The One That Got Away

Last night the hubs and I took our monthly trip down to the good ol U. S. of A. Man I love that place. I bought FOUR containers of fat-free feta cheese. Four BIG containers. Why? Because a) we don't have fat-free feta up here, and b)what costs me $10 in Canadaland costs $2.50 in Americaland. Blows me away. I will never buy feta in Canada again. Ever. I also scored some suuuuper cheap 2 buck chuck wine from Trader Joe's. It's not the best in the world, but it's tasty enough for "wine o'clock" emergencies. And again, considering most wine in BC starts at $10 a bottle, you can't beat a 75% savings! Other things my American friends should be thankful for? Cheese in general (we buy cheddar and parm down there at again, 75% less), milk (50% less), tzatziki (75% less), chicken (50% less) and butter (60% less). And did I mention the discount stores! TJMaxx, Ross, Marshalls, etc etc. I want to be a little angry and jealous inside, but I must say that not having them here makes it a huge treat when we do get to visit them in down there.

Now onto the real reason of this post. I have a minor light fixture obsession. At the designer warehouse sale I attended last fall (still have to do a post on that sale!) I came home with 4 fixtures, 2 shades and 3 table lamps. For a small townhouse, that's a lot of light. Since moving in, we have added a pendant above the sink, a chandelier above the dining room, changed out 1 flush mount, and added chandeliers in all 3 bedrooms. The only place without a real fixture to call it's own is our small entry way. So when I saw this baby at TJ's my heart started pumping real fast.

OH. EM. GEE. Ain't she beautiful? I don't even know what it's called, but I'll call it a chrome pentagon pendant (although it looks to have more sides than that) or maybe a honeycomb? Any ideas let me know!

Anyways, I fell in love with her the instant I saw her. And when I looked at her price tag I loved her more. $38.99. The "compare at" price was $499. EEEEKS!!! How could I say no? I tried to stuff it in my cart, but it was already overloaded with other things. I put it back down. And I thought long and hard. And then I walked away. Well, first I had to show the hubby what I was walking away from so he would be proud, and then I walked away.

How could I? Well, I did self impose a spending restriction this month. My Already Own April is supposed to help tame the spender in me, and cultivate the user of things already owned in me. Plus, it was pretty big. And it had a really long bar (so it would hang really really low) which might have been able to be cut down to make it a flush mount, but I didn't want to take the chance. Also, the fact that it was so steeply marked down made me worry it might not work. And we don't have a TJMaxx around the corner to return it to, so big potential hassle.

Should I have just gone for it? I'm starting to regret not buying it. If you live near Bellingham, Washington, hop in your car right now and go buy it! She deserves a good home. Here's a fixture I found online that looks VERY similar.

Super cute, right? You can buy it here for $1040. YIKESABEE! Now I'm really wishing I had bought it.

Another thing we walked away from? This adorable shirt. We are a touch obsessed with our wiener dog, so it was a big deal not to buy this. But it was too small for hubby and too large for me, so at TJ's it stayed. I am slowly starting to realize I don't need to buy EVERYTHING that has a wiener on it. Although I really want to.

Anything big you've walked away from and regretted? And am I certifiably insane for leaving that pendant behind?