Saga of the $0.39 Shirt

So the kids are still cute and all, and we'll have more pictures of them tomorrow, after Afton's birthday. I should have taken pictures yesterday, too, because when I was off having fun and cutting out material in a kid-free environment, Mat cleaned the apartment--he did the dishes, he mopped, he vacuumed, he even rearranged the furniture to make it feel roomier in the living room. He's the best!

But, for today, you get blog filler, a story from the past that's worth sharing at any time.

Today's Blog Filler:
A few moons ago, we got a mailer from the local mall. It claimed we got free things if we presented it at the Customer Service desk. We were bored and the kids were antsy to be anywhre but in the house, so we went to the mall. I went to the desk and was told that we got two $5 certificates--one for Johnny Rockets, one for Tommy Hilfiger. The Tommy Hilfiger one made me laugh and laugh. The mall is a Mills Mall, known for its discount stores, but $5 is still chump change at Tommy Hilfiger.

Move forward about a week. I decided to go back to the mall and pick up an inexpensive present for Mat's birthday (he got the more expensive present, the iPod shuffle, in March, so he could enjoy it longer). Took the THilfiger certificate with me, just for kicks.

In the store itself, I was feeling a little out of place, since I was in a skirt I'd made myself and a shirt I'd bought secondhand. But I browsed through the racks like I belonged there and was pretty much ignored by the salespeople after the initial "Is there anything I can help you find today?" approach. And would you believe it? Tommy Hilfiger had a discount rack. Actually, there were two of them. TWO! Who knew that TH discounted anything? And then, on top of the racks, it said that the discounted items were half off the lowest price on the tag. My jaw about hit the floor then. I closed my mouth and started digging, looking at the prices. Some of them were as low as $10, which meant $5 items. It was unbelievable.

The best part was, however, when I found a maroon t-shirt in Mat's size. With the discount, it was $5. With the gift certificate, all I had to pay was tax. $0.39. I paid cash. Never thought I'd do that in a designer clothing store!