New boots!

Joy of joys, I got out of the house for an hour last night! My loving, thoughtful, wonderful husband let me have some time away from the house while he watched the kids at home! I must say, I'm feeling a wee-bit spoiled. My mother was so concerned about my isolation that she stopped by to drop off a slurpee yesterday, and my husband brought me home a Timmy's coffee as well - and then a free pass to go do whatever I wanted for an hour??? Awesome!
What did I do with my time? I shopped! And not just shopping for more medicine for my sick child - I shopped for fun things!
First stop, I went to Value Village. I've been cruising their aisles a lot lately, in part because I'm looking for crafty things, and in part because I'm cheap. Well, I didn't find any particularly crafty things (or rather, none that the price justified buying used) so I shuffled past the shoe section before I left the store. I was very well rewarded, let me tell you. Now, I don't often post about clothes, and that's mainly because I am so incredibly cheap when it comes to clothes that I have nothing worth writing about (seriously, who wants to read a post about a mass-produced $5 shirt that I bought at Stitches?) but ever so often I find something so great that I just need to tell you about it. This is soooo one of those times.
I found boots! I actually found lots of boots... There were knee-highs, mid-calves, fuzzy ones, sleek ones, heeled, flats... there were a lot of boots. And from what I saw, the most expensive pair were $12. I tried on a number of pairs, and wished that a few more had been in my size, but when it came down to the line, I opted for a pair that I knew I would never buy new because I refuse to spend more than $30 on shoes. They're a faded brown, felt-lined, knee-high boot with zippers on both sides, pointed toes and a killer heel. So pretty!
Oh yes, and they were only $10! One my way out of the store I happened past the coat section and remembered that my spring/winter brown jacket was getting a bit worn (I had bought it at Value Village a few years back and the lining was finally giving out) so I figured I'd have a quick peek, and I came out with a new coat for $12! One that matched my boots, no less.
From Value Village I went on to Walmart to pick up some groceries and some gardening supplies. My minions of seedlings are overtaking my house. And I suppose my beans, which are now taller than the average bean bush, and my peas, which are now requiring staking, don't really qualify as seedlings anymore. Anyway, the other week when I started some new plants, I didn't have enough room to do all of them in my seed-starter tray, so I picked up a new, larger tray, which will now house my tawny port peppers, some leftover Bells of Ireland and some Cypress Vine. My tomatoes and first batch of Bells of Ireland are growing quite well now; they're both about 3" tall now. Not bad for just over a week! I've been doing some garden plans lately and am growing quite excited for Summer. Since we're currently in the process of seeing whether or not it will be possible to sell our house this Summer, Matt and I decided against finally putting in the long-time-coming raised vegetable garden, but I've decided that I won't let that hinder my aspirations of growing vegetables and numerous beautiful plants. The trick will really be container gardening. And I've recently been dreaming about a lush, overgrown garden with a touch of whimsy in its corners, so the containers that I plant in will most likely be unique. I'm thinking coffee mug planters, bird-bath flower beds and troughs of leafy greens. One interesting thing about this approach will be to see if it's my fault that nothing wonderful has grown in my yard in the past 3 years, or if it's the soil. When we bought the house there were about a dozen full-grown trees in the yard. We cut down a number of them, but there are still 4 full-grown spruce, 1 MayDay and 1 diamond-leaf willow in our back yard. There are so many roots spread through our yard that we always knew a sunken vegetable garden would be near impossible, but I'm wondering in the trees have actually sucked so many of the nutrients out of the ground that my plants never had a chance. I suppose we'll see!
If we do move this year I know one of the things I'll miss most about this house is the incredible yard.
Well, I just got word my husband is coming home early, so I'd best go and get some cleaning done!

Mrs. VanderLeek ;)