Pack Rat

I admit, I am a rehabilitated pack rat. I liked to horde all sorts of things. I despised throwing anything away. I convinced myself those holiday card from 1992 or the stack of 3.5 floppy disks sitting in my desk drawer would be of use sometime in the near future. Unfortunately for us, my husband was the same way. We were destined for rehab or anonymous support groups for chronic pack rats. That was until we moved into our tiny apartment on the UES. It was utter f’ing chaos and I knew I had to reform my ways. Knickknacks – gone. Clothes from high school – gone. VHS and tapes – gone. Graded pop quizzes from the 5th grade – gone. Pictures and memorabilia of exes – way way gone.

Yet now I still notice me falling back into my old “hordish” ways. My coworker had the most amazing lotion (Yes people – I’m easy to please) by Laura Mercier. The fragrance of crème brulee filled the office every time she moisturized her hands. I had to have it. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a purchase I could run down to CVS a pick up for a few dollars. Oh no! This was a decadent pleasure overpriced at $60 available only at Bloomingdales. I justified this ridiculous purchase by convincing myself I would live like a cheapskate from then on.

Yet now I owe a $60 bottle of lotion that I feel too bad to use. After a few days of silky soft hands and the lingering smell of a French bakery I realized the bottle would not last forever and unfortunately like Serendipity’s $25,000 dessert “Frrozen Haute Chocolate” this wasn’t something I was willing to spend my hard earned money on.

Now Ms. Mercier’s product sits on my bathroom shelf only to be used sporadically. I’m not going to lie – I’ll probably have the same bottle for next ten years. Sad. Very sad.