Shopping adventures

This past weekend, the weather was surprisingly cooperative (meaning it didn't either rain or snow), so we decided to hit the Chicago Premium Outlets that are only a short drive from our apartment. Hubby wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it, till we discussed how nice it would be to get some new pots and pans instead of xmas gifts to each other. The ones we currently have are a mishmash of things bought any time during the last ten years, and some of the older pieces are really worn off. Non-stick finish starting to wear off, handles won't insulate heat anymore, you get the idea.

Plus, I wanted a pair of winter boots.

When we got there it was late afternoon and the sun was already down. These outlets are built like an open mall, so we tried to spend as much time between stores as possible. First we hit Le Creuset, but I think I'm not ready for cast iron yet, let alone everything was rather expensive. It'd be nice to have pots and pans in red though. Our budget won the argument though and we went to the much humbler Kitchen Collection, which offered a variety of brands. We decided on a 10 pieces Calphalon set, and we bought one extra pan with lid and one stovetop grill from the same line:




We also got a new Foreman Grill, since the old one had completely lost its non-stickiness. Last time we made burgers on it, they decided to stick on the top of the grill and we ended having ground beef on a bun. Not funny. Here's a website pic of it, since ours is still in the box:





Hmmm.. Making skewers sounds like a good idea right now!

Anyway, after we decided on the purchase, I sent hubby to the Sony store to geek out while I went to Aerosoles and picked up these weatherproof babies. The ankle socks were on sale for a dollar a pair, so I grabbed a couple for my gym sneakers:



I have to admit I'm glad I bought them, because I woke up this morning and this was the view from my balcony: