Shopping update

The packing lists for Italy (in a spreadsheet) and Germany (in my head) have fewer and fewer to-buy items--not because I'm eliminating items from the list, but because I'm buying them. Here are a few recent purchases.

Winter gear.

For our Germany/Austria winter trip, we got new jackets and fleeces that button right into them at EMS. B got a lightweight rain jacket and has been wearing it in this month's chilly showers and cold days--so far, so great. My jacket is a bit too warm (did you ever think I would say something like that? I'm still a little in shock myself...) so it will have to wait until the fall for its fashion debut.

In other warmth news, I wanted to get some waterproof and warm boots to go with my new coat, and I happened upon this great pair at zappos.com. They're made by Sorel, which is a company that even I know. I ordered them in blue to match my new jacket, and I'm so pleased with them. They're warm and comfortable and not too heavy (but maybe not quite comfortable enough to wear on the plane--we'll have to see how much room we have in our luggage). I'm going to try to wear them around the house to break them in. The neighbors might think something was wrong with me if I started wearing winter boots on B's and my evening strolls.

In other unrelated news, zappos.com might just be my new favorite website. They offer free shipping both ways, so if you don't like what you ordered, you can return it at no cost--and you have up to a year to return an item. I'm a big fan. But more shoe purchases will have to wait a while because I have a few more planned purchases...

Rain gear.

Apparently, it rains in Italy. Sometimes, it rains a lot. I'm not one for getting wet, and I have managed to find fault with all of my water-resistant and water-proof options, so I decided that buying something new was my best bet. I ordered a cute blue rain jacket from REI, but as it turns out, the sleeves on REI clothing are not long enough for some of us. The jacket went back, and I remembered my first choice in rain gear.

The red raincoat is from travelsmith.com and is more than twice the price that I wanted to pay for a raincoat, but it's waterproof, doesn't wrinkle, and packs into a small space in its own little travel bag. I haven't ordered it yet, so I have no idea if it will fit, but I called the company to find out sleeve lengths, and I think they should be ok.

My next planned purchase, right, is a pair of water-resistant pants from athleta.com. I received their catalog and decided to take a look through, and I was surprised to find something that I liked (and, in fact, didn't even know existed). Water-resistant pants that aren't designed for the ski slopes sound like the best invention since waterproof boots. The pants come in a tall size that should be just long enough for me.

Having dry pants is important, especially when you're on vacation. On the one day that it poured in France during our honeymoon, we happened to be at Disneyland Paris, and the bottoms of my jeans were soaking wet within the first 15 minutes of arriving. Osmosis was not helping the situation. I was on the verge of having a mini-meltdown and going home crying all the way on the subway due to being wet and cold and generally unhappy. A well-timed pizza luncheon saved the day, but I think the situation could have been prevented with better clothing. I don't want something like that to happen while we're on our Italian adventure.

Oh, the frugality.

It's not all about shopping in the H household--sometimes I make do with what I've got. For instance, I had been considering buying new Merrells to replace the brown and black Merrells that I took to France because they don't provide as much support as they used to. But then the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that I wouldn't find shoes that I love as much as the ones that I have. Instead of buying replacement shoes, I'm going to buy new insoles for them. Bravo to me--such economy.

I have also saved money (that is the bright-side way of looking at the situation) by deciding not to replace my fleece jacket. The cream-colored jacket that I have now (and have had since college) is a little worn, but I decided that it can handle one more vacation, especially since it's been on nearly every vacation that we've taken and is featured prominently in many vacation photos. The cream fleece has become a vacation tradition, and I just don't think I can leave her behind. I could also take the new black fleece that I goes with my winter jacket, but will black look out of place in September? Perhaps some more research is necessary.