I had a birthday on Saturday, and I must say that I had myself A Time!
(Although any recounting of my definition of "A Time" will definitely reveal that I am middle-aged and not exactly living on the edge.)
My day began with a jaunt to Brown County. If you're not from Indiana, you need to know that Nashville, Indiana, in Brown County is commonly referred to simply as Brown County and is to our state what Asheville is to North Carolina. And if you're not familiar with Asheville... well, we could go on all day like this. Suffice it to say, it's a community of artisans who make lovely arts and crafts. The good stuff. The expensive stuff.
(The stuff I can't afford unless I buy a really small piece of it - like a handmade quilt for Barbie instead of one for Deborah.)
Now the wonderful thing about this kind of place is that they often have stores that sell supplies to the would-be artist. And, in my case, there are two: Wishful Thinking and Paper Trix. And what do they sell...?
Unless you've never been to this blog, you should have a really good idea of what they sell because I am not fond of shopping. Nor am I fond of driving 90 minutes to get to that shopping. Unless, of course, we're talking about rubber, ink and paper. Then I respond with the fervor of a new convert approaching Mecca.
For a variety of reasons, it was decided I should go alone, and by 9:00-ish I was out the door and on the road. The sun was bright, the day was warm, and I was shrieking I'm Walking on Sunshine! along with Katrina and the Waves as I bounced up and down in my seat.
Yep. That's me Livin' Large these days.
I usually go to Wishful Thinking first, but I managed to make such good time that I actually got a choice spot in the free parking lot - which is right next door to Paper Trix. So I decided to be daring and switch things up a bit. I managed to restrain myself nicely, although this is purely a matter of opinion. My idea of restraint in these matters is probably the height of criminal lily-gilding to Spouse. (This is why I spare him such details - no need to send the man into a coma, right?)
I spent a great deal of time mulling over the sale paper. I didn't actually buy anything for myself, but I couldn't resist buying a few odds and ends for the Inpsiration Reward Blog Morsels. (Which is really crazy, if you think about it. The whole idea behind these card kits is to give away supplies I already own that are gathering dust.)
Can we spell A-D-D-I-C-T?
I also purchased a number of 6x6 pads of paper - some Basic Gray, Memory Box, SEI, etc. They were having a sale on their Christmas stamps, so I purchased two of those, and a Bella stamp, a Maya Road pasteboard book and kraft envelope set, and some fancy-pants chipboard shapes. At Wishful Thinking I got a birthday discount - a truly awesome deal, I might add! Their policy is to give you a discount equal to your age on your birthday. I bought a 24-set of Twinkling H2O's with my discount! I also bought one of the new Tim Holtz dies, a Ranger Distress reinker, and a magazine.
When I got back into town, Spouse and Gigi took me to dinner and gave me a gift certificate to Archiver's and a logic puzzle magazine. And a store-bought cake with buttercream icing!
I love store-bought cake with buttercream icing, you know.
We finished the day by piling up on the couch and howling over Napoleon Dynamite.
All in all, a fantastic birthday!
By the way, I'm not sure how all y'all at the Flickr Group and Facebook knew it was my birthday, but thank you so very much for your kind wishes! They made a great day even greater!
Sounds like a perfect Birthday to me!! Glad you had a great one!
Hugs,
Vanessa x
Posted by: Vanessa Menhorn | March 22, 2010 at 07:56 AM
Sounds like a wonderful day, Deborah!! My idea of heaven is when I can shop all by myself. And by the way, here's how we knew it was your birthday: http://www.google.com/calendar/render?tab=mc&gsessionid=RF_T7ER_CLPYD502lHBvoA
Posted by: Lin | March 22, 2010 at 08:51 AM
What a wonderful day! I am totally liking the discount based on your age! Makes getting a year older much better! Can't wait to see what you creat using your new supplies!
Posted by: stampersuzz | March 22, 2010 at 09:48 AM
A happy belated birthday to you, Deborah! It seems like a perfect day to me!
Posted by: Agata | March 22, 2010 at 10:07 AM
Yea so happy to hear about your day Deborah and all your goodies etc. Hugs,Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Racoosin | March 22, 2010 at 10:45 AM
sounds like an awesome day deb. Happy belated b'day.
Posted by: julie | March 22, 2010 at 10:50 AM
Glad you had a wonderful day for your birthday Deborah! You did say 'blog' instead of 'shop' b.t.w?!! Craft shopping 'alone' now that is enjoyment!
Posted by: Jacqueline | March 22, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Thank you all for the birthday wishes!!!
Deborah
Posted by: Deborah Nolan | March 22, 2010 at 12:10 PM
Glad you had a fun-filled birthday and one that involved some rubber!
Posted by: Susan McRae | March 22, 2010 at 04:24 PM
I'm so glad you enjoyed your crafty shopping spree on your birthday (I would so totally score with that birthday discount..I wonder how much you get for "older than dirt"?) And what better way to top off your birthday celebration than with Napoleon Dynamite and cake, sounds like the perfect day! Here's to many more perfect birthdays.
Posted by: NancyK | March 22, 2010 at 06:28 PM
so happy to hear that you had a wonderful birthday! can't wait to see what you make with the Tim Holtz dies!! =)
Posted by: Alice W. | March 22, 2010 at 07:13 PM
Sounds like the perfect birthday Deborah. Of course if we follow you on Facebook our wonderful events diary tells us..... can't hide anything in these days of "e" everything. But it is nice to think we remember things this way ( the ole brain on it's own fails every now and again!!!)
Posted by: Dawn T | March 22, 2010 at 08:10 PM
I am so clueless when it comes to Facebook. I have an events diary? Does it send auto notices, because I could use something like that!
Deborah
Posted by: Deborah Nolan | March 22, 2010 at 10:23 PM
Happy belated Birthday Deborah :D. I am so glad that you had a wonderful day. It sounds like you had a fantastic day xoxoxoxo
Posted by: Paula (pajalu) | March 23, 2010 at 02:58 AM
Glad you had a great day. Loved your post about it. You bring a smile to my day. Thanks
Posted by: Janet Ribet | March 23, 2010 at 04:00 AM
Belated happies Deborah, glad you had a great day... just to let you know that I also like to howl along to 'I'm walking on sunshine' whenever it comes on the radio! Jo x
Posted by: Jo | March 23, 2010 at 04:01 AM
Glad to hear your day was so great, Deborah!!!
Posted by: Anette H | March 23, 2010 at 01:20 PM
Sounds like you had the perfect birthday Deborah! Glad it was such a fun day.
Posted by: Heather Maria | March 28, 2010 at 01:11 PM
Hi, Deborah! What a terrific birthday! Sounds like a perfect day! :-)
Posted by: Anne Gaal | March 29, 2010 at 12:04 PM