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So we decided to drive to the premium outlets and have ourselves a shopping spree. And just for us, the insane 100+ degrees dipped to 82 for us yesterday. Thank you, Mr Sun! See, not a cloud in the sky!

Forget the term life insurance for now! Here we are at the landmark of happy shopping. A clock tower, a reminder to waste no time in whipping out the cash!!

Steev and I dashed around like a couple of crazed kids at a candy store. We only stopped for a half hour lunch at Togo’s. A 6 inch sub, chips and soda for only $5! We had to go cheap so we’d have more money to shop !

After lunch, we quickly got back to “work” and this, I’m happy to report, is our haul from 4 hours of shopping. They’re most clothes and bags for my 2 princesses…

… but I couldn’t resist grabbing this Nine West shopping tote for myself. Pretty neat, huh! And I got it for a steal too !

You know what? I thought I would have lots more photos to share but I’ve been mostly car-less and housebound, hence not many photo opportunities. Anyhow, here are a few. Hope you enjoy them and have a great weekend!

Flowers growing near Whole Foods where we had a simple healthy lunch. Amazing how these flowers remain so pretty and fresh in this scorching weather. I’m all wilted and dried up the minute I step out into the sun!

We spent half a morning wandering among the giant shelves of Costco wondering, if I buy this 96-pack of granola bars or 20 lbs of coffee, will we be able to finish eating everything by the turn of the century ??!!

Seriously, you would need a document management system to track everything you see in a store this size! And after checking the giant bags of gummy bears and M and M’s my daughters wanted me to bring home, we were starved and stopped for this.

So we headed to the mall first thing. Seems like it’s our weekend routine these days. This is a mall I used to frequent with a girl friend from work when I was a fresh-faced kid at my first real job. Fast forward to the present and now my kids are just finding out why this used to be their mom’s favorite hangout.

Raine and I just skipped along from store to store trying out shoes, shoes and more shoes. Each pair was cuter, prettier and more exciting than the last !! Here we are, trying to decide! Two feet trying on three shoes!

Skye was utterly bored out of her wits and started snapping pictures of our shoe insanity on one of her so-called spy gadgets aka hidden camera. Hip2bDad and Steev had long abandoned us to camp out at a computer store somewhere!

Four hours later, Raine had 4 new pairs to her name – 2 wedges and 2 flats. And I finally decided on this pair of wedges. So comfy, so cute, so me! Like it? *bats eyelids*

… try on? Self-confessed shopaholic that I am, I find a certain thrill, a feverish excitement about trawling the malls for clothing and accessories.

I just can’t wait to try on fashion jewelry and shoes…

… but hate trying on pants.

How’s about you? Come on, spill the beans!

So we stumbled upon a new (to us) shopping mall on our way to a cousin’s wedding recently. This mall is pretty out of the way for us so we weren’t really aware of its existence. But it looked promising so we decided to check it out Saturday!

The place is huge. Land is cheaper on the outskirts and mall rental too, I reckon, as things seemed to be cheaper there. Maybe it was purely psychological, I don’t know, but our guys ended up with a heap of shirts and pants at $30-50 each which are normally priced at $300+!

Raine came away with 2 tops and 2 pairs of shoes and hasn’t stopped smiling since. Even the biggest losers, Skye and me, came away with 1 pair of jeans each ! Looks like we bought everything but the kitchen sink driveway alarm!

Between the 5 of us, we came away with 7 shopping bags filled to bursting. You can only see 5 bags and 2 pairs of shoes here. There’s 2 ecobags not in the picture !

We aren’t normally this crazy (or are we ?) but we’ve been so starved of retail therapy lately. And speaking of starved, lunch was (from bottom left) a sumptuous feast of blanched lettuce topped with fried shallots, steamed chicken, tofu in spicy black bean sauce, pot stickers and Thai-style fish in a tangy spicy sauce! Yums!

I would stop here but you know what? We went home so tired we stepped in the door and literally passed out on the sofa! And when we were nicely rested, we skipped out again later in the evening for another feast! Happy days !

Gone are the days when I was the Queen of Fashion Decisions in the family. Back then, shopping was a breeze. I’d grab whatever I thought would look good on everyone – neckties and shirts for Hip2bDad, shorts and shirts for Steev, dresses, jeans and hair accessories for the girls – and usually ended up with nothing for myself (why do I always forget myself?).

Anyhow, no one ever complained about my choices whatever colors, lengths or styles. Everyone had complete trust in Mom’s good taste. Well, Mom still has a hip fashion sense (ahem!) but apparently teens want to have their say too. Shopping has gotten a tad more challenging since. Some days, we practically have to trawl the mall just to net that elusive pair of shoes or that impossible pair of jeans!

Recently we got just the perfect sneakers for the girls. They’re as hip and fiesty as holiday cards, don’t ya think?

So it’s been ages since we last went window shopping. And I really do mean ages! As in a whole month, maybe more !

We had to run an errand downtown recently. When it came lunch time, we decided to head for the nearest mall, all in an effort to avoid the wrinkles that come with lunchtime traffic. I swear shopping was the furthest thing from my mind .

Then again, is it even possible to be inside a mall and not take a quick look around? I mean, one quick look never hurt anyone, right? Surely a walk after lunch is good exercise, no?

Well, well, well, how were we to know love would be waiting for us? So unexpected, THIS!

Call it love at first sight! Ever the sucker for chunky jewelry, anything that’s even vaguely reminiscent of what the Queen of Sheba might wear is a must-have ! I love it. Raine loves it. Skye loves it. SOLD!

Okay, don’t even ask us if we’re Iron Man fans? We’re crazy about Iron Man, even though the kids aren’t exactly kids any more.

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