Okay, so I know that I said I was curbing my shopping appetite not too long ago, but, after having an irritating past few weeks, I needed to splurge a little. Enter my friend Jen. Jen and I have wonderful shopping adventures together. Whenever I am looking for something specific and, a little out of my “normal” style, I know that I can count on her for assistance. And, if I don’t walk away with the item I was coveting, I usually end up with something else. This time, it was Jen who needed my assistance; she was in search of conservative – yet feminine work clothes, and I had the perfect store for her.

Last Saturday, I set out to the south shores of Long Island to pick her up. I don’t really go to her house often, so I got a little lost, but eventually made it to my destination. We stayed at her house for about twenty minutes, while she finished up some work, then with the assistance of her husband, headed out northeast towards my hometown, Huntington. Our destination: the Limited.
Seeing as how the Limited is limited, we were bound for the mall, which is a dangerous thing…especially since I always park the car on the side opposite the store. If I didn’t, I would probably never find my car, plus it gives me an excuse to stop at Panera Bread before I leave and get a frozen caramel espresso beverage. They are so delicious.

We hit a few stores on our way to the Limited, one of them being Banana Republic. It had been years since I stepped foot inside that store. I own quite a few items from them, pre their uber conservative phase; I’m all about conservative, but if it lacks character, I just can’t do it. I love Jackie Kennedy’s style: timeless, elegant, beautiful. Immediately upon our stepping into Banana, I eyed this adorable pink trench with a grayish polka dot lining. A few years back, pink trench coats had been huge, and I went around to many stores trying them on, but none of them fit right. This one, however, fit perfectly; I had to have it. I also fell in love with a pink and red striped sweater with gold buttons on top of the shoulders. Jen and I have a habit of making the same purchases; we walked out of there with identical bags and continued onward.

After a few more stops, but no more purchases, we landed at our destination. Slowly, we combed the racks. I found two shirts for myself (of which I ended up with one; yellow and white stripes) and pointed out items for Jen to try on (she ended up purchasing all of them). We made stops in a few other stores before lunching at Panera Bread, then went to Michael’s, where I literally had to be dragged away from the frames (I am obsessed with frames). I gave her a little tour of Huntington Village and then we departed, exhausted, and thoroughly satisfied. My credit card was a bit sad, but it was a great day.