I absolutely hate the word “blog”

I’m such a cheater. I’m a sucker for 2-for-1 deals and free shipping minimums, so I often wind up ordering extra things I don’t really need in order to get a discount. Usually, this winds up being something I’d use up anyway, like shampoo, so it’s no big deal.

But recently, I feel deeply in love with a shirt from delia*s that cost a pretty penny when you calculated the full price plus shipping and handling. But I adore cherry blossom patterns, and grey is my best color, and it’s hard to find T-shirts that are so nice and long for my tall frame, and I just kinda HAD to have it because it was perfect in every way.

Their T-shirts were on a buy two get $10 off deal. And I found a free shipping coupon somewhere online, but it was only valid if I bought both shirts to hit the minimum order amount. So I sucked it up and picked out a second shirt I didn’t really want. The total order was only a little more than my first shirt plus S&H costs, so I rationalized it away, of course, knowing it wouldn’t be cost-effective to pay to return the second one by mail.

But lucky me, the second “filler” shirt got back-ordered. So I got the first shirt, with the two-shirt discount, and the free shipping. And I was able to call and cancel the second shirt, and still keep all my discounts. (And it looks awesome on me.) Aaaaah, I love a legitimate shopping cheat deal!

I’ve been going to the Northgate Mall since I was a kid, but I kinda lost interest after their construction got so prevalent that the whole parking lot was covered in debris and chain-link fences. But it seems that some of that construction has finally been finished, yielding lots of swanky new retail space.

The problem? The goddamned stores aren’t attached to the mall. The entire mall is now flanked by these hip new stores, but they’re not connected at all, even though they’re RIGHT UP against the mall. So they LOOK connected. And half of them (but not all!) are LISTED on the mall’s directory, and pictured on the map as if they were connected to the mall. (And the other half aren’t mentioned or pictured on the mall maps, but the stores call these outlets their “Northgate Mall” locations.)

And some of the new retail isn’t even within reasonable pedestrian distance from the mall. And by reasonable, I guess I’m not really bitching about the distance. I’m bitching about having to walk through a shitty, car-oriented lot full of idiot drivers and no crosswalks. I saw a mom pushing a stroller and dragging a toddler get almost hit as she was trying to walk over to one of the new cafés.

If you’re going to be an outdoor mall, swell! Do it like U-Village (or better), with crosswalks everywhere and lots of open spaces with separate entrances for each store. But if you build a typical, closed-in, claustrophobic mall with a car-friendly lot that hates people on foot, then at least build all the retail in one centralized, CONNECTED spot. Sweet Jesus! It’s enough to drive this potential shopper away, so I never have to deal with muddling over how the hell to get into a certain store again.

For our first Christmas together, I decided I wanted to get Grant a couple of custom-made stuffed animals from Perfect Children. (We had seen their stuff on display at Bumbershoot, but we weren’t in the mood to buy anything and haul it around at the time.) I tracked their store down on Etsy, and asked the owner if he could create a couple of custom animals based on a few of the traits we most liked.

And voilà our Zebra Dalmatian and our Freaver! They may not be the most “standard” stuffed animals ever, but we love ‘em (and we find that guests invariably either love them or are afraid of them.)

But there’s so much more to custom orders on Etsy. I just recently discovered Etsy’s Alchemy section, and it’s truly an epiphany for me. In a nutshell, you can create a custom “ticket” for an item you’d like to wish into existence, and you name a potential price. Crafty people bid on the opportunity to create the item for you, and there’s room for negotiation as far as payment terms, price, and other details.

This is THE BEST THING EVER. I’m so ridiculously picky and persnickety, and I always wish certain things into existence and am then continually dissatisfied with not being able to have them. But now, I can commission them!

I’m already having someone make me a custom hat/scarf/gloves set, which should be ready in time for this winter. Next up is a chalkboard/message board to go by our front door. And who knows what else we may commission? I LOVE being able to get stuff custom made — this is a picky shopper’s dream come true!