Aaand, we’re back!
Thankfully this year we didn’t have any freak snow storms to deal with, so Saturday morning we were able cruise from my house, where my Mom picked me up at 6:30am, to Starbucks for a hot cup o’ Joe, and pull up to the Mall of America at precisely 11am…just in time to inhale Chipotle burrito bowls to fuel us for, gulp, FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS OF SHOPPING!
(pic borrowed from last year’s post because it was super foggy in MSP this weekend!)
The mall was decorated to the nines, per usual, and after lunch we quickly got our shopping underway. 3 floors + 400 stores = a lot of road to cover!
In addition to crossing some gifts off my holiday shopping list, I couldn’t help but keep my eyes peeled for a few items I’ve been eyeing online, including my beloved Sorel Joan of Arctic boots, which I spotted from 50 yards away as we were coming down the escalator at Nordstrom’s! I couldn’t have been more jazzed to pull on a pair of the warm and fluffy boots, and was admiring them adoringly in the full-length mirror when, I took a step. And cringed.
They are so uncomfortable! There was this hard, ridge-like thingy that was stabbing me in the back of my heel/calf, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I even tried on a couple of different sizes to make sure it wasn’t me or the boot, but no dice.
Fellow Joan of Arctic owners – do these break in at all? I hope so because they are SO cute, and SO warm. They’d be absolutely perfect for the brutal Midwest winters, though by the looks of today’s temps (63!) you’d never know it was December ’round here!
Anyways, later I consoled my sad tootsies with a rub in a foot/calf massager at Brookstone. I know. Gross. I hardly cared though. 5 hours of shopping in flats (what was I thinking?!) will convince you to give anything a try! Totally worth it.
A Coldstone Oreo Ice Cream with Brownie mix-in snack helped too. :)
After all the Christmas gifts had been bought we headed to our hotel to relax before heading off to dinner. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott, which was less than a mile away (you could see it from the mall,) and had clean, nice rooms for a great rate. We’d definitely stay there again!
We had to nearly peel ourselves out of bed an hour later to go feed our grumbling stomachs. The beds were oh-so cozy, but our appetites were oh-so strong. I know some people pssht at this, but shopping seriously takes it out of you.
Not wanting to drive any further than necessary, we headed to a nearby Friday’s because it was close and, gosh darn it, I have a not-so-secret love for the chain. Once seated we proceeded to order everything on the menu…!
They have this 2 for $10 meal where you can get an app and entree for, well, $10, and of course we had to add a cup of Friday’s famous French Onion Soup (perhaps my favorite soup, ever?!) In the end, our eyes proved to be bigger than our stomachs and I bet we ate 1/3 of what we ordered. Luckily our hotel had a fridge!
We fell fast asleep back at the hotel circa 8pm while watching Inception, but it was probably for the best as we had one last stop to make on Sunday before heading home. IKEA! :D
IKEA might be my most favorite place ever. I love their designs, and wandering around their ingenious showrooms for dream-home ideas. This modern-yet-cozy kitchen with dark wood, and stainless steel accents had me drooling.
Nothing in the showroom gets me quite as excited as kitchen utensil alley though! I have had so many stainless steel IKEA utensils, gadgets, and gizmos last me for years. They really are of high quality – and for so cheap!
Including these DARLING mini stainless steel prep bowls. CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE THIS?! :D
After checking out at IKEA, we headed on home. Another year, another successful mother/daughter holiday shopping trip in the books!
Kristen 12.03.2012
Can’t wait to give my super-sweet special needs daughter an indoor hammock swing. It will make her so happy during our long Minnesota winter!
Megan 12.03.2012
Aww, the MOA! Just a few light rail stops away from my apartment :) love that place. And I actually do have those Joan of Arctic boots (bought last year and worn a grand total of *twice* last winter because it was so fricken warm) and I’ve never had a problem like the one you experienced…that’s so odd! Maybe it’s because I’m always wearing pretty thick socks? The only slight problem I have with them is that they’re heeeavy. But totally worth it considering how cute they are!
For the giveaway, the gift I’m most looking forward to giving is a shoulder massager (from Brookstone! lol) to my boyfriend. He’s always complaining about his tight muscles so I think he’ll really love it :)
Laura @ LauraLikesDesign 12.03.2012
I’m near the MOA, too!
Katie 12.03.2012
I am most looking forward to giving my mom some beautiful artwork for her wall. Its photos of real world objects that spell our last name. I guess they are really popular right now so I’m jumping on the bandwagon and I think she is just going to love it because I picked out each individual photo myself!
Love your blog!! Thank you!
Lindsay 12.03.2012
I’m giving my brother a KEURIG! He has wanted one forever!
Jillian 12.03.2012
I am really looking forward to giving all of my nieces and newphews (all 8 of them!) new toys! They all live in Iowa and I live in Washington DC so I only get to see them a couple times a year and Christmas is my favorite!
Ashley Courtney 12.03.2012
I am looking forward to giving my brother this fancy Nerf gun I bought at Target. He is actually 21 but I have a feeling he is just going to love it :)
Megan 12.03.2012
I’m excited to give my nephews hockey gloves. They’re obsessed with hockey right now, so I know they’ll be so excited!!!
Erin 12.03.2012
I’m going to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas the musical on Wednesday! Great way to kick off the Holiday season!
Joyce 12.03.2012
I am looking forward to giving my kids their travel bag of goodies for our trip to Hawaii in January.
Katie 12.03.2012
I am looking forward to giving my fiance tickets to Bon Jovi. They are coming to Cleveland in March and he loves them!!
Kelsey M. 12.03.2012
I’m looking forward to giving my cousin’s husband a Zombie Apocalypse Survival ‘Kit’! I can’t wait to see his face! :)
Linda 12.03.2012
My parents are actually gifting my son with the gift I can’t wait to see opened. His eyes will pop out of his head when he opens the package and discovers the Kindle!
Hannah 12.03.2012
I got my aunt and uncle a print celebrating my cousin who was adopted from Guatemala. It has a outline of Guatemala and below it is printed Love Makes a Family.
Stephanie 12.03.2012
I am most excited to give my mom a bike!
Raela 12.03.2012
I’m not quite sure yet! I have something fun for a couple coworkers that I think will be a blast to give. But hopefully I find a bunch more good gifts for the rest of my list!
Sarah P 12.03.2012
I am so looking forward to giving either of my neices their gifts! The baby doesn’t quite know what it is all about yet, but the 4 year old could not be more excited. She’s obsessed with sparkly things and I cannot wait to see her open the sparkly red Toms I am getting her!
Lindsay H 12.03.2012
I can’t wait to give the cutest onesies to my sister who is pregnant with her first. Baby clothes shopping is the best!
Meghan L. 12.03.2012
The gift I’m most excited to give this year is to my boyfriend- he’s only ever been to one concert, so I’m surprising him with tickets to see one of our fav bands (The Tragically Hip) in January.
Marie 12.03.2012
I’m hoping for this super cute chevron circle scarf. Looks so warm!
Stef 12.03.2012
This is completely lame, but I am most looking forward to getting new sweatpants! As a stay-at-home mom I basically live in them throughout the winter.