On Saturday, my mom and I went to Placerville to pick up her stained glass dragon which was being repaired. The glass shop never seems to be open, though, and this weekend was no exception. However, we were still able to spend some time on Main Street. We went to the bead shop, where I bought some overpriced filigree and rhinestones, and was talked into a book about making wire jewelry. Then we went to Placerville Hardware (the oldest continually open hardware store on the West Coast, or something like that). I was looking for something interesting to make the supports for a pair of geta for next year's Wild Wild East themed Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition. I didn't have any luck in that, but I did find a pair of suspenders made to look like measuring tape, some cocktail forks I intend to make into hair ornaments for the same event, and some random hardware bits that are going to be turned into more jewelry. Then we got ice cream. They had many different kinds of cones, so I decided to try something different than my usual (I like cup cones. I have been known to eat my way through entire packages of them without any ice cream.). So I got two scoops of Cookie Dough ice cream on a double-headed cone. What I didn't realize was that their scoops were GINORMOUS (I hear that's officially a word now), which meant not only was it a little more sugar than I really wanted, but before I got to the cone it was soaked through rather than crunchy. Also I think I managed to drip ice cream all down the front of my dress (from stomach to floor) without noticing. Lesson learned!
Monday being Labor Day, my mom decided to take advantage of time off work to take my brother back-to-school shopping for pants and shoes. I came along because I wanted to try another hardware store, and buy some clippy hangers for my skirts which are currently a big pile on the floor. We went to REI first because he likes zip-off pants and they were sure to have some. However, he didn't like the fabric they were made from (basically plastic), so I suggested we buy some regular pants and convert them. I admired but did not purchase Hip-Hop Hares and Other Moments of Epic Silliness and some steampunk-looking boots (in brown, of course). My mom bought me a new water bottle while we were there, of a type I have never seen before. I hope I like it better than the one I have now (which sucks). Then we went to the shoe store. While Steven looked for tennis shoes, I wandered. I ended up getting some super cute and delicate-looking shoes from Chinese Laundry. They're ever so slightly too small (the largest size they had was a 9, and I'm usually a 9 1/2 to 10), but I'm hoping that won't be a problem with thinner socks. We had fun trying on all the hats near the register, and ended up getting one each. I also got two pairs of colored tights. We went to Goodwill next. The first thing we saw (once we squeezed past the karaoke singers and the overcrowded registers) was a whole rack of witch hats like the one I used as a base for my popular Edwardian hat. I was going to get a whole bunch until we looked at the price tag. I ended up with just one purple one. Maybe I'll buy more after Halloween. I also got a shirt with metal embroidery, a belt (I always seem to get at least one belt at thrift stores), and a mysterious leather thing with big brass medallions [the Steampunks tell me they're for prettifying horses, and represent Wales, Scotland (which I could have guessed from the thistles), and couldn't seem to figure the third one out despite the word "Aquarius" right on it]. They didn't have the kind of hangers I wanted though. Steven got some slightly-too-long corduroy pants for zipperfying. Then we headed to Hancock's Fabrics for the zippers. I bought a whole bunch of fancy beading pins and patterns, as well as two different kinds of bracelet blanks and an applique for a cap brim, because they were having a major Labor Day Sale. In fact, I would have bought a lot more patterns if the store didn't close before I could go through more than just the Simplicity book (which luckily contained most of the ones I already wanted). THEN we went to the hardware store. Again I didn't find what I wanted, but they had a rack of RIT dyes, of all things, so I bought some Color Remover. On the way home we stopped at the 99 cent store, partly because I thought they might have hangers and partly because we were in need of snacks. We walked out with five three-packs of hangers (which are apparently so cheap they're very fragile, I've got to be careful), a can(!?) of Cheetos, some "Fruity Worms", several organizers for the craft room (most of them sized to fit patterns), two little felt boards and a white board for the same, a package of little red top hats for my mom, and a pair of socks for me. I have been wanting long, textured socks, and I bought these because they were only 99 cents, but I really want longer (over the knee) and texturier.
Photos of loot from huge shopping weekend:
Craft supplies.
Clothes.
Stuff that I didn't pay for and technically isn't mine but I have some claim to. The hat on the right has a purple band because I have begun to decorate it for my mother to wear to Red Hat events. I'm hoping I can do the same with the rest, but for money.
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