Oh, you just look like you work here.

I had a whole list of places to visit yesterday. Did I make it to any? Just one. Why?

I found a J. Crew.

I didn't mean to go in. Well, I did. What I didn't mean to do is stay for 3+ hours. I couldn't help it! I walked in and just wanted to look around and within 5 minutes, one the J. Crew people thanked me for representing them (I was wearing their really cute madras shorts) and asked if I wanted to try anything on. I said sure, there was a shirt I just wanted to swirl around in.

He then tells me his name is Glen and he's a personal shopper. 15 minutes later, I'm in the fitting room and he has these unbelievably amazing outfits picked out. We then proceed through 3 hours of fashion show with me parading around the store as a walking J. Crew catalog. The manager comes in a number of times to compliment the outfits. AND what everyone keeps talking about is my legs. In a kind of creepy way. They keep asking if I play sports and touching my calves and getting me to wear heels and stand on tip toes.

By this point, I'm starting to feel torn. I want all the clothes, but I'm not ready to part ways with a couple of benjamins for a ridiculously well-fitting, beautifully cut, comfortable, super gorgeous and all around OUTFIT MAKING blazer (even though I seriously considered it because it would be an "investment"). Since I've taken up so much of his time, I feel awful just leaving. So in my mind, what is the only solution? Oh right, lie. So I tell him I can't get anything now, but I am going to talk to "daddy" and I'll try to bring him back to buy me all these things. Which isn't a lie. I did tell my dad about shopping... for food.

Seriously though, if any of you end up in Philly and go to the J. Crew, Glen is AMAZING. Ask for him. If I could, I'd hire him to be my personal shopper 24/7. He is that good.

As I was leaving, some girl asked me for help and when I looked confused she said, "You don't work here? Oh, you just look like you do." It was the best compliment I've ever gotten in my life.

My popped collar, pearls, and madras got me to stand out even more when I walked down the street into Philly's gay district (how stereotypical that all the best shopping in Philly is down the street from the "gayborhood" as it's aptly nicknamed). I wanted to go to Giovanni's Room because all the tour books say it's someplace worth visiting. As I was taking a tour around the store, I was asked if I needed help for anything or if I was looking for anything specific. Not wanting to stand out anymore, I said I was just looking and grabbed the nearest book, flipping through it. Typical luck. It was a book with naked men, full frontal nudity, and I just awkwardly stood there flipping through page after page of naked while that guy watched me.

It's a very cute store though.

As I was walking back towards University City, I pass a parking lot advertising valet parking for Boyds customers. I thought it was strange to have a parking lot off such a major street, but glanced at it quickly while passing by. And stopped because every car was one of the following: Cadillac Escalade, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar.

I then went and looked up Boyds. Well, I know where I won't be shopping anytime soon.

Little's apartment also has no A/C and her room is hotter than my face when I was "browsing" that naked man book. We ventured to 7-11 to use their A/C and buy something to drink. Then we saw a Chili's and decided we'd go there instead. We got $2.99 bottomless chips and salsa and water and sat in the air conditioned room for an hour and a half. I'm pretty sure our waitress wanted to punch us in the face.

And then we went back to the apartment to eat a pie I'd made. It hadn't cooked all the way through. I had made enough filling for 4 pies (because I refuse to measure) and only had 2 pie crusts. Instead of throwing away the extra and/or saving it like Little suggested, I just forced all the filling into 2 pies. And baked at the normal temperature/time.

Whatever. It's still edible (kind of).