This Ain’t My First Rodeo

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It was a death wish.

But I had no choice.

We had not one roll of toilet paper in the house. Not one,
not even that last little square stuck to the brown paper roll in the
middle.  Nothing.  Nada. 
Zilch.

I thought better than of running to Costco, since as
you may remember, I cannot get out of that place for less than $139.00.  And although the exit fee at Target is not
much smaller, it seemed like the lesser of two evils, especially on a Saturday afternoon,
where everyone in Northern Monmouth County is at one overcrowded store or the
other.

I told my mother, who was watching my kids, that I would “run
out and be back quickly,” but that was a lie.

I was alone, as in all alone, in a Target, without
children.  I was going to take my sweet
old time.

I’ve brainwashed myself in recent years into thinking that
taking the kids with me to a store like Target would end up costing me 20% more
at checkout than if I had been there alone. 
But that 20% is a 100% mistruth. 
When I go without my kids, there is always the same upcharge, if not
more, because I have time to browse and look at all of the things that I never
knew I needed. My storage shelves, purple and orange Champion
running bras, maroon hand towels, and sautee pans, along with their unbudgeted bills, tell
that story well.

Those marketing people at Target are genius, since you walk
right into the clothing section as you enter the store. There was not a chance of
my heading left toward toilet paper until I perused the racks of off the
shoulder sweatshirts (you know I love that Flashdance look!), tank tops,
and newly launched spring dresses. Then, at the back wall of the clothing section,
this tee shirt caught my eye…

 
Rodeo

And I fell in love
with it.

The saying on it felt like the story of my life, or at the
least, the story of my trying to navigate a very crowded Target on a Saturday
afternoon, and I thought it might be fun to have it.   And then I realized that I was about 25
years too old to wear a shirt like that, and besides, it was not in my budget.

I resolved to leave the clothing section, but not before I
passed a sale rack with

2013-02-02 15.58.36

this coat on it.

I think I may have gasped out loud when I saw this coat, and
once I picked it up, it was all over.  It
was so soft, it had a great silhouette, it was my size! And it was $19.99.  I grabbed it and ran to the dressing room, or
I should say elbowed my way through the thick crowed of shoppers. 

Excitedly, I took the coat off the hanger and tossed it on.
..to completely have my perfect coat for $19.99 fantasy ruined by the fact that
it looked like an oversized  tutu dress on
me.

 
Tutu Coat

On the hanger, the
ruffle looked so cool – but on me, not so much.

Disheartened, I left the dressing room.  Even though this mis-match saved me some cash,
it’s totally OK in my book to spend $19.99 on “the perfect coat found on a
clearance rack.”  I was off for toilet
paper..but not before passing the bath section, where I realized I needed a new
shower curtain for our downstairs bathroom. 
Shower curtain, check.  New shower
liner, check.  New shower hooks?  What the heck?

Finally, I headed toward the checkout line, where I
stood for several minutes, until I realized I had forgotten toilet paper.

I ran across the store once more, grabbed the toilet paper and
headed back toward the cash registers.

I bought a 12 pack, with the thought that it will keep me
out of Target for a while.

Until tomorrow at least?

 

What store is your
downfall?

What was your last
impulse buy when you were out to buy a "neccessity item?"

  

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find me:

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Comments

This Ain’t My First Rodeo — 44 Comments

  1. Haha, I’m the same way in stores. It would be target for me for sure. Luckily Anne is just a baby and not asking for stuff yet. 🙂

  4. The same thing happens to me in Target clothes. I find something that looks perfect, but for whatever reason, doesn’t quite work on me once I’m in the dressing room.
    I was awful last week… bought myself a pair of Rachel Comey 4 inch platforms that I’ll probably never wear. I DID NOT need them, but it was an impulsive thing that made me happy. Oh well….

  5. Cool photo — I like the endless mirror reflections… and I think you know what my last (tomato-red!) impulse buy was. 🙂

  12. I’m not allowed to go shopping by myself anymore. Target and the grocery store are the WORST for me. I walk out of there with so much stuff! On the flip side, my husband is not allowed to go to Costco by himself. At least my impulse purchases from Target are an extra $20 or so. His extra purchases from Costco can cost us $100!

  14. Target has always been my weakness. I have gotten caught up in Costco but Target has everything. If I want clothes, sunglasses, groceries, shoes, you name it – it’s there. Plus, I really need to toss that red card, that “saves” me 5%? yeah – right!

  16. What movie was it? Was it Clueless where they take pictures of themselves in outfits to get better perspective on how things look on them? I do this all the time when I am trying something on I’m not sure of – and it saved me from buying that “Tutu dress” coat above! xo

  17. I”m with you on Target… it gets me EVERY TIME!
    I’m glad you found me and definitely stop back and peak through… I went VERY SLOWLY, which is maybe not the best way, but it’s all there on the blog! 🙂

  18. Ah! Target gets me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I came home with face tissues that look like $100 bills the other day. I don’t know what happened, just that I needed them 🙂

  19. Target used to be my downfall, but now it’s Paper Source. Most recently I went in there to buy a sheet of paper and left having spent $80. Woops!

  20. Isn’t it funny how clothes can look smashing on the hanger and then blah on you? It’s always such a letdown.
    Visiting from SITS!
    P.S. We’re getting Targets in Canada soon, uh oh. This seems to be problematic.

  24. I hate shopping, so I’m pretty well behaved, but the list we make always sends the bill pretty high, since we stay the hell out of those stores unless we absolutely HAVE to go. This is not to say I don’t make the odd impulse purchase. Just that I’m embarrassed to admit it was Burt’s Bees Mango Flavored Over Priced Lip Balm.

  25. I was just in Target today strictly for Valentine’s cards for the girls to pass out to their classmates. I ended up with some of those super new bright colored sports bras and tops, along with God knows what else. I have no will power in that store…NOT ONE OUNCE OF IT!

  35. Target is way too dangerous for me without kids! It’s when I have that time to browse that I start looking at all the things I want but don’t need. I try to steer clear of Target unless I have a specific list.

  36. It is without a doubt, Target. My last impulse buy was the book The 17 Day Diet. I am a hoarder of the warm fuzzy socks that they have for $5 and hair products that promise good hair days. We are kindred spirits with the off the shoulder sweatshirts. I have the Peace and Love one and the purple one. Barnes and Noble would be a close second where I feel the need for cookbooks and books on organizing (go figure!).

  41. I WANT THAT SHIRT! The ruffles aren’t so bad. It’s so hard to pass all the cute clothes. I can never leave Target without feeling like I have to hide my bags when I get home. LOL