A sweet solution to my chain problem

As the calendar flipped closer to 2016, I began to wonder if I’d be able to cross off the last resolution on my 2015 list. I had pretty much narrowed it down to the Lock of Wisdom, for its simplicity, or the Spooky Bats Lock (because – bats!) But, I hadn’t seen any hints about an upcoming “buy a lock, get a chain” offer. At one point, I even considered taking advantage of the 25% off sale at one of my LDs to buy just the chain. But, even at 25% off, it’s still a ridiculous amount to pay for something that I can get for free. So I held out.

Then, the last week of October I got a letter in the mail that my other LD was closing their doors after 65 years in business. A week earlier they had posted that they were hiring for the holidays, so this came as a complete surprise. A few days after I received the letter I squeezed my way through a wall of people at their “VIP / Invitation only” sale. I couldn’t stay long that day, but I was curious whether it was worth coming back another day. They didn’t have either of the locks that I had been considering, but the My Sweet Stories starter bracelet caught my eye.

I had looked at the set when it came out in 2014, but didn’t have a place for the glass and was only “meh” about the heart. A year later, I still didn’t have a place for the glass and the heart was pretty much as I remembered it. But, I realized that the simplicity of the lock meant it would work for many of my combinations. Still, it was more than I would pay for just a lock, although with the sale price, it wasn’t that much more than a lock. And, my mind reasoned, if I could sell the glass bead, it brought my real cost down to almost the same as a lock!

I waited almost two more weeks, then made a trip to see if they still had the set. They did. So it came home with me.

I’m still not particularly drawn to the glass bead, but the heart has at grown on me.

Bring on 2016!