It was a perfect day for shopping. It was bright, the temperature was fantastic -- not warm enough for short sleeves but not cool enough to really need a jacket. My only problem was that instead of arriving early to beat the rush, I slept in like crazy and didn't get to Vanity Fair until around 3pm. I circled around for 5 minutes trying to find a close spot only to wind up in my normal far-off lot by the bookstore. At least I got to practice the fine art of driving backwards.

The place was completely packed. There were vendors outside selling cider and popcorn, and people scurrying about with huge carts full of cheap tax-free jeans and pretzels. The lots were packed with buses from New York and New Jersey. I was excited and anxious to max out all my credit cards. My first stop was the Book Warehouse, a place I can never leave without spending at least $30 on 2 dozen books. If it weren't for them I wouldn't own a copy of The Metamorphosis or Releasing the Goddess Within. 



It looks like I won't be getting good books there for much longer, because they seem to be closing.  Where am I going to get  6 for $10 Mad Libs now?  Sigh.... at least I got 20% off Pooh's Little Book of Feng Shui. I also found some bins full of those tiny kits for way cheap, and got to gloriously dig through all of them by myself until a crowd of women spotted me and swooped in. Other notable pieces I purchased were The Beginner's Guide for the Recently Deceased and a 1997 Troll book containing "E-mail addresses and Web Sites of the Stars." The kits we'll save for another entry.

The other day my mother asked me when I was planning on writing up my Christmas list. I looked right at her and said, "I don't want to think about Christmas until Thanksgiving," and she acted as though I'd just spit lava. Strangely enough, I did find myself purchasing items today to put away for Xmas. One of which was a Totes umbrella that compacts to the size of a glasses case. I figured it'd be perfect to shove off on some douchey relative I have to buy a present for even though I don't like them.



The outlets consist mainly of two huge factory sized buildings. One is the red building which has tons and tons and tons and tons of clothing. The other is the blue building which has toys and food. There's also a lot of side buildings like the bookstore, Timberland, Dooney & Bourke, etc. Then there's the Designer's Place....



Ah, Designer's Place. So many designer goods, so many discounted prices. This is actually why I went to the outlets in the first place. My intentions were innocent enough -- I bought a white shirt the other day and realized I don't own any white bras. $120 later and I still don't own any white bras. At least I managed to deter myself from buying a Coach handbag.