Skip to content

Santa Barbara

Y’all Told Me You Wanted to Know About Shopping

Jane had a soccer tournament in Santa Barbara this weekend. Well, it’s actually in Goleta on the UCSB campus, but that’s splitting hairs. I’m not crazy about traveling to soccer tournaments. This is what happened to us in last year’s tournament season.

It wasn’t pretty and I wasn’t prepared to stay at a roadside motel in Santa Barbara so I called ahead to the Bacara Resort and got a couple of rooms for us and for our friends.

Jane played four games. I saw one. Here’s the thing… I’ve watched approximately 4,000 volleyball matches this year and a few soccer tournaments. The kid either wants to play soccer or not. She can’t really enjoy it more with me there. She’s 13, time for a little intrinsic motivation.

Oh, also there was tennis at Bacara. I ended up playing a round robin with a really nice group of men. Two of them had played together in high school and in honor of the French Open one had come to town to visit the other (who lived in Santa Barbara) and they had a weekend full of playing tennis on clay courts at Bacara and eating French Food.

These are my people.

On Friday night we had a fabulous dinner on State Street and then went for a stroll. Alexander and Mr. G ended up slot car racing in one of the hobby shops and Jane brought me to Free People where she moaned to me about how she couldn’t afford any of the clothes there. I suggested getting a job and was met with an eyeroll. She held up the world’s softest poncho and made me try it on.

Since it was a size small and it fit me nicely I bought it “to share”. Jane knows I’ll buy just about anything that fits me in a size small, no matter how overpriced or tacky it is.

I later found out “to share” is code for “Mom buys it and Jane wears it.” It’s expensive and poorly made with a portion of the proceeds undoubtedly going to Romney’s campaign fund, but I don’t care. It made my daughter very happy and I remember having a poncho just like it in 1977.

Oh, except my poncho didn’t have shredded sleeves and cost about $15.

free people poncho longer in backfree people poncho

Alexander picked up a pair of sunglasses at Old Navy. He loves them. They were $5 and will probably last him a year.

On the way back into town we stopped at the outlets to search for Mr. G’s shoes. No luck for him but I was able to grab three pair of crocs (NEVER to be worn out of the house) and a pair of grade B UGG Boots for $120. They’re tall chocolate. I’m wearing them in the horrible picture above. crocs are ugly

I feel like this weekend’s shopping reads like a cautionary tale and I should never be trusted with a credit card.