to figure out how to make all this work without spending loads of cash in the process. And I'm not gonna lie, doing this stuff at home would be a whole lot more palatable than getting propositioned or harassed every time I go out to do it. Ah well, for now it's washerwoman, me. Maybe I can save some pennies and figure something out after the holidays, barring any unfortunate feline vet emergencies.

*That sign up there completely cracks me up. You can get it here.

So here's the thing:

I've missed you guys.

I've had some pretty heavy things going on in my life this year, things which basically have changed the face of my entire existence in one way or another. And I haven't really felt comfortable talking about that here, in public, for anyone and everyone to read. More importantly, there are very good reasons why I can't and shouldn't.

And frankly, it's killing me.

Because if you're still reading this, then I've probably known you, or had you as a reader, for long enough that you're probably wondering what the hell happened to me.

Because if you're still reading this, you're probably one of the people whose opinions and love I value enough that I'm going to need your help in the next year.

Because frankly, I need an outlet more in-depth than Twitter and less personal than Facebook.

So here's the other thing:

On March 1st, this blog is getting a makeover. I'll be moving it to a new server, shaking up the layout a little, and converting it to a new CMS, though the site address won't change. The ranting and raving and silliness will stay the same, only there will be some things that I don't want to share with everybody, some things that I may need to share and say, but only within certain circles. I'm tired of keeping it all pent up and I've done that for long enough.

If you're still reading this blog, and you're been a loyal reader or friend or even a long-time lurker, email me at (sassy{at}sassyblonde{dot}net) with the title of this post in the subject line or comment on this post and request an access key. I'd love to have you in the circle.

Til then, I'll be cleaning house and doing some renovation, and I'll see you on March 1st.

UPDATE: So, snow and circumstances being what they've been around here, I'm going to have to ask you guys to wait around a little longer, which actually ends up being appropriate for a lot of reasons. I've gotten all your emails and comments, and if you can hang tight for a few more weeks, I'll have the next phase ready on April 1st.