Thursday, May 22, 2008

What I did this past Saturday...

One of DH's former co-workers (from the company he left in March) and I went up to Potomac Mills, to meet up with another of DH's former co-workers who left the company last summer to follow her lawyer husband. For those not in the know, Potomac Mills is a huge outlet/discount store shopping mecca - you can literally shop until you drop, or until you run out of money.

This was a pretty quick trip - we got up there around 11AM and had to leave around 3:30PM to get back since my friend's boyfriend was coming into town in the late afternoon. Considering that in the past I've been there when the mall opened and didn't leave until it closed (10-9 or so) and still not made it to all the stores, the shorter length of time really curtailed our shopping.

The majority of our time was actually spent at Ikea. (Ah, Ikea, how glad my husband is that you are not closer. Our love affair would take over my life.) We enjoyed a leisurely early lunch in the cafe as 2 of the 3 of us had skipped breakfast, and then followed the winding path through the store. I was actually fairly restrained, limiting my purchases to a veggie peeler and an adorable shower curtain for the master bath at the condo.*

From there we headed over to the Marshall's, and Nordstrom Rack. Along the way, we happened upon a circus in the parking lot. Really. A circus. With striped tent, elephants, camels, horses, stunt dirt bike riders, and all. We had seen the tops of the tents from the 2nd floor of Ikea, but didn't realize it wasn't just a tent shaped building until we were actually right there by it.

I did find a pair of sexy peep-toe black satin heels at Nordstrom Rack but the length of the line compounded with departure time issues exposed that I didn't LOVE them enough to wait in line to pay for them, so I left them behind.**

Waiting in line would have meant skipping a visit to Carl's Ice Cream in Fredericksburg on our way back. The two of us who came up from Williamsburg had been talking about that stop all day, so giving up the heels was a small price to pay for a small cone of creamy frozen goodness (if I hadn't been driving, I would have gotten a hot fudge sundae with wet nuts, but I find it difficult to drive and eat with a spoon without making a huge mess). Of course, the ice cream was also much cheaper than the heels, so that was a savings right there.*** It's been a long time since I had Carl's. It was just as good as I remembered, and triggered memories of prior visits made when I was at college and lived within walking distance.

I have to say that the ice cream wasn't as satisfying as spending the day shopping with the girls. It's been a long time since I've done that. I wouldn't give up my sore legs**** the next couple of days for the time spent with them. I can't wait for our next shopping trip (perhaps in early October, after back-to-school, but before Christmas)!*****



*DH was exposed to one of their chairs at the house we stayed in for my cousin's wedding, and since has indicated an interest in including them in our basement decorating scheme - so I already see a trip back for those, and perhaps some of the other furniture once we finish the basement. But I don't know when that will be - hopefully we'll get started on it this summer.
** Why they didn't have more than the one checkout in that store I do not know! That line was crazy long.
***DH calls this girl logic.
****I am such a pansy. If I'd stuck to my original plan to be in shape for my cousin's wedding and then continued it through for Memorial Day weekend, it wouldn't have been an issue.
*****Perhaps on next trip I will be able to check items off my mental shopping list. Another casualty of the limited number of stores we went to. On the other hand, the "good" news is that the most I spent all day was to fill up my gas tank on the drive up.

1 comment:

  1. I lived in F-Burg from '87 to '93 and have never eaten at Carl's. Most are shocked when they hear this revelation.

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