Domesticity WEEKEND #4: I Got The Hookup... and the Shoes to Match

(Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I decided to put it off until today due to extenuating circumstances.)

Five Little Splurges that I Made This Week

- Netflix, online: Now that I have the DVD player, I found it serendipitous that I would find a Free Trial Offer coupon in my Sunday paper. Okay, so technically it does not count as a “splurge,” but lemme tell ya - building up that queue is highly addictive, and it gives me the chance to rent movies that I've missed beforehand, not to mention exercise videos that I've been meaning to try (ahem).

- Wal-Mart, Keeaumoku: No, I didn't buy any clothes or makeup this week, and the reason why is because I spent $20 on a “hookup kit” - wires and adapters that actually made it easier for me to connect my DVD player to my antiquated TV that doesn't even have an S-video outlet. Result: brilliant picture quality (no yucky color-filtering discrepancies, where Aishwarya Rai or Will Ferrell would be overly lit for one moment and shot through ketchup-coated lenses the next) and better sound, even with standard-feature TV speakers. Also, I bought new batteries for my Discman.

- Gap, Ala Moana: The clothes didn't excite me here, either, so I ended up going straight to the clearance rack at Gap Body, where they were selling candles for $3.99 (down from the original price of $12.50). I got one in “Give Good Love,” which is purple with a pretty floral scent. Very calming.

- Lush, Ala Moana and Waikiki: Resistance is futile! Since I was still getting used to my Friends-by-way-of-anime hairdo, I bought not one, but TWO solid shampoos. The Seanik bar looks like a round-molded musubi with blue-tinted rice, but it's cleansing, moisturizing, and smells like a dream. Picture hanging out on a summer afternoon at your friend's new house in Tantalus, Portlock, or Lanikai, and enjoying the fantastic view from the jacuzzi under the plumeria trees in bloom; that's the best way for me to describe the fragrance of Seanik. The Soft shampoo (in a fluffy, wax-free chunk) is made for soft-water areas and smells more herbal and fresh, but it also made my hair bouncy without drying it out completely. I also got a Ceridwen's Cauldron bath melt, which I plan to use later as a shower moisturizer.

(Remind me to tell you later about the biker guys who walked into the Waikiki store looking for the Sex Bomb, which was sold out that day. Seriously, watching them shop at Lush was just the cutest thing, ever.)

- Ross, Fort Street Mall: Steve Madden rubber platform slippers, for $5.50, with fabric flowers on them. The thick rubber sole was just what I needed after wearing out the ones I got at Old Navy, but the black netting detail on the fabric flower was what sold me over the edge. Really cute - though better looking in person - wihout screaming "Look at me, I'm a cute rubbah slippah with flowers!"