Lost in E-notion

I've always said that India is like Vegas.  Every time you go, it's a different experience.  My most recent trip was all about shopping.  For three weeks.  Dream.Come.True.  It was Mr. Bean's dream come true, too.  Three weeks of shopping with someone else's money.  It was a win-win. 

Ever since I met my friend Julie's life back in 2003, I demanded offered to go to India with her to shop for her wedding.  Because of that, if it had been up to me, I would have married her off a long time ago just so that I could have done this trip a lot sooner.  But, it was definitely worth the wait.  Having been to India before, I was somewhat prepared with what to expect.  If you've ever shopped in India, you know that it is also a roller coaster of emotions.  You leave here thinking you know exactly what you want but once you get there, you are flooded with options and opinions. Or you can't find what you want. Or you find something so amazing, you forget what you wanted in the first place. Or you just simply run out of time.  But, if you know me, you know that I love a good roller coaster.  Well, actually I don't.  I scream my head off on the real ones. Let's pretend my roller coaster statement makes sense and I'll move on.

The worst part about India, for me, is that I could spend my life savings there and never think twice about it.  But that's also the best part.

 

The moment I stumbled upon this gem - a stall filled with trims and notions for sari's - I wept a little.  It was so beautiful to see. This is definitely one of the top 10 craft wonders of the world. 

 

Each one of those spools is 9 meters of trim.  Those shelves are about a foot deep, too.  Do you see my dilemma here?  Having my craft room look like this store? Or saving for a rainy day and all that crap?  I don't know.  Too hard to decide.

This is also where I curse airlines and their 50 lb per luggage rule.  And now most airlines are only allowing one check-in.  The torture!!!  I could have bought that entire stall and still went looking for more. 

The colors and patterns were amazing.  I would just sit and stare and imagine all these lovelies in my craft room.  This guy clearly did not share my enthusiasm. 

Now, my friends, I've got to confess something.  And I'm not proud of it.  But I've made my bed and now I must lie in it.  The thing is, seeing all these trims and notions actually overwhelmed me to the point of not buying much.  Seriously.  If you've been in my situation before you know exactly what I mean.  My biggest issue was that the majority of the shops I stopped at were wholesalers, so I had to buy in bulk or 9 meter increments.  I knew I didn't have much room in my luggage to actually bring everything I wanted back.  And since I couldn't buy in small quantities or in one or two meter increments, I just left it there.  And now looking at these pictures I can pick out at least 10 that I should have told myself I can't live without.  I hope I can still maintain my street cred as a craft hoarder.

So, I had a bunch of other pics to post for you today, but I somehow deleted them.  So, I'll leave you hanging on the edge of your seats - humor me here - and I'll post some more pics on Monday.  Until then, I've got a long weekend ahead of me!  By the way, the title of this post is a play off this song.  That was one of my jams back in the day. Awwww yeah.....