Victorian women didn’t have pockets or purses to carry their “necessaries”. Instead, they used an “Etui”, a small ornamental case that could be worn around their neck, or they would have “Chatelaines”, a decorative belt hook with hanging chains attached to useful household items such as scissors, thimbles, watches, keys, etc. You’ve probably come across one or two of these little beauties at antique stores.
But did you know that many of the sewing chatelaines included a tiny spoon? No, they’re not coke spoons.
The spoon was actually used to remove ear wax to smooth and strengthen the thread as they were sewing!
On a random website, a cute pair of shoes appeared that could be purchased at Walmart for a mere $14.99! I have enough shoes for the zombie apocalypse, but, well, they were cute and only $14.99!
My size was unavailable at our local Walmart, so I opted to have the shoes shipped to the store. This way, I could save $5.99 shipping and stop when in the area to conserve gas.
I chose to pick them up two days later, after dinner with old friends. I arrived and the pickup area was so far in the back, I should have brought a snack for the trip.
I expected an associate at the desk, but the floor was deserted. A large kiosk announced I would need to “check-in”. It took me a couple of tries because I didn’t know how to “erase” wrong information, had to look up my order number, looked at a few Facebook posts and organized my wallet as the screen timed out. I began again, as an employee (whose parents surely were first cousins), bangs through the double doors to my right. He states, with a toothless grin, that pickup closes at 8:00 pm. My phone showed 8:03 pm.
So, I headed out and stopped to look at the other shoes on the messy display. Cute walking shoes. Oh? I do plan on walking with all this retirement time on my hands, so why not?
Whoa, whoa, whoa! That Pioneer Woman tablecloth is so pretty! And those rattan charger plates would look so good with the new tablecloth. I needed ammonia, but that would have to wait for another time because I couldn’t carry another thing.
Normally, I demonstrate self-control when shopping (okay, that’s a lie. My husband has to physically restrain me most of the time), but give me credit forreturning “Bob Ross, The joy of Painting, Chia Pet”, back to its shelf.
I went back the next day and feeling like an expert, I entered my information into the kiosk. I quickly received my shoes and headed out. Again, I didn’t have a shopping cart and could only carry the ammonia, table runner, cross body purse and an autumn wreath to the cash register.
The decision to pick up my original purchase was to save money on shipping. Total spent at Walmart during this quest: $108.46 (that is not a typo, my friends).
The other day, I successfully managed to navigate the Social Security website, so I felt ready to be challenged with another daunting task.
My favorite cement-colored handbag needed a good cleaning before storing it for winter. There were no care labels, so I tried leather soap, then Murphy’s Oil Soap and even an artist eraser, but surface dirt and scuff marks didn’t budge.
I tried to think of a cleaner that was gentle yet tough. I thought of makeup remover wipes and then my thoughts moved to facial cleansers. We praised micellar water in our post “Feel like a Fancy French Lady or Gentleman”, but would it work? I simply put some on a cotton ball and started wiping. The results were immediate! Even the blue dye that had transferred from my jeans disappeared–and there were no “clean” stains!
I then put more on a fresh cotton ball and began searching for something else to clean. I wiped my phone screen–but the great results only came after I polished with a cloth. It did feel really nice! How about my makeup brushes? Yep! It cleaned my makeup brushes by dipping and wiping each brush on a paper towel.
After some quick research, I found other clever uses. Micellar water will:
Spot clean makeup mistakes using a Q-Tip
Remove fake tan slip-ups–between your fingers, on your knees, heels, and elbows
Remove and clean false eyelashes
Erase makeup stains transferred to clothing
Revitalize suede
Repair cracked powders, blushers or eyeshadow—Add a few drops, smooth into cracks and shut the compact overnight
I’m out of here to clean my eyelash curler and flat iron!
