It’s weird to be back in America.  I didn’t think that it would be, but it is.

The first time “the weirdness” struck me was on one of our domestic flights.  We were so rushed in the airport that we’d been unable to get anything to eat.  As a result, we decided to get some in-flight food from the stewardess – a wrap sandwich to split, a medium snack-box, and a box of Twizzlers (Chris ate the Twizzlers – I’m not a fan of candy that resembles rubbery plastic).  Grand total: $22.00.  Being used to NZ prices, I thought that was a reasonably good deal.  I’ve since been told that $22 for a sandwich, snack box, and small thing of candy isn’t a good deal after all.

I think that it was days #2 and #3 of our first week here that I went to a Wal-Mart, a Target, and a charity shop with my mom.  While in the charity shop, I kept exclaiming: “This costs how much?!” and marveling at the prices of used furniture (I kind of have an obsession with finding used furniture in need of resurrection – I visit our local charity shop in AKL on an almost weekly basis).  I wondered aloud whether or not Chris would let me sneak an end table into our luggage, and my mom just laughed.

The weirdness continued with my first visit to a US shopping mall.  Talk about disorienting.  I felt like my head was whipping back and forth as we circled the women’s clothing section of Kohl’s.  All I wanted was a black, above-the-knee pencil skirt and a cardigan for church the following morning.  After 15 minutes of squeezing my way amidst overcrowded racks with clothes bulging into the aisles, I decided that I’d had enough.  I cut over to the sock department, where I bought a pair of black leggings and a 3-pack of wool socks.  Grand total: $2.30 thanks to $20 in Kohl’s bucks + a 15% off card that my mom graciously let me have.  Nice.

We headed to Macy’s next.  I thought they might have the black skirt that I was looking for, but no such luck.  They weren’t overcrowded with clothes like Kohl’s, but I still felt a bit headachey from the large selection in front of me.  I wanted to say, “The heck with it!” and go home, but my sister wouldn’t let me I decided to see if there was an Ann Taylor.  No AT, but there was a GAP outlet.  I was pretty happy when I saw that they had just the skirt that I was looking for, and in my size, no less.

I couldn’t find a picture of the skirt online since it was bought at an outlet.  The one below is similar, albeit a bit longer and with an exposed zipper in the back:

I also bought two loose-gauge sweaters with silver thread woven throughout, similar to this one but dressier:

One was silver and one was black.  The grand total for these 3 items: about $60.

I’ve missed those kinds of prices.

I decided to stop at the Clinique counter on our way to the parking lot {yes, parking lot, not car park!}.  I usually don’t buy make-up or skincare products in department stores.  However… since having Joe I’ve noticed that my eyes are beginning to look a bit too like Uncle Fester’s to satisfy me:

My mom and sister both use Clinique eye products and suggested that I try them.  I ended up purchasing the All About Eyes cream…

…and the All About Eyes concealer:

I considered buying a night cream, but decided against it for the time being.

Imagine my surprise when I got home, opened the bag, and saw a big jar of the night cream inside.  My first thought was, “Oh no!  She got the products mixed up and gave me the night cream instead of the concealer”.  I started to dig through the bag and quickly spotted the box of concealer.  What was up with that?

I thought that the night cream may have been a complimentary sample, but I looked it up online and saw that it was the same size as the $45 container, so I knew that there must have been a mistake.  I decided to call the store and ask if they would like me to bring it back the next time I was in Macy’s.  The woman that I spoke with thanked me, but told me to just consider it a freebie and that it was my lucky day 🙂  I’ll say!  Although my sister wonders if the woman at the counter didn’t just take pity on me and toss it in for the sake of all those who have to look at me, ha ha!

In summary: after having been gone for over a year and a half, I’ve decided that shopping in America is definitely weird and can give you a headache.  The prices are worth it, though, and if you get a great freebie thrown in every now and then, it certainly sweetens the entire process.