This is my 2 or 3-part series (we’ll see how it goes!) about looking back at fashion through the decades I actively participated in. Starting with the good ‘ol 80’s.  Whoaa… can you believe that’s around a quarter century ago!

But, while I didn’t grow up in Raleigh, I did grow up at the malls. So I share that in common with a lot of you.  I sure did shop a lot. Gosh, I can’t believe it all started with the 80’s…what happy, fun times!  By the way, that’s me in the photo just a few years ago.

When I was a teen in the ‘burbs (of DC) in the 80’s, there were a handful of places to shop. But the BIG BRAND names were ESPRIT, Benetton, Guess and the Limited. Oh and you wouldn’t be caught without a brand name. That would be so un-cool!

It’s a rainy Raleigh Saturday.  That’s a shame for the Raleigh downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Hillsborough Street Renaissance Festival. I went to see “Confessions of a Shopaholic”. Have you seen in it? It got terrible reviews. Well I’m no Siskel and Eibert but I wouldn’t give it the total thumbs down. It wasn’t exactly a slow movie either… maybe a bit shallow, and definitely a girly movie, but that’s what you’d expect anyway from the movie title.

Lemme back up a minute. I’d picked up the Sophie Kinsella series on audio CDs years ago. And when I heard there was a movie made, I was like ‘wait a minute when did the main character “Bex” (Rebecca Bloomwood) become an American?’

Have a Raleigh date coming up where you really want to impress? Then Primp might be the place for you, women AND men!Imagine yourself in an urban like setting where you’re pampered and can get yourself beautiful for say a V.I.D. (Very Important Date) that night… but wait it doesn’t end there! …You’re also served an indulging martini (and possibly being fanned and fed grapes). Sounds like something in chic Miami, right?

Looking for a refreshing dessert in Raleigh? Have you been to Rita’s Ice ∙ Custard ∙ Happiness… It’s the new custard store in the Triangle. Well it’s more than just a custard store…it’s everything refreshing like Italian Ice and gelato (ummm… my favorite!).   Did you read about La Vita Dolce’s gelato?

Rita’s is a bright, fun and friendly store. The workers are dressed in silly hats and red shirts. It reminds me of the Domino’s Pizza work uniform that employees wore, including me when I was a teen working there. Dominos’ employees referred it to it as ‘the clown suit’…for obvious reasons. I’ll have to see if I can find an ‘ol photo of me making pizzas and taking orders at Domino’s. That was a fun job!

Can you guess what my favorite shoes are??? They’re not any pair of heels, sandals or boots. Although I have my fav’rites from each of those. But –my favorite shoes are my Skechers. But not just any Skechers, but the athletic biker shoe that you can just slip on! Love that!…no shoelaces, no fuss, no muss. I can walk everywhere with them and they look so sporty stylish with everything. They’re JUST so darn versatile too! I *HEART* Them! …(can’t believe I’m using that teenie phrase

And the BEST part is…they’re the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned! I’ll never buy another athletic brand shoe AGAIN! Here’s my 3 year old pair. They don’t look too beat up, do they? You’d never know that they’ve been in the washer several times. Am I the only person who washes her athletic shoes in the washer?

If you wanna get your own similar pair, you can order them by clicking on the link.
BIKERS – STRAIGHTAWAY – (Style: 21552)

If you like salads, you’re gonna want to keep reading…’cause I’m gonna share with you four Raleigh restaurants with salad options. Two are JUST salad restaurants and the other two are common places you may know about, but may not think about when you have a hankerin’ for a salad!

Today, I’m inspired.  Pottery Barn paints by Benjamin Moore are on my mind.  ‘Cause spring is in the air! It’s hard to believe that a week ago I was walking my dog in the snow with my pink snow boots on. AND today is a beautiful 80 degrees in the Triangle! Over the weekend, I went outdoor biking for the first time in a year. That first winter change from cold to warm, sunny weather just puts me in a GREAT mood! Kinda the same way that ABBA songs can. It’s just a great time to start thinking about gardening for the season, spring cleaning, and looking around your house for any projects you want to attack. …like a room painting project.

You’ve probably seen the advertisements for Arby’s new Roast Beef Burger or Roast Burger. The new “…never fried, never greasy, oven roasted, thinly sliced roast beef”.  There’s a free coupon out in the paper for this Roast Burger with the purchase of a drink. So for lunch today, I thought I’d give it a try. Besides, Arby’s is just around the corner for me. As my drink, I ordered a passion fruit iced tea to go with it. There’s also a mango, diet peach and diet blackberry tea. They use Splenda.  Flavored teas always look and sound so much better to me than they taste.

Get a $25 Raleigh Restaurant Gift Certificates for just $10!  Tavola Rossa is one of my favorite Raleigh Italian restaurants. Right behind Crabtree Valley Mall, it’s very upscale and contemporary. More Northern Italian than the rustic Southern Italian feel.  It’s a great place to take a Saturday night date! …and I just love going there for the atmosphere and food!  There’s also an outdoor patio (…that will be great to enjoy sooner than we all think!). To purchase the discount gift certificate, just click on the Tavola Rossa graphic/logo…

Shopping can be addictive…would you agree? Especially in Raleigh and metro areas where there are so many shopping malls and outlets. Buying things can be an endless cycle. Many of us have to fight to beat the shopping and buying systems.

The best example I know of beating the system is my dog Apollo. He knows exactly how to get the best reaction from me and my husband. He’s learned that for my husband to react to take him for an extra walk or a pet, he has to whine loudly and quickly. For me, he knows he has to test the waters a bit. He starts with a soft half whine, and then progresses to a loud one if he isn’t given a “ssh!”, which by the way does work. He’s a good guy. He just has needs like all of us.