my recent finds and all my time

I feel like the days are just getting away from me lately...and I never have time to do everything I want to do.  Like write on this blog.
'What does she ever find time to fill her day with?!' you might be asking yourself.
Aside from being a mother to these littles:

making brownies

and my wifely (is that a word?) duties that fill my every waking moment, here are a few other things I am doing to keep myself busy, that you may or may not know:
-taking a medical terminology class online through Boise State.  Although it doesn't take up as much time as the History class I took last semester, learning about the male anatomy, diseases, and the digestive system are TIME CONSUMING.  My whole goal is to someday earn a degree...but I'm on the 18 year plan.  Awesome.
-cooking.  There is a single male student that has hired me to cook meals for him.  I know it's strange.  But it works for us.  Please direct any questions/concerns you have (and most people do) to the comment section. 
-moving.  I should probably be working on this more than I am.
-organizing.  Although I have taken a month-long hiatus, I was spending every Tuesday at my aunts house....helping her organize.  We started in her craft studio...let me just say, I only wish I had before and after pictures.  We moved on to her garage, kitchen, office, and bathroom.  It may sound boring but it's not...it's thrilling.  Seriously, I love label makers.  Again, direct all concerns to the comment section.
-thrifting.  Ahhhh, my true love.  Enough said. 
Speaking of, here are a few of my recent finds:



looks so perfect on my green piece



club pot...it was just calling my name at the goodwill.  i will NEVER leave clubware unpurchased for any reason. ever.  especially when it's robins egg blue. and perfect. 

vintage green jewelry box....lined with cream velvet. so sweet.

Other than thrifting, I do have other things that fill my time.  Like the following story (if you don't have at least 10 minutes, stop reading now):

Back in June I decided my family room was in serious need of a face lift.  I started obsessing over considering a 100% wool looped rug at Target (wool rugs give any room a face lift...I have 6 rugs in our 3 bedrooms house...it's kind of like the throw pillows.  and chairs).   It was called 'exploded floral':

It had the perfect blend of colors.  It was contemporary, and was a totally different direction than the leopard print rug I'd had since 2001 (seriously). 
I knew there was no way I could pay full price... not because of the cost, but because it really goes against everything I believe.  I started watching for a sale.  In August, it finally came.  I purchased the rug, and could not get it home fast enough. 
By October I was devastated to find that my rug was a total.piece.of.crap. 
Several loops had come out, despite my neurotic system of gently shoving them back into place late at night...I really did this every night, once the kids were in bed.
I decided that a $200 rug should be better quality, so I returned it to Target.  Because I was within the 90 day window they exchanged it, no questions asked (love Target).
With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I lost track of time and just realized last week that my once beautiful replacement rug...looked like crap. Again.  I called Target and was told that it was a warranty issue because I was outside the 'return window.'  I spent almost an hour on the phone with Target customer service, trying to track down the manufacturer information.  The guy at customer service, we'll call him 'Luke' (that might be his real name), was unhelpful at best.  He could only provide me a company name and had no phone number.  He suggested I 'Google them' to try to find their information.  When I told him I'd like him to remain on the line while I 'Googled them,' he told me that he could not, because it was again their policy.  I almost lost faith in everything Target stands for...great customer service and overall awesomeness.
After some time on the computer, I was able to track down a company phone number in Georgia (which seemed strange, seeing that the company was based out of India).  I was beyond frustrated at this point for wasting so much time on the whole ordeal but left a voicemail with no expectation of a call back .
I got one though...at 5:16am.
I obviously was not coherent enough to answer the call, but they left a voicemail asking me to call back, which I did. 
No answer.  Again.
I left a detailed message explaining my issue with the rug, and the time zone I was located in.
The next morning I got a call back at 7:00am...better, but still too early by my standards (don't ever call me before 8:00am).
Long story even longer...
'Ron' (also maybe his real name) was the buyer for Target rugs.  He listened, was helpful, and agreed that a rug of this quality should be holding up better.  He asked me to email him pictures of the snags on the rug.   He promised to forward them to the company in India.  You're probably thinking what I was thinking, 'Uh huh...you go ahead and get the email to the 'company in India' and I bet they'll jump right on it and get back to you.'
Later that day I received an email that said:

Good morning Tracy,

My India team has reviewed the photos and can see the snags and tufting pulled out.

Please scan the Target receipt and send it via e-mail to me.

We will send you a check for the entire amount paid for the Exploded Floral wool rug including taxes.

Provide an address on where to send the check. We hope this resolution is satisfactory to you.

Regards,

Ron

Perhaps I'm a cynic, but I doubted that my check would actually show up.  I really doubted the 'company in India', Ron (despite his helpfulness), and Target as a whole at this point.

Low and behold, Monday morning a check showed up in my mailbox.  For the entire amount of the rug.  Not only did Ron ensure they refunded my entire purchase, but insisted I keep the rug!  I am still in shock.

So the moral of the story (not that you asked) is that it pays to be persistent.
And after writing this LONG blog post, I think I know where all my time went last week.....
But it was worth it. 
And Target still is awesomeness.  Even moreso now (due in large part to Ron). 
xo,
tracy
ps: what should I buy with my money??  Probably another rug.