The first TPM store purchase I made...

There's a lot of TPM retrospectin' going on the Star Wars Prequel Appreciation Society (see linky in bar above my page) and I posted about the very first thing I bought in the stores. I'd already bought stuff like a shirt, a hat, and of course, the two movie posters from the Official Fan Club, but the mass retail merch wasn't going to be available until May 3. But some stores cheated and put a few tidbits out early. Some unlucky fans who tried to buy the items were stopped at the cash register when it rang up as "do not sell." But others, like me, managed to get away scot free.

For some reason, I went to a K-Mart in Fairfax, VA one day in late April 1999. As I walked past the kids' clothes section, a blue tie-dyed Queen Amidala t-shirt caught my eye. It was really cheap, like $5.99, and it was a neat design. I fished out the largest one they had, since it was the little girls' section, and gleefully headed for the checkout line. Woo hoo! Best of all, the shirt fit. I still have it too ;).

OT: Thank you, St. Anthony

I hate buying expensive sunglasses because of my rotten habit of losing or breaking the darn things. In fact, it seems like the cheaper the sunglasses, the more likely I will keep them for years 'n years. Take the no-namer sunglasses I bought in Paris back in 2000. It was about $40 U.S. and I still have it. The $10 Wayfarers knockoff I bought at Nordstrom last year will probably end up an heirloom.

But the Chloé sunglasses I got for $80 (retailed originally for almost $200) at the Saks Fifth Avenue outlet four years ago went MIA in 2006. The worst thing about it is, I don't even know how I lost it! It just vanished.

At the same Saks outlet a few months ago, I found a pair of Lanvin sunglasses for $120 that originally retailed for about $300. Because I had a 30% off coupon, it was a great deal. I know my record with expensive sunglasses, but I really liked it. So what happens after I visit Trader Joe's yesterday? Poof, vanished!

I was pretty ticked. Again, I had no idea how I lost them. Then I thought of going back to Trader Joe's after work to see if there was any off-off chance somebody found the sunglasses and turned it in to the store. Lo and behold, it was at the manager's office! Woo hoo!