Go Forth & Shop

When the 101 is wide open, it only takes me 20 minutes to drive to the 5th & Mission St. garage and an additional 4 to 8 to arrive on the threshold of any number of retail establishments. So I'm not sure why it's been an entire year since I've been downtown to shop for exterior ornamentation. To be fair, last year's adventure was punctuated by a highly successful romp through Anthropologie; perhaps I was haunted by the ghost of successful shopping past.

Anyhoots, Anthropologie was a bust this year. Instead, my childhood pal K. brilliantly steered our ship towards Jeremy's on 2nd and South Park, where—and this is crazy, people—I purchased a $495 pair of Christian Louboutin flats for the unheard of price of $189. Next time I see you, I'll wear them and you will say, "Ooooooh, where did you get those shoes?" and I will say, "I beg your pardon? Do you not recall my blog post of May 16th 2005?" And you will stroke your chin and say, "But of course, yes, the Louboutin flats..."

Other treasures were found, but two items proved elusive (this is sort of like The Chatelaine's negative purchases, but not really): an Acme Made "slim" for my laptop and a certain pair of Puma kicks that were unavailable in my size.

The line of the day came from one of the overly zealous "perfume people" stationed at the front of one store. To be polite, K. and I accepted the cologne-doused pink ribbons we were proffered. As we walked away, Perfume Girl squealed, "If you like it, come back and I'll spray you!" Which, if you think about it, is a line that could be useful in many situations.