Mad Shopping Skills: A Day in the Life of a Serial Shopper, Armed with a Teenaged Daughter in Tow

My youngest daughter had a (very short) fall break from college; the trip from Blacksburg alone would eat up 8 hours each way. She had friends to see, a boyfriend she misses madly, and TONS of things that she needed to buy. Could we accomplish the task in just one day? You betcha (insert a Sarah Palin wink here!)

The key to getting any serious shopping accomplished in a short period of time is organization. I am a firm believer in the making of lists. My daughter is a firm believer in the art of flying by the seat of her Antik Denim pants. However, she will concede if it is in her own best interest.

She arrived home from Virginia at 1:30 A.M. (This I know from checking her Facebook page. Don't hate me. If it weren't for Facebook, I would have no idea what was going on in her life.) She was in my room bright and chipper at 8:00 A.M., asking if we could go to a diner before we head out to shop RIGHT NOW. In less than 10 minutes, I brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes, slapped on some makeup and we were out the door. I think at this point I should mention that my birthday had been the previous Monday. Her gift to me was a large (very large) tee shirt cum dress that read 'Virginia Tech Mom', in burgundy and orange, with the school logo and that really strange Hokie mascot thing that appears to be a cross between a turkey and a gnome. Nevertheless, thinking I would have time to come back after breakfast and change, I tossed on the shirt/dress and a pair of nice jeans.

I spent the entire day shopping at a fairly upscale mall, at some quite fairly upscale stores, dressed like a woman who'd been hired to mop up the floors in the food court. I have since decided that the shirt/dress is actually much more suitable as a night shirt, rather than worn out in public. Nevertheless, after a quick diner breakfast ("Come on! Aren't you done yet? We're going to have lunch in a few hours! Come on!"), we headed to our closest mall in search of Uggs, a raincoat, rain boots, and several other items carefully written on her list.

I should mention also that my daughter is the recipient of her father's anal retentive genes. She is stubborn, she is single-minded, even her handwriting is that tightly compressed, block style print that is carefully crafted. (I, on the other hand, live life with more than just a flourish of the pen.) We hit a store called Eastern Mountain Sports, which frankly befuddled me. What on earth would we find there? $200 later, we walked out with a pair of Ugg Coquette shoes (last pair in her size 10) and a Northface rain jacket with hood that was on sale (on sale!) for $80. My kid was thrilled with her purchases, which took less than a half hour to complete. It was now barely 10 AM.

We headed to a different part of this smaller mall, where she stocked up on Victoria's Secret underwear. I've often thought that the secret really was what on earth happened to the dozens of dainty little panties and thongs that she used to own; perhaps some secrets are best kept that way. Another $125 later, she was stocked up on delicate, lacy undergarments and sweatpants. Now it was time for an early lunch. We headed to a place in the same mall area called Pei Wei, which, I was told as if I were the only person on earth who didn't already know this, was an offspring of the popular P.F. Chang restaurant franchise. It was like eating in a Chinese diner, except that the menu selection was very limited and, of course, limited to Asian fare. Not being a big fan of sobu noodles, I ended up with a six pack (whoops, plate) of "crab" filled dumplings, while she scored a cold noodle plate and some sort of soup that looked medicinal in color and flavor. Amply fortified, we headed off, now just under noon, to ... the almight Cherry Hill Mall, one of the first big indoor malls, I believe, on the entire East Coast.

This mall is undergoing radical changes, not the least of which will be the addition of Nordstrom's in 2009. I remember hearing that Nordstroms was going to be there several years ago, and thinking at the time that since our house was then for sale, what a shame I wouldn't be living in New Jersey when it opened. Boy, life sure is full of often unpleasant surprises, isn't it?! Within three hours, we had purchased a pair of plain, functional rain boots at one of those generic shoe stores in the mall. We had also hit Charlotte Russe and H&M, both of which are apparently quite popular with kids who want cheap versions of the latest styles - not that there's anything wrong with that. I think I spent $125 on clothing for her at H&M which included two dresses, two blouses, tights, hair bands (she loves cute head bands, and these were both cute and cheap). We spent even less at Charlotte Russe for three dresses, which I fervently prayed would hold up at least until we reached our car. Trolling around Macy's netted her a new winter coat and a pretty LBD. (She has three little black dresses already, but apparently three is not the magic number.) We pulled into our driveway at 3:30 PM, having spent most of the day and a fair amount of money in a very frugal fashion. We followed her list, we hit only the stores where she wouldn't be ashamed to walk out carrying one of their shopping bags, and I was out only (only?) several hundred dollars.

TDuring the rest of her fall break, short as it was, my daughter fell back into what I lovingly call her "cat mode". She was home long enough to eat, sleep, catch a shower, dress and ... go out with her friends. Perhaps the real highlight of the weekend was the naval piercing of one of her friends who attends school in New Hampshire. Things must be either pretty slow and boring up there, or there's a lot more happening in that far northern state than I'd ever imagined. I don't think I've ever seen a diamond naval ring before.

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