As ridiculous as it may be, I stalked a woman in TJMaxx on Saturday.  For half an hour. For a purse.

Here’s what happened. I was browsing the purse section and while I was checking out one purse I looked to my left to see another that I really liked. I hung that one up and reached for the other one but it was gone! I audibly gasped and looked around to see who had snatched it. I quickly spotted a well dressed woman carrying not only the pale yellow bag that I wanted to look at but also the exact same one in white.

This could only mean one thing-she was trying to decide between the two. So, conceivably, if I followed her around, there was a 50/50 chance that she would put down the one I wanted.

I then proceeded to follow her through every department of the store, always staying an aisle or two away, but always aware of where she was. We made eye contact a few times but I tried to be nonchalant, still looking at things and carrying a few items around with me. This continuted for about 30 minutes.

Please know that the whole time this was going on I was fully aware of how ridiculous it was. My husband later asked me why I didn’t just go up and ask her about it. He doesn’t understand. Girls don’t work that way and depending on her personality, my asking about the yellow one may have prompted her to choose that one.

While I was looking through the underwear section I lost her. Then I looked across and saw her in the purse section, carefully hanging up the yellow purse she had been carrying around. Success was within reach! I didn’t want to rush in and grab it because I suspect she knew I had been following her, but when she turned her back I tiptoed up, grabbed the bag and skittered to another section of the store.

Upon close inspection of this elusive bag, I totally loved it. The shopping stars had aligned and my ridiculousness had paid off. The Kenneth Cole Reaction Metal Break Shopper is pale yellow with a pink lining and it was only $39! The only downside of the excursion was that I was so distracted I forgot to look at skillets, which was the whole reason I’d gone to TJMaxx in the first place.

Anyone else gone to great lengths to for an item you really wanted?