A Day of Shopping...

For Sarah's birthday in April she had a choice of going to a Broadway play, which she would LOVE to see "Wicked", or going shopping. Each had their budgets and it was a tough decision for our now teenage daughter, but shopping won. We waited until Spring Break so we had the entire day. I set up a sleepover for Brayden, so that we didn't have to listen to him complain about how done he was with shopping and could we PLEASE go to the Lego store.

Prior to going Sarah went through her closet to sort through her clothes, what she would keep, what she wouldn't keep, as well as figured out what she would need. That's my girl, trying to be organized and make the most of the money to spend. Hmmm, wonder who taught her that. Wonder who taught me that. : )

She also made a list of all the stores that she wanted to go to. I wish I had a picture of that list because if I recall I am pretty sure there were at least 10 or more stores. I was up for it though. It was Sarah's birthday present and I wanted her to be happy. It's not every day I get to spend the day with my girl doing what she loves, shopping.

We started off strong right when the mall opened. Our first stop was American Eagle, where we were for two hours and spent the majority of her budget. However, she was thrilled with all that she had gotten.

We crossed a few other stores off her list prior to heading to lunch with Grandma whose birthday just happened to be that day. Sarah showed what all she had gotten and we enjoyed an hour of time with Grandma.

After lunch we were back at it. The mall just opened a new wing, which we didn't realize and Sarah was thrilled to see that they had an Urban Outfitters.

"This is the BEST day ever!"

We continued marking off the stores on the list one by one. Aunt Susie requested some "Dressing Room Dancing" pictures, so we made sure to snap some while in Aeropostale.

By 6:00 p.m. we were in our last store and I was exhausted and we still had a baby shower to attend that evening at church. My girl kept me going though. She was so happy with all of her purchases

 These are some of the outfits she got.

Sarah says her other favorite part of the day was going to Lush. Lush is a handmade cosmetics store where she picked different masks and lotions for her face. She is totally into lotions, makeup, masks, hair products, so Lush has become a favorite store.

My girl is such a sweetie. When we got home late in the evening she presented me with a candle that she had purchased during the day as a way of saying "Thank You" for the shopping trip. I was surprised and touched by her thoughtfulness. 

It is so funny, I think she is easier to shop with now then when she was younger. We used to disagree all the time when clothes shopping, she wanted one thing I wanted her to have another. A lot of times it ended in frustration for both of us. I think we have both changed a little. Sarah for the most part understands when I say "no" to something and accepts it. I have come to let Sarah have her own style and personality when it comes to her clothes. I think the most important thing is that we communicate with each other sharing our thoughts, not only about clothes but about life. I value this the most, as I know not every parent can say that.

I loved this day celebrating my girl and showering her with a few new things.