Black Friday was my birthday ... I decided to actually brave the crowds and go shopping.  I strategically picked that shopping area on Rosedale with Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc., so I could kind of kill a bunch of birds with one stone.

My first stop was Best Buy - I was on a mission to find a Tinkerbell Disney Mix Stix.  It was so packed and the dude directed me vaguely to the children's stuff.  Didn't find anything so I quickly ran out of the store, took a deep breath, and then barged into Walmart.

Walmart, surprisingly wasn't as bad - still no Mix Stix's, I glanced around for any worthwhile bargains that would actually merit standing in line, didn't see any, and again pushed my way out of the store.

Those two stops worked up an appetite, so we pit stopped at Wendy's, found a parking spot near my next stops and ate in the car.

Then into Aaron Brother's I went.  I had a 50% off coupon that I was determined to use.  And use it I did!  I bought a beautiful gigantic canvas print of a purple flower that now fits perfectly in my dining room.  I've never spent that much on art before ... but I justified it this way ... I was going to break down and buy the Audry Hepburn canvas print from IKEA - I needed something in purples or black and white to fill a huge space.  Well that print is $80 ... the Flower is a ton bigger, more beautiful, and with my coupon on $20 more.  Cha-Ching!

It was my birthday, I was going to shop if I wanted too!

So after Aaron Brother's I wandered into Target, and wander is exactly what I did ... what I always tend to do in Target.  I bought a mini sparkly tree with ornaments and a boa to decorate it for Aidan, she really wanted a tree for her room - this was my motivation to get her to clean it.  Haha!  Mommy tricks!

At this moment I really don't remember what else I bought there - oh wait, it's coming to me ... I bought 3 seasons of the Simpsons for $16 each, sweet!  One Season of the family guy for me, and one for my brother for $16 each, sha-wing! Then that Geisha Girl movie, 40 year old Virgin, and the Notebook for less than $4 a piece - couldn't pass that up!  Then I bought Aidan a snow jumper and gloves for her upcoming trip with Girl Scouts, a few christmas gifts on her list, and who knows what else - I just has another memory loss.

Loaded with bags, I filled the trunk and we drove a little further through the parking lot to our next destination ... Cost Plus Imports.

All I needed was an Advent Calender, but this is another store I enjoy just wandering through.  Finally I purchased my Advent Calender, stuck that in the car, and headed over to Linens and Things.  I didn't buy anything there, was just looking.

On our way home we stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond ... I was looking for Way Way Beyond - instead Pumpkin told me that now that I was an older woman I had hot young boys checking me out.  I laughed and said "Who?!"  He pointed toward a guy placing items on shelves.  I again laughed and said "Whatever"  Then we walked past the guy and he looked at me, then glanced down and we passed ... Pumpkin was like "See, he was embarrassed and shy"  I retorted ... "No, he just realized I was a Monet" and bust into laughter.

I found a 4 foot fiber optic tree ... perfect for my living room since I have a baby grand piano taking up half of it.  20 bucks seemed like a deal, so again I headed to the car armed with a bag.

Finally at home I put my feet up for a while before I started dinner for my friends who were going to stop by to give me Birthday Wishes.  Oh and my roommate was so sweet and made me a chocolate cake!  It was yummy!

Happy Birthday to me!