Hard Habit to Break

I was at Sanrio Surprises at MegaMall last weekend, drooling at a very nice, if expensive, teeny weeny purse. There were so many nice things on display that my head was set on “SPIN” the entire time. (I was going to put in a picture of Linda Blair’s head turning 360º on her shoulders but I figured I’d be the one having nightmares later on.) My budget was shot after buying Christmas presents from the Toy Kingdom sale but I did bring home a couple of great stuff- a Hello Kitty Christmas diorama (on sale! how lucky!)  and a Hello Kitty diecut wristpad. I wish I could have spent more. I wish I could have brought home that purse I was ogling at. But, alas, with the holidays coming up, the List comes first before my own wants. 

I used to be a complusive Kittyholic. I emphasize the words used to be, because I hope I am not that way anymore. For years and years, I I hoarded almost everything I could lay my hands on, splurging on things that caught my fancy even without much thought. I even spent my the better part of my birthdays inside Gift Gate! Below is a picture taken just this year on my birthday; my birthday “date” for the last five or six years has been my friend Ms. Jo Pantaleon of  Gift Gate/Sanrio Surprises.

Controlling my Kitty impulses hasn’t all been that easy. With age comes wisdom, or so I’ve always hoped. As I grow older, I have become more discriminating with the Hello Kitties I collect. These days, I no longer feel the nagging pressure of having to own everything stamped Hello Kitty; I can look at one and appreciate it without buying. That’s how much my sense of shopping has matured in the past year.

It’s always a compromise- my desire for Hello kitty and the “functionality” and “usability” of these things in my life. The things I like looking at are often not things that function well with my life so even as I desire them, I  must always go through a mental checklist to weigh the costs of ownership.

  1. Can I use it?
  2. Wll I use it often?
  3. Do I have a place for it? 
  4. Can I afford it?

If I answer YES to all, then the purchase is almost always guaranteed. Even just one NO changes the balance of the entire thing.

If  there are things I’ve given myself permission to own, however, it would be Hello Kitty clothing and shoes. Who doesn’t need shoes and clothing? And since I need them more as my body shape vacillates, this particular form of Kittymania is perfectly reasonable and absolutely excusable. 

My husband got these for me recently at Torrid, haven for the plus-size Kittyholic. Our local Sanrio stores carry only regular sizes so I am hardpressed to find anything in my size. Fortunately, there’s Torrid to fill in the need. 🙂 I do have to thank my sister’s husband’s brother for carrying these home for me on his recent trip to the US to visit their mother. Thank you, John and Alexis! This Kitty momma ♥ you to bits!

I love all these shirts but I love this one most especially- ooohhhhh! Hello Kitty….Zombie!

I wish I had this on last Halloween, haha. It would have made a great conversation piece. Then again, my HK “Jamaican Me Crazy” shirt was a hit so it worked out for the best. 🙂

I knew these were coming so I had been waiting for them. But A never lets me off without a surprise so guess how the shirts came home?

In this cutest bag ever!

Whatever restraint I mustered has worn off with this absolutely divine gift! I am gushing with cuteness! Ahhh, HK Shirts, shoes, bags and purses- I’m a sucker for them. Guess this habit is much harder to break than I thought.

The Mini- Reveal: More Kittymania

I just got a call a few minutes ago. Nanny D is free to go home! Yay yay yay! Her platelet count is back to normal and with no signs of bleeding, she can continue to recuperate at home. I heaved a huge sigh of relief.

I haven’t been sleeping well since she got sick last week. Aside from the worry over the burden of additional expenses (serial CBCs + the Antigen test + hospital bill- whew!), I worried about her being sick away from home and away from her parents who trusted us to care for her while she lives with us. And with her sick for almost a week now, waiting for the results of her serial platelet counts have driven me batty. My nails are chewed down to the nubs. 😦

But, today, a glimmer of good news came via the phone call from our physician. (Incidentally, this compassionate doctor also happens to be my sister-in-law. Remember Arielle, my niece, the facebook addict? I owe Arielle’s mom big time for the care and expertise she gave us gratis. Thank you, AteE! ) Finally, after five days in the hospital, Nanny D can come home. I bet Alphonse is going to dance himself silly today. He was looking for her all day yesterday; he even went down to the dark basement to see if she was “hiding” there. 

And so, with good news comes more good news in the form of – ta-dah!- KITTIES! *shrieks*

Here are the Loungefly bags I got from my husband. I hadn’t known these were coming. I think I just mentioned these bags in passing one day. I happened to have read about one Kitty lover who owned these same bags and how she received compliments about them everywhere she went, mentioned this tidbit to my husband, and quickly forgot about these. I saw the black one first, right below the Build-A-Bear dolls and screamed out loud “I love this!”  To which, he replied, “So you don’t want the white one?” as he pulled the other one from the box. Of course, there was more screaming after that, heehee. 🙂

There were totes and wallets, also from Loungefly… 

and iPhone cases in black and pink…

followed by Hello Kitty games like Monopoly (anyone want to play with me?), Yahtzee (I do not have a clue how to play this) and even Bingo. Bingo!

To cap it all off, there were also Hello Kitty shirts from Torrid to wear! I absolutely love these! 🙂

There are still some things inside the boxes I haven’t photographed yet. Some are private stuff, just between him and me (nothing naughty, I promise, heehee!) and will have to stay that way. The ones I want to share will have to wait a few more days until our household becomes normal again. I do hope it happens soon. I can’t wait to go out again to wear and use all my Kitty stuff.

Happy Kitty weekend, everyone!