
Yesterday we went to visit Jeff's sister in Portland. On the way, we stopped by a little second hand store that I love. They only buy quality used stuff and sell it for reasonable prices. I found some shirts for Ariana, one of which still had the Oshkosh tags on it for 2.50. We also found an adorable pair of sandals with strawberries for the same price. I always feel fairly dealt with when I leave, which is why I like the store.
Then we traveled up to Portland. Jeff had a thing to go to downtown for school, and the parking was horrible. After that, we went to the mall and dinked around until his sister's work was over. Jeff thought I would like looking around the mall, but of course I gravitated toward the three children's stores.
It was a shocking experience. Those tiny little dresses and coats cost more that I would ever spend on an item of my own clothing. At one of the stores, I decided to go through their sale bin. I had to sit on the floor because it was so low, and while it was embarrassing, I certainly was in no mood to peruse clothes that I knew I wouldn't pay the money for. When I had looked through the whole jumble for clothes of the right size, I found only two things that I wanted, a Halloween shirt for next year and a little summer hat that I thought was adorable, but apparently hadn't sold well. We spent four bucks.
I was feeling awkward as we left the store. It's not like I couldn't drop 30 dollars on a little coat for my baby. I just have better things to do with my money. It seems ridiculous (especially because it would just get stained the next week). The things in the bin I looked through were not even cute enough that I would want them in her wardrobe if they were free.
Thank goodness for second hand stores. I don't think I will ever bother going back to a high end store again. It put me in a funk for the rest of the day.