Bennington is a quaint town in rural, southern Vermont...

very near upstate NY (I'm saying it's upstate, but is that correct, regionally speaking?). Obviously, I know, intellectually that there's more to NY than the five borroughs, but I swear, something about silos, barns, and cattle just don't scream New York to me, and I had to keep adjusting my paradigm as we were driving through. The downtown area of Bennington is classic funky college town--one cafe and a slew of accessible restaurants and off-the-beaten-path retail shops.

I regretted that the one and only time I got the opportunity to experience my sister in this context where she has done so much growing and changing is when it's nearly finished for her (she's staying on through the summer to work on campus), but I also recognize that this was the first real opportunity for a visit, and so I'm not beating myself up. She and her friends have a very strong community, and it was nice to see that she's created a second family for herself. I know that my friends in college and beyond saved me, in many ways, from turning in on myself too much.

One of the places my sister is always touting is this second hand shop where she scores the most incredible finds. My mom, being a thrift store and consignment shop junkie, made sure we hit these places. At the local salvation army I found a practically new (and no, I am not exaggerating) microwave (the instructions were still inside it!)for.... drumroll..... 15 dollars.

At Second Hand Rose (the store my sister loves), I found a pair of the shoes I've been coveting for years. Gently used black dansko clogs for 30.00. These shoes, because they rock, are never less than 100 brand new. When I say that they are gently used, I mean it. It's clear that they've been worn before, but the integrity of the shoe is very much intact, and there are minimal indications of wear. I'm not really sure why the person who owned them before consigned them. If I had to guess, I'd say she owned them for about 5 months and wore them only occassionally. Whatever. My gain! I have always wanted both a black and brown pair, but I lamented the 200.00 committment. Well, now that I've been blessed to find a black pair for a fraction of what they are worth, it will be much easier for me to pay full price for the coveted brown pair.

In addition to the clogs, I found another great pair of shoes (dress casual) that are perfect for work. They were marked at 20 dollars, but only cost ten (a surprise at the register!). I also got a brand new brown madras tunic and a black and white cardigan that came with two matching sleeveless dress tanks. The shirts and the sweater can be dressed up with trousers or dressed down with jeans. Honestly, now I just need a strand of faux pearls. One outfit I have in mind is the cardigan with one of the tanks, some jeans, the black clogs, and said pearls after getting a new, choppy bedhead haircut with blonde highlights. so fun and funky.

So in short, Bennington was great for shopping. Just last week I was lamenting to sarah that I needed new shoes and clothes (but shoes more), and I got both. I just told you, gentle reader, last week that a microwave was so low on my list of needs/wants for the apartment that I had no idea when I'd be getting one...

well, sometimes things work out. That's all I can say.