retail therapy

We had a nice day out shopping today. The student and I hit the outlets around 11 and got the most important part of the shopping trip done first. Then we settled in at the Food Court for a leisurely lunch before scouring the shops again. The haul was very targeted and everything worked out. Before leaving, we ran back to the Food Court for some bubble tea as the day had warmed up somehow. That sure hit the spot. Of course, when I say warm, I mean it climbed up to the 40s, which as a born and raised tropical damsel, is still hella cold for me. 

I did wear a hat today. A light crocheted beanie that I'd unearthed from a box of hats. I was very comfortable in it and felt very put together. The best part was that it kept my worst looking front side cowlicks under wraps and topped with a pair of vintage Swarovski hoops, my daughter said the look was very guitar-player. Hmmm.... maybe this is going to be my new look. 

I called my earrings vintage, which is probably a stretch but what is vintage really? Old. It's just another word for old. But as I've told everyone, that pair was probably the first thing I ever bought from Swarovski when I moved to the US. It's likely a model that is over 20 years old. I walked into the Swarovski outlet store and the sales associate complimented them so when I said they were Swarovski, he was puzzled that he didn't recognize them. Hence the story. I did give them a good cleaning because they had been stored improperly and had started to develop gunk. Despite my best efforts, I could not get underneath the crystals where some discoloration had started occurring. Thankfully, it was in the rear of the piece so when worn, they're completely unnoticeable. I bought two new pairs, finally using the 20% birthday coupon that had been sitting in my account for the last three months. The associate I dealt with was very good. He was helpful without being pushy, and made a deliberate effort to try and get to know what kind of pieces I might be interested in. Just earrings. Push-pull only. I like blue. I made sure to get his name and I remarked to my daughter as we left the store that the young man could have a great future in luxury retail. A visit to the dermatologist would really help him but he's got everything else down. I could see him moving up to a Louis Vuitton or a Tiffany store and making a lot of money. 

On the way back to pick up my other daughter at the middle school, I put on some Squeeze and tried to find things that went with Tempted. It's funny how I introduced that song to the girls. I don't even recall the full context. Probably something to do with hearing the first line, "I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a flannel for my face... " and the student proudly declared that she was listening to that while driving the other day. I guess she added it to her playlist. I wonder if she liked any of the other songs I played after.

Playlist Recommendation: Roll To Me, Del Amitri (DJ, do NOT go to the restroom as this is the shortest song ever)