Yesterday after a long afternoon of cleaning the house and vaccuuming every inch of our 800 sq ft, I took a trip to Fairhaven to get...something at Fun To Shop, or at least make sure I was on the list for the next round of Marcia Bloom skirts.  My parents gave me some cash with which to buy a birthday present, and I decided to pool it together for a Marcia Bloom.   We had a party to go to in the evening in Seattle to celebrate Cory's wedding coming up in February.  The weathermen have been calling for record low temperatures and snow snow snow, but all we had by Saturday afternoon was the cold.  

After a bone-chilling trot from the car I walked into the courtyard and quickly assessed the rack of clothes in front of the store.  Then I peeked inside and saw what looked like 2 Marcia Bloom skirts on the rack against the far wall.  Since I hadn't received a call that the skirts were "in", I was surprised to see the quintessential lace in multiple layers peeking out from the bottom of the skirt on the rack.  Apparently the skirts came in that week and there were only 2 left.  There was a black and white one and a bright turqoise flowery one.  To tell you the truth, I liked them both.

Lucky for me, there are lots of other things in the store that meet my fancy, so I skimmed through a couple more racks of skirts and interesting sweaters.  I love that every time I go in Fun To Shop, each swipe of the hanger is like opening the door to a new room.  Each article of clothing is totally different than the last, and certainly different than most things you'd find in the mall.  There is only one of each item, so if it's not your color or size, you just move on.  No need to fuss with "Oh, I like that color, and that color, and I just can't decide if I'm a medium or a large".  It's either yes, or no, honey.

I found a cool skirt on the rack with a bouncy feel and a cool cut down the front, so I pulled a shirt that might look good with it and plunged into the dressing quarters.  There, I found a sweet pink scarf that just matched the skirt like they had been designed for each other, so I threw that on.  I also liked the display shirt and pants in the dressing room, but luckily it was on a faux manequin, so just a little too much trouble to deal with...did I mention that the dogs were in the car in this 20-some-degree weather?  Yah, I promised them a walk afterwards, so I wouldn't spend forever in the store.  

Ok, so the skirt is a go, the scarf is a go, but not he sweater.  Then I thought "Since I'm here and these Marcia Blooms are just sitting right there, I might as well try them on."  For some reason, knowing that I didn't get to see the whole batch made me feel like maybe I didn't have the best selection.  This brings me to thinking about The Paradox of Choice - a book I bought in Boston at a web conference that explains how we actually feel less depressed if we don't have a ton of choices.  Since I came "late", I only had 2 skirts to choose from.  This ended up being much less stressful (although a mild form of stress, I admit) than the other time when I had 8 to choose from.  I knew I wanted something fun and carefree, and although I liked the black and white one, the tropical one was a lot of fun - and I just happened to find a perfect turquoise top that matched - and it looked really good with the necklace Miguel got me for my birthday.  Final decision:  the tropical one with the pink scarf, shirt and necklace was just the perfect outfit package for the party tonight.  So batta-bing - SOLD!

Poor dogs.   I spent a bit longer in the store than intended, but I stayed true to my promise and took them to the dog park for a brisk 30-minute walk in the sub-zero temperatures.  I made it home in time for us to leave exactly 1 hour later than anticipated for our party in Seattle...perfect Heather & Miguel timing.  Road conditions were pretty good, but we could tell there was potential for worsening conditions with the snow coming down and the snow plows taking up the right lane.  We pulled into the swanky neighborhood with gated driveways and perfectly landscaped yards, and really didn't know what to expect other than Katrina and Cory being there.  We opened the door to a sea of black and white sprinkled with a bit of red sweaters here and there.  Talk about sticking out.  Man, I might as well have showed up on stilts with a rainbow wig and a clown nose on.  Regardless of my splash-of-color outfit, we were welcomed into the crowd and Katrina & Cory greeted us with enthusiasm.  

There were horsedivers galore, open bar, and finger desserts.  We shmoozed with all the high-rollers of the neighborhood who shared stories of their children and their children's children at will.  It was a very fancy place.  It was nice to catch up with Katrina and to meet Cory's fiance - albeit in an atmosphere very foreign to all of us, we had a good time.  The adventure didn't end, however, until we actually pulled into the parking spot in front of our house, as the conditions on the freeway were snowy, icy, and a bit tretcherous.  We counted 14 cars that had spun around 180 degrees and ended up in the ditch.  The tow-trucks were on call and making bank!  Although I was tense for most of the drive since I wasn't in the drivers seat and I depserately wanted more control, Miguel brought us safely to a stop in front of our house at about 1am.  Phew.  Disaster averted.