Shopping Anyone?

I just got back from a shopping excursion where I was not able to spend two hundred dollars worth of free money.

Let me elaborate...

My husband won a very generous $200 gift certificate to Mountain Equipment Co-op and since I have been complaining to him that I have no warm winter coat (nothing that can handle the -30 C) he gave it to me to go and find myself something warm.

Now, I am a girl that likes to shop at such stores as Zara, Jacob, Club Monaco, etc...I am not a very casually dressed person and certainly not sporty or outdoorsy in any way. But I had hopes that I could buy a nice zipped up sweater to layer under my coat in a very nice dark colour. So I headed over to MEC to see what they had...after all I had $200, what girl can't spend that kind of cash?

So I walk into the store and I see that things are arranged by categories such as Biking, Hiking, Running, Climbing and so on. My first thought was shit, I am in big trouble...I don't do any of these things where am I going to find a simple sweater. Then on the second floor I spot a sign that says Women's Apparel.BINGO.

I head over and start scanning the racks...there are lots of sweater...all kinds of sweaters...sweaters of different colours, styles, fabrics, and absorbency level. My first reaction is UGLY and FREAKING EXPENSIVE. There was this plain sweater made with some kind of patent pending material for $175...can you believe that? I mean for that kind of cash I should be able to get a whole freaking coat at this time of the year. I am very disappointed by the selection but decide to look at every single rack to see if I can find something to buy.

As I am going up and down the racks I think about what I could use...what do I need...work-out clothes is something I need. So I search for pants and shirts, but either things are just too expensive for a t-shirt ($75) or they did not have my size, or it was just not the right thing to work out in an indoor gym (long sleeved shirt).

I move away from looking for a work-out outfit...what else could I use? I know plain shirts. I spot some nice long-sleeved cotton shirts that I could wear under my sweaters. Score, there is a nice white one in my size for $14, this is a good price so I take it. Then I spot the sales rack and see if I can find something interesting. I see a nice hot pink sweater for $35 that looks like nothing that I own. So I take it...after all, why not. But I just can't find anything else that I like and I have very little time left, so I took those two item and went to pay.

Then, I remembered that I have to buy a freaking membership to this place, thankfully it is only $5 but still now I have $5 dollars less to spend on stuff that I don't like. Oh well, maybe the husband will find something nice or I can give it a couple of weeks and try again. After all I am a lifetime member of this place.