**Ed’s note: Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas! Get some rest, eat some food and enjoy the company that you’re keeping over the holidays!**

Three-thirty a.m.

That’s the time we were up. It was Black Friday in New York City and my cousin, The Hubby and I were hoping to get some real deals on electronics. So, we headed over to Best Buy and got there at just after 5 a.m. Best Buy is beside three other big box stores. People, I am not joking when I say that the line for the store went passed all three stores and snaked around the corner.

Americans are serious about their discount shopping. People camp out at night for stuff. I, dear readers, do not camp out for anything — maybe if Jesus was giving away salvation, but that is widely available 24 hours a day.

So, we lined up and waited. And waited. And waited. It was pretty cold out, but I was bundled up well. This is not something that I would normally do, but I didn’t really mind — I mean, it was an experience. About 45 minutes later, which was actually pretty good time, we were inside.

I can honestly say that I was not impressed. The electronics were as pricey, if not more pricey than they are at home. I bought a digital picture frame (that I’m going to deal with before the New Year) and we headed over to Target. We were hoping to get some good buys there. Meh. The line-up dissuaded us more than anything. Finally, we walked across the parking lot to Green Acres mall. Now, that was some shopping. Clothes, clothes and more clothes were on sale.

After shopping for five hours, The Hubby and I went back to my cousin’s place and crashed HARD for a few hours. When we got up Friday afternoon, my cousin’s son wanted to know if we wanted to check out Manhattan. If we wanted to check out Manhattan? For all the times I’ve visited New York, I’ve been to Manhattan once and Times Square never. His girlfriend came by and we headed to Broadway — The Hubby was sent by a colleague to Topshop, a store that she had been dreaming of. By the time we got there, it was cold and dark and I was shivering in my marvelous, brand-new wool coat (which I purchased for $39.99 regular price $180). But guess what I saw when I was walking quickly along Broadway?

Ricky’s NYC! Kinky Rhonnie had mentioned it to me! I got very excited. Once we got the colleague’s stuff, we made a pit stop at Dean & Deluca for my coffee (it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I prefer Tim Hortons) and then headed to Ricky’s. When I first walked in, it reminded me of a Beauty Supply Outlet. Nothing really to write home about — until I got to the middle of the store. There’s were all the Miss Jessie’s products were! Now, although I do think there are better, cheaper products than Miss Jessie’s, if the products are on sale, I will purchase one or two. I got the 2oz Miss Jessie’s Rapid Recovery Treatment (I love this stuff, but it’s too darned expensive)  and their Stretch Silkening Creme (I’m thinking the next time I do a wash ‘n’ go, I can try this stuff out), EO Nourishing Conditioner in Rose & Chamomile and an Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor packet. Had I found Ricky’s before I did major shopping on Day 1 and 2, I may have done some more damage.

I walked further down into the store and I saw DevaCurl products, Mixed Chicks and more — all at my hands. This was wonderful. If I had seen the Hair Rules products (they sell them, but I just didn’t see it in the store), I may have had to bring them home with me. Although I only had so much space in my luggage. I was happier still! We headed off to Times Square, I was trembling with cold, and had dinner at TGIFridays. Then watched 2012 (a surprisingly good movie), before heading back to Queens at about 2 am.

Great times.

The next day, was family day. We were going to visit the Hubby’s family in New Jersey and my family in Brooklyn. The Hubby’s aunt and uncle picked us up in front of Madison Square Garden. We had to wait because traffic was insane. Once they picked us up and drove down the street, I saw a Whole Foods! I can get Kinky-Curly and Trader Joe products there! Dang it! Denied again! I believe there is a Whole Foods in Toronto (although I doubt they have the same selection)  — I’ll have to check it out over the holidays.

I must say, I’ve complained about the DVP and 401 highways in Toronto, but you do not know traffic until you try to get through the Holland Tunnel. Oh my goodness. I was miserable — and it didn’t help that I had to use the washroom. A trip from, I think, Newark to Brooklyn was supposed to take 45 minutes ended up taking 2 hours. Torontonians can’t conceive of traffic like New York City traffic. There is no comparison. After visiting with the families, my cousin’s son picked us up and gave us a tour of Brooklyn. We went to Junior’s Restaurant for cake and to a look-out point. We also saw some of the famous townhomes in the borough.

Another late night, but we had a good time.

Sunday, I was on a plane back to Toronto with all my hair goodies. Honestly, I should have to shop for hair products until May 2010 with the amount of stuff I bought… then again, May is Victoria Day weekend. Maybe I’ll need to take another trip.