I'm Cuckoo for Coconut from The Body Shop

I'd just visited Sephora on a recent Friday-after-work shopping trip (the best way to end the week) and came upon The Body Shop a few doors. The Body Shop opened at The Mall last year and, despite the fact that I really like their products, I'd never visited. The Body Shop is my airport store--it's the best thing about being delayed in terminal 3 at CVG.

But since I had nothing to do but go home and watch a What Not to Wear rerun, I decided to pop in and sample some products. The first thing I tried was Coconut Milk Body Lotion. It is amazing. The smell is delicious and authentic--not that icky Hawaiian Tropic-like fake beachy coconut. That's because the lotion contains real organic cold-pressed coconut oil and coconut milk. It's a spray-on product with a thin consistency, not a rich creamy lotion, but it penetrates quickly and softens well. I've used it on my arms, legs and hands daily since I bought it (and I can't stop smelling myself.)



My intense love for the lotion had me back in The Body Shop on another Friday night to see what other coconut lovelies I could find. The sales associate handed me Coconut Body Butter. This same product was mentioned in the June issue of Lucky I just received--associate editor Cat Marnell called it her "absolute favorite beauty product of all time." (Lucky devoted a whole page to coconut products. I'm so on top of things, fellow shoppers!) The Coconut Body Butter is thick, rich and the best thing that's happened to my heels in ages. I've been slathering it on my feet at night and waking up ready for sandals.


I also picked up Coconut Bath & Shower Cream. It produces a yummy lather with the help of my shower puff and makes me and the whole bathroom smell like a treat.


The delish aroma of all these coconut products made me want to eat coconut, so purchased a pint of Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean. If you avoid dairy like I do this is the most satisfying treat imaginable. Cheapy could not tell it from regular ice cream. Note that coconut still has plenty of saturated fat so I wouldn't recommend downing the whole pint while watching a chick movie. (Not that I would ever do such a thing.)

Shoe Shopping with Cheapy: DSW

I'm starting to think I might have to change my husband's blog persona from Cheapy McMeiserberg to Spendy McShopalot. He keeps planning dates that involve shopping. Last weekend it was boutiques; this weekend evening shoe shopping. (This was after an day of Old Navy with Cheapy Jr. and shopping for an office furniture. We were almost getting to the point of too much retail even for me.)

Cheapy/Spendy has a habit of over-scheduling. His Saturday night plan: babysitter arrives at 6:45; we go taste wine; hit DSW and the Gap at one shopping center; go to Aveda and Macy's at The Mall; have dinner.

We tasted wine, shoe shopped, and went to the Gap for 10 minutes. Cheapy had no idea how long it can take to wend one's way through the two-floor expanse of our beautifully lit and well stocked DSW store.

Cheapy bought two pairs of shoes for himself, one by GBX (his Favorite Shoes Ever!) and one by Timberland. I must say I like Cheapy's taste in footwear. (I happen to think there are not a lot of attractive options when it comes to men's shoes. The lack of footwear options is one of the many reasons I'm happy to be a girl. That and I don't have to shave daily, take out the trash, or walk around with a penis, but I digress.)

During our evening of shopping at DSW, Cheapy had a shopping milestone: It was the first time in his life he's ever purchased two pair of shoes on the same day. (I also think it's the first time he's ever purchased two pairs of shoes in the same year.)

He was on a shoe-shopping high. He was so excited about finding a GBX shoe that he wanted to walk around the store and look for shoes for me. Somehow I walked out with the closest thing DSW had to stripper shoes. They're Michael Kors does stripper shoes in ivory patent leather with a bit of a vintage feel. They're just like the ones pictured below except instead of cork, the heels and platforms are navy and ivory striped. They're very tall but very comfortable, and I let Cheapy talk me into them despite the fact that they're ankle straps and I hate ankle straps. (I'm actually thinking about taking them to a shoe repair and having the strap shortened so they become slingbacks. I love slingbacks.) The fact that these are so light in color, however, makes them an acceptable ankle strap for someone my height. In black or something dark they would cut my leg off at the ankle. The ivory blends enough with my anti-tan that they work. And I've got a perfect pair of shoes to pack next time we go to Vegas.


P.S. Cheapy is still really excited about his shoe purchase. He told me he was in a good mood all day because of his new shoes. He was excited that he got a couple of compliments on them. He said several times throughout the day he took a few moments to just stare at and admire his shoes. I think he's starting to understand me.

Wine + Cheapy = Winter Coat Shopping

Last week, for some odd reason, Cheapy made a declaration: "You need a new winter coat, a black one." I'm not sure what came over Cheapy (besides that he's not fond of my pink coat), but he went so far as to make a shopping plan. He found a babysitter, and told me for our date night we would stop at the wine store to for some tasting so that he would be buzzed enough for retail, we would go to The Mall to buy me a coat, then we would see a movie. Material Girl did not object (and wore the new Anthropologie sweater--which Cheapy loved).

After about half an hour in Macy's (an eternity even for an semi-intoxicated Cheapy), we settled on a Jones New York wool/alpaca belted number. It's got some nice details such as a nubby fabric that's a little more interesting than your average wool coat, and buttoned tabs near the bottom of the sleeves and shoulders. There is also seaming running down either side of the front of the coat that makes a longer and leaner appearance. The belt nicely defines the waist and the slash pockets are useful for warming the hands (I find flap pockets annoying in this capacity) and also work to make the waist appear smaller since they add some curve at the hips. (Have you gotten that one of Material Girl's goals in dressing is to make her waist appear smaller?)

The cost of this classic coat that I'll wear through numerous winters to comes? MSRP: $380, Cheapy: about $150. (It was on sale plus Cheapy opened a Macy's charge to save 35% which he will promptly pay off and close. Cheapy loves to do this.)

Addendum: I googled my coat (which I wore today and is oh so warm!) the day after we bought it and found the exact coat in both black and brown (only came in black at my Macy's) at SmartBargains.com for way cheap ($118.98). I don't know anything about this site and haven't shopped there--any fellow shoppers familiar with it?

How Does This Happen?

I stopped at The Mall at lunchtime to grab some cheap sunglasses and I left with a dress (and squinted on my drive back to the office).