Here are some pretty things I've come across this week,
(Yes, really!)
that I need to convince My Prince to dole out the cash for...
So let's be honest, y'all. Do any of you ever shop from QVC?
(I have to admit that I used to turn my nose up at it a bit.)
But I do remember that back when I was a little girl, my mama used to order Christmas ornaments, & some of the toys for my Christmas gifts, from QVC. & I do remember getting some pretty cute stuff!
(I specifically recall a little Hello Kitty playset with a little swan carriage, that I have never been able to find anyplace again. Isn't it funny how you all of a sudden remember the most random childhood toys, once you have a child of your own to buy them for? & of course my mama swears I never played with it anymore, & thus there was no reason to keep it, much like my justification for when I de-clutter Pretty Little Bare Feet's toy collection. Ooo, there was also this little Sesame Street train set...)
That was back in the day when you would actually watch QVC on television to see what they were selling, then call in & place an order with an operator. How time-consuming that seems in our click-click-click world of today!
(Okay, so I am about to admit that I am no longer ashamed to say I occasionally order from QVC, but are any of y'all actually guilty of *watching* QVC? 'Fess up! ;))
The first time I ordered from QVC - you know, as an
adult who professes to have good taste - was last Christmas. I had been telling my mama that I wanted to order the
American Girl "Girl of the Year" doll for Pretty Little Bare Feet's first Christmas.
Now I know that y'all are all shaking your heads at what an imbecile first-time mama I was to buy my not-even-one-year-old (at the time) daughter an American Girl doll. But you know what? There are only a handful of Christmases that are going to go by when I am pretty much allowed to buy whatever Christmas gifts I please, without any consideration to requests for Santa Claus that I don't understand or actually desire to fill. Pretty Little Bare Feet got plenty of other age-appropriate gifts. & I figure in a few years, she's going to be wanting an American Girl doll, & I like to think it will be special that she'll have the one that was "born" the very same year that she was!
(Pretty Little Bare Feet w/ her American Girl & her granny, Christmas 2009)
(& in fact she absolutely adored the doll & was very gentle with it all day Christmas day, before I put it up in her playroom to be brought back down for real play in a couple years. She just loves all of her little baby dolls right now, especially some of my old Cabbage Patch Babies from when I was a little girl. I think we may get her one of the American Girl Bitty Babies for Christmas this year, or for her second birthday in January. Any mamas out there have any experience with giving these to the "under three" set that they aren't "recommended" for? Pretty Little Bare Feet is actually calm&gentle with most of her books&toys, most of the time, & she hasn't put any "choking hazards" in her mouth for months. So we've kind of just started buying toys based on her interest level, rather than on the "lawsuit prevention age recommendation." Or at least that's what I see it as. ;))
(Chrissa, American Girl of the Year 2009)
Anyway, so my mama (surprise, surprise) "flipped by" QVC one fall afternoon last year, & she happened to notice that they were doing a special collection with the American Girl of the Year, including
doll,
accessories,
books,
outfits,
etc.
at a pretty great price.
(Now my mama swears she only "flips by" QVC these days, but she had good experiences shopping from them for years. Still, flipping by the channel long enough to actually stop & see what is being featured...Well, that is certainly more than I am doing, so I was grateful she spotted this special event, since I probably would not have otherwise been aware of it.)
Well, a funny thing often happens when you order something online, as most of you savvy internet shoppers can probably testify. You supply your email address for the order information, & then ding!, you've got mail! Half the time, whether or not you check the box requesting the email updates, you start getting the emails anyway, at least until you unsubscribe yourself.
(I happen to have an old email address that is primarily used for just this type of email, but I do try to check it & clean it out several times a week...& I am pretty careful about only continuing to receive emails that are worth checking.)
It annoys My Prince to no end that I occasionally just put down his email address when I order something online. He seems to think that this is some sneaky tactic of mine to get "hints" sent to his email address, but honestly I am just being lazy. It saves me the steps of opening up a "receipt" email & then forwarding it to the man who balances the checkbook. I figure that's one less email that I have to check&forward; & I honestly forget that sometimes despite my attention to unchecking the box requesting the emails, future emails may get sent to him anyway.
& so it happened that a couple months after we ordered the beautiful little American Girl of the Year collection last year, My Prince started getting emails from QVC. At first he deleted them with all of his other unopened emails that go straight to the trash. He figures it's faster to periodically delete them all, rather than going through the process of unsubscribing. Besides, the QVC emails aren't the invasive kind of retailer emails, where you feel like you get about ten a day.
(I'm looking at *you,* Victoria's Secret, whom I never even order from anymore!)
Then a funny thing happened. I decided
I was pretty much done with Ulta (at least with our local one - I have had good experiences at other locations!), which meant ordering my beloved
Philosophy bubble baths from an online retailer.
(Or waiting until I was someplace that actually had a decent selection to choose from, & stocking up on a surplus amount to keep on hand.)
After I had bemoaned my third or fourth awful experience at Ulta, My Prince happened to notice that the subject line of one of the QVC emails he was about to delete actually featured Philosophy products. & ever since that day, unless there is a special limited edition at
Sephora or someplace, we've been replenishing my Philosophy bubble bath supply from QVC. As well as my Philosophy
etc.
(& the bubble baths I am referring to are really the 3-in-1 products, but I only use them for bubble bath. Unless I am traveling, in which case I will save space by also using it for a shampoo &/or shower gel...& it multitasks fine when I do that, too! Anyway, I could do a whole post on all of the products I love from Philosophy, but I am supposed to be posting about QVC...)
So then I started just plain old browsing the website whenever I was placing a Philosophy order, & I'd occasionally find a great deal on a gift for a child or something. Then I'd see something & think, "Oh, wow, I didn't know they carried that brand. I need to remember that."
& then I realize one day that I've actually sort of become a QVC shopper.
At first I am a bit horrified, as this is not the first area in which I've feared, "I'm becoming my mama."
(Not that that's a bad thing, as my mama is a lovely lady, but y'all know what I mean...how it sneaks up on you that you're not only becoming increasingly more domestic, your tastes are maturing in a manner that is more Martha Stewart - like your mama - than Urban Outfitters, like your hipper, younger downtown-dwelling friends. *Is* Urban Outfitters still hip, by the way?)
But then I realize, hey, what if there are others out there that haven't given QVC a chance because it makes them think of cat ladies...or old ladies...
(Not that my mama is either one, & she certainly wasn't when she actually ordered from QVC with regularity. But let's be honest, most of the callers that call in to those home shopping programs sound like my sweet old cat lady next-door neighbor, who is perfectly precious, but whose style I most certainly do not aspire to emulate.)
After I mentioned QVC a time or two at playgroup, I discovered that at least a couple of my momfriends were also quietly doing some QVC shopping. & they wore almost sheepish looks when they 'fessed up to giving in to a handbag deal or trying a new makeup brand. But what are we ashamed of, y'all? We brag about our
Target finds, right? Well, QVC is absolutely worthy of that same kind of "OMG, look what I found! At QVC, of all places!" enthusiasm.
So although I will not go so far as to say that QVC is, in&of itself, a go-to place for all things fabulous; I do believe that you can find some unexpectedly fabulous goodies for yourself, & maybe even some preppy looks. Or get a jump-start on this year's Christmas shopping.
(Unless you're my mama, who began Christmas shopping for 2010 on December 26th, 2009.)
(Possibly a nice way to honor the memory of our dear Bumpkin, if you have a gentleman you know who would look nice in this!)
T.G.I.F.! What do YOU want this weekend?
