I am a hypocrite

Steve suggested to me on Saturday night that we should take a trip to the outlet shopping complex -- Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth to do a bit of shopping. Two words, Gunwharf Quays and shopping, and my head was bobbing up and down in earnest and there was a grin that spread from the right of my ear right across to the left. But, there was a catch, I mean, not really a catch. The thing is because it is quite a popular destination, especially on a Sunday, we decided that we would have to wake up as early as we can, to get to Portsmouth for 10am so that we can get an early start and finish early before everybody decides to leave the complex all at the same time.

The clock moved forward early Sunday morning, which means that when we woke up at 8.30am, my body clock told me that it was only 7.30am - GO BACK TO BED, GO BACK TO BED !! Plus, recovering from my cold, I had developed this annoying cough and I spent half the night coughing and coughing so I was extremely tired and grumpy from lack of sleep. But, in the name of 'SHOPPING' I had to drag myself, and Steve, out of bed and by 9.15am, we were on our way.

When we got there, as we were going from shop to shop in the outlet place, Steve declared that he would get himself another pair of jeans.... 

For no reason AT ALL, I was suddenly convinced that another pair of jeans would take up too much of the already limited space that we have and announced to him that WE need to sort out our clothes and chuck away what we don't need or wear anymore. And not only that, I started pointing out to him which items of clothing I have not seen him wear and which was taking up 'valuable' space. Steve however, disagreed with me and said that he WILL NOT throw away perfectly fine items of clothing because he might need them in future... so needless to say, I wasn't happy at all and actually thought that he does not appreciate the effort that I make in trying to keep our space tidy.

I was about to launch into my second 'attack' when I got distracted by 'Paperchase', a stationery shop that sells extremely funky and cute stationery items. I stopped myself in mid sentence and dashed into the shop and went nearly hysterical when I saw the 'reduced to clear' section... within 5 minutes, I was struggling to hold onto the 101 items that I had picked up and intended to buy...after about 5 minutes or so, I did eventually calm down a bit and decided that perhaps I did not need a fancy diary 2010 coming up towards April; or a self-adhesive photo album since I don't print out pictures anymore; or a fancy and elegant floral journal since I don't write any journal entries; or a set of novelty stickers featuring cats since I'm not 12; or a pack of Pet Champz party tissue pack since I'm not throwing a party....

But, but when I came out of the shop, I did come out clutching a big bag of goodies. And still smiling (Steve had to practically drag me out of the shop), I was feeling great about the things that I had just bought when it hit me like a brick -- I had been such a COMPLETE hypocrite. Didn't I just launch into this whole lecture with Steve about how we're lacking in space?! And what did I just do? Buy a lot of stuff that I probably didn't need at the first place !!

But, but take a look at these pictures !!! And I can TRULY justify that I need all these items !!

As you can see (from left to right), I have a metal pencil case (a new house for my crochet hooks and pair of scissors); a passport holder since I'm travelling with two passports all the time; next to it is a lockable diary for my niece, and the bottom two packs are coloured gel pens and also multi pens and pencils, also for my niece. Now, as for that bag..... I just couldn't resist !! I know I have a laptop bag already and the last thing I need is another bag, but take a closer look....

Don't you love it?! I know it might not be your style but I L.O.V.E. IT !!!! Absolutely ADORE it !! And at half price, I just couldn't say 'No'. But Steve has a better idea, he suggested that since I bought other stationery items with the same theme for my niece, how about giving the bag to her to make a complete set?! ..............*SILENCE*.............. I mean I really, really love my niece.... but, but I just don't think I could do it. It hurts too much... I am still thinking about it, that's why I haven't removed any of the tags from the bag and it's still nicely wrapped in a plastic bag in the cupboard. Between now and May, I might come to my senses.... but for now, THE BAG IS MINE !!!

To make this hypocrite feel even more guilty, when we got home, after looking at the wardrobe, out of the 5 stacks of clothing we have, only 2 belong to Steve *gulp*. (which he gleefully pointed out to me)

Before I end my post, just a couple more pictures to share with you my lovely foody weekend in which Steve made all of my favourite food. 

These are terriyaki chicken on sticks and they are lovely. Steve used meat from chicken thighs so it's tender and juicy. Although we didn't have time to marinate them overnight, the rich taste from the marinade still managed to penetrate through the meat and they were delicious. We thought that we'll have plenty left after the meal but it turned out that we were more hungry than we thought so there were only two left and am going to have that for lunch today with my pot noodle *yummy*

 So at the same time we were preparing the terriyaki chicken for Saturday night dinner, we also started preparing this Chinese Roast Duck for Sunday Roast, first blanching the outside of the duck with hot water, and then getting the inside of the duck marinated with a blend of sauteed five spice and spring onion and hoi sin sauce.. and other bits and pieces, and then Steve had an interesting job of 'stitching' up the bum of the duck to prevent 'leakage' of the good stuff. Finally the entire duck was brushed with honey and vinegar before being put in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours. The result -- this picture showing the ready to be eaten version on Sunday evening and it was absolutely Y.U.M.M.I.L.I.C.I.O.U.S !!! and I ended up eating so much rice because of that !!! There goes my getting-ready-for-summer diet...