Last night, Kiddo had a mishap after brushing her teeth that ended in our faithful old soap dispenser breaking beyond repair. After doing our best to convince her that we don't mind, we set forth to find a new one online.
The old one was a stroke of good luck. The one we received as a wedding gift didn't come out of the move to California in great shape, so I had been subconsciously looking for something that would work when I happened upon the perfect one at TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning (same idea, same general housewares, different ends of the parking lot.). I slapped down my five dollars and ran away before they realized I liked it so much, then set it up at home. It's been a trooper for the last ten years, and I had acquired a toothbrush holder and bowl for bar soap that coordinated, but did not match, at the thrift stores. They are all the traditional blue and white china look that is dotted throughout my house, mostly represented in lucky finds at garage sales and thrift stores, as well as goodies presented by friends who were clearing out.
If this were an ordinary time, I would just hit the thrift store on the way home from Renaissance Fabrics. I would find something that was okay until something amazing came. Or something amazing would be sitting there. It would set me back about ten bucks, and I'd probably find some spectacularly unnecessary silver items and a fabulous skirt or something on my way to the checkout. Could have been fantastic. Stupid worldwide pandemic, stepping on my thrift store karma.
Instead, I hit up the websites. It's a bit of a shock when one transitions from hand-me-downs and thrift stores to normal commerce. "They want $75 for something that holds soap?" I snorted, scrolling through my options on Williams Sonoma (home of the $75 option), Etsy, Target, Walmart, JC Penney, Amazon, EBay, and finally, a general Google search. I finally landed on one that was not too expensive, coming from what looks like a medium-sized company that caters to would-be interior designers. We almost settled on an automatic one, but Tiny will be potty training in the next two years, and I don't want a bizarre soap mound created by a toddler who discovers she can make something happen by waving her hands.
I had kind of forgotten that normal people have that much matching stuff in their bathrooms. We don't use cotton swabs or cotton balls in the bathroom, so we had skipped needing their holders. We had also missed the memo that our toilet brush holder was supposed to be a style statement. We currently have a toilet brush holder that proudly states: "We clean our toilet regularly. We shop at Ikea. We are cheap, but not super cheap." I hope that Kiddo can still get into a good school, and that if that good school is on the East Coast, that she shan't be shunned from good society for her parents' bizarre ways. After all, we're already behind the curve for not having lit candles in our bathroom, as Fuzzy is sensitive to scented stuff and I'm convinced I would set my hair on fire mid-necessity. Well raised children are probably terrified by us.
I finished Kevin Kwan's Sex and Vanity today. He likes to parody the tendency of the wealthy to get wrapped up in brand names and trendy buzzwords. I caught myself wondering what kind of soap dispensers his characters use. The mind reels.
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