Review of the Crave Party and More Effects of the Recession

Last night I went to the Crave Party, which is a shopping event hosted in Seattle.  You pay for a ticket (I paid $15) and then you get to go around from booth to booth shopping the wares and trying out some new products.  I am sure they charge vendors for the booths (since they are promoting their stores and selling their merchanidise), but I must say that even thought the ambience and decor was nice--it was pretty lame!  There was about 20-30 booths, there wasn't very many free goodies/samples, and there weren't many good deals either!  The best part was the salons that had free services (eye brow shaping, hand massages, chair massages, hair touch-ups, etc).  I had a chair massage from a therapist named Cindy from Derby salon.  She was very good and if Derby were even remotely close to my home or office I would go see Cindy.Since the Crave Party was so lame, we then decided to hit up Macy*s to see what they had on sale--and almost everything was discounted.  It was unbelievable how many 40% off signs we saw in the store.  In addition the clearance racks were full, and despite it being holiday time the store was very empty (I am sure this was also compounded by it being a Wednesday night).  There were no lines for any dressing room, and finding someone to help you try on shoes was a breeze.  I ended up buying some Gabby Sofft shoes (a brand I had been wanting to try) because my poor little feet were sore from 4.5 inch boots.  They were a great buy, since I got them for $41 out the door, and are black and classic--moreover they helped alleviate my tired soles which made a few more hours of shopping possible. Update (6/1/09): So I ended up donating these shoes to Goodwill.  Turns out that the little patent leather on the suede trim totally chaffed my little feet.  I tried lots of things to fix it but without success.  I won't be buying another pair of these Sofft shoes.  BOO!I also bought a couple more pairs of nude fishnet stockings (the sexiest thing a woman can wear to work in my opinion) and my other big purchase (well big being $29)--black "patent leather" leggings.  These leggings are so hot and I cannot wait to to wear them with some cute high heels.  The only problem: I am still so self conscious to wear anything that skin tight.  I have been thinking about some possible out fits I can make out of my closet to wear with my new purchase.  Here is a magazine pictures I found via Google Images (I couldn't find the source) with some ideas.  Mine go down to just about my ankle so I am leaning towards and over sized tunic and cardigan, although a dress might look cute too.  I have also seen some girls wearing them with knee high boots and tunics.  Another look that could be cool would be to pair them with shooties/booties instead of pumps (although pumps definitely help elongate the leg). Even though I bought some leggings and shopped a little I am still really worried about the recession.  I am fortunate to work at a good company, but it feels like no job is really safe these days.  I am not sure what I would do next if something were to happen, but I hope that everyone in my life (and outside of it really!) can keep their heads above water.  Things are really worrisome since they are expecting another big wave of lay-offs and business closures throughout 2001.  I am very thankful for all my blessings though.  Make sure you are watching your money and saving your pennies--that is the only way to really get ahead.