If Christopher Columbus had me at the helm navigating his journey, he never would have made it out of Italy.
I can read a map, GoogleMaps, and a TomTom....but if the Driver doesn't follow the instructions then who is responsible for getting lost about four times on a trip that should have taken only 51 minutes?
I am smiling now, in reading that. Not so much earlier today when my husband suggested we drive to a HomeGoods store to see if we could find anything that I was missing from the Rae Dunn line and we got a bit, lost.
A store devoted to everything HOME? ...Sign Me Up. I was ready to go.
I sent the directions from GoogleMaps to my phone and we were off. During the beginning part of the trip he did mention that the TomTom was in the car and I should plug it in. I thought my way would be better since it was only a small distance from where we are familiar with going to, to where we were not.
It would seem that the where we were not, had a bit more lanes, with many more exits and when I looked away at the road to the phone screen, he missed the exit and we were off on a excursion that was leading us out of the state had we continued.
My turn around solution was directed by the phone and had I listened to it....we would not have had a need for another, much farther, turn around solution. Not so much fun was had. But at least the day was beautiful.
At this point, I was ready to go home and I stated as much. Looking out the window at the nothingness but highway before us, hubby mentioned..."wherever that is."
We landed, hours later finally, at the stores parking lot and I couldn't decide if I wanted to kiss the asphalt or go in and find something fun. I chose go in and in I went.
Talk about heaven....for those of us who love pillows, and table linens and just more junk for your home. My first question was to the manager at the door asking about the restrooms for him and I took a cart and began wandering this vast expanse of nesting happiness.
For the TJMaxx and Marshall's stores closer to me, I know where everything is. This was a new store to manover and conquer so I thought it best to start at the beginning.
As I wandered down the side wall I saw the ceramic explosion of color up ahead of me so I knew that is where I should start. I guess in seeing these Rae Dunn items on social media and knowing I will never see them for myself I had a momentary lapse of coordination from my eyes sending the impulses to my brain that these WERE actually real. I bent over and touched the plates in the rubber band and laughed...yes, laughed out loud.... Snowmen! Round plates!
As I put them into the cart, I saw the Holiday Canisters with the red handles above me. And then the cocoa shaped mugs with again...snowmen!
From two aisles away I heard hubby call to me and I saw plenty of black polka dot pieces along with flower pots and a cheese platter. And then, more plates and a Elf Legs Canister. From the corner of my eye I saw three women approaching and hubby then asked, " didn't you want that red platter?"
It was bright red and in front of me, but again the whole eyes...brain thing stopped at the overwhelming stimulas. I reached up past the Cheese platter and put it into my cart. You hesitate...you lose.
I had my own cheese platter already so I left it there for someone else. ( I later read someone did buy it). The other ladies did not look too happy with me. Join the club...neither was the guy I was giving directions too.
I wanted to visit all of the aisles so I meandered them finding bunches of new treasures. Trust me, there were plenty of more practical things I could have filled the cart with too, but that can wait for another time. My husband went out to the car to drink his "I got lost and my coffee got cold" cold coffee and came and found me and my goodies a short time later.
I went to the pets aisle and excused myself trying to pass a woman looking at dog beds. I saw the red holiday handle on the canister on the shelf, turned around and scooped it up as I went through.
As I visited the same wall I started with, I found two more canisters tucked in the back at my eye level. Making me once more laugh at the eye/brain dysfunction going on.
There wasn't an eye/brain dysfunction when I got to the registers...just a few deep breaths at the total and we were off for the second part of the journey.
Going home hubby took no chances on getting lost. We pulled the TomTom from my backpack and the exit we needed was super easy to find. Although we were exhausted mentally and I had a headache, We made three more stops before coming home. None of them compared.
What I don't understand about all of this is:
For something that seems to be so popular wouldn't it make more sense and be easier on everyone if the supply met the demand? In all stores I mean. A section for just these things that you can go and grab one off of the shelf as needed like you would pick out a loaf of bread.
There were things I saw today that I know the Marshalls and TjMaxx stores I visit never have...as far as I have seen doing my browsing and shopping. Is it the fact that certain stores get certain items only, or do the top dollar secondary market money makers end up going out the "back door" rather than being put on the shelves?
Truth be told, I have never seen such a mess as I have been educated on these past months since I started looking and buying Rae Dunn. Social media hate over pottery makes me sick to read and the behaviors of both women and men in some store situations makes me shudder. So much so that today when I had my items in the cart and the three ladies were staring at me and I think one took my picture, I was actually concerned that I was going to have an issue when hubby went out to drink his coffee and left me alone. I guess I had that look on my face when he was going that he said, " if you need me, call me."
No worries.... you will know at the sound of the sirens. :)
Who needs anxiety about POTTERY FROM CHINA....
Well that, and finding our way home. Next time...I will bring crackers to leave behind. Wait, that won't work...the Seagulls circling outside of the store today would mess that plan up. I guess they were lost too!
I know how they feel.
