Monday, January 10, 2022

T Stands for Shopping

 Hi everyone from frigid New Hampshire. Tonight (Monday) is cold but tomorrow they say our temperatures will be close to 0 degrees F (about -18 degrees C) with wind chill making it feel like it is about -15 degrees F (-26 degrees C), if not colder. I can tell you where you will find me on T day this week, next to the woodstove. (smile).  Luckily it is only suppose to be this cold for a day, because we have had times it's gone on for a week or even a bit longer. 

Since it is Monday night/Tuesday it is time for T over at  Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog once again. I always look forward to seeing what drink everyone is sharing, never mind all the other interesting things too. 

Last week was certainly a fast week.

You might remember I mentioned in my last T Day post that my daughter was on vacation before she starts her new job this coming Friday. I also mentioned she wanted to go shopping.

One day last week we had sunshine and some cooler temperatures (in the mid-twenties  degree F or around -3 or -4 degrees C). It was the first sunny day in awhile and certainly the first sunny day in January, so we decided a little shopping roadtrip would be a great idea.


We headed off to Freeport, Maine. 

If you aren't familiar with LL Bean, they are a northern New England fixture. Back in  1911 their original owner, Leon Leowood Bean, made these "hunting" boots (as seen in the photo above) with rubber bottoms and leather uppers to keep feet dry while tromping around in wet woodlands. Somewhere along the line these boots even became stylish for day to day wear on college campuses and for others in the ever changing New England weather, as well as other places too. 

I had a pair in college, and I have 3 pairs now: ancient clunky felt lined ones for winter (that they no longer make) that are good for shoveling and mucking around in the snow, a low pair of slip ons, and a pair like this statue only they are fleece lined. I'm not sure what happened to my college pair; sadly, somewhere in my 20's moving around they vanished. 

One thing about these boots is that if the sole wears out, they can be replaced.  My ancient felt lined winters ones had to be replaced once when the dog we had at the time was mad I left her and she chewed the soles off both boots, all while my husband was in the other room doing something and didn't notice. My husband was pretty happy he didn't have order me new boots because at that time they fixed soles for free. I'm not sure if it is still a free service now, although they still fix and clean boots for you.

Here's the LL Bean page about their boot sustainability in case you are interested: LL Bean boots.

The flagship store is in Freeport, Maine, about an hour and 40 minutes from my house. LL Bean now has stores and outlets in other places. Beans (as many New Englanders call it) sells a variety of outdoor gear, clothing, housewares, etc. My first ever visit to Beans was when I was a teenager, and the store was in a multistory wooden sided unremarkable building. After several renovations and enlargements, Beans is now fairly big and drives a whole shopping experience in Freeport. 


In one of the open areas in their store complex, Beans still had their holiday decorated tree up.


I thought the reflection in one of their giant shiny balls would make a good photo, even if we are  distorted from the curvature of the ball.

And yes, we had done some shopping. If you're curious, I bought a pair of flannel pillow cases that match the flannel comforter/duvet cover I received for Christmas in 2020. Not very exciting I admit. 

I have digressed a bit from the drink theme of today's post, so let me share my drink with you.


It was very warm inside of LL Beans. The outside  air felt nice when we walked to go to a few other stores.  As it was a Tuesday morning and not particulary warm outside (like 24 degrees F or -4 degrees C), the stores were not very crowded and we had our masks. At the end of our shopping, we were thirsty, and my daughter, the Starbucks girl in the family, wanted a strawberry acai drink. She offered to buy me a drink. I never go to Starbucks on my own. Usually if I am at Starbucks I get a hot chai latte, but since I was warm from walking and from being inside LL Beans, I tried the peach-green tea-lemonade, light on the ice. You can see my drink in my hand in the photo above. It was delicious and refreshing too.

We had a fun day out with a few other stops along the way, including at the Big Indian (yes I know that is not politically correct at all but that's what it is called) that stands at the south end of Freeport. There must have been a tourist gift shop here back in the days when these kitschy statues were all the rage.


He is now a Freeport landmark along with LL Beans.

With our other stops,  we didn't get home until just before 6 PM.


All that shopping and driving was exhausting too.
(I just noticed how dirty my backseat is-smile!)

Have a great T day and week ahead. Thanks for visiting.














17 comments:

Mae Travels said...

We took photos at the Big Boot when we went to L.L. Bean last summer. It was fun to be there. Looks like you had a lot of fun.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Kate Yetter said...

Sounds like a great trip. I have a pair of LL Bean boots but they don't have that kind of sole. I really love them.
Your Starbucks drink sounds delicious. The strawberry acai combo sounds very refreshing.
Love the Big Indian and his colorful clothing.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

It's wonderful that you and your daughter took the road trip. Nice to see the area of the country I've only just passed through. I've always wanted to visit an LL Bean store. How wonderful, and that "Indian" was a pure joy to see, too.

Of course, your tea looked COLD to me, because I am huddled around my electric heater as I type away. Thanks for sharing this really fun looking day trip with you daughter for T this almost Tuesday, dear. BTW, it's supposed to warm a bit here this week for a few days.

Linda Kunsman said...

what a fun trip! We have an LL Bean store nearby and I do get the catalogue though we haven't bought anything in awhile.
And I thought it was cold where I am- oh my- I'd be by the woodstove too!
Your drink would appeal to me- in the summer months;)
Poor pup- you exhausted him with all your travels:)
Stay warm, and happy T day!

Carola Bartz said...

I visited the LL Bean store (or should I say stores since there are more than one) back in the summer of 2007 when we did our cross country trip. I actually have quite some LL Bean clothes. Your temperatures are really really cold - we sometimes had winters like that in Germany and it would go on for weeks. The river in my town was frozen and we would skate on it, every now and then stopping at the booth that sold mulled wine to warm up. Your post brought up some lovely memories.

Iris Flavia said...

You live in Siberia, do you?! Brrrr! We have 3C.
"Cool" boot. Am I glad I don´t need those, though. Replacement is good. Ingo´s sole just said hello and the shoes go to the bin.

Your pic is great. It reminds of the Prater in Vienna, they had such mirrors there, too.
-4C and warm. Hm. No.

Oh, politically correct, what is these days anyways...

To a great T-Day!

Valerie-Jael said...

Those poor dogs look tired out from shopping! That looks like an interesting shop to buy boots, I haven't seen that make over here, but they look great. I love boots! Happy T Day, and enjoy sitting by the stove! hugs, Valerie

craftytrog said...

It sounds like you both had a fun trip Erika. I love the photo of your refection in the bauble, great shot!
Happy T-Day.
Alison

nwilliams6 said...

Loved reading about your shopping trip, and I love your pictures (I love the one of you and your daughter reflected in the ball most - so fun). I want to go there and visit - so interesting! The drink sounds fab too. Happy T-day, Erika. Have a great week!!! Hugz

CJ Kennedy said...

Fun to visit the flagship Bean store. They just opened up a store at the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley. Which reminds me, I have a couple of things to return. Sounds like you and your daughter had a fun outing. I'll have to try the iced beverage at Starbucks, but not today 🥶 Happy T Day

Divers and Sundry said...

I love L.L. Bean catalogs and would enjoy a trip to their store. What a fun boot! Selfie Heaven. Or maybe not, since it's so BIG. It's nice that they have festive decorations for the season. The lemonade sounds unusual and like something I'd try. I'm never at Starbucks, though.

Pat each dog for me :) Happy T Tuesday!

Jeanie said...

I would have loved to have been with you on that trip! I was at Beans decades ago on a trip to New England and I loved what I bought. Their quality is outstanding. Beans and Land's End are two of the best companies for clothes like that -- but Beans has it in boots! What fun to spend that time with your daughter. Love the photo in the reflection of the glass ball. (Yet another reason why I should get back to New England!)

Empire of the Cat said...

I love the big boot outside the shop Erika. I have seem LL Bean boots here but don't own any. I love that they replace the soles!
Love the photo of the two of you in the xmas bauble lol and your peach green tea sounds interesting but maybe a bit
sweet for me. Also love the big Indian - so he's the only thing left standing from a bygone era?

Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx

Lisca said...

Wonderful that you went shopping with your daughter.
I loved learning about LLBean boots. I had never heard of them but what a good idea! Leather boots will last a life time and they will be so comfortable that you wouldn't want to throw them out. Replacing the rubber is a genius idea. I wish they had them here.
Great selfie in the bauble!
Boy, it is cold out there!
Smiled at the 'Indian'.
The dogs seem to be even more exhausted than you were.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Sharon Madson said...

I didn't know Beans was in Maine. Maybe we can see it next time. But when we visited our son in Skowhegan, we visited the New Balance factory outlet. They make them there. I love the reflection in the ornament photo. That was a cool idea. Happy T Day!

DVArtist said...

I love LL Bean and would love to go to the main store. Sorry it is so darn cold there. I don't know if I can do that kind of cold anymore. I am happy you had time with your daughter. Have a great day today.

pearshapedcrafting said...

This looks like a great place to visit. I love your selfie using the bauble.Pleased you could spend some time with your daughter, but oh that temperature! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx