Shop-a-holic in the House

Who doesn't love shopping (besides my 15-year-old son, I mean). The gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains is mecca to those of us who subscribe to the adage of "People who say money can't buy happiness don't know where to shop." Honestly, this area has the highest concentration of outlet stores in the country, so it isn't hard to deduce how I like to spend my time when I visit. Today we hit several shoe and clothing stores. While I was not as lucky in finding clothes as I had hoped, my mom hit the jackpot. At one store she spent under $36 and walked out with two pairs of cute shoes. Alas, I am in the market for something bright and tropical like lime green or lemon yellow with a sensible heel that I can wear to work all day, which no one seems to have - probably because it is late in the season, though outlets often run a little behind. Still, it was fun to try on some great zebra print spikes with hot pink soles. I also coveted all the printed rubber rain boots shaped like cowboy boots. Of course, living in the Valley of the Sun makes owning rain boots seem strange, so I passed on those too.

Next, we hit a jeans outlet where Mom found three pair that looked good. If you're like us, the idea of finding three pairs of anything cute in one place is totally exciting! On the other hand, I was frustrated in my attempts to buy pants since I already own plenty of jeans and none of the slacks fit well. (Don't you hate it when you try on a size that is way too big, but the next size down is way too small?) I was tempted to purchase several silky scarves, though, in funky prints like a mixture of leopard and zebra or hot pink and neon green martini glasses. I think they would look good with a couple of plain dresses, but since I haven't actually tried one on with a dress, I just wasn't sure.

Of course all this economy boosting activity led us to seek nourishment and a break from dressing rooms at a new little fresh mex place called Salsarita's. We were hoping to score some fish tacos, but they weren't on the menu (much to our disappointment). In addition, it seems it is my lot in life to order what I can't have. After two strikes yesterday at the Italian place, today I requested grilled shrimp tacos and was informed that the shrimp wasn't ready because they had a meeting this morning and were running behind on prep work. I didn't argue, but I wanted to point out that shrimp only takes five minutes to defrost (if frozen solid) and two minutes to grill. Anyway, I opted for grilled veggie tacos on a combo plate with chips and guacamole. The veggies (which were good but nothing special) went on two small flour tortillas (no choice between corn and flour - sigh) and moved along an assembly line (like Subway) in which customers determine what toppings are added. I opted for sour cream (which was watered down to make a sauce), corn and black bean salsa (which the lady behind the counter told me was a little spicy, but was not even remotely warm), and shredded lettuce. I happily ate the mixture, but skipped most of the tortillas because they seemed a little gluey to me. The redeeming part of the meal came from the chips and guacamole, which they had the good sense not to doctor. The chips tasted homemade - light and crispy with little flecks of brown that testified to being cooked in small batches before being dusted with salt and pepper. You can bet I ate every one of them from my piled-high basket.

While my son had a plain cheese quesadilla with chips and salsa (again, mild), they didn't seem to know what to do with my mom's plate. She wanted to skip the tortillas all together and have refried beans, grilled veggies, and guacamole. They ultimately gave her what she ordered, but not without a few strange glances and a little head scratching from the lady running the register. This was only amusing because the menu says you can order tacos "bare" (sans tortilla), and it seems to me she had a veggie taco with a couple extras. I'm not really sure why the employees didn't understand that concept. Overall, the place was fine but it did not measure up to the fresh mex style restaurants I'm used to - like Baja Fresh, which has the best fish tacos around. I think Mom was more disappointed than I since she had her heart set on a beautifully golden fried fish fillet wrapped in a corn tortilla topped with shredded cabbage and spicy, creamy sauce. (Yum!) Lunch did provide a respite, though, and we were ready to continue our bargain hunt with full stomachs knowing homemade blackberry cobbler waited to celebrate the victory of clothing that fit or salve the wounds of coming home empty handed.