Sunday Shopping Excursion

Jesse left for D.C. for a work thing, so this weekend I was left all alone. Saturday afternoon I gave my first talk to an audience of about 12 people about researching their historic house. I think it went pretty well -- they still want me to teach the longer 2-hour workshop in August, so I didn't screw it up entirely. It was one of those afternoons that I probably would have gone out with Jesse for a celebration beer, but instead, I headed over to Powell's and sat in their coffee shop for a couple of hours researching places to stay in Brussels.

My plans for Sunday were a little more nebulous and a lot less fun. I was determined to spend the afternoon at the mall combing the department store racks for a cute raincoat and a pair of jeans. I have been on a search for a good-looking raincoat since we moved here way back in September, but had not been able to find something that fit all of my requirements -- somewhat stylish, doesn't hide my figure (the dreaded tube torso), and has a hood (preferably detachable).

Portland is the land of rain, and yet every single store that I've gone visited has had absolutely hideous raincoats for women that, I swear, were fitted on male athletic models with no hips, waist, or chest. However, I hit the jackpot at Nordstrom department store. In fact, I actually had a hard time deciding between THREE different coats. Shocking! So, thank you Michael Kors, for making multiple feminine water-resistant jackets (with detachable hoods). Also, thank you Nordstrom for holding a summer blow-out sale so I didn't have to spend my whole week's grocery budget on said raincoat -- I spent the remainder on this cute jacket and shirt. It seriously took me about 20 minutes to find, try on, and purchase the raincoat. I thought (foolishly) that the clothing gods were on my side and with all the good shopping mojo, I'd coast through the jeans searching process.

Reality hit when I walked into the jeans section of the juniors department (juniors pants fit me better than ladies for some reason) and found that a bulk of the inventory looked like this. I actually smelled a pair because they looked so worn and dirty that I was convinced they had occupied the legs of a homeless person. Honestly? Why would I buy a $70 pair of jeans that look like they've been mauled by a rottweiler? Also, there's a very good chance that I might rip them on my own (the reason that I was in this jeans-buying predicament in the first place), so I don't need industrial rotors tearing my pants to shreds before the point of purchase. Hopefully this trend, along with skinny and stirrup jeans, will soon fade into oblivion for another couple decades.

I did find a pair of jeans down the road at a Nordstrom Rack store. Did you know that there are $225 jeans floating around on the clothing market? I had to wait in an enormous line to try on 15 pair of (Euro size) jeans and managed to find one pair that fits well. However, they need about 14 inches hacked off the legs. I could probably build an entirely new outfit out of the remaining fabric. However, because I bought them at Nordstrom Rack, the price was pretty awesome. Luckily, I am handy with the sewing machine, so the alterations should be a cinch. I can't wait for a (rainy) night out to wear all of my new finds.

Next step? Finding comfortable, but non-hideous shoes for the upcoming trip to Belgium and Germany!