BlogHer: The Stuff

In between hanging out with the people, you wander around and collect stuff, more stuff than anyone needs.

I recycled a fair amount of stuff in the very excellent swag swap room, or I just didn't pick it up in the first place. I re-packed one of the (many) tote bags with a whole mess of stuff to give to my sister-in-law who had gotten me an awesome room at a cheaper rate than the Hilton, in a hotel far swankier than the Hilton (and with better elevators). But I carried enough stuff home to feel like I needed a sherpa.

Stuff that mystified me:
• An 8 ounce sample of interior latex eggshell paint from Martha Stewart, in "sultana". I mean, if I were thinking of painting something in my house, a sample size container of paint could be useful for color testing, but I'd like to choose the color myself. I think they'd have been better off handing out coupons for a free sample - paint's kind of idiosyncratic, in a way that dish detergent isn't.

Stuff that I loved:
• The paper punches from Martha Stewart - something that I'll love playing with and would never in a million years actually buy.

Stuff that my kid loved:
• The flashing ring.
• The HexBug and its corral.
• The pile of blank books.

Stuff that Niobe loved:
• The Demeter Play-Doh perfume.

Stuff that I totally needed:
• A box of tampons, because I was bleeding like a stuck pig, though I don't really understand why they need to be pH correcting - should I have been listening to the sales rep?
• More moisturizer with sunscreen because one can never have too much of a good thing.

Stuff that my kid will love when I surprise her with it later this week:
• The Nintendo DSi XL from the Brand About Town party.

Stuff that my husband loved:
• The box of chocolate covered mint oreos that he ate in one sitting.

Stuff that kind of irritated me:
• The iPhone charging receiver dock that doesn't work unless you have the PowerMat to go with it. Granted, I probably shouldn't have the dock thing anyway, because I inadvertently crashed a party and didn't get the swag bag which allegedly had the PowerMat in it because I wasn't on the list, but in my defense, there were two parties going on in the same general suite and I was invited to the other. How was I to know which was which?

Stuff that absolutely nobody needs:
• Mouse pads shaped like detergent bottles and alarm clocks with sausage on the dial.

Stuff that's going in the so-called gift closet for later this year (i.e. Christmas):
• I'm not telling, because my sister reads my blog.