Last Friday night, Shaun walked up to me, dropped a prepaid rebate card we’d gotten in the mail in my lap and said, “You have the day off tomorrow. You’ve worked hard taking care of the kids while I’ve traveled a lot, and you were cooped up with sick kids all week, so take this and go shopping or get a manicure or go see a movie. Or all of the above. Come back whenever you want. You deserve it.”

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{Rebate card: check. Super cash: check. Time to get my shop on!}

I’m pretty sure I looked like a surprised fish as my mouth opened and closed several times without any sound coming out. I mean, Shaun’s been known to do pretty ridiculously awesome things before, but I just wasn’t expecting this one at all.

I think I said something like, “I would argue but…I’m not going to.” Followed by several cartwheels around the living room.

Just kidding. I’m not nearly flexible enough for cartwheels. But I did wiggle my toes quite happily. I have expressive toes, y’all.

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On Saturday, I got up at 6:15 to meet up with some friends to run seven miles.

Because that’s a totally normal thing to do on your day off, right?

It was a glorious day for a run, though, and, as I have recently discovered that I don’t hate running nearly as much as I have always thought I do, it was quite an exhilarating start to my day.

Right up until the moment when I got in my first ever honest-to-goodness fender-bender (with me behind the wheel), and the woman jumped out of her car with her phone camera blazing, snapping shots of every angle of everything. That wasn’t my favorite.

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This is:

a) my expression after being told that I had at least 12 child-free, paid-for hours at my disposal

b) what I decided I had to do instead of cry after getting in an accident on my day off

c) my reaction to the ridiculousness of attempting to take pictures in the middle of a windstorm.

d) how excited I got when I finally found that military jacket ($20 from Old Navy) I’ve been wanting for so long

e) all of the above

The rest of the day was spent browsing shops at a very leisurely pace (I might or might not have spent 2 hours at Marshall’s), eating in complete and total peace and quiet (although, how I ended up at Chick-fil-a with no children in tow, I’ll never know)…

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{Mmmmm….waffle fries}

…and getting the world’s longest (read: oddly slow) pedicure that resulted in mismatching big toenail shapes, which I’m trying not to look at because the sliver of me that is OCD twitches a little every time I do.

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{Why, oh why, wouldn’t you file them the same shape and length? And why, oh why, didn’t I notice before I left?}

As a result of my shopping “labors,” I scored this sweater and jeans from Old Navy with coupons for about $20. The purse is from Urban Outfitters ($20) when they had their extra 50% off sale blowout before Christmas, and the stripey shoes are from Marshall’s ($16) about a month and 1/2 ago.

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{It is my considered opinion that every girl needs a pink purse at some point in her life if it can be accomplished}

The day ended with a yummy meal I didn’t cook (courtesy of my awesome Mama, brother, and sis-in-law) and lots of snuggles from my sweeties.

As I’m sure you might have already gathered, it was pretty divine. I felt recharged (and a wee bit jelly-legged) when it was over.

Pink purses be darned. Every girl needs a day off every once in a blue moon.

What would your ideal day off consist of? Mine was pretty darn close to perfect (minus the fender-bender, of course), but I would have loved to have squeezed in some reading and writing time. That was my fault, though, for taking too long hunting for bargains. Other than that, it was sublime.

0 Comments

  1. Awh! That’s an awesome idea – great husband! I’m glad you had such a lovely day to yourself. 🙂 I, also, am quite enamoured of that purse!

  2. How wonderful! I’m so glad your husband did that! I love reading posts like this. I have been searching for pink pants and a blush bag. I think pink is going to be big this spring. I have a kid free Saturday coming up and I can’t wait! Great finds, BTW.

    L,
    Vicky
    Come link up with me at Whatcha Wearing Wednesday! http://www.themummychronicles.com

  3. 1. I love pink purses, I totally agree
    2. I got that coat recently too and am so in love, and your original post on military jackets did help spur me on in my quest to find one.
    3. I continue to love reading your post each day – my blog lovin’ feeds get full of others but your is always read right away. Thanks for having such engaging posts!
    4. Love your new hair cut! The boldness is a great decision, super fun.

  4. What an awesome. It’s special he saw what a fab mama you are and how much you do for your family. Sounds like you had a fabulous day.

  5. My hubs and I make date nights a huge priority, but we rarely get out of the house solo. As much as I love being home, my day off would have to be out of the house or I would never relax and stop doing things. 😉 It would definitely include at least some window shopping and probably Panera’s! If I had a friend with me I might see a movie . . . would you believe I’ve never gone to the movies alone?

    Such a sweet idea on your husband’s part!

    1. I love going to the movies alone (although I almost never do), but I think of myself as weird that way, so it doesn’t surprise me that you’ve never been. I highly recommend it sometime, though. It’s pretty fun! 🙂

  6. I’m going with e, it’s a “just one of those awesome amazing unexpected weird blessed kinda day” expressions lol my youngest is 6 months and I get my first half kid free day Saturday thanks to my amazing mother in law oh and I did do cartwheels. ..fyi still sore 3 days later hehe so happy you had a great day minus the fender bender

I love hearing from you guys!