This past Saturday, Cousin Cate and I found ourselves with nothing to do. Let me clarify that by “nothing to do” I, of course, mean “nothing we wanted to do” lest you think that I suddenly ran out of Starlite work, piles of laundry or an inbox full ‘o emails waiting to be answered.

So, we jumped in my car and headed out of town for a day of fun. Because, after all, girls just wanna have fun. And don’t you forget it.

One of our first stops was a SuperTarget in Knoxville because, though we now have a Target here in Cleveland, it is not necessarily a SUPER one (though you will not hear a word of complaint coming from this mouth). I actually needed a few household things, namely a vacuum cleaner (mine has become recently deceased) and, um, some undergarments. Of course, once Cousin Cate heard my purchase total, she couldn’t help but exclaim “those must’ve been some expensive britches!”

For the record, they weren’t but my, how quickly those little necessities can add up, no?

We ended up driving to Pigeon Forge after that, mainly to walk around this one incredible outlet mall that we both love. On our way to it, I happened to spot a book outlet that I hadn’t been to in awhile. I quickly switched three lanes and pulled in, much to Cousin Cate’s disappointment.

Now before you start thinking less of her, let me assure you that she does, in fact, like to read. It’s just that she just likes getting to the Gap outlet store a little more. And, really, who could blame her?

I assured her she wouldn’t be disappointed and, when she saw the rows of new books for as low as $1, she suddenly took off, shopping basket in hand. We ended up splitting up in the store, but only until I heard that unmistakable voice of hers yelling words she knew I couldn’t resist: “Amy Beth! I found the section of Christian singles dating books!”

For the record, we did leave with maybe a book or five on the topic. Listen, they were dirt cheap and I think we all know by now that you can’t put a price on love.

Wait, they do come with a guarantee that you’ll find love, right? Um, store clerk?

I also spotted a book on “people pleasing” and made a comment about how I might get it and then let Cousin Cate read it when I was done only to have her reply that she “don’t need no book on people pleasin’.” She’s actually probably correct, though I do find it interesting that we both separately picked up copies of When You Love Too Much.

Of course, we had to put them back on the shelves when we realized they were for married couples. Hey, publishers? What about we single girls who love too much?

After buying our keys to unlocking our love lives books on dating as good little Christian girls, we headed to the Gap outlet where I instinctively made a beeline for my favorite section ever: sleepwear. I don’t think I’ve ever told y’all this before, but I have this crazy obsession with love for pajamas of all types. Gap outlet stores are my favorite place to buy them because they use this one type of fabric that is just so soft and, if that wasn’t enough, their little pajama sets are just darling.

Side note: Cate actually asked me why it matters for pajamas to be soft. I tried to explain the whole concept of “well, you’re touching them and, if you’re married, someone else might touch them” but she never seemed to grasp it. Don’t worry, I’m going to keep working on her during the short time between now and when she’s got somebody to touch said pajamas.

And, another side note: Suddenly, everything I love is just darling. I couldn’t figure out why I was saying the word so much until I realized that little Bethie says it in just about every Bible study lesson we’ve watched so far and I must have picked it up from her. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and, since I can’t yet figure out how to imitate her impressive hair skills, you better believe I’ll be all over that darling word usage.

I’m happy to report that, though I did not buy any pajamas (hello, conserving ye olde funds), the selection was just so darling that I had to take pictures for you so we could discuss the darling-ness of it all:

First, my favorite pair in the store. I am a sucker for anything brown and pink:

And look at these precious striped pink and white pants:

Then there’s these adorable little nighties in my two favorite colors / patterns:

Of course, Cousin Cate immediately starting making fun of me for loving the nighties, especially one in the section that had little flowers all over it:

You know what? I don’t care. I love nighties and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Wait, right?

Cousin Cate was getting pretty bored watching me grab nighties and pajama pants whilst exclaiming “Oh, this is just the most darling thing I have ever seen! Cate, come look at it! Isn’t it just DARLING!” so she wandered off to a nearby section to look for a tank top, her sleeping outfit of choice. It wasn’t long before I heard her say that she had found one, so I hurried over to see what it looked like only to discover her standing in front of this:

I think it’s safe to say that, though she and I are related, our sleeping attire choices aren’t.