Dream in Color Everlasting 8-ply (sock) in Tidewater

Absolutely stunning color. Unfortunately, each skein's color is different from the others. The one on the left is like a faded version of the one in the middle, and the skein on the right is more blue than the others. Not sure what I'm going to do with my sweater yet, but since I was planning on a top-down sweater, I'm thinking of the lightest skein on top, then alternating with the middle skein, then just the middle, then alternating with the blue, then just the blue for some sort of subtle ombre effect. Hopefully it doesn't end up looking like crap.

Out of Touch

I went clothes shopping yesterday at a mall that seemed to specialize in discounts--it had a gigantic Loehmann's, a Marshall's and a Nordstrom Rack. We went here because the Loehmann's near us has closed and we have a wedding coming up next weekend so it seemed a good time to look. But I seem out of touch. It may be because of the area we live in, but people were really dressed up for shopping. Most of the women (and it was almost all women here) were wearing heels--heeled sandals, heeled boots-- and scarves, status bags and skinny jeans. I felt like I was living in the pages of US Weekly. Meanwhile, in my $8 Old Navy jeans (they were on sale), Sanita clogs and Eddie Bauer cross body bag, I felt very utilitarian. And out of sync. Even for those women who hadn't quite nailed it (there was one Caucasian teenager shopping with her parents who was wearing what appeared to be red satin Chinese pyjamas and red feathers in her hair), they were at least trying.

My feet didn't cooperate when I tried to force them into high-heeled contraptions--I could barely muffle the shriek of protest. I don't think I can wear heels anymore, at least not high ones. And $100 for designer jeans instead of of $200 still seems too much. But the mothers I know wear Seven Jeans and Lululemon yoga pants just for running errands.

This is probably a rhetorical question but here goes anyway: Is it like this everywhere? Or is it just because I've had kids and apparently stopped putting much effort into my appearance that it seems so disparate? Do people everywhere put this much effort into shopping on a Saturday afternoon? Or am I just out of touch?

I didn't even want to go shopping. But amazingly, I found a pair of brown woven leather Cole Haan ballet flats (they kinda look like these) that were astoundingly comfortable. I bought them because I can't wear my clogs with my skinny jeans. And this way, I can wear those skinny jeans I have.

But it bothers me-- how much stock do we put into appearance? How much is a facade, and how much is real? Because the people here are as a whole, very beautiful, very highly maintained, but they're also some of the rudest drivers I've come across (North Carolina has come in as the most polite).