I've never been one of those women who could shop and shop and shop-- I have a pretty low threshold for it before I lose my mind. I've always had to go shopping with like-minded women, or else I start to pull my hair out. That said, a little bit of retail therapy can go a long way for me-- a pair of shoes, a hoodie cardigan, some v-neck t-shirts-- a girl's got to have a vice, right? This afternoon looked a little different, but I cleaned up.
First stop: I-Party in West Roxbury. I've never gone to this place before, and I soon found that it was way, way out of the way-- nowhere near anywhere I'd ever go. Well, it's near this Honda dealership that Dan and I went to once a couple years ago. We test-drove a car, and the salesman literally stalked us for weeks. Dan finally had to say, "Ricky, it's getting weird-- you need to stop calling us..." Anyway, I went to this random party store because Anand is OBSESSED with these toy cars that Laura has at her house. He can play with them all day long, and she has said, "Oh, you should totally get these for him-- he loves them!" She said I could get them at I-Party, so I said, "What the hell" and made the schlep. I got a green VW bug, a red mini cooper, and a yellow taxi cab. Anand was pissed that he couldn't play with them then and there and kept trying to grab them out of my hands! So, success.
Second stop: Isis Maternity in Brookline Village. I felt so damn good about getting those freaking cars that the ride back to this side of Never-Never Land seemed really quick. Isis Maternity is one of those places that's really great and has great services (Prenatal yoga, prenatal massage, mom & baby groups) but always makes me feel poor and like my baby isn't properly accessorized. Thankfully, I was there on a specific mission and not to browse around and spend money needlessly-- I needed a new bra. For better or for worse, a couple months ago, I finally became too small for the fabulous E-F bras that I wore when Anand was first born... who knew those alphabet letters could apply to bra sizes? Seriously. I only own 2 non-elephant size bras, and that's clearly unacceptable in this insane heat. The damn bras are really expensive, but cheap-o bras give me plugged ducts, and that sucks a LOT more than kicking down cash for a good bra. Success again! I nearly forgot the most interesting moment of this stop-- I am an Isis Maternity member, so I get 10% off all purchases, and when I was at the register to pay, the woman needed to look up my membership, and she said to me, "Your last name is Mathews, right?" Ha. No, that would be my friend Radhika, the other Indian woman who comes to Isis Maternity.
Third stop: As Anthony said in Sex & the City, Bed Bath and freakin' Beyond. (I always short-hand this as B^3 and give away that I work at MIT). Since Anand has now taken to throwing fistfuls of hummus, quinoa, cottage cheese, avocado, you name it onto the floor, clean-up has become a nightmare. It takes forever to clean the floor, and I really need to do it quickly before Anand decides to crawl in it.
Consequently, I spend the greater portion of my day on my hands and knees, frantically scrubbing away. The solution? A shark steam sterilizer mop. Freaking brilliant. I'd post a picture, but the thing is still in the trunk of my car because I didn't have enough hands to carry it in... I clearly need to post again with pictures of the merchandise. This thing steam-cleans the floor and kills bacteria. Good thing, because we have a fruit-fly infestation, and it's freaking nar-nar gross. I can't claim complete success here, because I forgot my 20% off coupon... I have to take the receipt back with a coupon, and they'll credit my card. OK. Partial success.
Fourth and final stop: Magic Beans in Brookline. Yeah, I hit 2 yuppy-ass kid stores in one afternoon. These are the kinds of stores where you're like, "Wow, wouldn't it be great to have this stuff?" and then you go and buy what you can afford at Target and Babies R Us. At this point, my sweet baby was starting to fuss, and with good reason, since it was 3:15 and he was getting tired out. I was about to leave the store when I saw it-- a Maclaren Quest. I've been coveting one of these forever but didn't have the stomach to kick down the $200 for it. It seems like a lot for a stroller, although I'm sure the yuppy Brookline mamas with their $100 diaper bags would beg to differ. This one was on sale for $100, and when I asked the nice saleswoman what the deal was-- was it broken or defective? "Oh no," she said. "It's been gently used. It's the floor model." Well, it's now in the trunk of the car (or I'd post a picture). Hello, success! And guess what they had on a rack up at the register? Yeah, those damn cars I drove out to West Roxbury to buy. Uggggggg.
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