shopping with a bb.

Lately, I have been feeling like my closet is a frump factory. I'm facing the facts that my post-partum body is just a little different, and my clothes don't fit the way I wish they would, and my shirts must always be Henry accessible, and my pants are often covered in rice cracker and baby mush by the end of the day. Couple that with post partum hair regrowth and I have been feeling like I want to cower under my desk all day long, lest anyone should see me and die of shock. I'm a mess.

Ok, but really, it was time to shop and I no longer wanted to use the excuse, "but there is no time because Henry goes to bed at 7:30". Bed times be durned, I kept him out TWICE this week to shop. I leave work, drive home and say goodbye to the nanny, then we trek back downtown to Penn Quarter AKA my new shopping haven. Anthropologie, JCrew, Zara, F21, H&M, BR, UO, it's a rich and poor mans paradise. Of course, I learned to start at F21 and H&M, then end up at Jcrew and Anthropologie because I will tell you if you do it the reverse way you will have massive regret over having blown your whole budget on a pair of snow leopard pants and a yetti shirt, so you have no room for those whispy threads from F21.

But I'm getting off track. We end up downtown around 6:15pm, and I pop him in the ergo and we shop. I keep a baggie of gerber puffs in my pocket, and let him play with the hangers as I pick up different clothes. When I try on a blazer at Zara, I pop him out and put him on the floor at my feet, throw on the blazer, see it is ugly, then pick him back up before he has a chance to run away. It's an art. Or maybe a science. We pick out a bunch of things at JCrew, lock ourselves in the dressing room, and Henry has a ball crawling around and slapping the mirror a million times saying ba ba ba ba. At Forever21, it is a madhouse so no trying on clothes for us, I just throw a bunch of stuff on the register and buy it, forgetting the stupid return policy that only gives you back store credit. Finally at H&M, I head to the little baby section and pick out a few things for Henry, only to have to return later because he is just getting big enough to wear their 6-9 month old stuff, not for-goodness-sakes the 9-12 month olds. Time to double up on kale and broccoli to get that boy growing.

We return home with mounds of clothes, most of it to be returned, but well on the way to making me feel less like a frumpy mom and more like a together-kind-of-lady. And Henry gets to party and flirt with all the shopping girls, which makes him loopy and giggly. Win-win.

it's a hot hot hot hot world.

it has been 3 days straight with temperatures over 100 degrees. that is crazy nuts. and what did i do the whole weekend? well, i spent it outside shopping my brains out! not the smartest thing i've ever done, but i did have my mom with me to provide comfort and cold water (and the VW to provide blasting AC).

we went to lucketts to check out antiques, leesburg to the outlet malls, where i scored this sweet little french oven:and i found some amazing new-to-me furniture stores in quaint little Takoma Park, too.

Modern Mobler - all mid-century modern furniture at a reasonable price and ridiculously friendly staff (a nice change from the shops on 14th and U street).
and Trohv - a sweet little furniture boutique with lots of cute and quirky gift ideas. i'll definitely be returning to check it out.

so that was my hot weekend. let's just say that the nesting has officially started. how did you stay cool this weekend?

the cold snap.

not to be outdone by january, december decided to be a super cold month. does anyone else feel like it kind of came without warning? luckily this now means that snow is a possibility and i am just nearly ready for snow. got my boots, got my hat, but i do need to stock up on gloves and a really warm coat. i'm looking for a really warm mid-length puffer coat here, here, and here but it's so hard to shop online. any suggestions from my fellow cold-weather friends?

To purchase

1. A puzzle
2. A bookcase
3. A table for my puzzle
4. More books for my new bookcase
5. Shoes
6. Love.
(wait...was it money can buy me love or can't? Shoot. I can't remember.)

Iz not reddy for winterz

I have been trying to buy some boots for awhile. I just want a pair of cute, professional, somewhat sassy black boots. I've looked high and low, but cannot afford most of the boots I like (upwards of $250). So last night I was out doing all the shopping and discovered the Nine West Boot Sale!!

Fortuitous happenstance!

So I tore through the store, picking out boot after boot to try on. Just me and my iPod. Me and Band Of Horses just picking out the boot of my dreams. After about 20 minutes of pacing around the store in each possible new boot and becoming increasingly frustrated with my inability to find a good pair, I had to ask someone else.
See, usually when girls go shopping, they go in groups or with another girl so they can get The Opinion. Without this Opinion, they are in danger of making a grave mistake. I can attest to this mistake. Right now, if you look in my closet you will find the following:
1. oversized sweater vest
2. grey jeans that don't fit properly
3. pants that can only be described as culottes
4. black shoes that my mom might wear
5. black shirt with fluttery wing-like long sleeves

I have bought all these items in the past 4 months. I need The Opinion when I shop or I make regrettable purchases. Very. Regrettable.

Anyway I had no shopping partner last night, so I approached 2 lovely looking young ladies. I asked them which boot they preferred. We deliberated and they decided that the boot on the left foot looked much better. (really? but the right boot is so cute! i love the details!) But...they gave me The Opinion I was seeking out. It was settled. And against my better judgement, I trusted that Opinion more than my own instinct.

I returned home with my spoils and put the boots on to take a look in the personal comforts of my home. I put them on and gasped. GASPED. I bought whore boots. How did I not see this in the store?? The pointy toes...the knee length...the stiletto heel...the silver detail on the back...SH*T. I started thinking back on what me "friends" in the store told me. "I like the way that boot makes your foot look arched" or "Those are sexy boots!"

So after some deep thinking, I realized that these girls were not any normal girls. They were probably ladies of the night. And I trusted their opinion because...well...they looked pretty damn hot. But I am not a "hot girl". I am a "cute girl". I buy cute girl boots, not whorrish sexy boots.

I'm taking back those boots tonight. And next time I solicit somebody's Opinion, I will first ask them what their occupation is and whether or not they like cheap sex. Hopefully, this will allow for a more fulfilling shopping experience that will result in my continued cuteness and my decreasing whore-ishness, an image I've been trying to shed since my cheerleading days. Damn the cheerleaders.