Holiday Shopping season has begun!

This fall has been a busy one for me; school starting, my sister's wedding and some more difficult classes. I have missed writing and kept thinking of good blog ideas, but never found the time to actually write about or post them.

After realizing I had not penned a post since AUGUST due to my class schedule this quarter, I carved out some time this AM to do so. Especially since the holiday season has arrived.

Shopping season has officially started, now that we have not only "Black Friday" but "Small-Business Saturday" and "Cyber Monday" and it seems "the week prior to Black Friday" sales.

Ignorantly, I paid a visit to the Alderwood Mall, in the glorious city of Lynnwood, last Sunday to do a bit of shopping. Since I typically shop at time when nobody else does (dinner time during the week), I was ill prepared for the crowd I encountered upon entering. It started off fine. I parked in my "secret spot" (the 2nd level of the Nordstrom parking garage) and headed into Nordstrom. It was more packed than during the week, but all in all, not too bad. Same goes with the new outdoor area. A bit of a crowd, but fairly manageable. I made stops in William Sonoma and Ann Taylor and decided to walk back to Nordstrom inside, since it started to rain.

Bad decision. It was then I remembered why I NEVER shop on the "Sears" side of the mall. First, I had to walk past the germ-infested play area, where I am sure one should not walk if they have not yet had a flu shot. There were so many people, I literally, could not see more than a couple feet in front of me as there were millions (maybe an exaggeration) of people trying obtain early deals in the stores lining this part of the mall.

From there, things got worse. At some point, it was decided to place kiosks in every square inch of the center of the mall walkway. A strange man attempted to apply lotion to my hands, a young women ran after me with a clip of fake hair and I was almost hit by a remote-controlled helicopter. Fortunately,  I survived and made it to the center of the mall-by Macys.

Unfortunately,  Macys was holding its annual perfume sale right outside their entrance. After dodging squirts of perfume and pushy salespeople, I trekked on...to the "skanky" section of the mall. Now, there used to only be a "Forever 21" where one could purchase "going-out-clothes" (only to be worn once, because they fall apart after that). Now, there is about ten stores similar to "Forever 21" all in one area. While passing through this section of the mall, I spotted about twenty teenage girls wearing outfits that did not seem approp for a Sunday mall outing, or were very figure-flattering. Just a tip- if you are wearing a long sweater, you should wear tights/leggings under or you will just appear to have forgotten your pants. Tall boots are not pants.

Finally, after ignoring the remainder of the kiosks, I reached the promised land- Nordstrom. I have never been more excited to be in this store and rewarded myself with several new winter items.

This hellacious visit to the mall did remind me of a couple of important things: 1) Always shop during non-peak hours and 2) Stay away from the Sears side of mall and opt for the outdoor area instead.

That being said, I am surprised that I am actually contemplating if I should hit up any of the actual "Black Friday" sales tomorrow. Might just stick to the (less crowded) "Small-Business Saturday" or the (crowd free) "Cyber Monday" ones instead. Less stress, less crowded and no helicopters flying at my head!