I swear I don't go shopping this often...

You guys probably think I'm some kind of shopping spaz after this and this happened last week. But I swear I don't normally go shopping this much!
Yesterday I went outlet shopping with a co-worker/ girlfriend. It was a perfect day to do so, 70 degrees and sunny.

Saturday fun starts with lunch!
Actually, that's a lie. Saturday fun really started with a trip to the gym at 7:30am to get my sweat on. I did 20 minutes on a StairMaster, and 15 minutes on an Arc. I usually try to do cardio for at least 45 minutes, but I was pressed for time, because I had to shower and eat breakfast before tutoring at 9:00. I need to work on my gym-time management. 
*tutor tutor for 2 hours...with a big iced coffee to wake me up!*
NOW comes lunch and shopping!
Before shopping, we stopped at Ruby Tuesdays for a quick lunch, to fuel us for a big afternoon of shopping.
I didn't take a picture of my lunch...but it was amazing. I was planning on doing the salad bar and a bowl of soup, or the mini-vegetarian burger "sliders"...but then I saw a server walk by with a sandwich on a pretzel roll. I immediately scanned the menu and found that all of their "premium" sandwiches were full of meat, but served on that beautiful pretzel roll. So, I ordered the "Avocado Turkey Burger", minus the turkey burger, bacon, and onions. It was AMAZING!! On a pretzel roll was: lettuce, tomato, pickles, swiss cheese, and big slices of avocado. And a really cute little dish of fries! Perfect shopping fuel. :)

Shopping time!
After lunch, we headed to the outdoor outlet mall. We knew that our target stores were LOFT, Banana Republic, and Gap...and we were pretty successful.

so pleased.

I found this cute cardigan at LOFT. It's thin, almost like t-shirt material, which will be perfect as the weather warms up. My shopping pal got the same cardigan...we'll be wearing it to school someday and be twins. :)
I struck out at Banana Republic and Gap...maybe next time! We stopped in the Crocs store to look for some shoes for my friend's 1-year-old baby...and I was amazed at the amount of Crocs in such a small store.

floor-to-ceiling rubber.

Next stop: Rack Room Shoes!
We were looking for some sandals to go with a dress my friend bought, and I've been eyeing a pair of Sperry dock shoes for a while now... (yes, this picture was taken on my bed. I'm a creep.)

eyeing turned to buying!

These are the most COMFORTABLE shoes I've worn in so long! I love the pink plaid accents, too. Feminine and cute. I can't wait to wear them this spring with jeans, capris, shorts, etc! I probably will not be wearing them on any docks or boats, as much as I'd love to.
We finally left the outlet mall to head back home around 4:30, with big plans to grill out for dinner at my friend's house!

Get ready for a meatless product review...
I stopped at my house to pick up a few dinner items, grabbed Ben, and off we went. We made a pit-stop at a grocery store for grilling foods: Ben got brats, I got Tofurky Keilbasa meatless sausages.
Now. I'm all about the meatless faux-meat products. But this one...was...AWFUL. I do NOT recommend this to any of my veggie readers. Though they looked good in the package, once they came off the grill they were dry with a matte finish...not shiny and glistening like the meat-filled counterpart. The taste was so bland, I covered my "sausage" with bbq sauce, but still couldn't finish it. And good thing I didn't...that meatless sausage packed a whopping 240 calories and 12 grams of fat! Not worth it.
After that disappointing experience, I filled up on homemade pasta salad and fresh chips and guacamole...and watched as my friends ate their hamburgers and brats with a teeny bit of jealousy. :)
We played with the puppies...

fuzzy Pomeranian named Dash

Played with a baby...

dancing? more like squirming and fussing. MOM let me dowwwwwn!

And had a nice evening with friends. :)

Sunday Funday?
This morning I woke up with a sniffly nose, a congested head, and a scratchy throat. With the time change, I was feeling so disoriented. I stumbled out of bed and fed Isabelle, then made myself a big fruit salad to eat in bed. :)

Today calls for: more snooze time, more fruit and veggies, lots of water, and those dreaded lesson plans.