Since late last year, I have been spending a lot of time in Brooklyn, mostly hanging out with my boyfriend and friends, eating, drinking and just having fun.  On Memorial Day, we picnicked under a tree at a park by the Brooklyn Bridge; it was a beautiful, relaxing day.  I’ve attended yoga classes, walked for fro-yo…but one thing that I hadn’t done much of was shop.  When Billy first moved to Brooklyn back in November, I had walked into a boutique or two, but didn’t really find anything that I liked…I was also in a shopping-exile because of an upcoming trip that didn’t end up happening, but believe me, if I had found something I loved, I would have purchased it without a second thought.

The weekend before Mother’s Day, I ventured out to a couple of markets in search of food to cook for dinner.  On my way to one of the markets, I was passing a boutique and something caught my eye.  In the window, there was a sleeveless asymmetrical print green dress.  I stared at it for a few seconds, pondering over whether to enter the boutique or not.  In the end, I decided to walk in and briefly comb the racks.  I didn’t see the dress, and wasn’t in the mood to try anything on, so I left, finished up my grocery shopping and went home.  But…I kept thinking about that dress.

The following week, I went with Billy to a florist to pick out an orchid for his mom for Mother’s Day.  The florist was a little bit of a walk, but their flowers were amazing, so it was worth it.  As we were looking at the different orchids, deciding which one to get, I turned to my left and saw the most beautiful vases on a shelf.  They were brown, the tone varying slightly here-and-there, and there were very thing stems with small leaves painted on them.  There were only two of them, both different shapes, and I could not stop staring.  I pointed them out to Billy, and we picked them up and looked at them.  In vain, I looked for a price tag, but when I saw there wasn’t one, we asked the woman who was helping us.  They were not that expensive, and the woman said that they were handmaid by someone who lived locally.  I was already in love with them, but the fact that they were unique and not mass-produced made me love them even more.  When we were getting ready to leave – the orchid had already been picked out and paid for – I still could not decide which to purchase.  In the end, I walked out with both.  I purchased one of them, and Billy being the great boyfriend that he is, purchased the other for me, saying that he saw how much I loved them and that he wanted me to have both. 

The weekend after that (yes, there were a few shopping ventures in a row) we stepped out on a misty Saturday to do a little shopping and some errands.  I was determined to see if the boutique still had the dress that I coveted, so I took Billy there with me.  The dress was no longer in the window, so we went inside to see if it was in the shop.  I asked one of the women, and she pulled out two dresses that had been displayed – neither of which was it.  To be fair, I had described the dress as floral, not asymmetrical patterned.  The woman then pulled out a third dress, and it was it.  Billy and I both glanced at the price tag, and I cringed, but tried it on anyway.  Of course it fit perfectly.  After adjusting the straps and staring at it in the mirror, I took it off and went to consult with Billy about it.  He thought that I should get it regardless of the price, and I did.

Bottom line – Brooklyn isn’t nearly as bad as I always have made it out to be – the shopping is great, but I have to force myself not to step into any boutique too often or I will purchase way too many items.