Mission Accomplished

Well, my trip to the mall was a total success!

As soon as I arrived I made a beeline for Macy's because of their big one-day sale. I didn't know the sale was going on but the key tip-offs were the trail of blood and nest of vultures in the parking lot. Man, it was a holiday circus in there. MAC had half-naked men painted gold standing next to a very pale woman dressed as a slutty, yet somehow ethereal, Christmas tree. As I was walking by the weird trio, I heard the woman in front of me say to her husband, "they couldn't pay me enough money to do that." She was not a small woman by any means but luckily her husband was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and saved me from witnessing a Christmas massacre.

I made my way through the throng before taking the escalator down to the lower level. As soon as I hit the coat department I saw my coat - which appeared to have been waiting for me because it was exactly what I wanted. Black wool, long, uber-stylish. I picked up the price tag which said, "Hi, I'm really, really fucking expensive!" and caused me to make a sad face because I didn't see any sale signs nearby. However, after I tried it on, the salesperson working with me scanned the price at the register. Lo and behold, it was 50% off so I told her to wrap it - post haste. Fifty percent off of "holy crap, now I can't eat" is still a lot but I'm thrilled with my coat. I should get excellent wear out of it for a few winters.

After buying the coat and dancing around the mall for a bit, I came across a new store that I hadn't seen on previous visits. The store is called Ruehl. The outside is supposed to resemble a townhouse complete with brick facing and gas lights. The inside was darker than night, there was music blaring and hoards of twenty-somethings running in...so of course I had to check it out. I can't describe what this store is supposed to be. There are clothes for both men and women, handbags and knick-knacks, but there's also a bunch of couches, what appeared to be a pull-out bed in one corner and lots of people sitting amongst the $70 sweaters and $40 track pants doing nothing more than hanging out and chatting under flattering lighting. I waited around to see if anyone would offer me a beverage but when no one appeared with a tray, I left. A clothing store shouldn't look like a speakeasy if there won't be any liquor offered. It's just cruel.

I looked in a few more stores but then I had to leave because Nordstrom was calling my name and I couldn't afford to get caught by that siren song.