Monday, January 22, 2007

Suds and Duds

Attention Mandy, Manda, Steph, and any other blogging friends that love deals:

Josh and I drove up the world's best outlets in Edenburgh, IN where we found some supremely good "dills" on top of the line fashions (read: there is a J. Crew Outlet!!!). I have to wear khakis to work beginning tomorrow, and we were on a mission to keep me hip in my rather lame uniform. I now have a lovely variety of khaki pants and skirts to accompany the store shirt I will be wearing daily for the next tree years. :) I figured since I was somewhat stuck in certain areas, I better find some accessories to keep it lively. You can see my favorite find in that department -- in this photo I am kissing the calf-hair leopard print belt that made the J. Crew employee jealous. "You are so lucky" she said "Someone must have returned that or something." YES! The best "still" of the day was Josh's Gap sweater for $3.50!! We were on our way out, when he was like "WHOA!" I was thinking Mandy or Manda would have bought them all and sold them on e-bay. :)

I had been praying that the laundry situation here would be a tolerable one, and that I would patiently endure washing our unmentionables in front of strangers (read: I miss you, little washer and dryer!). Mandy had suggested that maybe laundry would be better this way, because you do it all at once, sit down and read, and then you're done for a week. She was right! It was actually relaxing to chill in the tidy laundry room downstairs. The machines were all nice and new, and the room was nice and clean. The other people using the facility were friendly and gracious. This is fine. It is more than fine. It is even sort of fun. :)

The other night, my new friend "Grace's" boyfriend prayed for our dinner and asked the Lord to give us pleasure in little things. I love that prof
ound little thought. Thank you Lord, for giving me pleasure in my suds and duds!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Gret...Ok, that is so great! You know I have to comment when you are talking about great deals!!!!! I'm glad you were able to "cool" up your wardrobe a little bit, and all for a great price! :) Maybe we can meet sometime for a shoppig day!

I'm also glad your laundry situation is working out. I remember our apartment days when I would go to the laudromat! It was a great feeling to have all of it done at one time, except when it came time to putting it all away! :)

Anonymous said...

i also love the outlet malls in edinburgh. some friends from around here try to got about once a year. you can find some great deals. i haven't been there since last summer or fall. i think they have added some stores since then. i am glad to hear you got some great deals. that is always my goal, how many things can i buy with x amount of money (whatever i have saved up).

Stephanie said...

I LOVE the edinburg outlet!!! Gary and I shop there every summer on our way to Mema's house in TN. Gary usually gets his school shoes from the NIKE outlet (along with NIKE t shirts, etc. - he loves that store)
Girl, I think I need to try that laundry situation - except I would need a babysitter for the kids. But maybe if I did laundry that way, it would get done AND put away...something that sadly never seems to happen here...
PS-I agree about Jill and a blog! I would love to see a pregnant pic of her right now.

Gretchen said...

Manda -- um YES! Let's meet for a shopping day! Josh is great with kids, he can babysit! And I really am grateful that I only have to go to the basement. When we were first married, we went to the laundromat, and it is somehow worse to put dirty unders in the car, you know? :)

Meg -- I should have known you had gone to those outlets. Yes, I think they are constantly adding stores. Let me know if you come this way again, it is EXACTLY one hour from here! I'd LOVE to meet up!

Steph: the putting away part is tough, especially since we still don't have much for Josh's stuff except baskets and one drawer. I think I am going to hit up Target soon.

Sandy said...

Hey, even I like outlets! I love that prayer, "pleasure in little things." I am going to remember that one!

Anonymous said...

I am so jealous! What a fun shopping day. That belt was quite cute.

You know, you could just go look for deals at the outlet mall all the time, sell them on ebay, then you wouldn't have to go to work at all!

PS : Goodluck on your first day!

Anonymous said...

Do you know your work schedule yet? Because I sure am thinking that we're going to need to make a trip to Indiana for a girls day out at the outlet! That's INCREDIBLE that you got such good deals. I'm in need of some new duds myself, so I'm thinking we may have to make it a date :) How far is the drive from here?

Thank you for your post yesterday, by the way. I had a rough day of it myself, and when I read your entry, the honesty of it and how sweet the Lord was when you were at Clifton, it was like a light spring rain on my doubting and weary soul. So thank you, my dear friend~

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you showed us your deals...the khakis are so cute...some people may think they are boring-I would wear them everyday! I love the little whale belt- you will be so cute!

Gretchen said...

Mandy -- not a bad idea. You would have to tutor me in e-bay sales, though! :)

Grace -- right now I work every day because it is the beginning of the semester, but soon I should be pretty free on Saturdays. Weekdays are the best to go, though, because no-one is there!

Sara -- You are so funny that you picked out the whales on the belt! I am wearing it right now, as a matter of fact! I really like J.Crew stuff because it is classic and I keep it forever!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the vivid reminder to give thanks in ALL things! I needed that! There ARE blessings in each moment of life if we will just look for them. :)

Anonymous said...

It's so much fun to find a good deal! I once bought a pair of khaki pants at Target for $2.

Last night we shopped the clearance racks at Kohl's. I didn't find anything in the women's section, so I proceeded to the boy's department with my 6-year-old son.

After he tried on several outfits, we decided to buy a Chaps sweater and corduroy pants, two argyle vests, and two pairs of sweatpants for him. At 60% off on clearance, we were happy to receive an additional 25% off at the register.

When the prices drop to single digits, it's hard not to buy!

Anonymous said...

Gretchen, I had a superb weekend of shopping also! It must be the weekend to shop.....I got tights for Big E, a fleece hat/mittens set for the newest bun, and a pullover fleece for me....all for the grand total (drumroll please!) of $3.70! Yes, I was quite pleased with myself.
Oh and we just got a J.Crew outlet in Johnson Creek. I have kept away from it so far, only because of my enlarged size. :-) But the temptation can only be held back so long.....
(And sometimes I miss doing laundry at the mat--although when kids came along, it became a major hassle! Enjoy it for the moment.) :-)

Anonymous said...

P.S. Gret, we just received your package yesterday. As soon as I said we had something from Gretchen, they got so excited! They knew what you are known for sending. :-)You are so sweet!!!
The princess was a huge success--we had to take turns using it, so fistfights didn't occur. And Aunt Jill had actually sent that same book last year--Little E adores it, so we are going to take one copy to the daycare to share with her friends. :-) (They have it memorized, actually....)
Thanks, Auntie Gretchen!!!

Anonymous said...

How about I bring homemade bisquits on Saturday since you brought the cornbread last time?

Gretchen said...

Morning Rose -- thanks for the comment! I know, passing up the deals is just not an option sometimes! :)

Sar -- GREAT deals! I wonder if Josh's sister Laura knows about the J. Crew store. She and I are all about it! I knew the girls would like "Princess E". The only other ones were a ballerina and regular girl with playclothes, neither of which seemed as "wonderful" as the princess (especially since the princess had the same name as you!). So I figured they could share. :)

Grace -- YUM! I LOVE biscuits!!!! Ask Bob if the onions are chopped up really tiny and cooked so you can't see them if it would be okay. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Gret,
Congratulations on such good buys. I know you'll be stylen but finding such a good buy is awesome!
It sounds like your reving the engines of other bargain shoppers! Have a great day at the job tomorrow! I'll maybe get a comment from Jane to send you soon!

Gretchen said...

Shawnie -- YEESSssssssssssssssss!! Tell Jane I said to eat THREE grapes tomorrow for lunch to try and bulk up. And I don't want to hear any claims that she eats or something. :) We both know better, don't we? :) I can just hear her laughing now and it makes me want to cry!

Anonymous said...

I just want to say that I am SOOO disappointed that you stopped in Edinburgh and didn't call us. I just want you to know that it is only 20 min from my house! AND we got you something from Argentina and now you may never get it! (Hint: Don't cray for me Argentina potrait.)
So if you EVER feel the need to go outlet shopping again, PLEASE let me know.
Love your fav female cousin on your mom's side.