THE 39 (thousand) STEPS

At least that's what it felt like. We've been on our feet All. Day. Long. And I'm exhaaaaaauuuuusted!!

But she's still going like the Energizer bunny. (Shopping the day after Christmas sales from dawn to dusk to re-wardrobe the Mema for the new year.)

This is one of her FA-VO-RITE purchases. It's an Anne Klein. And we got it for less than $22 at The Rack. She was THRILLED!!! (I know, I know, for all that chilly weather down in Texas. Hey, they got some flurries this year. That makes it a completely legitimate find!!!)

But it was a long, long, long, long day. And I was running on only one chai. And as much as I was DYING to shop for me, I managed to stay focused and not pick up a single thing -- well except for that 4-ft gilded wreath that I totally impulse bought -- no, literally, it was right there in the check out line, right next to the chocolate candy and angels on a keychain. It barely even fit in the trunk of Amy's car.

But we headed home after about 7 very successful hours with bags and bags and bags for Mom, and she was grinning from ear to ear with all the great deals we found.

And then we STILL had hours to go, as we had to now rush to make it home in time to change clothes and head into the City for a Broadway performance of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps at The Curran, which was just a whole lotta fun.

We managed to leave with plenty of time, so that we could park (and pay an arm and a leg -- GEEZ!!!), have some apps and drinks before the show at a superb little grill nearby, sit way up front (like 7th row Orchestra) for the most amazing 4-person show, and then (yay!) stop off for some coffee, chai, and biscotti's on our way back to the car.

It was raining, but not unbearably -- and really, any excuse to throw on a gorgeous raincoat, scarf and gloves is totally alright with me.

The whole city just glistened in sparkle and shine. Everyone was smiling and all dolled up. The air was crisp, and there wasn't even any wind. Man, there's really just nothing like a great Saturday night in the City.