Recession, Wha...?

I had to go and return our last two duplicate gifts today ... this meant braving the capitol of capitalism ... the Mall of America. (Yes, there's a place for fun in your life.) Now, I realized that most school's are still out until Monday and many others took today as a vacation day (like I did) or sadly, many others have lost their jobs and perhaps were scouring the mall for employment. But ... wow! The mall was crawling with people.

For someone like me, who had exactly two stores to go to, take care of my errands and make an exit, it wasn't the most pleasant experience. First, I had to go to a cooking store to return a Rabbit wine bottle opener (yes, of all the gifts to get duplicates of ... my only duplicate was a very heavy wine opener.) Now, I normally love perusing cooking stores ... the smells, all the fun little gadgets, for an aspiring foodie and Top Chef fanatic, there's nothing better. So, I return the item, and at this store, the "store credit" is a printout on the receipt. Since there are only two locations in the entire state of Minnesota, I knew that I must make my purchase today (or forever hold my peace.) This was definitely not the William-Sonoma crowd at this store. People were ooohing and aaahing over a Cuisinart food processor. So, I called my trusty husband, told him the dollar amount and asked him what we needed. We went down the list ... he on their Web site ... me in the store. Unfortunately, we surmised that everything we needed, they didn't carry. So he trusted me to get something fun. The purchase: an ice cream maker, folks. I'm sure we'll use it ... sometime. And this way, I can make ice cream that I know won't contain high-fructose corn syrup. Or perhaps some delicious Wasabi Sorbet (I've made Wasabi ice cream before ... and it is truly delish.)

Next stop, Urban Outfitters. I always like to peruse this store, because they own Anthropologie ... and I love Anthro -- but UO is a tad bit more affordable. Unfortunately, the store was just too packed for my likings (and now I was carrying a very heavy ice cream maker, sort of regretting that I made the purchase so early in my errand-ing.)

Off to a new favorite store of mine: Lush. Okay, okay. Let me just warn you now. It's a very overpriced little store. But it is the most fantastic store. I had yet to make a purchase at Lush, but just walking in always has made me a little happy. Well ... today they had an amazing sale. By one thing of their yummy soaps, get TWO free. Yes, buy one, get TWO free. I couldn't help myself. So, I got three yummy soaps (still overpriced, but technically I only paid for one, so it felt like I was just paying what I'd pay at Target!) And besides, in a recession, it's the small affordable luxuries people hold on to, right?

Then I was off to a bookstore for my last return. Fortunately, I was given a gift card for that purchase, so I can let my darling son pick out a new book the next time we're out and about. The last store I braced myself for is Hanna Anderssen. I love this store, but again, a little pricey. However, when they have a sale, you can get fantastic deals. Around Christmas, I got K a $60 sweater for $19 and a pair of their famous striped pajamas for $15. Of course, they were clearancing out everything in the store, but all the cute boy stuff was gone. This is one store where I wish I had a girl, but then I guess this is God's way of saving me money!

So, two hours later, I was able to get out of the craziness that is The Mall. I'm hoping that people were shopping, so that the economy turns soon. Unfortunately, for my own trip, I only pumped about $40 back into the economy, but it was $40 that wasn't there before I stopped by.