Things I Learned This Weekend

There's a reason I've worked across from two thrift stores for six years and only went in for the first time last month.
Because I love thrift stores and having one so close five days a week is dangerous.

A mere $2.65 can provide a lot of happiness.
That being said, I scored an awesome deal at one of these stores on Friday: a dollhouse that I thought was going to be $5 but ended up being a mere $2.65. Yes, I just turned that big age. Yes, I have friends buying actual houses. But dammit, I love miniatures and I love crafts and I'm excited about this! Plus, there is a thriving dollhousery and miniatures market out there, just google and see. I feel like I can still be normal as long as I don't: 

1. Buy dolls and start re-creating, or re-imagining, my life.
2. Spend a ton of money on (admittedly fabulous) dollhouse furniture and accessories.
3. Ignore my actual life in favor of a potential dollhouse life.

Not everyone loves chaotic shopping as much as I do.
On Saturday, I gathered a group of friends for the Old Town Boutique Warehouse Sale that was held at the "towering George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple." (That's how the free trolley that runs in Old Town describes it.) I'd heard of this sale but this was my first time attending. Old Town has a thriving boutique district and each year a bunch set up shop at the memorial with some deeply discounted wares. To say it was chaotic is probably a bit of an understatement, but I LOVE chaotic shopping. The more I get to dig and hunt for that elusive thing I didn't know I wanted, the happier I am. That's why I love thrift stores so much. My friends weren't quite as thrilled as me, I think, though just about everyone bought something and all had a smile on their face when we left.

A Nutella and strawberry crepe just is not an adequate lunch.
For lunch we made the somewhat-lengthy trek down King Street to a crepe restaurant I've only been to once. We just had a good time relaxing and laughing and I think everyone enjoyed their meals. I enjoyed mine but, considering I get a Nutella and strawberry crepe as a snack on a normal day, making it a meal meant I was hungry exactly five minutes later. It was good while it lasted, though.

Working in a place for six years makes you have a lot to say about it.
Most of my friends had spent limited time in Old Town and it was fun to explain my favorite haunts or odd stories about this bar or that alley. I even took two of my friends up to my office to show them around. It's both odd and fun to have my worlds collide like that.

My roommate and I have the best Saturday nights of anyone.
I'm not a going-out-on-Saturday-night type of person. If I'm out it's usually on a Friday night after work and even then I'm home by 10. Luckily, the roomie/best friend isn't a Saturday-night partier either. For the second time in recent history, we spent our Saturday night doing various things whilst also watching episodes of the brilliant CNN series Crimes of the Century. We are some serious history buffs and true crime lovers and this series is just made for us. So far we've seen the episodes on the Unabomber, Oklahoma City, Waco, Reagan assassination attempt, and DC snipers. And we still have a few waiting for us on the DVR. Try not to be too jealous of our hopping lives.

My cough syrup is the best sleep medicine ever.
I don't sleep and I have weird reactions to medicine so to find one that actually knocks me out and helps me sleep uninterrupted never happens. I'm going to have to find out what's in the medicine, pray it's not codeine or morphine or cocaine, and see if it comes in another sleep-aid form.

You're not a real woman until you buy a saw.
Watch out, she has a saw! I've written before about using Daddy's table saw and wanting my own, but it's just not good for an apartment and also probably not good for my fingers. So this cute little one will have to do for now.

I love my local hardware store but also kind of hate it.
I love it because it's close, has tons of stuff in a small space, and it has a rewards card so I get coupons. But I also kind of hate it because it's not possible to walk in and NOT be asked if you need any help. Why is this bad? Because a lot of the time I'm looking for something to be used in jewelry making or, like this time, a dollhouse. I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or because I was walking up and down every aisle, but I must have been asked five times if I needed something. Even when I can't find what I'm looking for, I still prefer to just look for it myself because you never know what else you'll stumble across. I'm thinking of getting a tshirt that says "I've been going to hardware stores since before you were born. Leave me alone."

There's an amazing toy store with a robust art supply department within walking distance of my apartment.
I get to support a local business while buying fake fur and duct tape sheets. (Also for the dollhouse and also I think it was killing the cashier that I wouldn't tell her what I was making.)

The best reason not to take a Sunday nap is to have a video chat with best friends.
This may have been the first time all four of us have done a video chat together. It turns out we were more caught up on each other's lives than we thought, but it was still great to just all be together for a bit.

It is possible to cry at a sport that's not Carolina basketball.
I can't help it, I just love the Manning boys so much and so wanted Peyton to win. I only teared up for a second after one of Seattle's (way too many) touchdowns. I just hate to see any team (except Duke) flounder so poorly and lose by so much, but especially a Manning-led team.

It is possible to build a (roofless) house in a weekend.
Bam, progress! From box to this in just two days. Thanks to some discounted "oops" paint at the hardware store, it even got some color