I should start by saying that it is a rare day when a blogging-related freebie hits the Hebden household...which is partly due to the offers I get (not only do I never wear sweatpants but the thought of sweatpants with slogans or cartoon characters on their posterior makes me break out in a cold sweat...as this is the case the offer of free sweatpants, featuring the aforementioned ass-slogan, are not going to tempt me)...and partly due to the fact that I want my posts to be honest (if I say I like something it's because, surprise, I actually like it). Having said that, I recently accepted the offer of a gift card to check out Marshall's Cube...a new-ish section of the store that features, to quote their site, "the styles and brands you luv at prices the malls can't touch - together at last in one super-hot boutique".

So, armed with my gift card, I dragged Mr. Heb off to the largest Marshall's in our area and...couldn't find a thing. Actually, once inside the store we couldn't find the Cube itself...which is bad as Mr. Heb is over 6'7" and can usually be counted on to spot anything. However, we persevered and finally spotted a large "U" on top of a display stand...once we'd shuffled a few feet over we noticed a "C" and "B" mounted on similar stands...our powers of deduction being almost Holmesian, we concluded that the "E" must have been loitering around somewhere in the vicinity. We had arrived...only to be faced by a sea of teen clothing or, as Mr. Heb put it, "they do know you're out of high school, right?"...we retired defeated.

Working under the maxim "if at first you don't succeed...", I decided to try a slightly smaller store. And, with the perverse timing that I am known for, selected Christmas Eve as a good time to try the experiment. Every other store I had gone into that afternoon had been silent as the grave so I thought, why not? Allow me to tell you...it turns out every other store was quiet because everyone was buying last-minute gifts at Marshalls. But I don't scare easily...plus, I knew how to find the Cube area this time. I reconnoitered the racks...found more teen clothing...dug around a bit more...and came across a blue and grey striped top which had potential to morph into (my version of) the Rachel Comey top I mentioned a few days ago. More searching, in Marshall's regular racks this time, yielded a man's plaid shirt...way too large but just the colors that I've been looking for...a lot of work without a sewing machine but I think I can hack away at it to create a shrunken version.

All of which leads to the inevitable question, "will I be going back?" If I were a teen, definitely...as this isn't the case, possibly, as the store has the potential for "finds"...and DIY supplies...oh, and Jelly Bellys near the cash register.