Who knew shopping could be so tiring?

It's day 2 living in Old Town Alexandria, and there's so much to do! My mom's here with me until Wednesday, which is nice.

Yesterday, we spent the majority of our time preparing my townhouse and getting groceries. I'm not used to cooking with gas heat, so I pretty much ruined our pizza but it was still good-ish.

Today, we walked and shopped all day! I found a few stores I KNOW I am going to LOVE: Potomac Bead Company, Mint Condition, and 3 Sisters! I'm actually pretty excited to maybe take a few bead classes there! Mint Condition is a high-end consignment shop, which I found some really nice clothes for work. 3 Sisters is a pretty expensive boutique, but it's worth getting accessories in, since they're not as pricey. There are also cupcake stores, restaurants, and misc. craft stores to spend my time in!

A couple places surprised us in particular. One was a boutique on King Street. The door was locked, so we had to knock to be let in. The french woman introduced us, and as we were looking around the store at the dresses, we noticed everything was absolutely ADORABLE but veeeeeeery expensive. Through the overview she gave us, we learned that (a) we cannot try the clothes on, (b) we cannot touch the garments themselves, only the hangers and the bottom of the dresses, (c) she took all the furniture from her home to put it in the store, (d) she's offended that people on the street think her store is a consignment shop, and (f) each dress is on display 3 fingers apart from the next one. What did Mom do (not on purpose), of course? Touch the shoulder on a jacket. What did the french devil do? Slap her hand away!! Instantly, two thoughts popped into my head: "Did she just do that?" and "Is Mom going to hit her back?" Instead, she just turned around and said, "Thanks!" and we started to walk out of her store. Of course, when we got to the door, I couldn't figure out how to get outside because of her lock. She pranced over, cut in front of me and said, "We're a low-stress environment. See?" She simply turned the lock, we walked out, and she slammed the door behind us. Good riddance!! Needless to say, I definitely won't be going there again.

Besides, I love consignment shops. What's better than getting really nice clothes for really cheap prices??

One thing that I find fascinating about this part of Alexandria is how people treat their dogs. Tons and tons of people walk their dogs along the streets, shop with them, and eat with them at their feet in the restaurants. A lot of the stores, including the banks, have water and dog bones set out for them. Can you believe it? I haven't seen a poor-mannered dog yet, either. It must be the water here, honestly. Every single dog is proper, polite, calm, and friendly. I'm not saying the dogs in Blacksburg aren't well behaved; they're just more hyper and a lot louder!

As far as my townhouse goes, it's very quaint. Small, but cute. It's got a lot of character, that's for sure. My bedroom is all set up, with only enough room for my single bed, a small shelf for my books, and a bedside table. It's actually a blessing, though, because I will be living a simple lifestyle this summer! The Kitchen is really cute, and probably one of my favorite aspects of the place. There's not a lot of counter space, but it's very efficient and cute. The shower is the best part of the townhouse, though. The water pressure is amazing! This is one thing I have never taken for granted. Tell me: how many times have you visited someone or gone to a hotel and the water hardly comes out of the shower head? It's miserable!!

My roommate, Rhianna, won't be back from China until May 28th. She's studying abroad to gain credit toward her masters of Urban Planning through Virginia Tech's Alexandria campus. I don't know a lot about her, but she seems very very nice. One thing I already love about her is how generous and thoughtful she is. I've lived with a lot of girls in my lifetime, and every single one has their quirks. Some are so worried about their belongings that they don't even want anyone to BREATHE on them. Rhianna, on the other hand, is allowing me to live here and use all her belongings, including her kitchen utensils, dishes, cookware, furniture, TV/DVD, etc. I don't think she'll be here very often, though, which is fine with me. She sounds like a pretty busy girl.

In the meantime, I'm going to prop up my feet and enjoy a glass of chardonnay with Mom. Until next time!