Black Friday

I was home today within the quiet and peaceful walls of my warm home.  You couldn't pay me enough to venture out into the throes and throngs of the masses storming down aisles full of special pricing.  I guess I don't have the patience for it - I'm missing the shopping gene in my DNA.

I have done most of my Christmas, birthday and gift giving shopping across the keyboard of my computer the past 4-5 years.   Catalogs also come in the mail which allow me to compare pricing from one to the other and then order online and my purchases show up on my doorstep.  It's too easy to find exactly what I'm looking for and very often purchases can be made with minimal or even free shipping.  That's a no brainer for me.

Some of the catalogs that appear in my mailbox are:  (this turned out to be a jumbled mess - apologies! looked so nice and neat in the compose window)

Betz and I used to fight over this catalog.  Now she gets her own.  =)  One summer we, along with my mom, drove down to the Country House in Maryland - 30 miles from Ocean City.

www.thecountrystore.com/store
It's a wonderful place to get lost in for a day or afternoon. Be sure to allow yourself at least 3 hours - it's packed full of all their country decorations.

http://www.thecountrystore.com/

Although the CBD catalog arrives in my mailbox and I browse through it I make most of my book and CD purchases through Amazon.  Shipping is free for purchases that total more than $25. http://www.amazon.com/

This catalog is a fun place to find the wacky things you may be looking for.  Mike loves ketchup on almost anything and I found a wall plaque that said "I put ketchup on ketchup".

www.catalogfavorites.com/

 

I've used this catalog/website for years.  It was a grand place to find cheap award type things for a childrens church club.    

www.orientaltrading.com/

Brookstone - a world of innovation A gidget, gadget catalog - electronics, fitness/health, things for home.  When I'm ready to convert all of Jay's reels of slides and negatives to digitial storage I'll look here for current pricing.

www.brookstone.com/

This continues to come but I'm not a regular purchaser but they do clothing well. 

http://www.llbean.com/

After having some knee issues I found some great summer flip flops and sandals for the summer that were in my price range and were my favorite footwear this summer.  I found my Crocs with the fuzzy lining here at a good price also.

http://www.footsmart.com/

I'm also a fan of http://www.zapp.com/

Shipping is free both ways - in case you need to return them and you have 12 months to return an item.

                                                                                                                                                                   

One of my favorites to browse through.  has unique things for your garden, patio and fireplace to name a few.

http://www.plowandhearth.com/

This one shows up in my mailbox because of an order a placed a few years ago on another site.  If you're into western wear and decorating you may find something to interest you.  According to the little yellow sticker on the front it may be my last catalog because I've not ordered anything for a long, long time but I can always look on the website if I'm ever interested.

www.backinthesaddle.com/

Abbey Press provides gifts with a Message.  http://www.abbeypress.com/

                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Collection Etc. has cheap, not-high-quality items.  Occasionally I've found a fun treasure.

http://www.collectionsetc.com/

                                                                                                                                                           This was a  new one in the mailbox this year.  Didn't have a great need or want for something but I fell in love with the stockings.  I'm on the hunt for stockings for the grandkids.

I would love to order all four. But at $30 a piece? I don't think so. I thought maybe I'd keep my eye open for some colorful sweaters at the ReUzIt shop and maybe take a stab at making my own. Wish I had more time to play with fun projects.......

So there's a glimpse into just some of the paper that gets drug into my home and then fills the recycling box.  But shopping from my sofa through catalogs or laptop is what works for me these days. 

I did try something new this morning.  I make all my office purchases through Staples.  Anything and everything is shipped FREE and usually arrives the next business day.  My sales account buddy who calls me once a month to give me updates, specials, etc... told me that I could take advantage of the Black Friday sales from 6-10 this morning online.  I thought the sales only applied to in-store purchases.  He warned me that they only had 1,000+ monitors that I was looking at and the connection may be slow with the anticipated increased online activity.  I tried for 15 mintues simply to log into my account and then spent the next 15 trying to place my order but I was successful.  So by 6:30 this morning I had made the purchases I was hoping to and I was done shopping...... all with a cup of coffee in hand and not looking quite yet presentable for public.  Now that's my idea of a perfect Black Friday!  Trust all you die-hard shoppers are as pleased with your day as I am with mine.