Loads of Luon!

As if Jennifer and I DON'T spend enough time together (we hit the road running at 6:30am daily), yesterday we decided to embark on quite an adventure----we trekked to Chicago for Lululemon's FIRST warehouse sale in the US! Considering the fact that we are both admittedly "fitness obsessed", when we first heard word about a Lulu sale, we knew whether or not we would go was NOT a question---we HAD to go check it out!!! As many of you know, Lululemon's athletic clothes are hands down, the BEST.....they impeccably made, wash & wear SO well, feel great and quite honestly, look HOT too! I may have a mild obsession....however, our budget DOES NOT, so that's why being able to get these awesome clothes for BARGAIN prices made me giddy with excitement! Luckily we were able to get all of our kiddos squared away for the day & set off for Chicago yesterday morning at 6am! We had NO idea what to expect.....and, actually neither did corporate Lulu, I think! When we arrived BEFORE 9 (when doors were to open at the convention center where the sale was held), there were already SWARMS of women....yes, our fellow Lulu-obsessed. Lines upon lines....and I mean LINES upon LINES....just waiting! So, we did the only thing we could do, we sucked it up & joined right in.....Luckily we were indoors the entire time & the lines WERE moving at a consistent pace. After our 2.5 hour wait, we FINALLY approached the door! Rows upon rows and stacks upon stacks of Luon greeted us as we entered the HUGE ballroom-area. It was a heavenly sight! We dug in IMMEDIATELY & grabbed HUGE piles of things to go through. Of course we were shopping for a few girlfriends in the process, so we had to make some good decisions all around! Thankfully we did not encounter a single rude person the entire time we waited OR were shopping thru the sale. We were able to easily pick and choose items from the racks & then sort thru them along the perimeter of the sale. I won't reveal my "damage" upon leaving the sale, but I will say that I'm pretty sure my hubby would breath a sign of relief to know just how much I saved by NOT buying the items at retail price!!! It was a wonderful sale---and, for the most part, was organized great considering the large crowds. As an attendee, however, I would like to make a few suggestions for the next one.....1. Mimosa carts! How genius would it have been for carts filled with mimosas being pushed around & offered to people waiting in the LONG lines (so early in the morning)? Of course they couldn't be FREE, but I can guarantee I would have gladly paid $5 for a glass of vitamin C and bubbly at 9:30am! I might have even bought MORE if this had been an option! Haha! 2. Snacks....either given as samples by sponsors (um, where was Kashi when we needed them?) or available for purchase to people waiting in line. Jennifer and I were absolutely STARVING by the time we reached the doors to the sale. I was dying for a snack (or even water) that I had even started to feel light-headed and kind of sick. If a healthy snack company (like Kashi or Soy Joy) had seen the CROWDS of women waiting, this would have been a perfect marketing opportunity for them....give out FREE food!!! Lastly...#3....more cashiers would have been nice! We had more lines to wait in to check out yesterday. And, as we waited, this gave people ALOT of time to go through their purchases & weed stuff out. There was shoppers remorse ALL-around....shirts, tanks, pants being tossed back & left in piles around the lines to the cash registers.

I must say that all in all, it was a WONDERFUL day, however. I really think that Jennifer & I needed a FULL day without mommy-duties & this much-needed break (a huge thank you to our hubbies for making it possible) was just what the doctor ordered! And, in honor of the sale, I am about go pull on something new for our "later" run on Saturday.....hitting the road at 7:30 intead of 6:30! Thank you Lululemon for a lovely "mommy's day off!"