Happy places

You know the expression go to your happy place. I think that's usually meant as a mental happy place as opposed to an actual location. Where you retreat into your own head and remember happier times or think happy thoughts and I get that, really I do. I'm sure I've done a guided mediation thing at least once that involved something along those lines. I have however recently realized my happy place is an actual location. And no it's not a tropical island or a fancy spa which is really good considering the fact that if that was to be the case then I would never get to go there. 

So here goes, as banal as this sounds my happy place is tkmaxx. Now once upon a time it used to be my favourite bookshop where I could happily spend an hour or two surrounded by books wishing I could fill a trolley with as many as I could fit in there. Then some fool (me) decided to go and get a job in there and somehow being there five days a week has taken away it's potential to sooth me. Probably because I am not exactly encouraged to spend time browsing during work hours and as soon as my work day finishes I'm out of there.

So times change and I guess that means my happy place is not fixed, just at this particular moment in time I find a quick trip to Tkmaxx calms me. I think it's the potential for bargains can sometimes make the whole experience feel a bit like treasure hunting. On some level (okay many levels) I am still a big kid and there's something quite appealing about the thought that if you look really hard then you might find the perfect gem of a thing at a bargain price. And If I find something I really like and see that I'm getting it at a third of usual price then I will be practically weeing myself with excitement as I hot foot it to the till.

Now I leave clothes shopping to the days when I feel really dedicated to the cause but honestly it can be a bit hit and miss and you want to have your elbows ready for when other shoppers get pushy. I find I am often not in the mood to look at 60 tops just to find one I really like. So when I go there, and it seems my trips have gotten more frequent. I find myself circling the toiletries department and no I don't have a problem. I might just need four different types of shampoos and 6 types of shower gel. You know, so I have a bit of choice in the mornings. My shower has not been this well stocked since those few months I spent in college working in Boots. You never know what sort of gems are lurking among the fancy soaps and face creams. Just the other day I got Yves saint Laurent mascara at half the usual price (which was the only reason I could afford it) and I narrowly avoided doing a little cheer when I found it.

Apparently this makes me a nerd but my second favourite place in Tkmaxx is the home section. This is a true story. Even though I used to slag my mother mercilessly for how she used to linger there on the hunt for Egyptian cotton sheets  and yet somehow I always seem to end up in some corner debating buying myself a new mug. I have quite the little collection going at this stage. and I have a feeling with the new store opened in Clonmel I am going to find myself with a very nicely decorated apartment.  There was a time when I was forever buying sweet treats from the shop but now it's notebooks and other stationary and there's no way to say this without sounding like an old woman but I am in the market for a really nice tea pot. Yes I really said that, not to worry because I am in there so often I am sure to find one any day now.

So other people can keep their happy places but as for me I'll be down in tkmaxx getting myself a lip gloss I really don't need as a quick pick me up