let me explain about marni.

yes, I neglected to let you know about the annual sale at marni turkel in santa rosa. I am a procrastinator and sometimes it does best me. but let me tell you that the only thing you missed out on was 20% off the regular price. certainly that is a loss but my favorite thing about going to the annual sale is the seconds room where the stuff is 50% and more off. and that my comrades is open all year round. another exciting anectode about her showroom is that there were these fucking awesome canisters that are not on the website. I wish I could draw one for you but I would likely have more success telepathicaly sending it. now that I think about it I would call them canister/urns.

http://www.marniturkel.com/

do you need pot?

yesterday after attending the yearly and beloved (at least to me) marni turkel sale in santa rosa, lebasi and I made a stop at Garden Restoration. paula l. had told me about this place that sells asian style garden pots and since it was but 6 miles from marni we certainly could not return to oakland without a visit. well, we would have were they not having a 50% off everything sale! and there were hundreds of spider filled treasures! I bought a large (in the fetal position I could sit uncomfortably inside and it's also about 20" tall) terra cotta fish scale pot for $30. I love it! after coming home and placing it in the back yarden I frequently found reason to mozy back there to gaze upon it, each visit endearing it to me even more than the last. that was the only regular pot I bought, I also got a sundry collection of pots in the broken/cracked section for $10, $3, $2 and $1 respectively. that tenner is a good huskey size and looks perfect next to a smaller version I bought at the months long Vivant moving sale last year. I miss that sale. anyway, the address is 111 commercial court in santa rosa.

Crate and Barrel Outlet

I have to admit I take the Crate and Barrel Outlet for granted. Located about 7 blocks from where I work and about 2 miles away from where I live, I must have been in this store a thousand times. But many people don't know about it! Take for instance, Sukh Brar. He almost peed his pants when I took him in there for the first time.

It's on 4th street in Berkeley, next to Restoration Hardware. They have everything, the furniture, the sheets, the bowls, cups, the frames... And the prices are damn good. I have even bought Marimekko fabric there on the cheap. My fave is the back room where you can get furniture for a hefty discount. The last thing I got there was a large bright orange coffee mug for 3 bucks. Never, ever drink coffee from an office coffee cup. I saw on the news that office cups and sponges have an extraordinary amount of germs. You must BYOC.

1785 4th St, Berkeley, CA 94710 Phone:(510) 528-5500

Treasure Trove

I was driving home up Gilman the other day and I noticed a new store near the Smith and Hawken Outlet. It's called Trove. The banner outside said "Premium Home Outlet Shopping." Say no more!

I finally got a chance to go in there today sans children. I have to say it's pretty cool. Check out the product. The prices are IKEA-like. I might do some Xmas shopping here. Among the highlights was a foot-long glass tube, about 3" in diameter that held four single flowers. 9 bucks! Would make a very nice gift. Most of the red and white vases were 9-20 dollars. They have lots of lab glass if you are into that sort of thing (10-40 bucks)

I think I will be stopping by there often. 1310 Tenth at Gilman in Berkeley. 510-525-7991.

End of an era

I just got back from Outback Steak House in Pinole. This is where Jill chose to have our last meal together until we meet again in Cape Cod in August 2006. I was able to remain composed all throughout dinner, but I fell apart in the car going home. Having a huge 22-ounce beer with my shoe-sized steak didn't help me any. My best friend is moving to Boston! My heart is totally broken, but I am also happy and excited for her. Did you know there is no tax on clothing in Boston? That's like the whole city is 8.5% off! (They probably don't tax clothes because its fucking BUTT cold there and it is hard to stay warm.) I really wanted to go to Mervyn's with her across the way at the strip mall tonight, but my husband wasn't having any of it. I think it's been about 15 years since I stepped foot in a Meryvns. I was dying to check it out!

Anyhoo, they have an H&M in Boston, so I will be sending her money to buy me some shit. So, I guess there is a silver lining. (No, really, there is not, at least for me.) I love you, Jill! Lookout, Ptown!

fuck me jeremy('s)

when paula told me that jeremy's was having an additional 40% off last weeks markdowns I felt fucked over. that motherFUCKER!!! but like a naive teen I will spread my legs again come tomorrow. and yes, possibly lift them up and over my head for the deepest penetration. however I do take comfort in that fact that the super cute sitwell light teal corduroy blazer I bought last week for $35 was the only size 8P (all the others were 2P and could fit my 4 year old. although certainly I would have prefered a 6P and for such a slight jeremy obviously did not deserve or receive oral.) and the awesome jcrew white linen apron wrap dress ($23) was the only in the store. please please let the white velvet jcrew blazer I so wanted but was $60 still be there. for that jeremy...

YakPak Deals

Ah, the grab bag. Remember those? Well, Yak Pak still has them, and they are fabulous. My fave is the 3 bags for 10 bucks deal. You get three bags, some might be samples, some overstocks, for 10 dollars! In my shipment (about 4 or 5 years ago) I got a messenger bag (that my husband still uses) a long, skinny bag that I haul the kids meds in, and a cool purse for myself. Tonight my friend Sherri came over with a great green bag she got in her Yak Pak grab bag the other day. My friend Jill has gotten the grab bag several times, and she usually keeps one of the bags for herself, and sells the other two at crossroads. She has gotten some of the Levis totes, the very same ones I bought full price. Recently, I did the shoe grab bag, and I got a pair of yellow maryjanes, and a super cute pair of red boots, together for $15. Original retail value over $100.00 each.

Fuck yeah! Another 40-50% off the 40% to 50% off they had last week!

Unbelievable. Jeremy's. Read the online flyer. Most sale merchandise will be marked down an additional 40-50%. Too bad I just paid the IRS 8k and now I am broke. But there is always the change from Greg's pants in the laundry room. With those prices, I can probably get something with that. Coinstar machine, here I come!

Daily Candy Deals

Daily Candy now has Daily Candy Deals! The first one is 30% off everything at Girlshop.com, 25% off the entire site at American Apparel AND fred flare!
Check it.

Thank you, Doug

Doug's employee discount card expires tommorrow. So we had to rush right out at lunch to the North Face Outlet on 5th before it was too late. I have to say they had an impressive collection of discounted gear and clothing. Especially cute were some boy's black quilted jackets. (50% off $59) If I were in the market for a nice snowboarding jacket this is where I would get it. (I would say they all average under 70 bucks without Doug's discount, not too shabby!) They also had quite an array of purses, and I bought a small orange messenger-type bag for half off $29. Thanks, Doug!

Hilltop Mall: A hidden treasure trove

Hilltop Mall in Richmond is a very strange place. There is no GAP, no Banana, no Limited, no Above the Belt, no Wet Seal, no JCrew. Only strange, mostly cheap-looking off-brand stores that are going out of business. But there were some interesting deals to be had. We came across a shoe store that was going out of business that had cute kitten-heel, closed-square toe patterned loafers that are all the rage for $25. I also found a stretchy hoodie that for $14 that looked like it would hold up well in the wash (you know, it had just the right amount of lycra). But my treasure for the day is my new, black "Latina" shirt I got at Anchor Blue for 15 bucks!

38 going on 19

Yes, I shop at age-innapropriate stores. Recently I have found some really super cheap ones, too. Among my faves: Delias.com, Forever21.com, and urbn.com's sale section. Recently I got a couple of Maggie Scoops from Delias, $17 for each when you buy two. I love them. Next, I think I will try Wet Seal. It's hit or miss when it comes to quality with these teeny bopper stores, but I find if you hand wash the more shittily made stuff, it holds up a lot better.

workday savior

I checked my email at 8:30 this morning and was just thrilled to see a message from Garnet Hill! they have further reduced "100's" of items and of this I can verifiy. but minutes ago I placed an order where I got (among other things) cute Giesswein Leopard Shearling Mules – Women for $14 dollars, originally $98!!! that was the only wearable item, I also got sheets and pillowcases for our cali-king size bed (example: Solid Jersey Knit Bedding. I ordered the heather gray sheets for $24, originally $72). I did not get these but check out this deal:
Birchwood Table and Chairs , it's actually just the chairs but they are totally Zinc (on fourth street) and $14 for two!

you're welcome for bringing a beacon of light onto your workday.

for the hardcore

I could not believe it. yesterday I finally got around to addressing the sunday paper sale ad's and I see in target that the tide I bought FULL PRICE (I was desperate and can only use tide with bleach, nothing else nulifies menstural blood mishaps and the like) just five tender days ago was on sale! down from $19 and change to $15 and change! because I had time on my side and my daughter was in such good spirits (related directly to the polly pockets that were on clearance and hence purchased) I popped over to customer service and asked if target did price adjustments. and hot dog they do! yes! if you purchase something at day 1 and the price changes before day 14 you can bring your receipt and they adjust the price! not only that but if you hang onto that sale ad they will adjust the price up to day 30!!! do you see that though? from day 15 to day 30 you actually have to bring in the piece of paper, a bit pain in the ass-ish. I for one do not complain, as I said this if for the hardcore.

Lands' End Overstocks and Not-quite-perfects

This little gem from Gael: Land's End Overstocks (click on "overstocks" on the far right.) She came over the other day with this very cute, very big, very sturdy striped tote that she got for $12.

REI Used Equipment Sale 9/4

Well, this one is almost over, but I got such an incredible deal, I just have to write about it. We are going camping at Lair of the Bear next weekend, and we needed sleeping bags. So I headed on over to REI, although I was pretty sure that I was going to end up at Target getting cheap sleeping bags. But to my surprise, REI was having a used equipment sale! I ran over and snatched up the last two sleeping bags. One was one of those -35 degree jobs, and the other was an REI brand. I couldn't find the price tags, so I went and asked one of the salespeople how much they were. One was 28 and the other was 69, but the guy said he would take an additional 10 bucks off each bag! When I paid at the register I got an additional 12 bucks off by using my REI member card! Fabulous! Now all I have to do is wash them.