Black Friday Shopping Plans

Let me start by saying, I’ve never done the wake up early and camp outside a store thing on Black Friday. And I’m certainly not starting now, in the middle of a pandemic. Instead, I do the majority of my shopping online… and “Black Friday” seems to start anywhere from the week before Thanksgiving to the week after. Basically the deals start coming right near Turkey Day and then keep going and going until Christmas arrives.

With all that being said, I do have a list of stores/items to check out on Black Friday for any super special deals.

  • Rothy’s: For the last couple years, Rothy’s has released a limited-edition shoe on Thanksgiving. And BOOM it sells out by the end of the day. This year, there are rumors that a plaid shoe is coming and if one drops this week I’m snapping it up because I would love a plaid pair of points!
  • Olaplex: I’ve been using the Olaplex system for the last few weeks and I LOVE the shampoo (No. 4) and conditioner (No. 5). I’m planning to pop by the Olaplex website and also check out Ulta and Sephora to see if there are any deals so I can score some refills.
  • Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask: I’m out of my favorite face mask and I’m planning to check if it’s on sale on the Tata Harper site, Nordstrom, Ulta and Sephora.
  • UGG Cardy boots: I’ve been eying the UGG knit boots lately because I think they’d be a nice, taller alternative to my slippers when the weather gets colder. They’re normally $150 though, so I’m hoping I can find a pair on sale either on the UGG website or on Nordstrom.com
  • Video Games: Jack has a few different video games on his Christmas list, so I’m going to check out Target, Walmart, Amazon and GameStop to see if any have reduced prices.

Are you planning to do any online Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping?

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A Very COVID Thanksgiving

Source: Photo by Preslie Hirsch on Unsplash

With the pandemic still ranging, Thanksgiving is going to look a little different this year.

In years past, we would have the family over to our house. We would drag an extra table into the kitchen and bring in basically every chair that we owned to seat everyone. It’s not a super big group, but 11 or 12 people really fills our home. After a huge traditional meal of turkey, and sides and various kinds of potatoes, and hard cider and all the pumpkin pie, we would then retire to the living room to watch a movie, yell over each other, or play TV games like Jackbox.

This year, we are planning to have an outside Thanksgiving around my parent’s bonfire pit. Rather than having big bowls of side items, I’m planning to make my fruit salad in individually packaged bowls. Instead of dressing down in short sleeves as I try not to melt making a bunch of different dishes, we will be bundled up in layers depending on the weather. Of course, in Maryland we could have anything from a mild day in the 60’s to snow… so who knows what to expect.

Of course, we aren’t in charge of weather so we have a ‘rain date’ of Friday if Thursday turns out to have nasty weather. All in all, I’m pretty excited about having an outdoor picnic around a roaring campfire. An outdoor picnic with PUMPKIN PIE!

Speaking of bonfire, we also have plans for a Thanksgiving weekend bonfire with the other side of our family. I’m trying to keep it as ‘easy’ as possible by providing s’mores makings and having it be BYOB for drinks. We will put some chairs and benches around our fire pit for a visit with Travis’ sisters and their spouses. To keep things as safe as possible, I plan to separate s’mores makings into baggies for each family group to grab. And I’m also planning to bleach the heck out of our downstairs bathroom once everyone leaves.

I know that everyone’s Thanksgiving is looking a little different this year — whether you are having it just with those who live in your house, getting together with your small COVID pod, or having a small get together socially distanced and outdoors like us. However you plan to celebrate, please be as safe as possible. Wear your mask, don’t double-dip and wash your hands!

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My $13 Slipper Refresh

I don’t know about you, but an integral part of my telework style is slippers. Even in the middle of the summer, I’m rocking my LL Bean Wicked Good Moccasins. In normal times, I’ll add the slippers to my Christmas list every other year for a replacement, but this year has been extra hard on my pair.

After just a year of daily wear, the fluffy wool lining on my moccasins was getting threadbare. The rest of the slippers still looked fantastic, but the insides were no longer “wicked good.”

I suddenly remembered that I had purchased an extra pair of boot insoles and threw them in my Shoe Care box (it’s a random box of various insoles, shoe stretchers, and black shoe polish that lives in my closet for shoe emergencies). And OH MY GOSH, I totally have to thank Past Joules for having Future Joules’ back… because I plopped the insoles in my slippers and they are HEAVEN!

These are the exact insoles I used: ABUSA Sheepskin Insoles, Men’s & Women’s. I usually wear a size 8.5 or 9 in shoes, so I purchased the Women US 9 size and they fit perfectly in my size 9 slippers. I didn’t bother removing the existing insole/bottom of the slipper and just shoved them on top of what was already there. The wool is very thick and fluffy and they basically made my slippers feel brand new.

In fact, I love them so much I just ordered a couple extra pairs. I figure I’ll add a pair to my most worn winter boots, and also throw a pair in my Shoe Care box for Future Joules to enjoy! I might even order a couple more to use for stocking stuffers this year, because who doesn’t love warm and comfy feet?

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