Today I went to the mall with Betty and a dear family friend who lives in Africa. She needed to get a few things to take back.
Now, both Betty and I love to shop, even if we're not looking for anything. We're always happy to wander around, try on shoes, or even just fondle some clothing. We have extraordinary amounts of shopping patience.
I'm not really a mall person, but still, am often happy to go along if it's with people I like. Because if you're wandering around chatting, who cares where you are?
When I lived in San Diego, I worked very near a big mall. And sometimes when I'd had a really bad day I'd just stop at the mall and wander around and try things on. Or just window shop. It helps that all malls there are outdoors, and it's usually sunny. But really, something about handling apparel puts me in a good mood.
But not today. Because holy cow! Tysons, which is where we wound up, was a little piece of hell today. Parking was heinous, and there were people every every everywhere! It was impossible not to be a hater. At least for me.
I can't, absolutely can't, go back to a mall before Christmas. I don't have the strength or the patience. I am going to have to get it together shortly and order things online.
And this reminds me - does anyone you know have stemless wine glasses? I want some, because I break wine glasses regularly. Although I think some of that is that Crate and Barrel wine glasses are not super sturdy. Anyway, I want stemless ones for Christmas and Betty wants to know where to get them for me. And I couldn't bear to prolong our mall visit and poke around the department stores.
Should you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to return to the mall, I offer up myself as the Fezzik to clear your way.
ReplyDeleteI think I still have my body armor from my Jersey shopping days...
As for glassware, I'm actually quite fond of Williams Sonoma's line:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/gls/glsi/glsrdoi/index.cfm
Glad you survived!
Both IKEA and Amazon.com have stemless wine glasses. My room mate has some and bought them at one of those two places. He doesn't remember where.
ReplyDeleteMalls are evil places any time of the year, but especially from the weekend before Thanksgiving, through the first or second week of January. During that period, they're like I imagine some level of hell would be. If I believed in hell.
Hope you're having a nice weekend. :-)
Dad - Haha! Thanks for the Fezzik offer - if I'm in dire straits I will definitely beg you to accompany me. :) AND - yes! Those Reidel O glasses are exactly what I want! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteVVK - I'm wondernig if he has the same ones Dagny pointed me to. They have them on Amazon as well. Yay! As for hell, I tend to think Sartre was right and it's personalized. In which case, one of my versions is a pre-Christmas mall.
you should come visit. as for the other thing, I owe you an email with the gossip, and I will explain all, including recent pertinent information. ;) Expect it this weekend sometime. Dying under the crush of thesis.
ReplyDeleteBeen reading for a while, first time commenter. :)
ReplyDeleteI just started working 2 part time jobs at the mall near me. I know crazy right, but I am in desperate need of money and only need to work for a couple weeks before I go away. My point is that for the first time in my life I am on the other side of retail. I'm the one who's trying to help. And it was crazy today. I'm working 2 shifts the day after Thanksgiving. I am gonna die.
We've got Riedel stemless wineglasses at our house and they're really quite lovely. Don't fall over easily, and since they're Riedel they're perfectly shaped to actually make your wine taste better. I didn't believe it either, but a side-by-side taste test proved me wrong. A bit pricey, but I'd say they're worth $15-20 for a pair. They market them according to the specific type of wine you plan to be drinking (syrah, chardonnay, viognier, etc.) and they can be found at riedel.com.
ReplyDeleteCheck out Spieglau glasses. I think they're of comparable or nearly comparable quality to Riedel, and they're significantly less expensive. I've bought several different types of Spieglau glasses via Amazon and I've been really happy with them. I don't have any of their stemless glasses, but they make one of the stemmed glasses I own--a burgundy glass--in a stemless version that's available here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Spiegelau-Authentis-Stemless-Burgundy-Tumbler/dp/B000BK7IR2/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1195361202&sr=1-18
You might want to start with a stemless red wine glass like this one, and hold off on the white wine models. Stemmed glasses have a major advantage over stemless in the world of white wine, because holding the stem prevents your hand temperature from warming up the wine. White wine warms up pretty quickly when holding it in a stemless glass.
Cheers!
I went to World Market yesterday and they had stemless wine glasses. A big variety too -- even some colorful ones (I love glasses out of the ordinary that no one else has!)
ReplyDeleteWe got the Riedel ones as a housewarming gift a year or so ago, and despite my initial hesitation, I love them now and strongly recommend them.
ReplyDeleteSD - Get through the thesis. I was just curious! :) And whenever I make it out to visit Jane in LA, I will totally try to coordinate with you!
ReplyDeleteJennifer - Thanks for commenting! Oh, god - be strong. I haven't ever done that. I wish you all the best working through the holidays. People get really pushy and grumpy. I hope they're nice to you!
Anon - Fantastic input. I did look them up and look at/read about the different shapes. Thanks so much!
FRM - Hmm, another good option! Thanks much for the advice!
BB - Ooh! Colorful ones sound fun! I haven't been to World Market in ages.
Alexandra - Awesome. Thank you for the recommendation!
Target has nice and cheap stemless glasses. I love the ones i bought!
ReplyDelete