not a drop to drink

::moans:: It's tax time here in the U.S., which means spending has come to a halt. Hubbs and I are only slightly concerned (read: confused and furious) about our taxes. I'm not a fan of the do-it-yourself online tax preparation sites. I feel that they leave too much room for error and can too easily confuse you. Case in point:

Hubbs used the site Tax Slayer.com. Usually we file via the military tax center because it's free and if there's an issue we have someone to fall back on. But this year he wanted to e-file. Problem #1: Tax Slayer wouldn't let him claim me as a dependant, which I am according to the Marine Corps. Problem #2: It asked us if we received a stimulus check for 2008. This wouldn't have been an issue, except it asked us the amount which we received, meaning we were claiming it. Had we known that, we wouldn't have accepted the check. Problem #3: It's telling us that (with the stimulus check in play) we owe $600. We are not in any kind of tax bracket that we should be owing the government! But, this brings up problem #4: When Hubbs removed the stimulus check, it said we were getting a refund of $2,000! Umm...okay...if that is the case and we do have to claim the stimulus check, isn't the logical way of thinking that it should be refund (minus) stimulus check (equals) new refund? For arguments sake, let's say we received $600 for our stimulus check. It should have looked like this: $2,000 - $600 = $1,400. Lastly, we come to problem #5: When Hubbs tried to do my state taxes for North Carolina (where we lived/I worked in 2008), it said I owe the state $1,500 after paying in almost $800 for state taxes! This is why I hate online tax sites. So, first thing next month we're going to see the military tax center and see what they have to say about it. Let's just say steam will be shooting out of our ears if anything Tax Slayer said was true (unless we do get that nice big refund, which I doubt because we never get that much back).

However, I have been able to sneak in the odd goodies here and there for myself (don't feel bad for Hubbs, his baseball/football card collection isn't hurting any!). Mostly I've been purchasing music on iTunes, as at $0.99 per song, it's a cheap thrill with immediate payoff. I purchased "Meet Me in St. Louis," to add to my collection of musical theater songs, and I also purchased "Maestro" from my current favorite modern movie The Holiday (I love this movie! Is there anyone more beautiful than Kate Winslet?). I wish I could find a snippet of this song for you but alas even Amazon doesn't have a clip. But it's really a gorgeous melody (it's the opening number for the movie) and I just love to turn it on and veg out in a bubble bath surrounded by candles.

Speaking of bubble baths, I found this beautiful vintage milk glass bath set on eBay while we were in San Diego. I snagged it for a mere $15 and then ran out and bought some lavender bath oil to fill it with. Sadly, when it got here the soap dish was broken completely in half. The seller is searching high and low for a replacement of some kind, but in the meantime, I still have the little pitcher and bowls.

Lastly, just purchased today is this gorgeous satin skirt. It's from the Kristin Davis Collection at Belk (you may know her better as Charlotte York?). When I heard she was coming out with a line that was based off of her Sex and the City character I was over the moon! She has such a classic style and some of her outfits really do err on the side of vintage. I was only going to look, but when I saw this piece I had to peek at the price tag.

I entered my size and it came up with $8.49. That's right! The original price was $68!! This is one of those moments when you say to yourself, "At this price, I can't afford not to buy it!" So into the shopping cart it went. I wish I could find the shoes the model is wearing because they are the perfect compliment to the skirt, but it seems they're not from her line, nor any of Belk's lines (side note: if you're going to put something fabulous on your clothing models, please either a. carry the item, or b. tell me where I can buy the item, but please don't taunt me with the perfect outfit and not offer all the essentials!).

So it will have to wait until post-tax preparation. But at least I have a few lovelies to keep me sustained until then!