The Joy of Grace

TUMS & Bargains Mar 19

I slept all night last night, the second time I've done that in about two weeks. I've heard many speak of sleeping difficulities during pregnancy and I just did not have it with Savannah and did not have it this time around up until a couple of weeks ago. Then, the sleeping woes came. I would wake up around 4:30 a.m. unable to fall back to sleep until just about 30 minutes before I needed to be getting up. So annoying! So my friend Angie told me to take two calcium tablets (like TUMS) and drink a full glass of water right before I went to bed. I surely thought the water would cause even more bathroom breaks during the night...I took her advice on Sunday night and slept the whole night through. (!!!) Didn't do it on Monday night and woke up again around 4:30 and just decided to go ahead and get up after an hour of tossing and turning. Did the TUMS and water last night and slept again, without even waking up once...Amazing. I cannot figure out why this TUMS/Water method works, but it really does or possibly it's just that I psyche myself to thinking it works. I don't care~I'm sleeping.

One more word for the day~I'm a HUGE bargain shopper. It takes a great deal of effort for me to spend, seriously, over $30 (and that's pushing it) for a piece of clothing, an accessory, shoes, or a purse. I must give credit to my friend Kacie for teaching me how to bargain shop. Anyways, so I was watching the TODAY show this morning and here are some tips which I have been using for the past few years but it's so nice to be confirmed by the experts.

• Shop in the juniors department~I know what you are thinking. You may end up with too tight shirts and look like a teen bopper. You may but hopefully you have a friend honest enough to tell you that you look ridicoulous. So I will add one word to this 1st tip ~Carefully~ shop in the juinors department. Great deals will be discovered.
• Shop at the end of the season~store up for next year! I would not give into this advice for those trendy items, but it works great for the classics. This is also a good tip to follow for the climate I live in...example: summer sales can turn into fabulous fall outfits.
  
• Shop on Thursday night~this is a new one for me. Apparently, stores go ahead and put the sales out on Thursday and you get the great prices and the great inventory before the weekend.
• "Seasonize" anything and everything! I dedicate this tip to Leslianne who can wear a summer item in the dead of winter and totally and abundantly pull it off! It's all about putting that versatile tee underneath a spring/summery top or/and leggings with a skirt or dress. I have a longsleeve black one that probably all of my friends have memorized and a small hole is forming at the neck that's from MARSH. For the life of me, I've searched this brand for years now (I've had it since college) and cannot find it. I found the black tee at this little boutique in Mississippi (my absolute favorite city to shop in, seriously), way too expensive to begin with, marked down in the spring by about 75% if not more.
  
• This is not from the TODAY show, but I want to add it: Although stores like Target and TJ Maxx are where you really can consistenly find the bargains, you can find bargains anywhere, even the very pricey places. But I think the key to shopping at those places is that you must be willing to "seasonize" your wardrobe so you can shop the sales.
  

Happy Wednesday to you!