the trojan family knows no boundaries

Happy tax holiday, fellow shop-a-holics! There's just something about the absence of taxes that makes me want to shop til I drop. So, I decided to celebrate VA's first tax holiday by hitting the outlets.

They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but I beg to differ. Outlet malls are my happiest places on earth. What's not to like? Designer stuff and non-designer stuff at super low prices...ooooh...it makes me smile just thinking about it. Having never been to the outlets in Leesburg, I persuaded Jesse to drive us out there.

My shopping buzz was about to be killed when we got there. There was a traffic jam just to get into the parking lot. Undaunted by the large number of people who didn't know how to merge, Jesse and I sought out a parking space. We eventually found one and started making the trek to the Ann Taylor Factory Store.

On our way there, I spotted an SUV with VA plates totally decked out in USC stuff. There was a University of Southern California sticker across the top of the rear window. Along the middle of the rear window was a USC Mom sticker. And adorning the license plate was a USC frame. I got excited about a fellow Trojan being out in the stix with us and pointed it out to Jesse. Proudly wearing the USC visor that I bought him, Jesse said, "You Trojans love Virginia. There are a ton of you out here." I said, "Yeah, but it still makes me happy to see stuff like that."

After hitting a couple of stores and exercising the credit cards, we had to stop by the Starbucks in the food court for a cold, refreshing beverage. Upon exiting, a woman with a toddler in her arms stops Jesse and says, "I love your hat." (I swear, Jesse gets more compliments on that hat than I've ever gotten on any of my USC shirts.) He smiles and replies, "Oh, thank you." The woman than turns to her toddler and says, "See the hat? That's where you'll be going to school one day." Oh my God, that's so cute!

Although I ended up finding tons of good deals and adding to my extensive wardrobe, that moment was by far the highlight of my day.

THE LOOT: When it was all said and done, this was the damage.