Shopping Trip

Mom and I had so much fun yesterday at the Tanger Outlet mall shopping for clothes!  We left early and got there around 9:30 in the morning.  Five hours later, we left tired and hungry, but happy to be able to buy clothes that were 2-3 sizes smaller than the last time we saw each other at Christmas!

Grace did pretty well.  We rented a yellow taxi cab stroller, which lost it’s wow factor, oh, about 5 minutes into our trip.  I had packed an arsenal of snacks that I dreamed she would never get through which she consumed within the first 2-3 hours.  Just so you can see how I pass on my new healthy eating plan to my daughter, I’ll tell you what she ate:

• 1 Nature Valley Oats ‘N Honey granola bar
• 1 Fiber One Oats & Chocolate granola bar
• 2 frosted brown sugar and cinnamon Pop Tarts
• 7 packets of Welch’s fruit snacks
• 1 full packet of M & M’s
• About 3 servings of Teddy Grahams
• 1 green apple
• 1 20-oz. bottle of Coca-Cola Classic

Yes, this is what I will feed my daughter to ensure that I have the peace and quiet to try on cute clothes that I have earned by healthy eating.  From the outlet mall, we went to La Madeline’s for lunch where she ate a bowl of strawberries and drank a raspberry lemonade.  When we arrived home, I handed Grace over to her granddaddy while mom and I rushed to the ladies’ bible study at her church.  When I got home, I discovered that she had enjoyed throwing and catching Honey Nut Cheerios in her mouth with granddaddy most of the evening.  Needless to say, today we will be performing a sugar detox.

While shopping, mom was able to find the cutest kelly green (color of the season) bermuda shorts and sweater from Jones New York, a pair of white capris from Liz Claiborne, a pair of beautiful black cropped pants from Ann Taylor, and several summer shirts from Old Navy and The Gap.  I found some white capris and a cute orange shirt at The Gap and a nice pair of black cropped pants at TJ Maxx.  When we got home, mom discovered that three of the tank tops she had bought at Old Navy were too long, so she gave them to me.  (Thanks, mom!)  I also found some good deals on presents for other folks at Osh Kosh, Children’s Place, Haggar, and Old Navy. 

All-in-all it was a tiring but satisfying day. 

Oh, one more funny thing.  On the way home, we stopped at Hobby Lobby and I ran in to buy a particular sewing notion that I needed to make a present for someone.  What should have been a five-minute run-in and run-out turned into a marathon where I ran all over the store at the direction of not-so-knowledgable employees looking for said sewing notion.  One employee actually told me, “We don’t sell fabric stuff.”  Another employee directed me to the home decor section for sewing supplies.  Finally I found someone that showed me where to find the HUGE fabric section.  But, alas, the girl working the fabric section couldn’t tell me where my sewing notion was.  I finally found what I needed and waited in line only to be told “I’m closing…” when it was my turn to check out.  I moved to another line and finally checked out and made it back to the car where mom was waiting with Grace.  Fun times.

Anyway, here’s a picture of Grace at the beginning of the day.  Oh, how I wish I had taken a picture of how she looked at the end of the day!