SHOPPING AND LOVING IT

Yes, tonight, I am shopping and loving it. Not buying anything, just shopping. That is why I do enjoy QVC. When I want to shop, I can turn it on and shop to my heart's content. Today is the last Fashion Day before Christmas and so all kinds of things are being shown. And I am looking and longing and looking and longing. But not buying. The fun is in the looking, the window shopping. It is eye candy for the lover of clothing.

First, there are the Anne Klein shooties. Oooh, in red patent and 3 inch heels. I couldn't wear them at all. But they are gorgeous and make me long for the days when I was young and wore such things. Deep red patent .. oh my.

And then there is the Bob Mackie velvet burnout long blouse with long, full sleeves and a wonderful, intricate print in red and purples, ready to wear with the Bob Mackie purple velvet pants. I would love to have these for wearing during the holidays. Don't know where; but if I had them, I would find somewhere to go where this outfit would really shine. I love QVC's Bob Mackie designs. They are so fashionable, so glamorous, so elegant, and always so flattering.

There are the short pull-on suede boots with a soft lining that means they will keep your feet warm all winter. And with such colors: pale lilac, pale blue, grey, black, chocolate, all kinds of colors to keep feet warm for every female. And pointed toe, 3 1/2 inch high, croco print ankle boots. The pair in grey is to die for, but they all look great on the models who wear them with leggings and short skirts.

At two AM, they will be selling coats and at three, Quacker Factory. Jeanne Bice sells some of the greatest tees for everyday wear. They are made from a good fabric that washes and wears like a dream and she always selects the most luscious colors. I cannot wait to see what she has tonight; but I am not going to for I am about to go to bed and give up the shopping for the night.

But if I were up to it, I could continue shopping all night long. At five AM, I could watch Denim & Co and see the best fitting jeans to be found at prices we can afford and wonderful sweaters and sweatshirts that always look good with those jeans. And at 8 AM I could watch Susan Graver, the designer who got me started shopping at QVC. That is a story in itself.

In October of 1990, I had just begun teaching in a new school (administrators had moved several of us from 9th grade at a junior high to 9th grade at a high school) and of course, all of us wanted to put our best feet forward by dressing our very best. I had just learned how much fun it is to wear combinations of colors and I had some dark teal pants and a strawberry colored silk blazer. I wanted a pale lilac silk blouse to put with that. I had shopped all summer for short sleeved silk or silky shells in purples, teals, and fuschias. I had looked everywhere: shops, catalogs, everywhere.

One morning I turned on the TV to keep me awake while I got ready for school; and there they were. A woman was on TV selling exactly what I had been looking for and at a great price. Oh my. I hurriedly grabbed the phone and made the call. And that was it. I would guess that for the rest of my teaching career, I wore garments designed by Susan Graver and sold on QVC. And they looked terrific.

Yes, I admit, I bought entirely too many things. I still do. I can still wear those first garments I bought and they still look brand new. Their design is classic and so, they are not that out of date. A shell is a shell and a pant is pretty much a pant! And so, I absolutely do NOT need another new garment. Therefore, I shop and so not buy. I shop and get all of the kick from it that we women do have in looking at new things and imagining ourselves wearing then.

I do enjoy this kind of shopping. I love just seeing the every nice things, the beautiful designs, the gorgeous colors; and I enjoy seeing how the stylists have put things together. Every time I watch a fashion shopping show, I learn something new about using my older things and making them look new and up to date. And that is the practical reason for watching I suppose (as if I needed an excuse).

But now it is time to stop the shopping and take myself to bed. You all shop through the night and find something you cannot live without. I will see you tomorrow in time to watch Susan Graver at 8. See you then.

I AM IRONING

Yes, for the last three days, I have been ironing, steaming, and pressing. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? But you know what? I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I may continue doing this until everything is sleek and shiny and in the closet. (As opposed to being in a pile beside the ironing board or in a chair or at the foot of my bed.)

At least, they aren't still in the refrigerator. Back in the olden days, when people did things like sprinkle clothing and let them sit until they were damp throughout each garment so that when hit with the hot iron, they would smooth nicely, if one didn't get all of the ironing completed, the damp clothes had to be put somewhere so they wouldn't grow sour. The fridge was my favorite place. Those days are long gone.

Along with sprinkling, I no longer starch my white shirts, dry them outside on a line, and bring them in to be sprinkled and ironed with a hot iron. No longer do we have to have uniformly damp clothing to be ironed smooth. With the wonderful fabrics that we have these days and the terrific appliances we own, ironing is really a very enjoyable time.

I have in all of those piles are cotton and cotton/poly tees as well as cotton and cotton/poly shirts, and jeans and silk blouses and polyester blouses and all kinds of other lovely fabrics that come from the laundry looking fresh and almost ready to wear.

And I have the most wonderful appliance for taking out the few remaining wrinkles and leaving my garments with a lovely finish. I have a Rowenta 1800 watt professional iron with 100 steam holes. That thing breezes through garments like the trite old hot knife through butter. It is lots of hot steam right through those wrinkles. And I love it. I can make a tee or a pair of jeans look brand new in less than a minute and a silky poly blouse in not much more. Creases are sharp with just one pass and most things can be ironed while doubled and the steam goes right through and does its job. I do love it.

And why do I steam those tees? Those $12 tees from Wal*Mart look brand new each time I steam them; and the steamed ones that have had a little sizing sprayed on them first don't pick up stains and the short fiber cotton lies down and so that the tee looks as if it were made from long staple cotton! If I didn't get bleach on then while cleaning the kitchen, they might last forever.

I have completed a stack of ironing and I may well be half finished. Have no idea what tomorrow may bring other than rain; but I do inten d to complete this job this year!