Mail Call

First off, no one is paying me for anything here. This is truth, my friends.

I get A LOT of catalogs in the mail. I think this is because I once ordered something from Guideboat and they sold my name and address, but whatever. I love all the catalogs. Yes, all of these things are available online, but I like leafing through a paper version over my yogurt in the morning.  Prana, Title 9, Orvis, LL Bean, Harry & David, See's Candy, and The Container Store are some of my favorites, but the best of all is obviously the Uncommon Goods catalog.

It came in the mail tonight and I was leafing through it (one of the best people in my life has a birthday in five days and while I have a couple of things for her, I thought I might stumble across something else for her) and I basically created a wishlist of things for me.  Here goes.

1. Sewing station - For the price of $58, you can have this ceramic sewing station handmade in Florida. 4.8/5 stars

I have neither a dedicated sewing location nor a need for a sewing station, but isn't it perfectly suited for a problem you never knew you had?!

2. Vintage wedding art - For the low, low price of $300 - $500, you can have some customized wedding art made. I am not even joking, but I think I want one for our new house. It's kind of pricey, but it comes with the matte and frame and it can be customized to hair color and skin tone and it's amazing.  Maybe someday.

3. Vintage cinema lightbox - For $65, you can put this in your living room and put up the name of the movie or television show you're watching. I mean, ours would just read The Walking Dead all the time, but that's because we still haven't watched the final two episodes of this past season, but I think it would be quirky and fun. Or something I would use exactly three times an then forget about.  Forget it. I don't need one of these.  (Yes, I do.)

4. Book Lover's Scarf - You can have the words to one of five novels (Pride and Prejudice, Outlander, Anne of Green Gables, The Great Gatsby, or The Princess Bride) around your neck. I personally would make a request for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but that's just me. As soon as Francie gets some love, I will definitely purchase this ($39 seems reasonable to me).

5. Solar System Necklace - This is not the right necklace for me because it's a bit too large, but I can see it being quite the hit. It even includes Pluto. I think $55 is reasonable, too, since it would be such a statement piece.

And, just for fun, here are some things I would totally buy for other people, just not the person whose birthday is next week.

6) Personalized Anniversary Journal - I wish I had one of these journals when we first got married. You fill it out every year on your anniversary. If someone you love is getting married, consider this as a present. It's $115 - 130, so you'd probably really have to love someone to make it their gift, but I know that I, for one, would have cherished it forever.

 7) Lake Topography Art - I totally lied. I'd like a series of these. One with Lake of the Isles on it to commemorate our time in Minnesota, one with the Great Lakes because my Michigan pride knows no limits, one with the Mississippi River through the Quad Cities where Dr. BB is from, and one with a nearby lake here in Wisconsin. They're all available. So maybe someday. I'm a smidgen confused by the pricing ($59 - $525) and I think it depends on the size and the 3-D nature of the whole thing, but maybe someday I'll invest. It would be fun to have them in our dining room in our new house, I think.

And that's it. I've just spent a couple grand on junk I don't really need from the Uncommon Goods catalog.  We're going to do the inspection on the house tomorrow, so I'll be sure to keep you all updated about that.  And maybe I'll tell you the story about how I feel perfectly fine, but the doctor told me that I couldn't work for the rest of the week and I have to stay home. Except then I went to the grocery story and tomorrow I'm going to the inspection. You can just call me a non-compliant patient. I am staying home from work, though. Well, wait, I just told you the whole story. No updates needed.