Mission

Julie's favorite pop culture mini-icon is Clinton Kelly from the show What Not To Wear on TLC. This morning we were watching the news and discovered he would be at Southdale hosting a fashion show in conjunction with Macy's and signing copies of his new book. Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so this opportunity couldn't really have knocked any louder.

At Macy's, we learned that the only way to get his book was to spend $100 in the women's department. Julie found nothing she liked and decided she didn't need an autograph anyway. I knew better, but we'll get to that in a few paragraphs.

In the mall outside Macy's, Julie was having reservations about staying for the fashion show. It started in an hour, they hadn't even opened the seating yet, we had Lyla to deal with, etc. I could see crankiness brimming, so I told Julie to stay there, get a good seat, and I would stroll the mall with Lyla, no worries. Once she agreed, they cut the ribbons blocking off the seats, and Julie bobbed and weaved her way to one on the middle aisle.

I left her with a bottle of water, some coffee, a snack, a magazine, and a lotion sample from Crabtree and Eveleth because she complained that her hands smelled like a sandwich.

So Lyla and I wandered the mall for a couple hours, both thankful to not be at a fashion show. Julie loved it, texting me at one point to say "Having SUCH a good time!"



Regarding the book signing, I had some time to kill, so I convinced a manager at Macy's to give me a book for buying a $100 gift card. I promised that Julie would use it at a later date for clothes and not for a coffee pot or bedsheets or whatever.

Then after feeding Lyla a bottle, I got in the book signing line (second in line) and texted Julie to meet me there when the show was done.

After seeing Clinton in person at the show, Julie was of course thrilled to actually meet him. Despite the now absurdly long line, Clinton and Julie had a leisurely conversation in which she welcomed him to Minnesota, complimented the way he worked the crowd, and introduced him to Lyla. In her book, Clinton wrote, "Julie - Happy 1st Mother's Day!" before signing his name.



She's been giddy ever since. Mission accomplished.