Scenes from a Mall

Thanks to our requisite thriftiness, I don't think I've set foot in a shopping mall in well over a year. Armed with a handy dandy e-mail coupon from New York & Company and a need for better fitting jeans (I've become quite the droopy drawered lady since rediscovering running!), off I went to the nearest mall. It didn't take too long for me to remember exactly what I loved and loathed about the mall shopping experience.

Loves:

Bright shiny things!
Overflowing holiday decor!
The aroma of freshly baked goodies from vendors such as Cinnabon etc.!
The promise of change via new clothing, goodies and things things things- oh the lure of rampant consumerism gone amuk!

Loathes:

The annoying nail product kiosk vendor ladies with their coy smiles and all too shiny hair
The large price tags
The rampant consumerism gone amuk

I had complete amnesia over the tactics of desperate seasonal vendors and thus instinctively turned back to the aforementioned annoying nail product kiosk vendor lady when she asked, "Can I ask you a question?" after I had clearly made the not interested hand waving gesture when she first tried to make direct eye contact. When a polite person hears the "can I ask you a question" question posed, they think the individual asking needs help of some sort...directions perhaps or the time. But, of course, the nail product saleslady did not need directions or the time or any other sort of help other than that of buying her product. The question was ... "do you keep your nails natural?"

I just shook my head and kept walking. Off I was to get my new jeans. The nail lady did not need to know that I kept my nails natural. When you keep your nails truly natural, you don't need to spend $20 or $30 on a nail product. Ugh.

After arriving at New York & Co, I was shell-shocked at the price tags. I hadn't shopped there in awhile. The last visits were several years ago- I had lost over 80 pounds and, giddy at the promise of normal sized clothing, I went a little clothes shopping crazy. Over the course of several shopping trips, I spent a total amount that would bring my current self to a fainting spell followed by hyperventilation.

Thankfully, they had a Buy One Get One Half off deal on jeans that made the amount, coupled with my coupon, much easier to swallow but still a treat given the amount we normally spend on thrift store, rock bottom clearance & garage sale clothing store prices. Given my shrinking size and the difficulty in finding really good looking/good fitting jeans on clearance and thrift store racks, hubby and I decided the treat was well deserved and well needed.

I picked two pairs of jeans out, brought them to the register and was immediately asked about opening a store credit card. When I said "no thank you," I then received a big spiel about how I'd get an additional 20% off. I politely declined again. After the total came up, the cashier then asked me if I'd like to donate to St. Jude's. I said "no thank you" and he then asked "not even a dollar?" Is it just me or does this strike anyone else as over-the-top rude? Maybe I'm being overly sensitive. We donate lots of food and clothing to local charities. We also donate to various causes when friends participate in athletic events on a charity's behalf.

I don't think I'll be doing any mall shopping for awhile.