Shopping is a girl's best friend

"When I shop, the world gets better."
--From "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

Last summer at CERN, my office mates joked to me that I should watch this movie.
And I told them that I did watch it.
And what I remembered is this line.

What a week.
Yesterday is department open house. Later in the afternoon the prospective students and a bunch of luckily selected grad students went downtown to a nice Mexican restaurant for dinner. And during the really really nice meal (4 appetizers+1 salad+1 entree+1 dessert) at one point I felt I was falling asleep. Well I was not the only one, two guys at our table ordered coffee.
Went shopping today. My Saturday routine.
Actually I started thinking I was only going downtown to return a bunch of stuff.
And when I got back look what I got at the places I visited.

Anthropologie: returned a silk skirt(lovely skirt at amazing price but not quite my style) and a top; bought a lovely wool hat with a flowery tie and a corset belt(the suede leather belt is marked down to $9.95 from the original $58 or sth.?)

F21: returned a lace jacket (really nice jacket and quite well made for its price, but it is just too short for my 6' frame); bought a canvas bag with faux leather trim, nice summer/nautical look.

Ann Taylor: returned a silk dress (well I bought the size2 online, found out it was too big for me; so repurchased a size0 in store last week...); bought 2 more silk dresses and a silk blouse (well it is 25% off sale price so like 60% or more so off original price and silk is so perfect for spring and summer and the prints are beautiful and after so many consecutive dress sale events isn't it just amazing to find the beauties in size0 when all sizes below 10 are sold out online...)

White House Black Market: returned the laser print belt (further marked down so I just purchased another one...sth. about getting free shipping with the black book membership) and bought a metal chain belt/necklace. I'll probably use it more as a necklace: let's see how it works.

Borders: bought 3 bargain books. Othello, Partners in Command (about Marshall and Eisenhower) and a poem collections by Emily Dickinson. I have a huge bedside table+drawer full of books that I've been trying to read a bit every night: so far it has proven difficult to keep the habit. I still remember once I found King Lear among the bargain books and when I was checking it out the girl asked me whether it was for school, and I told her it's for fun, and she gave this whole "who-reads-King Lear-for-fun"kind of look. Well I don't know: I do feel embarrassed for how little Shakespeare I've read; hopefully I'll have time to finish these two by, I don't know, this summer?

Well and I received 2 packages from Anthro, today and the day before. The lean lines tunic in blue, the xs fits TTS and though it is too short for me to wear as a dress, paired with white skinnies and dark booties it should pop a fresh look: a bit different from my usual dress+pumps daily assemble though. Two pairs of tights. And the boucle cape: somehow a size s popped up online when I was browsing through past catalogs, score!
And another package from WHBM today, the laser print belt again, the dot ruffle sweater and the Elysee asymmetrical hem Skirt.
A second-year told me on the bus yesterday, you are easily the most well-dressed in the department.
I do not know if I should be happy about it.
It reminds me of what our teaching lab director told me last year, it's rare to see someone dressed like this around here; you are really setting new standards.
And I said, I hope it is in terms of academic work.

Speaking of work, again I've got no work done today.
Well it's Saturday.
Gotta work tomorrow, or rather, today.
It's already the first hour of Sunday.