1. I took the tram that goes by my house the opposite direction away from work to see where it headed and found....drum roll....a mall! Not the kind that you would see in the US, but it's a mall in my book. It's outdoors, but there's tons of parking, so in the future, I could drive there. This is where it gets good....I had some major success.
a. I bought a medium/heavy coat for work. It's super cute and it fits in the sleeves (mostly) and around the waist. And the price wasn't awful. I've found that coats are cheaper in general than in Texas. And they are everywhere!
b. I bought some Ugg boots! I really wanted some boots and I found a place selling them in kids sizes and they had the US sizes on them. I found some in size 4 and they fit great! So excited....I will fit in more now for sure. And they are comfy and super warm.
c. I woke up and found that my jeans had a mysterious stain on them from who knows what. I dried it into them too...my favorite pair :(. I found a place that looked like nice women's clothes with nice ladies helping. I tried on a pair of pants....and they had short sizes! Given their short was still too long, but the waist fit great on them. I asked about tailoring places close and the lady said that a lot of Dutch clothing shops have a tailor in them! I assumed it was going to be super expensive....At least I would charge an arm and leg for that kind of service. However, she said it was only 7 Euros and they would be ready next Friday! That's cheaper and faster than the states for sure. Very excited for my new cute jeans. My mood picked up considerably.
2. One of the reasons I was in a stinky mood was because I knew I had to go to Ikea at some point. I am not a fan of Ikea at all. Why people bust on Walmart and not Ikea is beyond me. At least Walmart employs people to put together your furniture. Anyways, I figured it would be packed, uncomfortable and just generally loud. So I put it off longer, came back to the apartment, unloaded my goodies and then walked to the grocery store street near my house. I accomplished several things on my list during this trip:
a. I got 2 vases! So excited about that. I really couldn't wait until Monday to get the vases I have coming. I also think the vases I have coming will not work for the flowers here :)
b. I went to the grocery store, got some chicken, vegetables and fruit for dinner. I'm grilling the chicken right now on my little in apartment grill (next to stove). SOO handy. We'll see though when it comes time to cleaning it up. I then went to the bakery and got some rolls for dinner too. I also found a fish shop, a meat shop and a produce shop so I can avoid Albert Heijn for those things from time to time. AND A CHEESE SHOP!
c. I couldn't go home with vases and no flowers. I found a great floral stand just down from AH and bought some beauties. 10 Euros for this:
c. I woke up and found that my jeans had a mysterious stain on them from who knows what. I dried it into them too...my favorite pair :(. I found a place that looked like nice women's clothes with nice ladies helping. I tried on a pair of pants....and they had short sizes! Given their short was still too long, but the waist fit great on them. I asked about tailoring places close and the lady said that a lot of Dutch clothing shops have a tailor in them! I assumed it was going to be super expensive....At least I would charge an arm and leg for that kind of service. However, she said it was only 7 Euros and they would be ready next Friday! That's cheaper and faster than the states for sure. Very excited for my new cute jeans. My mood picked up considerably.
2. One of the reasons I was in a stinky mood was because I knew I had to go to Ikea at some point. I am not a fan of Ikea at all. Why people bust on Walmart and not Ikea is beyond me. At least Walmart employs people to put together your furniture. Anyways, I figured it would be packed, uncomfortable and just generally loud. So I put it off longer, came back to the apartment, unloaded my goodies and then walked to the grocery store street near my house. I accomplished several things on my list during this trip:
a. I got 2 vases! So excited about that. I really couldn't wait until Monday to get the vases I have coming. I also think the vases I have coming will not work for the flowers here :)
b. I went to the grocery store, got some chicken, vegetables and fruit for dinner. I'm grilling the chicken right now on my little in apartment grill (next to stove). SOO handy. We'll see though when it comes time to cleaning it up. I then went to the bakery and got some rolls for dinner too. I also found a fish shop, a meat shop and a produce shop so I can avoid Albert Heijn for those things from time to time. AND A CHEESE SHOP!
c. I couldn't go home with vases and no flowers. I found a great floral stand just down from AH and bought some beauties. 10 Euros for this:
Come on, that's just giving it away.
3. I came back and realized I was putting off the inevitable. I got the car out and went to Ikea. Driving was easy - no issues getting there. Parked in the garage on the roof where it was only half full. It was just as I expected. Cramped, uncomfortable, loud and no service. I wandered the furniture floor, where everyone pushed and shoved to write down the number for a book case that will last about a year. Because my low expectations were met, I really can't complain too much. I found a chair that I like for my living area that I know I don't have coming. I also found a coffee table that wasn't too bad. I didn't find a bookcase, but I must admit I got tired of furniture after the search for a coffee table and chair. I moved down to the household items. I found lamps, which I bought. I'm not entirely sure I can assemble them, but I got four of them to play with tonight. I also found light bulbs for the lamps, extension cords and power strips. I figure those will come in handy at some point. I found wine glasses (6 for 4 euros), so I got them. I don't have that many coming, so I figured if I'm going to entertain guests, I might as well. I also wanted to drink a glass tonight out of something other than a tea glass. Just doesn't taste right. Worth it
4. Back to the furniture. I got to the warehouse area and chickened out on it. First, I don't know for sure the coffee table will fit in my car. Second, the footstool was only available for the chair...the chair I wasn't quite sure how you get it. I think it gets delivered? No idea. Anyways, I thought it through and decided I could do a second trip at another point because I now know exactly what I want which is really 65% of the battle. I'm hoping I can talk J and K into helping me at some point in picking it up and then maybe putting it together??? I know I will owe them, most likely my first born will have to be named J or K (gender appropriate obviously). Its a price I'm willing to pay. Where is Johnny Angel? I need him to pick up and assemble Ikea furniture.
5. That's about it. Dinner tonight turned out fabulous. I got the itch this morning and decided to book my December weekend trip. I'm doing Vienna Dec 14-16...then most lkely flying home to Houston right after that. I got the hotel and the flight done. Just need to decide what I want to see. I'm excited about the Christmas markets and general Christmas happenings in Vienna. With any luck, there will be some snow on the ground, Christmas carolers on every corner and a hot Austrian will take me to dinner and dancing (ballroom of course) on Saturday night. And he will love my Ugg boots. A girl can dream.
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