Girls' Night Out Idea: Shopping "Social" and Dessert

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This time of the year can be rough because my MOPS group doesn't hold meetings during the summer, and I miss the connections I made. My friend Christy and I signed up to plan "Outside Events" for the 2011-2012 year; which means we'll be in charge of directing Moms' Nights Out and also coming up with a fun Mom/Kid Event each month. We thought it would be a great idea to host events over the summer to keep the moms connected, and we started June off with a bang!

Our local Charming Charlie store agreed to host an after-hours "shopping social" for our group last Sunday evening, and we had an absolute ball wandering the store (kid free!) for a glorious hour or so. The manager had a small table with refreshments set up, but I was we were so excited by all of the sparkly jewelry and the knowledge that we'd get 20% off our purchases that we scarcely noticed the cookies and water bottles at first!

I've talked about my own Charming Charlie experience before, but if you've never been to one, it's like walking into a small and very sparkly corner of heaven. The feeling I get when walking in can only be described as a cross between giddiness and the Hallelujah chorus.

What? You don't feel that way about shopping?

I love that everything is arranged by color, so you don't have to cross the store three times in order to find the perfect turquoise necklace to match those earrings. Even better, the jewelry is so affordable (most sets run around $15) that you don't feel bad for picking up a couple of pairs of earrings and you don't have to tell T your husband that everything was on sale and you only spent "like maybe $12."

We had the best time browsing, but also just trying out accessories and being silly, because Christy and I never do stuff like that. (If you believe that, please don't read any of the other posts detailing our Lucy and Ethel-like hijinks)

Other people, like my sister-in-law (SuSu), managed to be mature and shop without acting like a pair of twelve year olds dropped off at the mall by their moms.

When we almost dropped from all the shopping, we headed down the sidewalk to a nice little Italian restaurant for dessert. The lighting was dim, so please forgive the pics with my old point and shoot, but I so enjoyed relaxed conversation and getting to know some ladies I don't always have a chance to chat with. We had about 16 ladies attend, which is not a lot for a group of 80, but a pretty good turnout for a Sunday evening during the summer break!

If you think I ordered anything other than the lone chocolate dish on the dessert menu, then you are sorely mistaken, and I'm not sure we can be friends.

If you also think I was able to shop without resisting the lure of the sparkles or the 20% off, you are dead wrong.

Charming Charlie usually has a "clearance wall," and adding my 20% off to the clearance prices ensured some great deals. I got a couple of really nice earring/necklace sets that I'll be saving for Christmas gifts, but I can't show you those because the recipients may or may not read this post and also I didn't take pictures of the buy.

For moi, I chose some super shiny things that called my name:

As I've said before, the pieces you can pick up at Charming Charlie are not heirloom pieces. They are trendy and I wouldn't expect them to last beyond a season or two...but if you keep that in mind when shopping, you can have some fun!

I think that regardless of whether you are a mom or a wife or a single girl, spending time with girlfriends is important and necessary...we all need social time!

{What do you like to do for Girls' Night Out?}

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