Tax Free Shopping, Kindergarten Rock Style

Since I went to Catholic School for 12 years, I never got the thrill of back to school shopping. Until now. Yes, I tried to make my uniform *special* with my ten hole white Doc Martens, which my parents begged me to take off in place of penny loafers. Once my dad took me to the Gap and told me I could buy anything I wanted, but there were no Cure shirts in there.

Ah, how things change. And don't. Tonight I braved The Galleria to shop for Nate, who starts kindergarten in a week, and who will be attending public school (which is a whole other post in the making).

It's tax-free weekend, and the deals were actually amazing, if one could stand the large number of children. (I like them in small doses but not while shopping. But that's a whole other story). 

I cleaned up big in where, but the Gap, where I bought four shirts and four pair of pants for him. I bought $216 worth of clothes for $99.93 (figuring in Gap's sales and no tax). So that was cool. 

But even better was that when I got home with bagfuls of clothing, this was the outfit that he picked out as his favorite:

His first pair of skinny jeans! AC/DC shirt! Ok, so the smile is more J. Crew than anything else, but he is my child. And more for a true rocker look (insert Jane's Addiction "Entourage" theme song). Yeah YEAH.

Even when he tried on a more traditional look he still gave it, um, flair:

Oh, apples and trees.

Related Links:

Flickr Set: Back To Cool  (including photos of the haul) 

How To Find Vintage Cowboy Boots For $16 

Retailers Preparing For Alabama's Six Annual Tax Free Shopping Weekend 

Royal Wedding, A World Away From Birmingham. [Keep Calm and Carry On]

Light is breaking in Birmingham, and the world has a new princess.

Much has been written about people not caring about the wedding. And in the past few days, such pomp and circumstance seems even more a world away from Alabama, where tornadoes ripped apart communities just two days ago. Some people said it was wrong to even pay attention to it.

Yesterday, watching the death toll rise, I stared at the blinking cursor in my screen, stunned by the devastation in nearby towns. We, like most of our friends, were unscathed. Hearing the reports of people searching for loved ones, it was difficult to concentrate.

Like many, I felt helpless hearing the reports. I signed up to volunteer with Hands On Birmingham, which is mobilizing volunteers. Shane sent cases of water and snacks with a neighbor who was going to Tuscaloosa. He checked in with his students, all of whom were thankfully OK, just without power.

I spent the day writing a story, and later with my family. I was fortunate.

And this morning I woke up to an alarm set to church bells, poured a cup of coffee, and escaped to another part of the world where things were picture perfect.

How lucky they are. How lucky we are. Such a dichotomy of the images there and the images here. But that is the way things are: both exist. And in between, we keep calm and carry on. And help.

To find out about opportunities to help in Alabama, visit:

Al.com: updated list

Magic City Post