Hanna Andersson @ the Domain Grand Opening!

This weekend, Hanna Andersson is opening at The Domain.They're having specials all weekend, like buy one/get one free pajamas and 30% off of everything else. And Saturday and Sunday, they're giving out $20 gift cards to the first 100 customers. Today, though, they were giving away a free pair of long johns to the first 500 customers, and I wanted to jump on that (and the pjs!).

So I got to The Domain (about 400,000,000 miles from where I live, and thank goodness James watched Mal, because he would not have tolerated this at all) a bit after 9:30, parked, and was able to find the store easily, thanks to Waze. Everyone in line around me said that their GPS didn't do that, and they were super jealous of how cool and functional I am. Oh, speaking of the line...

Is that Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous?!

I was about the 50th adult person in line, so, yay! Apparently other stuff was opening at The Domain today, too, including Nordstrom. THEIR line was crazars compared to this one. The mall had some special stuff going on, I guess, like face painting and balloons. I didn't see any of that because I knew where to park close in (thanks to Waze!) and didn't have to walk half way across the complex like my new friends did.

But one cool thing I got to see was foam airplanes.

Say what?

This. There was a machine (according to the grandma behind me, who would not lie about this sort of thing) that was pumping out these soap bubble airplanes, that would then climb and spiral and soar until, I guess, they just dissolved.

Do you see them all? I want one of these things! I probably won't get one, but you know what I did get? FREE LONG JOHNS!

90 cm long johns! James showed this picture to Mal while I was out, but Mal was playing coy by not acting interested.

They started letting people in about 10 'till, and they didn't allow it to be a total free-for-all, so only a few dozen people got in at once. Still, I was in the door around 10:20 or so. 

Hanna Andersson has such cute clothes, but I'm way too cheap to shop there for full price. Still, it was tempting to grab one of everything and just go for it. Girls clothes, too. I think my very progressive son would like a Grinch tutu for when he's feeling festive and pretty and just a little bit sassy.

After perusing the store (and getting very gracious help from one of the employees manning the room), I headed back outside to... wait in line. Yes, to check out.

This line actually moved much, MUCH more slowly than the line to get in (which kept growing, as you can see the people standing on the opposite side of the doorway, waiting to enter the store for the first time). The lady in front of me had a long-suffering baby. The lady in front of her had an increasingly fussy 2-ish-year-old in the backpack and she eventually bailed. The lady in front of HER was my grandma friend from the pre-entry, and she had to take off because they were going with their daughter's family to ride Thomas the Train in Burnet and there was no way she was going to get checked out in time.

I was probably in this line for a good 45 minutes, texting my husband "thank you thank you thank you!" a time or two. As I approached the doorway, I saw a mom coming out with her two kids, and she was thanking THEM for being so great and patient, saying, "We just have to wait in one more line, then we can go do the face painting and get cookies and do whatever you guys want, because I appreciate you so much!" I didn't say anything, but she was making it sound like they were almost done, and they were not. Still, good on her for a) having such chill kids, and 2) recognizing that she had it good.

There were obviously lots of moms with kids there, some tolerating the heat (only in front of the store; it was a nice morning, but we were in direct sun with reflective windows, so it was roasting) and boredom better than others. I would have left at this point had I had my 2-year-old with me. Free PJs, yay! But that would have been enough for him (and me, with him). However, once I stepped inside the door (I could see the registers!), a mom came in with FOUR KIDS in tow. The oldest was maybe 5, and the youngest barely born. Brave lady.

At some point, someone decided it'd be smart to go ahead and have us take our clothes off of the hangers instead of waiting for the cashiers to do it. Genius!

While I was waiting in the line, I saw the perfect little gloves and hat for Mal, so glad I had a while to stand there and look around.

OMG, I'm almost there!!

I hadn't paid too much attention to what I was buying, trying to get a minimum because Mal doesn't need a lot, but also trying to take advantage of really good sales. I was momentarily shocked when the cashier told me the total, but when I got home, I added up the regular retail for all of it, and I had saved just over $200!

So, what'd I get?

First the PJs. *squee!*

I didn't get him a tutu, but I did get him Wonder Woman pjs. If it makes you feel better, they were in the boys' section.

I also picked up a couple of pair of sweats because they are comfortable but look nice enough to pass for slacks, and a shirt that had a Space Shuttle on it, because Space Shuttle (I think that makes 2 or 3 he'll have this winter; does the SS count as retro yet?).

Finally, my favorite: The outerwear. I liked several of their coats, but in Austin, it rarely gets "coat cold." So I just got him a fleece-lined hoodie. Last year, his monster zip-up was adorable, and I'm glad he gets to enjoy another one!

It's a Sasquatch! And look at those gloves!

So that was my adventure for the day.

Or so I thought until I got home and then most of my family went out for lunch, then the transmission in my van started working only intermittently on the way home.

We've spent the rest of the day focusing on sales of a different kind: Auto sales. Good times.