It’s time again for one of my personal reflections; try to bear with me…LOL!

I have two events coming up that required “the big shopping trip.”  You know the big shopping trip.  The one where you have one day to hit the mall and get everything you need to go out in public. The clothes, the shoes, make up and yes, new under garments. In my case it’s a trip to Red Deer College in Alberta and my speaking engagement at the Forum on Virtual Assistance. 

Since I work from home the need for these items are well pretty much non-existent, my Old Navy yoga pants and t-shirts, do me just fine. Wearing make up?  What’s the point, I’m not going to spend a ½ hour of my morning putting on make up just to sit in front of my computer. Comfort is really what it’s all about for me at home.  However on these rare occasions when I need to venture out and “try” to put myself together, it takes a trip to the mall to make it happen. 

I’m not really a shopper, not one for the crowds so when I do have an event to prepare for I like to take care of it in one swoop, the one big shopping trip.  In my case it happened this following weekend.

So, I woke up Saturday with my plan of action and I was ready to go. I always keep track of past successes so I know where I have the best chance of getting what I need in the shortest amount of time.  There is no window shopping for this girl…it’s all about getting in and getting out!

First item on the agenda…clothes!  I have to say I don’t particularly like shopping for clothes…especially for events.  Why is it when you have a picture in your head of what type of outfit you’d like, it’s never there?  I’m all about getting the job done (if you haven’t figured it out yet) so I go straight for the clothes where mixing and matching is not required.  A dress with a jacket, a pant suit with matching camisole…anything that cuts down on me standing there, scratching my head trying to match this top with that skirt. 

So, I started by visiting a department store where I have been fairly successful in the past. I took one look and knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. They were having a blow out sale and normally this would be a bonus, but one look and I knew I was in trouble.  If I was 80 years old and a lawn bowler, well I would be set…seriously, are leisure suits back in?  There was a sea of bright yellows, pinks, and greens before me and well I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.  I’m not a rainbow wearer, if it isn’t black, grey or white…well it’s not for me.

I quickly set my sights on another store, and of course separates were everywhere, no all in one ensembles in this store.  No, no it couldn’t be that easy.  As I stood there looking dumber than stump with a skirt in my hand, a saleswomen came by and asked if I needed help. I shook my head yes and sensing my desperation she immediately began pulling items off the rack, asking me my size, do I like this style, etc.  Okay now we’re talking, this is what I needed, my own personal shopper.  She picked out skirts, matching tops, pants, you name it I had at least one of them in the change room with me.  I must have tried on 10 different outfits, some were great, and some were simply horrendous like this orange sleeveless jacket that they referred to as a “lovely coral” that would look wonderful with my skin tone.  I referred to it as a putrid orange that made me look 20 lbs heavier and I should be at a construction site holding the “stop sign” for the cars passing by.

Overall after two hours I walked out of there with the outfits I needed. Clothes done – check!  I headed straight to the shoe store.

This one was a complete success walking in and 15 minutes later walking out with the shoes I wanted.  Mind you not without first hitting the pocketbook pretty hard!  But then I’m okay with spending a little more money if it means I’m not walking around aimlessly for hours.   Shoes done – check!

Now, one of the items I really needed was a new bra. Okay, can I talk about this stuff on a blog?  Hell, it’s my blog, so I can talk about it!  To be perfectly honest, my weight has gone up and down over the past year and I actually didn’t know what bra size I actually was.  So I ended up going into a lingerie store and getting fitted.  Which I am so glad I did! Ladies, if you haven’t gotten fitted for a while I encourage you to do so. For the past year I’ve been wearing a bra size that was a cup size too big.  Now that I got the “lift” I needed…lol…I was done.  Pfeeeew… Under garment done -check!  Big shopping trip over—-YEAHHH!!!

Overall not a bad day, I walked out with everything I needed, but with much less money, than when I walked in the store, but that’s the price you pay when you’re a VA who doesn’t venture out much. 

 Boy I really need to get out more!!