Score or Snore?

There exist, in my universe, three Fred Meyer stores. One, less than a mile from my home, is where I buy milk, and where I first saw the Natalie Portman Vogue cover. Another, nine miles to the east, is in the vicinity of the Eddie Outlet and the fine repair shop where we sometimes must take our "vintage" German automobiles. The third is north. The only reason we are ever in that area is for driver's licensing, which is what I was doing last Friday when a gentleman kindly pointed out that I had a puddle of coolant under my car.

It was hot, so rather than wait there we walked to Fred Meyer to await our rescuer. Ah, serendipity! There I found the pink twin set on the clearance rack.

Random thoughts:

• If your style idiom resembles that which is common in your neighborhood, the good news is that you will feel at home. The bad news is that clearance shopping won't be as good. Getting out of my neighborhood, meant the clearance options were much better, even within the same chain.
  
  
• I took my own advice. Clearly the cardigan pictured here was within my price range (it was $10, down from around $40); the tank, on the other hand, wasn't as much of a bargain ($9, from a little over $20). As an act of shopping discipline, I reminded myself, more than once, that I shouldn't be dishing out advice if it isn't worth taking.
  
  
• Last night I attended a "year-end performance", where the kids and their classmates put on a show for the parents, etc. Wearing the pink twin set, my brown linen pants, and Chacos; it was pointed out to me that, indeed, I was dressed semi-casual.
  
  
• And yet, I could make a case that this is a boring top. Hence, the title of the post. What do you think?
  

Epilogue: Thank goodness for cell phones, and my mother-in-law who provides mine out of the goodness of her own heart. While daughter #2 and I were happily shopping, daughter #1 was promptly and cheerfully coming to rescue us. Even after the following conversation:

"Hi. I just wanted to tell you we're in the clothing department, not the food."

"Okay. Well I'm already in the store."

"See you in a few."

And then the next conversation:

"Where are you in the store?"

"I'm in the junior's department."

("Ask her what Fred Meyer she's at.")

No, she wasn't at the one by our house. She was at the other one.