  Sometimes things are more than what they seem to be. This afternoon, for instance, was ostensibly about shopping. It quickly showed itself to be more than that, though, as T was feeling "solar powered" from the amazing weather and I rebounded from an early-morning headache that was shocking enough to wake me from a deep sleep and impel me toward the urlLink Imitrex . We were both pretty spunky when we arrived at Geneva Commons. An hour and a half later when we left the first store we'd entered-- urlLink Victoria's Secret --we were looking somewhat bedraggled and sullen. Not because we'd been unsuccessful in our quest for purchases (far from it! ) but because I have never in my life tried on so many items of clothing in such a short period of time . It was completely insane. T bought a couple of things that she'd been looking for and managed to keep relatively within her budget ballpark. I went completely out of character wild. Things I needed, things I wanted, and things I let the salespeople talk me into. It was so much fun, but totally crazy. The bag is actually heavy . Now that I've pulled it out of the bag I'm thinking that maybe I went a little overboard, but I think I'll wear all of it.
Hmm... After VS we headed to urlLink Ann Taylor . Not the kind of store at which I shop, although I struggled for the right word to explain my problem with it. T found several skirts, dresses and blouses to try on. Liked a pair of sandals but at $100+ they were beyond silly for the length of time one could use them in the Illinois summer. She ended up buying a skirt, a tiny sweater shell, and trouser socks. Practical but not boring.
And as we left the store, the word that I'd been seeking came to me: precious. The place is too damned precious for me. My shoulders aren't microscopic and I don't like clothes that look like they were designed for infants. She was surprisingly not insulted by what I said, but I think that's in part because she thinks that I dress like an idiot. (We're not all that much alike in that regard. ) We dropped the bags in the car and hopped off to Barnes & Noble for a snack.
Tired feet already. Although we hadn't planned to buy anything, I couldn't get out without indulging in something I wouldn't usually get-- every Better Than Ezra CD that I hadn't owned before. Yup, I got: urlLink Deluxe ; urlLink Friction, Baby ; and urlLink How Does Your Garden Grow? --all at once. It was partially the "I've already spent a ton of money so what difference will this make? " and partially the "I want it now " impatience and fun of shopping that did me in. Not that I don't love them already; How Does Your Garden Grow? just ended and I'm popping in Friction, Baby now. Moving on: urlLink J. Jill . I had no real idea that I'd find anything there because I've secretly thought of that store as being the female version of J.Crew--kind of, er, irritatingly preppy and "crisp".
But I've asked T to influence my wardrobe more, so we went in and she showed me some things that she thought I should wear. I tried a few shirts: one was hilariously tight, one wasn't bad but perhaps a little more opaque than I'm looking for, and one was just right (thanks, Goldy). I just checked the website and none of them are pictured (dammit) but they do have the urlLink anklet that I picked up at the last minute. T got another skirt--a gorgeous raspberry with an overskirt of white embroidered sheer--and a very cute pink cross-over knit shirt. As we hobbled to the car we realized that we should've worn different shoes were both too tired and sore to continue.
A pathetic display of weakness, but we're out of practice. Stopped at Target Greatland on the way out of town. Nothing exciting there, but we each managed to spend a bit anyway. Then we took an unexpected jaunt through the outskirts of...the outskirts. Quite an indirect route, actually, but home with no trouble. Now I'm doing laundry and contemplating a late dinner. What an excellent day. 
