My New Knitting/Crocheting Bag

Where I work, there are daily booths downstairs where people come to sell stuff. Today, I noticed a lady selling really pretty, printed tote bags. So I went in and browsed and it turns out the lady sews the handbags herself. She even brought a sewing machine so she could add velcro onto the bags at the customer's request. Well, I've been meaning to get a knitting/crocheting bag for my projects, and I thought what better bag than one that is handmade? (Man, if you ever want to sell me something, just tell me it is handmade and I am sold! Sigh.)

There were two prints that caught my eye. One had little kittens playing with yarn balls (how perfect for knitting!), and the other was a black and red floral print. The bag with the kittens was a bit bigger than what I wanted and pricier. Unfortunately, while I was being slow in my perusal, another shopper had snatched up the red floral bag which was smaller and more portable. However, after sifting through Disney themed bags, Disney princess bags, Betty Boop, SpongeBob, tapestry, country, the other shopper gave me the bag back because the owner couldn't get her credit card to run through. Yay for cash!

And here I present to you, my new knitting/crocheting bag!

Inside lining with zippered pocket

Inside lining with the other open pocket

Macy's

As promised, here's the deal on my Macy's trip. I have been feeling a bit blah-ish fashion-wise lately. Most of the stuff I wear to work is a bit casual and some of my winter clothing I've been sporting lately goes back to sophomore year of college. So I went on a shopping trip to Macy's last night just to "look around".

And what did you know? I ended up buying two really nice I.N.C. sweaters. One is a babydoll cardigan that looks like a beautiful handknit that I knew I had to buy once I tried it on. The price was $69, but it was on sale for $41.40. And I usually don't spend that much on one single sweater, but I couldn't resist the handknit look so I went for the plunge.

Upon bringing it to the register, the girl there told me that there was a pre-sale going on. I am like huh, what's a pre-sale? (And frankly, what's the point of having a "sale" if there is a pre-sale?) But apparently, this ultra-secret Family and Friends pre-sale means that a lot of regular price and sale price stuff at Macy's is 10-20% off. (In my case, 20% off.) The only catch is I had to pay for it up front and wait until next Wednesday to go pick them up. This made me so happy I went back and grabbed a second sweater I had tried on (I.N.C. in a gorgeous peachy pinkish shade). So in the end, my first sweater went from $69 to $41 to $33 (before tax), and my second sweater went from $49 to $29 to $24. Amazing deals, right? :-)

Anthropologie

This past weekend, I went up to Cardiff for the first time to volunteer for this diabetes fundraiser called Tour de Cure. It is a bike ride to raise money for diabetes research. I spent about 5 hours there in a thin hoodie and open-toe sandals. And I was freezing cold for the entire time, not to mention hungry because the event had promised us lunch but then didn't provide enough meal passes for everybody in my group. Hardly, any people came to the event other than the people involved with the ride. So that was quite boring and dreary, but I had a good time chatting with my co-workers and chilling (no pun intended). I even got a free, insulated lunch bag from the casino booth next door which was really cool. I had always meant to buy an insulated bag ever since I started working, but never could find the right one. :-)

Afterwards, bf and I drove up to Encinitas area to explore the shops there. I got to go to the Encinitas Michael's where I picked up a couple balls of Patons Wool and two pairs of Clover needles. It was pretty convenient that it was located right next to Circuit City where he could finally get that last (or second to last) PS2 game he has always been hankering after. After a bit more driving around, we randomly discovered we were in Carlsbad! And better yet, we went into this cool looking strip mall with lots of upscale shops! And there it was! Anthropologie! I had always wanted to go to one since I love drooling over their cute clothes on their website, and now I have finally seen their stuff in person. It's a pity their prices are so expensive because a lot of their stuff is my style. Feminine, classic, and conservative. Sigh.

Look at this sweater I saw there that caught my eye. It is knit, but it really reminds me of Robyn Chachula's Comfy Cardi from the Crochet Me book.

Comfy Cardi by Robyn Chachula

So when I was in the store (and even yesterday online), the price for it was $78, which I would never spend on a little sweater. But today, it wasn't on the Anthropologie website and I was like, oh no, they sold out that quickly!? But it turns out it is now in the Sale section and half off at $39.95!!! Man, I am so tempted to get it in the Emerald color. I am kicking myself for not trying it on Saturday so I could have known which size fits me best. :-( So what should I do now?