Shopping and Satan #2

It all started with an innocent visit to a girlfriend in Virginia.  Okay, okay, perhaps there are no innocent girls’ trips, and admittedly, I did suggest we might want to do a bit of shopping while I was in town. I promise, though, I didn’t intend to help the economy quite as much I did. 

Do you have shopping buddies—friends who are helpful and honest, who know what looks good on you and what doesn’t, who don’t try to get you to settle or push you into styles that appeal to them, not you?  I’m sad to say that it’s primarily my out-of-state girlfriends who fit that description, so is it any wonder that I get into so much shopping trouble when we’re together?

When the three of us worked and traveled together, we often managed to stay over a weekend to take a side trip, say to Blowing Rock or Amelia Island to explore the shops.  Now that I’m the only one still at our old company, it’s just during girls’ trips that we shop. That was the case in Virginia, even though one of the trio was missing.  Somehow, Satan must have hitched a ride in my suitcase. (For more on that, see my May post Shopping, Satan, and Little Black Dresses.)

We headed to Williamsburg to visit the Farmer’s Market for fresh veggies for dinner, armed with a cooler so we could go from food shopping to power shopping. The Chico’s, conveniently located right at the Farmer’s Market, was our first stop.

 You do know, don’t you, that those offers of $25 off when you spend $100 are dangerous?  They should probably come in the mail with warnings:  Harmful when carried in your wallet.  I discovered something even more dangerous, though:  the salesperson can look up your account and get you the discount even when you forget your coupon.  Needless to say, we were both able to get $25 off.

From there, we hit the Prime Outlets.  I’d been looking unsuccessfully in Atlanta for some new work clothes, and I was on a mission to find a dress or some skirts. Can I help it if I found both?  Yes, one dress and two skirts between Jones of New York and Ann Taylor.  I’d already worn my only two summer business dresses to a meeting in July---little black dresses, of course--and knew I had another two-day meeting coming up in August, so I just had to have something new.

In fact, I’d jokingly told the group I wasn’t sure I could come back since I’d already worn the only two outfits I had.  Now that I’ve added some pieces, I’m set for August and for another meeting in September too.  I’m betting you know how it is—some days you have all the luck and other days you come home empty-handed.

And, naturally, I was also able to find casual clothes.  I couldn’t find any longer-length shorts locally, so I was pleased to find some at Eddie Bauer that fit the bill, and in red, one of my favorite colors.  There just comes a time when no matter how fit your legs may be, mid-thigh shorts are no longer an option. Is it just me, or are the shorts getting shorter?

So, you’re thinking I must be all set for quite a while to come, and, really, I am.  The problem is I have a September trip to Hilton Head with this same girlfriend AND our other shopping buddy, and there’s also a Prime Outlet Mall there. I’m  predicting Satan will make that trip too!