Confessions of a Shopaholic

Once on a plane ride, I actually think it was to Mozambique, I read a paperback book titled Confessions of a Shopaholic. I was embarrassed to be reading such a book and wished I could have hidden it underneath War and Peace. But, I was surprised at how good it was and how it made me laugh and how I had done so much of what the girl in the book had done. How she rationalized all her purchases and could “shop” anywhere. She always found something useful, rare, unique or absolutely necessary to buy. Sadly, I am a little like this.

 So now here I am in northern Mozambique and I am attempting to “shop” for my tiny narrow bedroom. This ain’t Buckhead. But oh what fun I am having and determined to do this well. It is a challenge, it makes shopping way more difficult, new prices, new currency, new terrain, new language. I am in my element. Shopping is shopping. Paris or Pemba. After measuring my room and the space that I had, I realized I was going to have to forgo my sketches (yes, I drew sketches) and reconfigure in my head. I had wanted an L-shaped sofa/bed since my bedroom will also serving as “living” quarters as well. I had torn out furniture pictures from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware and Horchow and Ballards, just to give the carpenters here ideas of what I wanted. I found a picture of a bench with cushions and three nooks underneath. I need storage and shelf space. I need places to put things that cannot be hung on the sagging rod in my closet. 

I bought hooks at Wal-Mart before I came and even drawer pulls at Anthropologie, in anticipation of my new space. I bought a set of 4 basic black hooks for $1.50 and Robin screwed them in my door for necklaces, a straw handbag, my nightgown and snorkel and mask. 

I found some great straw square baskets for cheap and decided not to do the bedskirt and bought enough to go around the edges of my bed. They are already filled with ibuprofen, sunscreen, insect repellent, and a 6 month supply of toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant. I am still in need of a desk for working and a place to sit other than underneath my mosquito net on my bed. I had asked around and was told there was only one place to go and it was out of town. I went this morning. All I remember is that the destination started with an M, despite the driver telling me more than once. It was kind of far out.  I think my left arm got sunburned. There were two places on the side of the road, across the street from one another. There were beds made of heavy wood and thickly stained. All the decorative trim was bulky and a few of the beds came with built in little boxes on the sides with locks! They were huge and hilarious. I overlooked what was on display and searched behind it all at the raw wood, in hopes of something different. I saw an unfinished door that might have made a unique headboard but I really don’t need a headboard. I crossed the street. My friend, Sophia came too. There I found identical, big, stained chunky furniture with drawers that stick. I didn’t ask about the beds but the chest of drawers were about $150. I am hoping my baskets will suffice. Plus, I have such a small space and don’t have room for much. I dug around a little deeper, mostly because we had driven so far and this place was my last and only hope. I would not get to borrow a truck again and this is the only place there is, unless you hire a carpenter and I still had yet to get a number or address or any way to contact one. I spotted a small end table. Unfinished and apparently left outside often. There were leaves and dirt in the compartment underneath and the drawer had no bottom and the back was made of plywood. The remaining wood was rare and unstained. She had potential. There were two. I asked the guy who came over and stood beside me, unsure of what to say to me, but patiently there in case I broke out in Portuguese.  And I did. Sorta. I asked if he had more. There were two more, overturned in the dirt, the drawers would not close. Sophia quickly joined the discussion. I tried to share my vision of the bench and told her how I liked the drawers and pulled out my brass Anthropologie knob and she laughed at me. Then we commenced to bargaining and got no where. They would not budge. The promised to fix all three of them and stain them and have them ready in 3 hours. I didn’t have three hours.  They were asking a little less then $20 each. They were pretty rubbish, but wood here evidently is expensive and takes a lot of labor to produce. So I have surmised. He will not budge. He ignores my bargaining pleas, just repeating his price and ignoring mine. His persistence won. I agreed to buy all three, with bottoms in the drawers, drawers that close and stained dark brown. Then I pulled out a piece of paper and sketched a desk- yay tall, yay wide, using his tape measure to determine just how many centimeters in would need to be. I sketched a drawer, without pulls, and showed him my pull from my purse. He didn’t laugh but he took it in his hands and looked at it long and hard before handing it back to me. He wanted 1500Mets. I talked him down to 1200. So I am hoping to have a desk custom made for $44 to just fit in the space between my bed and the wall.

I plan to use the three end tables in the space at the foot of my bed for a bench, and even brought fabric from home for seat cushions. Now I am on the lookout for foam. And tall vases. And a full length mirror. I can’t wait to see if this all turns out or not and if he is true to his word and does precisely what my broken Portuguese and spot on Charades instructed him to do.