It’s time to catch up on a few loose ends. When I wrote about my search for the “perfect” purse, I promised to report back when my order arrived from eBags. That was months ago – sorry! I can’t say enough good things about my experience with eBags. The site was easy to navigate, the purchase easy to make, and my bag arrived in just a few days. It was totally worth the price – under $50 including shipping. I’m still using it. I was warned in a post on The Closer blog that the tote had some white stitching and that if I didn’t care for it I could color it black with a Sharpie, which is exactly what I did! The bad news is that the new model on eBags has lots of white stitching. The good news is that J.C. Penney has the original one for even less money. I don’t usually skimp on purses, but I’m not going to pay hundreds of dollars for one just because it has some designer’s logo printed all over it. My “Closer Bag” has three sections, lots of pockets, holds file folders, and it works for me and that’s all I care about.
The pack is back! One of the best things I ever bought for entertaining was a Party Pack of wine glasses from Costco a couple of years ago – 18 glasses for just under $20. You can buy decent, inexpensive wine glasses at Cost Plus and sometimes at Pier 1, but they don’t come in a handy storage box like this. Something I learned from the Costco management is that Las Vegas is a “test market”. That’s why products come and go and then, if they make the cut, return several months later.
I’ve been waiting anxiously for the first Martha Stewart food product to appear in the freezer or refrigerator case at Costco. You won’t believe what finally showed up – a ham! Of course it was tastefully cloaked in muslin with her name all over it, but it was still a ham.
Hard to believe, but it’s been two years since I covered Las Vegas outlet malls. Last week I spent some time at the Premium Outlets at Grand Central Parkway and Charleston. There is more parking (thank goodness) and there are new stores including Burberry, Kate Spade, Diesel and more coming throughout the summer.
Next week I’ll be shopping in Washington, D.C. Keep the light on for me.
