Birthday Spending Hangover

So the week around my birthday, I tend to give myself a 'blank check' of sorts. I'm typically pretty good at not buying a lot of random stuff I don't 'need'. I allow myself to buy stuff guilt free this time of year, though, because for the most part, it's gift money. So this weekend, I did some shopping :)

I had lots of coupons, so it was even better :) I got a fun to top from Express for only $5 (after $15 coupon). I got a slew of new panties to replace the ones eaten earlier this month by my dogs (with a $10 coupon!). I bought these new shoes. . . LOVE THEM! They'll look cute with some hand knitted socks peeking out, I think :) These were from DSW with a $5 coupon AND a gift certificate, so I didn't actually spend money! While at the mall, of course, I couldn't resist Auntie Anne's. . . . seriously, this place is my weakness!!! Lemonade and a pretzel with the fake cheese stuff. . . .. SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!

My shopping wasn't limited to the mall... . . I used some Amazon gift certificates to buy myself both a stitch dictionary and a sewing book. I also bought this, to satisfy the sociologist in me (it was my minor in college. . . would have majored if I thought I could have made money doing it!). The big splurge, however, was KnitPicks. This SHOULD have been a $6 purchase. .. . I needed black & blue Essential to make Endpaper's for Anna for Christmas. I ended up with a $82 shopping cart which included this book, enough Andean silk to make Sizzle (which I've been lusting after!), some extra Essential for fingerless mitts to come (I'm getting addicted!), some CotLin, just to try it, and both Felici & Risata for some Christmas socks. Phew! So now, this shopping combined with some stash inspection, has made me vow NO MORE YARN until 2008. Really, I could/should go longer, but I have a full frequent shopper card at one of my LYS' that gives me $15 off my next purchase, no minimum. It expires 1/31/08, so I can go in late January and spend that to break the fast. Really, this shouldn't be painful, we'll see how I do! I almost wanted to delay this diet until tomorrow, when I saw Carrie had some sea silk in her destash now, but I resisted.

The weekend was not just for shopping, however! I did some finishing and some starting. I stuffed and sewed this catnip pal for my SP11 reveal package. I also found ribbon to use as a tie for these pashmina ring bags. . . a late wedding gift for Michael & Laura. They are tiny, but really just meant for the rare occasion you'd have to take off your wedding ring. . . so you have a soft place to keep it. I wove all the ends in on my own Endpapers, and now just have to soak & block. Finally, I cast on for a plain old dishcloth, since I plan to give several away for Christmas. I knit a few more inches of Lelah, as well. The Cotton-ease has stopped squeaking, so my sanity is restored :) I am quickly building stress for the Holiday knitting season. I really can't believe it is less than 2 months. . . YIKES!

Finally, to round out the weekend plans, I FINALLY painted our bedroom windows. First coat, at least. I'm embarrassed to admit the rest of the room has been painted since the end of November of 2006. The problem now is that I've removed the blinds, and I don't want blinds now that it's painted. I plan to make some window treatments myself. . . so I better get to sewing practice! We also raked about 22 more bags of pine straw. . . . and all of them were gone before trash pick up this morning. In the future, I will not be putting them at the curb so early. . .. it totally works me up that I spend all that time and effort raking it and people come and take it! I know it's silly, but I can't help it!

Wow, writing it all down makes it seem much busier than it felt! Here's to continuing productivity into the week!