No Dyson

I am actually getting stranger by the day. The last time I filled you in, I was fulfilling my duties as a domestic goddess making broccoli rabe on a Sunday morning. The past 3 days have brought on a new type of madness: Vacuum Mania. I announced to Bryan on Sunday that I was in the market for a Dyson. This meant absolutely nothing to him. So you can imagine his surprise when we visited my favorite store in existence (Bed, Bath, and Beyond) and he noticed the price tag on these gems. "$600???!!!" he screamed. "Uh, YEAH, that's what they cost...we have a dog," I explained. "There is no universe in which it would ever be ok to spend $600 on a vacuum...pick another one, preferably in the $100-200 range. That's as high as we go in this household," he said.

I could've argued that I'd pay for it, but I really wanted to use our gift cards...with "our" being the operative word. So I vowed to do some research for a less expensive vacuum that wouldn't leave us living in Maggie's fur.

In addition to the BB&B visit that resulted in some great purchases: drawer dividers and a shoe rack (yes, I've become nuts with organization), Bryan insisted we go to Target to purchase a 40L simplehuman (the brand) trash can. This would've been great as we had a Target gift card to burn, too, but no Target within a 25-mile radius had this trash can. I know this because we went to ALL of them (for the record BB&B had them as well!).

We were also on the hunt for a couch. Bryan took the lead on this as he has very high expectations - a sectional that includes a chaise lounge, top-notch comfort, and no giant pillows that he'll throw on the floor (ok, that last one's mine). We made multiple stops, but ultimately fell in love with one from the Cindy Crawford Home Collection at Rooms to Go. Not one to make snap decisions, Bryan said he wanted to continue to shop around and think about it. (As of last night, he was still talking about that couch...).

The crazed hunt for the perfect trash can eventually came to an end at our 6th Target stop of the day when Bryan decided he might want to get a 6-pack of Gatorade (ironically at about 6 o'clock). This prompted me to cry, "THE RED CARPET IS ON AND I'M HUNGRY! FOCUS!". I get cranky when I haven't eaten and am missing celebrities on the red carpet. Dejected, we had no trash can for our kitchen. But I did get home in time for the Oscars!

By Monday, I had done my research and selected the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser vacuum. In price comparing, I found it for $150 at BB&B (compared to $190 at Macy's...Macy's is on my bad side anyways right now, so I had to laugh at the $40 difference). And don't forget, since BB&B is the best store in the world, I also had a 20% off coupon. And where did I get the trash can? You got it...BB&B! (I got such wonderful customer service, too, I could just go on about that store forever).

Yesterday, it was Tomboy Bride vs. Machine when I had to assemble the aforementioned vacuum. But assemble I did (with The Bachelor on in the background) and I was off and vacuuming!!! Two thumbs up so far for this vacuum. I cleaned the cylinder once after vacuuming the living room - after 9 days, there was already a ridiculous amount of fur. I've actually even started taking Maggie to the backyard to brush her daily. So I'm on it - the experiment is for me to vacuum today and see how much hair I pick up (I'm not expecting much in 24 hours...). Then I'll wait 72 hours and check out how bad it is on Saturday. If it's completely gross, I'll settle on vacuuming every other day.

I have gotten so nuts about this that I was even using the attachments yesterday to vacuum the stairs (and yes, I grew up watching my mother vacuum stairs and always thought it was a waste of time). Not so! I also read that you can vacuum Venetian blinds - why didn't I think of that?!?! So you know what I'm doing later....

Finally, in the most dramatic personal change that has occurred - even more shocking than morphing into a neat freak - is the fact that Bryan and I are going to Pike this weekend (the Garden store) and I'm am PSYCHED!!!! I have a LIST already made of the things I want there. Most notably, I'd like to pot a plant that our next-door neighbors brought over for us the other night to welcome us to the neighborhood (how sweet is that?!). They are gloriously fragrant lilies (my favorite flower)!

I'm hoping to get Bryan to help me set up our office this weekend (I've been asking him for days now!). I'd also like to get our artwork and pictures on the walls. Overall, we're quite set up! I did make a Dollar Barn run the other day for small baskets that I've now used to organize my bathroom cabinet (on my Mom's suggestion). I am feeling the compulsion to go back because I'd like to get our detergents/stain removers organized by baskets, too, in the laundry room. I may be getting less tomboy-ish and more Sandra Lee in my old age. Oh Heaven help us, I'm going to go read an issue of "Country Living"!