Target deal of the day

It says "fleurs" on the side. How cute is that?

Ok, I'm not really going to feature something new from Target every day. But I could. The amount of time and money that I spend at Target is just plain sad. The other day my dear friend Jackie and her son Alex were visiting from New York. They used to live here, but they moved to NY a year ago, and we had a lot of catching up to do. The kids were playing, and we were chatting, and trying to keep the chaos to a minimum. When it was time to go, Alex wasn't having it. He played one of Jack's favorite games, which is "I can't hear you even though you are saying my name two inches from my face". It's really fun. So finally Jackie pulled out the big guns. She said quietly, "If you come right now, we might go somewhere REALLY special on the way home." To which Alex immediately replied  "TARGET?!"

I grabbed Jackie's arm just before I died laughing. I am not alone! Target is an outing. Target is a playground. Target is where I can get errands done, AND keep Jack entertained for at least an hour. Do I ever get out of there without buying him something, even if it's just something from the $1 aisle? NO. Never. Not even when I say "Ok, but we're not buying any toys today." I AM NOT ALONE.

Alright, so long story short. This little planter filled with succulents was only $16. I was in the garden section looking for mini succulents that they sell there for around $2 a piece, to make something just like this. But for $16 I decided theirs was cuter and cheaper than the one I was going to make. It was so cute, I got one for our nanny, who tolerates our insanity daily, and is pretty much the reason I haven't Sylvia Plathed myself. Just kidding. Not really. Maybe she deserves more than a cactus. 

Free at last! Free at last! Thank god almighty I'm...

Oh. Excuse me. How embarrassing. I guess it wasn't THAT good. It's not like my people have been waiting hundreds of years to be un-bonded from the shackles of overpriced imported chintz. But this Liberty of London match up with Target was GOOD. So good that it propelled me out to La Quinta where my mother is spending the winter, in the hopes of actually finding things still on shelves at 8am. LA women are expert shoppers, and unless you sleep outside in your own Kitson pup tent the night before, you're not getting anything at events like this. They are as a rule, a mob scene. 

Jack still in his jammies on our way into the first Target of the day

So in my weakened state, unable to stand up straight, barely able to sit, I drove two hours with Jack in tow to La Quinta. We arrived before bedtime. So Jack played and we had a little dinner. We had a leisurely bath, and then my mom said "do you think we should run over to Target tonight after Jack goes to bed to see if any of it is out yet?" We both agreed that there was no way those Target workers were going to stock those shelves AFTER closing. They'd want to get it done so they could get out of there fast right? We had faith that they'd want to get a head start on tomorrow's work today. Oh Mrs Nipper Knapp, what a silly girl. Not only was there no sign of the line, when my mother asked (I begged her not to) a teenage employee if it was out, he stared at her blankly, said "uh", as I was cursing her shouting "LEAVE HIM, HE KNOWS NOTHING!!!!, and that was it. He was never able to muster more than that. Not one more syllable. 

Ok, so tail between our legs we went home. Rested up. Morning was going to come early. After dozens of LA sample sale experiences I demanded that we be Target at 8 sharp. My mom laughed that we'd be the only people there. She was right. Bright sunny morning, and there were practically tumbleweeds rolling across the parking lot as they unlocked the doors. Not only were we the first people there, we were the first people to inform them that they were supposed to be launching a GIANT promotion today. Yup, not a thing was out. Turns out the manager had the dates mixed up. Even though they were clearly marked on the boxes. Oh yeah, that's right, I was there for the unpacking of the boxes. I even unpacked a few, but more on that later .

While we were there, they got some of the the clothes out. They were nice enough to let me sort through the rolling racks. I piled my cart high, and got Jack a few toys to mess around with and headed for the dressing room. Merde. It's all really cute. Dresses, tops, bathing suits! My mom even got a few things. Here's what I came away from at Target numero uno:

I was bummed that the dresses were polyester not cotton, but they actually hang really nicely!

Hello business casual audition shirt!

The swimsuits are straight out of the 50's. SO cute and flattering! 

No these are not for Jack. The little girls next door have birthdays coming up!

Ok, off to Target number 2. We pack Jack and his new truck into the car (I'm not above bribery, sue me) and head down Highway 111 to Palm Desert. Strike two. They don't have anything! Not like they're sold out. Like, they haven't put it out yet. Oh sleepy desert town. I buy soy latte number two, a playmobil fire engine for Jack (oh yeah, this was not my proudest parenting day), and head further down the road to Palm Springs. Jack fell asleep in the car, so I went in solo, while Nana waited with him in the car. Paydirt. Unfortunately it was almost 11am by now, and I encountered women coming down the aisle with carts overflowing with stuff. "It's all gone" I thought. "I should have come here first!" But no they had left me some crumbs: 

When I saw this shelf, I thought our little venture was doomed. 

I had no intention of buying bedding. But it was all so pretty and PERFECT for the pink palace/man cave/cotton candy club. AS soon as I do the big unveiling, I'm going to have a naming contest

This was what I came for. Little boxes for every little thing in my office. Perfect. 

Candy jars and planters. Too cute. I might plant some jasmine and put it on a high shelf. So pretty. 

I've been needing a watering can and gardening gloves, I swear. 

When I rolled my covered wagon back to the car, my mother laughed out loud. "Ok, let's go home". "Uhm. Ok, how about I take you and Jack home, and I head back to the La Quinta Target? I have a few more things to get." "There was anything left?" "Yes." 

So that's what I did. We drove back and I dropped them off. If I'd subjected Jack to one more Target SOMEONE would have called the authorities. Poor baby. He and nana were headed to the pool when I left, so it's not like I left him in the car with the window cracked. 

I drove back to the La Quinta Target, and as I walked in the female employee from our 8am run laughed when she saw me. "It's all out now!" Well, not all of it. This is where I became a part time Target employee. I hovered around a guy unloading boxes of boxes for a while, and when it started to get awkward for both of us, I asked if he'd just open the biggest box because I had a feeling the large milk crates I was looking for were in there. He happily obliged and I headed for lingerie.  On the way I spotted these. Perfecto:

I'm going to fill these with pictures of Jack

I don't know if I've mentioned it before I'm still wearing the same underwear from when I was pregnant with Jack. It's sad underwear. It has holes in it. It was cute when I got it, but now... Sad sad sad panties.  So thank you Liberty of London (Nipper Knapp thanks you too):

The pink panties have a little ruffle butt. Too cute!

I head back through the women's section just to see if I missed anything on the way out, and lo and behold there is my friend unpacking boxes in the accessories section:

I made myself useful and unwrapped some purses and flip flops. One of the stock girls was friendly and we were judging each bag as it came out. The other woman was eyeing me suspiciously. I don't blame her.

I didn't buy any though

I did buy these though. Cute right?

This was the only thing I saw that I wish I had bought. But I couldn't justify, nor did I have room in the car for chairs. Well I could have strapped Jack in his car seat to the top of the Prius National Lampoon Vacation style. But after the three Target visits, I figured I was pushing my luck. So I left them there for some other lucky girl to take home. 

$99 of pretty

What else? I bought Nipper Knapp one pair of boxers, but I'm not showing them here because, after last weeks romantic story about him making me coffee I don't want you ladies imagining him in his undies!

Give me Liberty or give me DEATH!

That reminds me of Eddie Izzards bit about "Cake or Death". Check it out. It's funny, and the rest of this post isn't, so laugh now, because I'm about to steal your soul... just kidding. Not really...

Ok, but sadly that has nothing to do with the last few days which have been scarier than Mr. Toads Wild Ride. As some of you know I threw my back out last week. It was awful, and I feel pretty crummy still. Although much better than Tuesday when moving one millimeter caused me to cry buckets of salty tears.  The whole thing has been a wake up call for me in a sense. I have the good fortune of an efficient metabolism and an almost adolescent sense of immortality. So I've survived thus far, chugging soy lattes, while eating handfuls of dark chocolate m&ms, as dessert for the twice  weekly(sometimes more) pizza, or on most days, in&out burgers that have become the main stays of my diet.


My diet in the last few years, has deteriorated to the point where, I no longer recognize meals as something I want, but rather a method of supplying calories in a hurry. I used to LOVE food. I still love food. I MISS food. I used to eat things like cucumbers, and you know lettuce. I ate sushi, and tons of fruit. I'm not blaming Nipper Knapp, because it takes two, and god knows I loves me some pizza, but I had never had an in&out burger before I met him. In fairness, I was eating $20 chopped broccoli green apple and blackened chicken salads from café midi every day when I met him, so that wasn't really a great plan either. But in the last few years, I've found less and less time to eat the foods I like. I've also made lots and lots of excuses for why I can't/won't/don't work out. "I don't need to", "I don't want to", "you can't make me"...


SO this is the second time in the last year my back has seized up like this. My md gave me flexeril and 800mg advil. The drugs made me sleep but did not ease the pain at all. After 5 days of suffering I went to my acupuncturist. She is a miracle worker! She advised me to take magnesium for my muscles, and you know, exercise, and stop stressing. Genius. I felt better immediately after seeing her. I'm still super stiff, I'm walking like the hobbit, but I can walk. So...

you can't hide from me pussycat...

You know you can't tell me anything. I can't even tell me anything. I try sometimes, but then I'm all "shut up! You're not the boss of me!" But I'm going to pretend like this is some kind of incentive program. Like, you eat a salad, and you get to wear pants without shame. You get up earlier, and make oatmeal, you don't have a heart attack at 50. You go to the gym, you get to think about how you aren't going to be crawling the bathroom at the age of 35 because your core muscles are weak, and your blood is made up of 2 parts starbucks, 2 parts Chanel No5. Who do I think I am?!


I would also like say that Nipper did something for me that is in my opinion the sexiest thing he's ever done in nearly 6 years of marriage. NO! Not THAT! Ladies! What kind of blog do you think this is? He saw that I was unable to make my morning latte of Francis, dear Francis. This thing has all kinds of switches, and levers, and unexplained knobs. It's not like an American machine with a little coffee cup icon and a little steam icon, so that you can send your kid in there to make it. It's Italian. It's temperamental. It's a mystery! But Nipper Knapp figured it out. He did it without the little online tutorial, which I had to watch like seven times before I made my first cup. He made my latte every morning this week, and brought it to me on the couch. Swoon.


For this I will forgive him for getting better looking than me every day, and for introducing me to double double animal style. Look it up you dirty birds...


Oh, wait, I never got to the Liberty part of this post! I'll be back tomorrow with a full accounting of my adventures at EVERY Target in La Quinta, Palm Springs, and Palm Desert on the hunt for Liberty of London stuff. Let's just say it involved, late night reconnaissance, a walker, and an escape vehicle. Just kidding. Not really.  Ok here's one little sneak peak from ONE of the Target's:

I'm all over this!

Liberty of London are doing a line for Target. It comes out this Sunday. I'm going to be out in Palm Springs, and I'm planning to hit at least two Targets Sunday morning. Hallelujah! I'm a little bit excited. I never hear about these things beforehand and I'm always sifting through the dregs to find some cute little piece (like the Orla Kiely stuff last year, or the Rodarte dress I had to track down in Denver, because it sold out here in LA) Here is a link to the full lookbook for the line. So many pretty little things!

Speaking on liberty print, check out these little ruffle butt panties by Bettsy Kingston on etsy. If you have a baby girl, I DEMAND that you buy a pair! If you don't have a baby girl, this should be incentive enough to go and get yourself knocked up. 

Almost there

Remember being bored when you were a kid? I can remember time going by so slowly I thought I would go crazy from boredom. My mom would always say "only boring people get bored". I must have been the dullest child, because I was bored all the time. Now it seems like days go by like minutes. I can't get ahead of my list, there's always more. Maybe this is to do with being an adult, or being a parent, but I think it's also to do with being a perfectionist. I'm never satisfied until I've got something just so. I'm doing better at appreciating the things I've done once they are done, instead of moving right along to the next thing. Sometimes I have to mentally handcuff myself to the task at hand because I'm always contemplating the next thing. Working on being present in the moment is my biggest challenge. 

So here's a little bit of progress on one of my many pies. I found rug for the pink man cave. I'm going to come up with a better name for that room. Suggestions are welcome. I had the hardest time finding a big enough rug, in the right color, and for the right price. Finding a 8x10 or larger rug for less than $300 is hard. Finding one with pink in it, proved impossible. The rugs I really wanted were from Anthropologie (natch). They were also $1100. Eep.

I even ordered a wool rug from Overstock.com. It was hideous and I sent it back. Then last week, I was wandering through Target, when I stumbled on this rug. The color was perfect, even though the look was a little bit too cozy kitchen for me. The other problem was that the only size they had was 4X6. My mom had the brilliant idea to buy four of them and tape them together with carpet tape. I didn't have any carpet tape on hand, so I just used packing tape, which worked just fine. Presto Chango, I have an 8X12 rug that only cost $160! I bought a non slip rug pad, and put another chenille rug underneath it for a little more insulation from the cold concrete floor. 

I think the little bit of lavender grey in the rug picks up the same color from one of the silk trading company curtains I used to cover up the washer/dryer and water heater. Now all that's left is to hang pictures, and put in the skylight. It's almost perfect:)

One last sneaky peaky. This was how neat and tidy it looked before I filled it up with furniture.