Never one to shy away from a challenge...

Yesterday I made a resolution to buy something unexpected for my house and my closet.  Not the kind of girl who lets a challenge go unanswered- yesterday afternoon I went shopping.  Locally we have a few out door shopping centers beautiful ones with fountains, flowers and not necessarily anchored by a major department store the way more traditional malls are.  One is walking distance from my office, another is about mid-way on my commute home- easy to get to for a quick shopping trip.  I had decided that I needed something new this weekend- and I was pretty sure it needed to be a lime green sweater.  A color that no one I know would think of me wearing.  My idea was, if I bought a cardigan or other simple silhouette it might ease me into the color.  Here's what I had in mind:

The thing is, I didn't go to to the lovely outdoor shopping center- I went to the mall.  The actual mall- Sears at one end, JcPenny at the other.  I do recognize the irony that in my effort to break the suburban mode I found myself in the ultimate mainstream playground.  I even realized it once I was there- but set on a retail experience and with only an hour until day care closed- I had no choice.

The thing with "our mall" is that it really consists of Macy's, Ann Taylor, The Gap and about 150 "thug wear" stores- not exactly the urban look I was going for.  So I hit Macy's.  I hate to say this, it actually causes me pain and a deep deep sorrow- but when the hell did Macy's become the home of middle aged housewife fashion.  Seriously, I love Macy's- even if I won't shop there I love it.  And honestly, they have a couple of cute brands- I like I.N.C., I like Alfani-  what I don't like is flowered capri pants and Bedazzled t-shirts.  I walked the whole store before I decided that if I want to break the mold, I'd have to start by leaving the mold factory.  Luckily, an Express just opened up.  Not exactly couture, but definitely more sophisticated.  I bought a long flyaway cardigan in a color called Venetian Teal- not exactly lime green, and it doesn't count as my something unexpected... but it is the color of that sofa I love.