Friday, June 28, 2013

Frock Fridays: Target Summer

A few months ago, Jon's cousin (and my friend!) Rose emailed me to say that she'd signed up for a retreat in Virginia in late June - did I think she could fly over from London a bit earlier to visit me and see DC?  We're almost family, so of course I said yes!  Rose had been to the United States once before but didn't think that skiing in Colorado counted as seeing the "real" America, so I had a challenge ahead of me: introduce Rose to the best of my country.  We got a jump start with the convenience/news store at the airport, where Rose was overwhelmed by the variety and size of soda bottles.  (I had to talk her out of getting 20oz of Mountain Dew at 7:30pm EST, which should have felt like 12:30am BST to her.)  Score one for the United States!

Rose wanted to go downtown the next day to walk around the National Mall, which she learned is pronounced maul if you're American (or mawul, if you're from Long Island) rather than mahl, as it is in England.  We started off at Starbucks and then ran into my favorite hole-in-the-wall bagel place in Chevy Chase, DC for bagels, lox, and cream cheese on our the way down to the White House, the first stop on the This Is America tour.  After that, Rose headed off to see some monuments and museums with a friend - though I think her favorite part of the whole day was getting out of DC's heat and humidity into air conditioning!

We visited the Washington National Cathedral together on Wednesday afternoon as they were preparing to celebrate the Supreme Court's ruling against DOMA with prayer and song, but otherwise the intrepid traveler did a lot of sightseeing on her own over the next few days and met up with some other friends she knew in the area.  But there was one place I knew I had to take her myself if she really wanted to get to know America: Target.


Dear readers, is there anything in America better than Target?  It's the number one thing expats living abroad miss about this country, according to the comments on my Instagram.  Rose was suitably impressed.  (She wouldn't let me post the photo I took of her in the Pop Tarts aisle, but rest assured that she was wowed.)  We tried to figure out what the English equivalent was - the closest we got was that it was a mashup of a Tesco Extra with a huge Asda but with a smaller grocery section and better quality home goods and clothing.

Speaking of clothing... Rose walked out with two cute frocks, and I bought a maxidress that I've worn every day since.  It's so cute and comfy!  I've been pairing it with my own accessories, but if I went full Target (like I did back in February) I'd have bought a silver metallic belt to pick up the colorblocking of the dress, silver and green sandals, and a matching mint cross-body bag.  You can never have too many white cardigans, and the fuchsia studs echo the pinks of the dress!  A whole fab outfit for $115?  Target, you do America proud.
target summer


29 comments:

  1. Ugh, Target gets way too much of my paycheck, but then again, such good deals! I love that place. I actually often rock outfits that are head to toe Target!

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  2. I'm on a HUGE Target kick lately--I never loved it before but I think they're really stepping it up and I've found some gorgeous things there. That mint bag, for example. Lovely!

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  3. I love color-blocking! I try not to let myself go to Target too often because then I would spend way too much money I don't have. But I did let my boyfriend buy me a new Target bikini during my birthday weekend, when we discovered our hotel had an outdoor pool.

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  4. Living in Colorado, I'm curious as to why you and Rose don't think it's the "real America" ("... but didn't think that skiing in Colorado counted as seeing the "real" America.") Colorado is one of, if not THE most beautiful state in America. In fact, its the inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful." On the flip side, I find that DC and NYC are the most touristy locations in America, and thus not "real." I'm not upset, but really curious what your rationale is. In fact, I think this subject is an excellent blog topic!

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  5. Oh, Target is a dangerous, dangerous place when you're trying to save money and cut down on stuff - but I adore it anyway! And I need to find more summer clothes. Great picks!

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  6. There just isn't anything in England that compares! Tesco extra and ASDA don't have the same quality in delicious snacks and they DEFINITELY DO NOT have quality homegoods and clothes. Target is a special snowflake. xx

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  7. a little b/Long Island shout-out!!!

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  8. Oh how I love Target! If I were to move out of the country, the thing I'd probably miss the most (besides family, friends, etc) would be Target.

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  9. honestly, we didn't get into it - I totally agree with you that Colorado is absolutely gorgeous and is, in some ways, pure America. and going to the tourist spots isn't at all indicative of most of America or (even if all the tourists there are American) most Americans! From what she said, I think she meant that the resort they stayed in was a little bubble. There's probably a difference between spending a week in Boulder (where my aunt and uncle live!) than shuttling from chalet to slope, you know? and I'd think that the former would show you America but the latter wouldn't, really. but I will ask her, because you're right!

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  10. Too funny re: Target. I had some friends visit from New Zealand a few years ago and they really wanted to hit up The Cheesecake Factory. There is a shop in NZ called "The Cheesecake Shop", but the Factory puts that place to shaaaame. (Of course.) (I Heart America.)

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  11. I will NEVER take Target for granted again!! I've noticed that tourists love themselves some Walmart. I would love walking around Walmart and seeing foreigners in the bulk food aisle in total and complete awe. They had literally never seen a jug of syrup or can of tomatoes so big!

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  12. oh, Target...my home away from home. I love the colors in that maxi dress!

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  13. BUT THEY ARE SUCH GOOD DEALS! so it's okay.

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  14. I loved it before and I love it more now - welcome to the best bandwagon in town :)

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  15. haha I hear you - I only went in for Rose!

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  16. they MUST have Target in Hawaii. you'll need to stock up again on the other side!

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  17. Ha, I love everything about this. Target is one of my favorite pastimes, so definitely I agree it's an important stop on an international visitor's tour! The dress and purse are fabulous too.

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  18. Target really is the best. Any they always have the cutest clothes, sandals and accessories. It's a problem for my husbands wallet ;)

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  19. That's an adorable dress! I absolutely love Target. I get almost everything there, other than my groceries. My favorites are the clearance racks. :)

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  20. I can confirm that Target is the number one thing this expat misses about home.

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  21. haha you reminded me - Rose loved The Corner Bakery. it's just a lunch place on every corner downtown, but I guess it was a very "Toto, we're not in London anymore" moment for her!

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  22. but you look cute, so that makes it okay... right?

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  23. thanks! they have two other color combos but this one is the most fun :)

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  24. oh man, I'm a Target purist - I've never been to Walmart! I'm not even sure there are any in the DC area...

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  25. Well done you. That's so bang on target (sorry). There is just no equivalent of this store in the UK. ASDA = Walmart (literally, actually). And it's just not the same.

    Incidentally, when I was learning to spell we lived across the road from an ASDA. it was the first word I learned to read. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but there you go.

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