breaking my 'sludgy' dress code...

i spent Mother's day taking our #1 and #2 to the big shopping mall south of Seattle, i have managed to avoid going there for seven years, but this place houses the store Forever 21 (even the name scares me) and eventually i knew i was going to have to make the trip and Mother's day seemed like the ideal day to spend some 'girl' time together...

i have never been to this store until today and to be honest i had avoided going because there are two things i don't like being faced with...number one: when i look around me and realize that all the shop assistants and customers are half my age and number two: trying on clothes at the same time as two teenage girls is not good for one's self esteem, doesn't matter how pretty the clothes are, standing side by side looking in the mirror, chances are you will look like a sagging dinosaur...

i have also avoided prolonged episodes of shopping for clothes in more recent years because i am falling into the trap of "well that fits and it doesn't look too bad, so why don't i buy it in several different colors and then i'm done" and when i say "colors" that means different shades of 'sludge'...although i use colors in my crafting, i have a great deal of trouble clothing myself in colors.

so we walked through the door of Forever 21 and it was just like stepping into one of my japanese crafting books...just a riot of colors and kitsch fabrics. we spent an hour and half trying on all sorts of things and the girls managed to spend most of their hard earned cash, and me?

well, thanks to my mother-in-law's generosity, i now have four new 'bright' not 'sludgy' summer tops all to wear with (oh god this is scary) skinny cropped jeans, along with one flouncy skirt...

wondering if i'll attract the bees this summer...Tif