Not particularly restful, my day off was full of ‘activity.’ Writing the blog post in the a.m., followed by a couple of hours spent on notes for the actors, a shower, then out the door to grab the car and go grocery shopping. I stopped at Whole Foods, simply because I haven’t been there since I arrived and the Hartford area has two of them.
I miss Whole Foods. We don’t have one anywhere near us, and by that I mean somewhere that I could reach in, say 45 minutes. I bought some fresh vegetables and two different kinds of toothpaste that are made by manufacturers who do not do animal testing. Goodbye, Colgate and Crest.
I’ve already determined that my eye makeup also passes my new test, now I just have to buy some foundation and blush. There was a Sephora at the mall, but I was feeling the pressure to get moving, so I’ll take care of that next week.
I actually bought a piece of clothing – just a casual top, but something from a store other than Target and/or Kohl’s! Then I promptly felt guilty.
I went a little crazy on the flowers, forgetting that the yellow gold flowers on the coffee table are still hanging in there, two weeks after I bought them. (I can’t throw out flowers if they’re still doing well, I just can’t.) So I put these purple babies in a jar on the desk. And there’s a vase of dark pink alstroemeria on the counter. And these:
It’s looking a bit like a florist’s shop around here. By the way, I just discovered that I have been spelling ‘alstromeria’ this way, but it’s really spelled ‘alstroemeria.’ My apologies.
Then it was back home to tackle the laundry, a process that always takes a while as I hunt down a couple of free washers and dryers. Then there’s the inevitable up and down several times on the elevator and the also inevitable ‘the dang load isn’t dry yet!’ discovery. All done by dinnertime and then and only then did I sit down and relax. Except my laptop kept acting up.
No rest for the weary.
I stopped at Anthropologie in the mall – as far as I can tell, the greater Hartford area has two Anthropologies as well! – and brought a couple of smalls home with me.
This mug, an ode to London. How could I resist?
The other side:
I also grabbed the two green latte bowls in the background. I bought two in the aqua color, oh, it must have been three years ago, and I thought we needed another shot of color back at the cottage. They’re pretty inexpensive, so I went for it.
I have another long day today, a couple of quick individual coaching sessions this morning, then a run-through of the play, then a lunch break, topped off by individual coaching sessions with young Romeo and young Juliet.
Have to get going, my friends!
Happy Tuesday.
That new coffee mug is a beauty — thanks for sharing your world with us !
You’re welcome, Regina!
Hi Claudia. Good for you buying yourself some things — especially good when you are away from home…missing Don…missing Scout…missing your cottage. But, your apartment is looking lovely with the flowers and new mug. I’ve recently lucked out getting a few (very cheap..like under $10 each) things from Old Navy. Usually the clothes from Old Navy don’t fit me well — it’s like they are made for the ultra thin teenagers, and the pants never come up high enough. But I’ve bought a few tops and dresses that I love. The dresses are too short for me to wear by themselves, but they are perfect as “tunics” over leggings. My office is very casual (just no sweatshirts, sneakers, etc.), so it is nice to have a few new things that aren’t jeans. And, I couldn’t beat the price!
I’m impressed by the fact that you can wear leggings, Vera! My knees are just too bony to pull them off – they always bag at the knees.
Love the mug, and I always enjoy hearing about your day in the theatre. Your blog is like my favorite column in the newspaper and I look forward to reading it each morning. Especially since we haven’t had a morning paper in a long time!
Have a great day, Claudia.
I miss the morning paper, Karen. That was such a big part of my daily life and now? Nothing!
I need to get to Whole Foods and to Anthropologie. I have a shopping list for both of them. For Whole Foods, along with the usual food stuffs, I’m going to take my favorite Valentine vase in and let them fill it up. Anthropologie had some tea things I was looking at online. Doesn’t mean the store will have them, but it will be a fun outing. I’m with Vera … shopping is good for you when you away from Don and Scout! Color color color — brings out the best in all of us, I think.
Color is healing and mood altering and I’m all for as many shots of color as I can get around here.
I am a big believer in buying yourself treats while away from home. Be it flowers or that adorable coffee mug or even a new top! We all need things to perk us up. I know you have a long day ahead.
hugs,
Linda
Done with the day, which went very well, Linda. Now it’s time to answer comments and type up the notes and email them to the actors!
I immediately thought of the Romeo and Juliet scenes in “Slings and Arrows” and now I have to watch that series again!
We own it. Darn it! I should have brought it with me!
Productive day! Sometimes it is good to know you only have one day for all of those errands that must be done. And some fun stuff for the soul is always a very good thing.
We are just getting the first flakes of this storm ~ Kayla ~ (because I guess we have to name everything now) so I’m not sure if I will spend it reading or actually trying to get something done.
Have a great day at work!!
It sure makes me more efficient, Chris. No lallygagging, just get to it and get it done! I hope you’re not inundated with snow. We’re supposed to get some snow next week.
Claudia
The quilt is a beaut!
Have you remarked about it? I must’ve missed the comments.
Like the mug also , must get my daughter one.
karen
I did. I made it several years ago, Karen.
Did you know commercial toothpastes contain a foaming agent? I’ve been using a natural (homemade) tooth powder recently… yes powder… and like it a whole lot more than I thought I would. Very small amount lasts a LONG time. My teeth no longer have that “glycerin” feeling & actually feel smoother/cleaner for longer than when using toothpaste from the store (any kind). The one I’m using currently is 1 tsp table salt (just the cheap kind) and 1 tsp baking soda with 1/2 tsp ground sage added. Put in small container with tight lid, shake to mix very well. Either tap small amount onto wet toothbrush (sanitary) or gently press your brush into powder if you’re not sharing it with anyone. Only need a tiny amount on brush. And cheap to make with ingredients already in cupboard. =) No chemicals, no foaming agents, no preservatives, and no animal testing… unless you count yourself as a mammal. LOL
I tried a tooth powder a few years back and just couldn’t get used to it. But I applaud you making your own at home, Kathy. Good for you!
Lots of pretty color for your temp digs. Love the mug. Enjoy drinking your Peet’s in it! We’re getting lots of rain, which is good for my new garden. I love the transformation. Will send you pics when it’s completed.
Can’t wait to see it, Wendy!
Just went back and reread a few posts. Saw you mentioned the quilt , commenting again because now you double points since you made it yourself. Girl, the talent oozes from you!
I’ve made a lot of quilts, Karen. I was really into quilting for several years. The last one I made was a few years back when I was working here. I have yet to hand quilt it!
Love that cup! You deserve to treat yourself once in a while…we all do! I can only be austere for so long….and then I have to splurge, if only a little bit! It’s finally snowing here…but supposedly, the brunt of the storm is going north…we’ll see. Love all your flowers…they sure do brighten up the place! ;)
I hope you remain relatively snow-free, Donnamae. We’ve been lucky so far this winter and I know we’re due for some next week, but it doesn’t look like it will be a big amount.
You can never have to may flower bouquets and the pink vase is lovely. I love Sephora too but it’s so overwhelming when you go in, I want to buy everything.
It is overwhelming, Dawn! I’m going to have to go in there knowing what I want to buy. No temptations!
I love how you set up your home away from home. You really personalize it.
And then you have some awesome mementos of your time there.
I think that is really cool.
Enjoy~
Monica
Thank you, Monica. I like it when things I buy have a story, especially if it’s related to a job out of town or antiquing with my husband, things like that.
We don’t have a Whole Foods near and I’m waiting, impatiently, for Trader Joes to open this spring. I bought myself a $5.00 bundle of flowers at the grocery store yesterday for my birthday. They make me happy. I haven’t had fresh flowers around for awhile, maybe even as long ago as last summer. Too long. Love your cup and bowls too. I can’t see anything with London references without hearing “mind the gap” in my head. I think it’s played every few seconds when you’re in the tube station!
Blessings!
Betsy
Yes, that particular phrase pops up all the time in the tube! Happy Birthday, Betsy!!
You can’t have too many flowers Claudia…I am starting to have a craving for Spring flowers myself…Love the cup!
Thanks, Nancy!
I just did a Google search on companies that test on animals…ugh, there are so many. I am going to be more conscious of this now. I haven’t used commercial toothpaste like Crest or Colgate in years, simply because of all the chemicals in them. Brian likes Tom’s of Maine and I use the Trader Joe’s non-fluoride brand.
I have a Whole Foods about 30 min. from me. I never shop there – out of my way and too expensive, anyway. We call it Whole Paycheck Foods. ;-) We have so many other healthy-type stores here where I can get the same products a lot cheaper.
Love your London mug. I won a set of those latte bowls from Anthro on a giveaway a few years ago. I had plenty of bowls and didn’t need the latte ones, so I gave a friend four of them and kept two. In the meantime, one broke. So now I have one lonely green latte bowl. ;-) When I was in TJ Maxx last week, they had the same exact latte bowls in all sorts of colors – and much cheaper than Anthro! Just a heads up in case you need/want more.
I love Whole Foods, but I only shop there rarely – partly because there isn’t one close to home and partly because I can buy fresh vegetables from our local farmers. Whole Foods does, however, have products I can’t find anywhere else, even in my local health food shop.
The latte bowls are very inexpensive at Anthro – and because I don’t need a whole collection, or even want a whole collection – buying one or two there every 3 years or so is an expense I can handle! I can’t afford anything else at Anthro, but I can handle the latte bowls and the occasional mug!
You are a busy little bee! LOL Love all of your fresh flowers. Don’t work too hard.
Judy
I’m working hard, but I really love it, so it’s just fine, Judy!
your day sounds like a typical day of a working gals. seems we do all our errands in one day .
However I don’t work in the theater and don’t have a whole foods within 125 miles or an
Anthropologie store which I love to look around in
It’s always very fun to get a new top or two
Well, neither do I back home. We live in the country and neither of those stores are within driving distance from us.