Our Shopping Adventure

We left for the outlet mall at 10:30 this morning. It was a very hot, very muggy day, typical for July in South Florida. It's been raining daily, and although the sun was out and the sky was only slightly overcast, it was a good idea to have our outing in the morning before the storms hit.

My hubby J was looking for some running shoes. He uses the treadmill quite a bit, both at home and at the gym, and he also runs in the park. He's lost 22 lbs and is trying hard to lose about another 10 to get to his goal weight. Problem is, the sneakers he was using weren't the best for running and he was suffering from knee pain. So we went to the Nike outlet store and found a few pairs he liked. After trying on a couple, he decided on some red and white ones with silver trim which he said were very comfortable, like walking barefoot. The salesman packed everything, got him his shoes, and we left the store to walk around the mall. As we were passing the Gap Outlet, I suddenly remembered I had 2 Banana Republic gift certificates! Yay!!

You're probably thinking, "She remembered 2 Banana Republic gift certificates when she passed the Gap?" Let me explain. My daughter got some gift certificates for Christmas, 2 for Gap stores and 2 for Banana Republic. We went to the mall so she could redeem her certificates at both stores. We went to Gap first, and she found a couple of shirts, but nothing more. Turns out most of the clothes she liked were too big. Then we went to Banana Republic, which is just a few stores down. There she found nothing she liked. The style of clothes is different from what she wears, and the sizes always seemed to be wrong, since nothing she tried on fit. Eventually she used the Gap certificates, but couldn't ever find anything at Banana Republic she liked, so she gave the gift certificates to me. I'd put them in my wallet and forgot all about them till I saw the Gap store. Get it now?

So I was looking for some capris which I love in the summer, but all they had were long pants or shorts. Then I looked for dresses, but all the dresses were short and too young looking. I'm not an old woman but I'm also not a 20-something, nor do I intend to dress like one. I did find a few shirts that were on sale, 50% off, that I wanted to try on. Then I saw a grey pencil skirt that was simple yet classic, which is how I like to dress. It was the only one left, and it was a size 2, way too small for me. Or so I thought. I picked it up and immediately thought, "This is NOT a size 2." I compared it to a size 6 skirt and it was just a tiny bit smaller. I think the skirt is labeled wrong and should be a size 4. I decided to try it on, and it fit perfectly! I was so happy, because my one grey skirt which I totally love is now too big on me, and my other grey skirt had a bit of a mishap in the dryer - the zipper is partially melted. This skirt is a lovely dark grey so it goes with everything, fits beautifully, and while I normally wouldn't pay $29.99 for a skirt, I had the gift certificate so it was not a problem. I got a couple of shirts as well, and was happy as I left the store with my new items.

After that we went to the food court and had Burger King, which I haven't eaten in awhile. Usually if I eat at a fast food court I'll have Subway, but it was closed for remodeling. Since J and E both wanted BK I decided I'd have the same. Big mistake. Two hours later and I feel like I have a brick in my stomach. It's incredible how our bodies begin to adjust when we stop eating fast food. My tummy isn't too happy that I filled it up with so much fat and salt. Lesson learned.

After that we walked around the mall some more, then came home. J was putting on his new shoes to try them out. He got the right shoe on, then went to get the left shoe on, only to find the salesman had given him 2 right shoes! At first I just sat there with my mouth wide open. Then the 2 of us started laughing. He was a bit disappointed because he couldn't wear his new shoes (except for one at a time!). I guess this calls for another trip to the outlet mall.

That won't be today, though. J has gone off to work (he had the morning off because of the July 4th weekend) and the rain has started. But you can be sure of one thing - this shopping adventure isn't over yet!