I don't shop

I don't shop. Not usually anyways. Never really spend money. If I need something, I run into Old Navy or Target and manage a fast purchase of ten dollars or less.

And my wardrobe has been showing for it.

I have been wanting to go to downtown Angra (the only "big city" on the island) for quite some time. (To window shop was my initial plan.) 

But then, recently, with looks through my closet, it became increasingly clear to me that my lack of shopping was effecting my desire to get dressed each morning. I had sporty. But I didn't have anything a little dressy. I didn't have anything like this:

So, since Linda loves to shop and loves downtown, I thought her visit to the island was a perfect opportunity to head downtown and do a little shopping. I invited Carla, and Connie, and another new friend Sonia. Here we are pictured below (with Linda behind the lens, as if often the case):

And then I started trying on clothes ... clothes, mind you, I would have NEVER tried on or even picked up off the rack if friends weren't outside the dressing room curtain handing them to me. Connie was directly in charge of me not wimping out of buying anything due to price or  any other excuse I could make up. Between her and my four lady friends, I left one very cool store with about a half dozen different outfits. (Here I am, below, being informed of how to properly wear my boots over tights):

In the end, I used Linda as my judge. She is not afraid to spend appropriate amount of money on good clothes. So I asked her, with each piece, of what was being asked was extravagant. In general, the store was very reasonably priced, and while each piece was a bit more than I was used to paying, the quality was obvious in all of the pieces.

The truth? I spent more at the one store, in one hour, then I have spent shopping as an adult in my entire life. More than I spend in a year for sure. It was so wonderful knowing that I would go home to a husband who would say, "Good for you!" (He is constantly telling me that I need to buy a few nice things to wear now and then). I was especially thinking of my public speaking and having a few nice things to wear when I speak. (I have a talk coming up when I go home to America for Christmas.)

I will try to put up some snaps of the completed outfits later today when I finally getting around to putting each of them on and showing them to JB. For now, here are some closing photos of our time in Angra:

 window shopping

 enjoying the delightful cobblestone streets and unique stops

eating Chinese food! Really! How excited was I about this! 

Ice cream time! 

 Enjoying the beautiful city of Angra.