First thing first: what you wear on a thrifting trip is important. You've got to be comfortable. You also have to consider trying things on. In most cases, you're going to want to wear stuff you can easily get in and out of in a dressing room. Today, though, that isn't going to be enough, because they main store we're visiting doesn't have dressing rooms. So how do you buy clothes you can't try on? Well, the first thing is to be pretty sure about what will fit you--not your size so much as being able to just look at something and think it will or won't fit. This is a learned skill, for sure--I am pretty good at it because I've been doing it for a long time, but it's not a natural thing. If you've never tried to do it, I suggest pulling a few things that fit really well out of your closet and looking at them on the hanger. Just get a sense of what a garment that fits you looks like.

The other thing to do is to wear something that facilitates trying things on without a dressing room. At a thrift store with no dressing room, doing this isn't going to be strange. My go-to ensemble is leggings and a sweater dress with a tank top underneath. I forgot to take a picture, but that's exactly what I had on today.

12:12 PM: This is when we leave my house. I always try to leave early, but I never actually make it out on Saturday until noon or later. There is coffee to drink, an Internet to screw around on...just too much to do. As we back out of my garage, we notice that our neighbors have decorated their front yard with a dozen or so different sizes and shapes of plastic flamingos, and are playing in it with their grandchildren. Things like that don't usually happen in the suburbs. Has to be a good omen.

12:18 PM: We make our first stop, just up the road from my house, at Starbucks. I'd love to tell you that I fuel for my adventures at a local coffee shop, but the sad truth is that I don't have a local coffee shop. As in, I can't find one anywhere. So Starbucks it is. Mini mall Starbucks, no less.
And feel free to make fun of me for my order. It's a grande skinny two-pump three-shot vanilla latte. Yeah, I know. Pathetic. But in my defense, if I could trust the coffee to be good, I'd just have coffee. In Virginia, I cannot trust the coffee to be good. That little devil with it is a blueberry scone. 10 freaking points in that thing, and yet, so tasty. Eat up, you're going to need the energy.

12:42 PM: Everything in northern Virginia takes a long time to get to, so it'll be nearly a half an hour before we get to our next stop, even though it's less than 15 miles away. Don't worry, I'm a good driver. And we can listen to "This American Life" in the car. Our stop won't be a thrift store yet, sorry. Thing is, there are things I need that I can't thrift. Specifically, bras. And I have a gift card for T.J. Maxx/Marshall's. And they are on the way. So T.J. Maxx is the next place we pull in. I'll spend a half hour looking for bras (and a spring bag, and leggings) and then come out with a black sweater dress from the clearance rack. Oops.

1:18 PM: As luck would have it, there is a Marshall's just a few stores down from T.J. Maxx, and still on our way, so we'll have a quick stop there, too. I will take another half hour to look and I'll strike out completely. OK, I swear we're really on our way now.
1:53 PM: Almost two hours after leaving my house, we finally get to my new favorite thrift store, Unique. Unique is a big-ass thrift store. It's a bit terrifying, actually--you go through this odd marketplace full of knock-off designer bags and perfume and discount underwear to get to the actual thrift store part. As we go in, we'll notice the signs that list today's 50% off items. Not much of my interest--furniture, electronics, toys, and stuffed animals. Two weeks ago it was coats, scarfs, and boots, which is a much better deal. Still, something to keep in mind.

I've been asked if I have a method for going through a thrift store--if I always do it in the same order. I do have a method, but it changes depending on the store, my time frame, and if I am looking for anything specific. Basically, if I am in a hurry, I start with whatever I want to find most or whatever that store is most likely to have. If I am not in a hurry, I start with everything else and move to the sections that are most important/most likely to have good stuff. With some exceptions. Today, I am not in a hurry, so I'll start with the sections that are the least important to me/least likely to have stuff I want (housewares, toys, craft stuff, accessories) move on to the best sections, where I'll spend the most time (clothing), and end with a spin through the books (often time consuming, so I skip it if I don't have a lot of time), a look at furniture (want to do that last so you don't have to carry anything you decide you want around), and a glance at jewelry (since it's in a case at Unique you have to get it right before checking out).

There are several rows of housewares at Unique, but they only take me a few minutes to browse, since I'm not really looking for any of that type of stuff. The same is true of the purse and scarf sections--I haven't found these to be particularly strong areas at Unique, and today I don't see anything. Same with craft stuff--I pick up a few bags of yarn, but only see synthetics, and I hesitate for a moment over a cool blue-and-orange print piece of vintage fabric, but leave it when I notice it is only two yards.

The toys is a section I often skip completely, but since it's 50% off, I take a quick gander to see if anything grabs me. It's a pretty small section of the store at Unique, and often really picked over. Today, though, something jumps out. It's a plastic anatomical model. Not something I need, I suppose, but how freaking cool is that? Plus it's marked $1.91 and it's half-off. Yeah, I'll buy that for a dollar.

Next stop is baby clothes. I don't have a baby, it's true, but I have an ongoing list of my friends' kids' clothing sizes and what they are in need of. I love thrifting for baby clothes--the younger the better--they are cheap, they are super cute, and because they aren't for my kid and thus aren't "needed," I can afford to be super picky. Today, I scored two dresses (well, a dress and a dress/bloomer set) for an online friend's foster child.

Here I have to make a confession--as far as serious thrifters go, I am willing to pay a lot for thrifted items. A lot of people who thrift as much as I do are what I would consider pretty damn cheap. But when I thrift, I'm comparing the price on the item not to what I think it should be used (or garage sale prices), but to what it would be new, or at least new and on the clearance rack. I am blessed to be able to do that--it speaks to my privilege as someone who thrifts because she wants to and because she thinks it is the right thing to do politically, rather than from dire economic need. That caveat made, these dresses were not particularly expensive for what they are. The green outfit is an extremely, new-condition Gymboree set, and the lavender dress is from Kohl's Blueberi Boulevard line and is new with tags. They were $3.49 each.

The next section I hit is men's clothes, to look for stuff for Mark. My sojourn here is brief, as the only thing on his current "wish list" is a greatcoat, and it only takes me a minute to exhaust that section. Then I'm on to what I'm really here for: clothes for me!

I have a large wardrobe. Recently, I moved out of the master's closet Mark and I share and started to convert part of my office into a closet/dressing room. This move frees me from even pretending I am going to pare down clothes. I love clothes, and I like to have a lot to choose from. If the majority of what I have is thrifted, I feel very little guilt about obtaining it. And so, I thrift for clothes with a rather embarrassing free reign. Be forewarned.

The first section I hit is dresses. I am in a big dress phase right now. Finally having some options for tights and leggings that are long enough makes dresses a lot more wearable. In Unique's dress section, I find three frocks that I think will work. The left-hand one is a sort of Army green jersey dress from Kohl's Apt. 9 line. It's got cute waist detailing and is about knee-length, and I like the cut and probable comfort a lot. It's $6.49. The middle one is a shorter, dress with a similar cut, in red, from The Gap. It's probably too short to wear on its own, but will be fine with leggings. It's also $6.49. Finally, I spot a dress at the end of the rack, which someone has picked up and then discarded. The tags are completely cut out of it, so I have no idea about brand or size, but it's a teal blue shirt dress with a matching belt with little embroidered birds on it. So cute, and very retro feeling, if not actually vintage. It's $9.99. My finding this great dress speaks to an important thrifting tip, especially at big stores like this one--always pay attention to the "hot spots" where other people have discarded things. A lot of the nicer stuff will make its way there.

When I look for clothes at Unique, I look at everything in the large and extra large sections. This is because Unique seems to categorize extra large as beginning at size 18. I am usually a 14/16, so my clothes are in the large section. However, when things aren't numerically labeled, I'm usually an XL. Looking in both sections helps me not to miss anything.

Next, I hit up skirts. I'm not quite as into skirts as I am dresses, but I do like them a lot. Plus, I don't look at pants at Unique. Pants I really, really need to try on. And probably even if I could try them on, I wouldn't spend much time looking at them, because finding pants to fit me at a thrift store is pretty unlikely (only a few brands fit, and I need a long length, which isn't all that common). So I skip that section completely. I skip shoes, too--I wear a 12, it's just not likely to be there.

In the skirt section, however, I do well. I find a purple corduroy skirt from H&M for $4.99, a gorgeous lined wool brown Anne Klein skirt for $6.49, and a new with tags Jones New York skirt in a tan and white pattern for $9.99. I'm not 100% sure the shorter, pleated style of the Jones New York skirt is going to work, but I like the pattern and am always trying to broaden my horizons when I thrift for clothes, so I decide to take a chance.

Next, I hit sweaters. My current dress kick is accompanied by a cardigan kick, and I've done very well with cardigans at Unique. Today is no different. The cropped black and pink and white one is by Style & Co. (Macy's) and cost $3.99. The black one with the ruffled collar is much cuter on than photographed, cost $4.99, and is my beloved Ann Taylor. The chunky gray one is from The Limited and was $5.99.

This brings up another question folks ask me fairly regularly--do I look for specific labels when I thrift? Yes and no. There are a few labels I simply won't buy--WalMart's George comes to mind. And there are a couple that I don't necessarily seek out, but I do pay attention to when I see them, since they seem to work for me so often. Ann Taylor is one of those. I thrift a lot of Ann Taylor. Doing so wasn't originally an intentional decision, it just ends up that Ann Taylor makes a lot of stuff I like. (God, typing that sentence makes me feel old.)

After sweaters I moved to shirts. I've been trying to expand my blouses and non-jersey shirts lately. I don't generally thrift tee-shirts, because they always seem to be faded or shrunk or both--environmentally, I'd like to thrift them, but vanity wins out. Today, Unique's blouse section netted me a blouse and a short dress. The dress, at left, is Merona (Target) and I paid $9.99 for it, which is more than even I would usually pay for a used Target item. However, I really loved it, so I did it anyway. The blouse is cotton and in perfect shape, from Sonoma (Kohl's). It was $3.99.

Having completed my clothing rounds, I stopped by the books, but didn't see anything. Looked at the furniture, and briefly considered a desk chair for Mark, but didn't want to lug it out to the car and wasn't sure it was the style he wanted (it was marked $49.99, but was in great shape and was 50% off, so it would have been reasonable). Finally, I stopped at the jewelry counter. It irritates me that Unique has all their jewelry behind glass--it's a very clogged area and it takes forever to get someone to show you the stuff you want to see, plus I always feel stupid for looking at things and then not buying them. However, it's worth it--they have an excellent selection, including quite a bit of vintage stuff. Today I didn't see anything, though, so I hit the checkout and left.

3:34 PM: Back in the car post-Unique, I marvel at how quickly I got through the store, and decide that the afternoon is still young and we should head over to the next town over to check out the Innova Hospital thrift store. Someone told me that hospital thrift stores are the way to go out here--doctor's families donate all the best stuff. Since you are imaginary, you are agreeable, and off we go.

3:55 PM: Except that on the way to the other thrift store, I get sidetracked by my hunger and need for more caffeine. Chik Fil A! Doesn't take but a minute to buzz through the drive-thru for a Coke and some waffle fries! What would you like?

4:07 PM: When we finally get to the Innova store, it doesn't look like much. Small and crowded. The type of store I usually avoid out of a mixture of laziness and claustrophobia. Still, since we're here, might as well check it out. Doesn't take more than a few minutes. This type of store is too small to go through with a plan, I just look through the stuff at the tops of the piles. Turns out these particular doctors' families aren't all that generous. Most of what's here is total crap. But it's 25% off crap.

That said, I manage to score a really cute black Jones New York dress (which didn't photograph well at all--trust me, it's cute!) and a vintage half slip for a total of $8.66, so it wasn't a wasted trip. Plus the entire stop took sixteen minutes.

And we're off again!

4:32 PM: You may be pissed off by this point. I insist we stop at yet another T.J. Maxx so I can continue my bra-buying quest. Another half an hour search (because I can't look at just bras!), another strike out.

It's at this point, leaving T.J. Maxx, that I realize that if I don't get back to the dry cleaner (conveniently located next door to the Starbucks at which we began our day) by six, I can't pick up my huge armload of dry cleaning. Which I kinda need. So we're back on the road. And the traffic, as is the case at this time of day, even on Saturday, is intense. That's OK. We'll listen to NPR.

5:56 PM: Made it! I go pick up my dry-cleaning. Most of which is actually the product of previous weeks' trips to Unique.

6:06 PM: We return to my house. Neighbors still have the flamingo farm in their yard, but the kids are gone. And probably you run far, far away and refuse to ever go thrifting with me again.

Or at least I was. Over the past year, two things have happened to change my photo phobia. The first, which I told you about before, was having my picture taken by the amazing and inspirational Karen Walrond. Karen is soon to release a book of words and pictures called "The Beauty of Different," and I can't wait to get my copy. I know from my own mini-session with her that she has an amazing talent, both when she's behind the camera and when she's not, for making you feel like everything about you is fine, is, in fact, beautiful. I can't thank her enough for what she did for me in just a brief meeting (and one of the pictures she took the day I met her may end up in the book!).

The second thing is actually a little bit funny. I got a computer with Photo Booth, and I started playing with it. Photo Booth is a little bit like a mirror with a response mechanism--you can take a million pictures of yourself, and it's easy to see, right away, what "works" and what doesn't. Using it has taught me something I probably should have figured out already--photographing well is about how you hold yourself. Anybody can take a bad picture, and people who take consistently good ones have either learned how to hold themselves to make themselves look good, or do so naturally. The flaws I have always seen in pictures of myself aren't due to my being ugly, or to some devil that lives inside the camera, but mostly to my carriage when having my picture taken. I learned that, somewhere along the line, and I can unlearn it.

Since I'm feeling all body positive and open today, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Photo Booth experiments:

On our mantle, we have two sets of photographs, leashes, and collars. One is Chance's, one is Leo's.

Atticus is only interested in one of them.

It started with reading My Wardrobe Today. I'm not sure who turned me on to it, but I liked Allie's blog from the beginning. There is something fun, for some reason, in seeing what someone else chooses to wear each day. Allie's style was (and remains, though she doesn't post as often as she used to) more conservative than my ideal, but still very nice. She hasn't ever worn anything I don't like, I don't think. And Allie is insistently positive about her body, other women's bodies, and how to best dress what you have. (Allie's other blog, Wardrobe Oxygen, focuses more on fashion in general and product reviews than on her own wardrobe, and it's also a good read.)

As much as I like Allie's blog, I've never found her outfits particularly inspiring. She always looks very nice, and her basic advice is spot-on, but she's conservative. Looking for something a bit less conservative, one day I found What I Wore Today. Kasmira is far more adventurous in her clothing. Like Allie, she posts her outfit every day, along with information about where each piece came from. She also talks about stylistic influences, including other bloggers and fashion magazines. Honestly, about half of what Kasmira wears I can't stand. She's much more in love with color and with mixing colors than I am. She wears a lot of clothes from Forever 21 and similar stores, which I couldn't fit into even if I wanted to wear them. That being said, the other half of what Kasmira wears is genius. She is inspiring. I look at things she wears and realize that there are things I could be putting together I never would have thought of. She encourages me to take risks.

Right around the time I started reading Kasmira's blog, I also started reading Work With What You've Got. Erin, too, takes pictures of her daily apparel. Her style is more in line with Kasmira's than with Allie's, but her angle is that she's attempting to remain stylish on what she calls a "blue collar budget." There are things I wouldn't have believed could be so cute that Erin pulls off beautifully--jeggings (jean leggings), thigh high socks over tights or leggings, moto jackets...the list goes on. Most of what she wears I can't actually imagine working for me, but I love seeing what she comes up with.

Recently, I've added two new favorites to the style blog section of my reader. The first is Already Pretty. I think Sal is a great mix of Allie's grown-up, professional style and Kasmira and Erin's more eclectic mix. Plus, she thrifts a huge number of her clothes, which makes it more interesting to me. She's part daily outfit blogger and part fashion advice blogger, too, which is great. (I'm hoping her tips will help me figure out how to wear a belt.)

Finally, I have to give a shout to my friend Bellisimama at Bonfire of My Vanity. Like the others, she posts her outfits daily, but what I really love is that she also posts pictures of the inspiration for a given day's outfit. And her style inspirations are very wide-ranging, from mimes to the 1970s to a certain set of Marilyn Monroe photographs. From her blog, I can see how outfits can be inspired by things without just copying them, which is great.

One final blog I have to mention, though it's not quite the same project as the previous five, is The Sew Weekly. On The Sew Weekly, Mena documents her project of each week sewing a dress from a vintage pattern (using a lot of vintage notions and fabrics, and even more thrifted supplies) and wearing it. Her eventual goal is to have all self-made clothes, which I think is amazing. I know myself well enough to know I'm never going to learn to sew well enough to create clothing, but it's still fun to read.

So, do you read style blogs? Which ones do you like? Feed my reader!

But on to more important issues: I finally had a really really great thrift trip! My friends visited last week, and we took a mid-week trip to Unique Thrift Store in Falls Church (2956 Gallows Rd., open 10-8 Monday-Saturday and 11-6 Sunday). I've been to Unique twice before. The first time was a bust, the second I scored a nice haul of ramekins, napkins, and books. This time, though, was the mother lode.

The friends I was thrifting with did well too, and I promised I'd blog their finds as well. I don't remember what they paid, since I don't have their receipt, but what you see here is (clockwise from top left): a cool pair of black scrub pants with a scissors pocket (one friend is a doctor and she was jazzed about these); a super cute black sweater dress; a World Wildlife Federation water bottle; a metallic clubby type dress; a dri-fit shirt; and five books (four paperbacks, one hard cover). The books I know were super inexpensive--between $.69 and $1.99 each, I believe.

My haul was even more impressive (plus I can tell you more about it!). Clockwise from top left: a cute lavender and black plaid flannel shirt with snaps ($3.99); a gorgeous, new with tags silk dress by Jonathan Martin ($24.99, and one of the most expensive pieces of clothing I have ever thrifted); a workout hoodie with a ruffled hood by Lucy ($4.99, and SO comfortable I've barely taken it off since I washed it); a set of four new Crate & Barrel napkins in a great retro pattern ($4.99); a beautiful brown wool, fully lined, houndstooth skirt by Harve Benard ($4.99); three paperback books (between $.69 an $1.19 each); a gorgeous wool Banana Repubic pencil skirt in the ellusive size 16 tall ($5.99); a Patagonia fleece neckwarmer ($.49); and a pair of fleece socks ($1.99). Total with tax was right around $60.

So what's the secret? Well, first off, previous trips to Unique found me looking in the wrong section for clothes for myself. Unique separates clothes into Small-Medium-Large-Extra Large. I assumed my size 14/16 stuff would be XL. They call it large. Knowing that will certainly improve future trips. Unique is large and overwhelming--there is a lot of stuff there, most of it is crap, and some of it is weirdly overpriced. If this trip is any indication of the typical quality you can find, though, it's going to become my new go-to.

As a little thought experiment, I decided to try to figure out how much it would have cost to buy the things I bought new. Obviously I can't price those exact items, but I can look at similar ones. So let's see.

First, the plaid flannel shirt. The brand on it is Outdoor Exchange. I've never heard of that brand, so I Googled it, and I couldn't find anything. It's a nice shirt, pretty heavyweight, so I think something similar would probably be Carhartt. A mid-weight flannel shirt for women at Carhartt is regular priced $40.

The dress is by Jonathan Martin. A web search for a silk dress of that brand led me to Overstock, where they're selling a Jonathan Martin dresses, most of which are poly blends, for $30-$50. Since mine's silk, we'll call it $45.

Lucy workout hoodies are expensive! The style I bought isn't on their site, but the ones that are range from $48-$118. Assuming the one I got is mid-range, it would be $83. Close enough.

Crate & Barrel sells their napkins for $3-$8 each, or $16.95 for sets of four. Again, the ones I got aren't there anymore, but there are some similar ones.

I thought Harve Benard was a fancy brand, but it turns out it's sold at Sears. Still, the skirt I bought seems to be very good quality. Nothing they have currently on the Sears website resembles it in the least--no wool, for one thing. Everything I found online that looked remotely similar was at least $60, so I'm calling the skirt I got $50.

Unlike the clothes, the books are all in "used" condition (clothes are all new or like new), so I'm gonna go with Amazon Marketplace values for those. Those values are $1.79, $.97, and $.97.

The Banana Republic skirt actually is still on their website! And it's $79.50.

Patagonia sells their fleece neck warmers for $25.

Finally, the most colorful fleece socks are $15-$20 per pair for adults, depending on the brand. Mine don't have a brand label, so I'll say $15.

So the total, if this stuff were bought retail, would be $358.18. Before tax. Even if I overestimated in some places, at least several times as much.

This isn't the only reason to thrift shop, but it is sure one of them.

Here in Virginia, we haven't had time since we moved to try many places. However, when Mark's parents were here in September, we did go into The Wine Kitchen in Leesburg for some lunch. We didn't plan it, just happened to walk by the restaurant while we were exploring Leesburg. And it was great--we had a light lunch, each had a glass of wine, and improved our afternoon considerably.

It was with this good memory in mind that Mark asked if I wanted to to The Wine Kitchen for dinner on Saturday. We hadn't been out anywhere nice in ages, so I was really excited about it, and I was not disappointed.

We started our meal with the charcuterie plate ($10). The highlight of the meats was an Italian bresaola--I hadn't had bresaola before, and I loved it, particularly paired with the stone-ground mustard The Wine Kitchen provides. The Spanish Serrano ham was good, too, though not the best I've had by any means. I was very disappointed, however, by the domestic (from Iowa) pork belly. It really tasted like raw bacon, and was both extremely fatty and very tough. We also go the marinated olives ($4), which Mark was disappointed to find were pitted, ruining their texture, but I thought were pretty good, and a very generous portion for the price--we couldn't finish them.

Along with our first course, Mark had a taste of Majella Sparkling Shiraz 2005, from Coonawarra, Australia ($4 for the taste) and I had a flight of tastes of three pinot noirs: Terrazze Pinot Nero, 2008 from Provincia di Pavia, Italy; Rosella's Vineyard A.P. Vin, 2006, from Santa Lucia Highlands, California; and Klee Pinot Noir, 2008, from Willamette Valley, Oregon ($13 for the flight). The Wine Kitchen pours a generous taste--I'd say it's more like a half glass--so I think the prices are very reasonable. Mark didn't like the sparkling shiraz, and neither did I--it tasted like carbonated port and was way too heavy for a pre-dinner drink. The Oregon Klee pinot was very good, the California OK, and the Italian antiseptic tasting, to my palette, but I learned to drink wine in Oregon, so take that for what it's worth.

For a second course, we split the Parisian herb gnocchi ($12). Served with roasted brussels spouts, pearl onions, and a balsamic vinegar, browned butter, and ricotta sauce, this was sublime. I don't love gnocchi in general, Mark doesn't love brussels sprouts, and yet we both loved this (though in retrospect, I'm not sure why we ordered it). The gnocchi were soft without being at all mushy, the brussels sprouts were just a bit crunchy, the pearl onions were sweet, and the sauce was perfect. This is a bit rich, though--I'm not sure I would want a whole serving as an entree. For a split starter, it was perfect.

I didn't have to give my entree much thought. I had the "chicken and waffles" ($12) .The Wine Kitchen's take on this classic is actually battered and fried farm-raised quail over cornmeal and herb waffles, with bacon caramel syrup. If that sounds good to you, trust me, it's better. The quail was done perfectly, and it was wonderful with the syrup. Mark also really liked the waffle, but I wasn't as big a fan of it--I wanted to be lofty and soft inside with a crisp outside, like a cornmeal Belgian waffle, but it was more Eggo-textured. Still, the overall dish was a huge success. I'd order it again in a heartbeat.

Mark went for the braised short ribs ($16). His dish was simply not so impressive as mine. The ribs themselves were fine (and it was a generous portion), but the red wine sauce served on them was lackluster. I was intrigued by the red grits the ribs were served with, but they ended up tasting much like grits with tomato sauce in them, and the texture was in the in-between area, not quite grits, not quite polenta. The pickled vegetable salad, however, was excellent, and was a wonderful accompaniment to the heavy beef and grits, adding a crispness that would have been lacking otherwise.

With our entrees, Mark and I each had a flight of wine tastes. I chose the Hills of Italy ($10), which included: Barbera D'Asti Collina La Mora, Barbera, 2007, from Piedmonte; Benotto, Nebbiolo, 2006, from Monferrato; and Chianti Riserva, Renzo Masi, Sangiovese, 2006, from Chianti. The Barbera and Sangiovese were both very solid, not great, but very drinkable. I didn't care much for the Nebbiolo, as it had a dusty taste to it that was too strong on my palette. Mark went for the Righteous Staff Selections ($12). His flight included: Yalumba , Riesling, 2008, from South Australia; La Palazzetta, Brunello di Montalcino , Sangiovese , 2003, from Tuscany, Italy; and d'Arry's Original, d'Arenberg, Shiraz, Grenache, 2005, from McLaren Vale, Australia. I didn't sample his Reisling, but loved it. The Sangiovese was very respectable and would fit right in with the wines in my flight. The high point of his for me, though, was the surprisingly good Australian Grenache, which I loved and will definitely look for again.

For dessert, I was all set to get the Caramel and Sea Salt Torta Palla ($7). Then, however, our waitress offered me the a port and truffles flight ($14), which I couldn't refuse. Mark ordered the Torta Palla and we split both. I didn't get the names of my port offerings, but the tawny was excellent (the other was a LBV that was a bit strong for me). The truffles were quite good. We were surprised to find we both loved the milk chocolate and cinnamon one the most, but the dark chocolate and Earl Gray garnished with lavender was also quite good. The third truffle was a ruby port and dark chocolate version, which I thought was overpowered by the tawny I was drinking and didn't care as much for.

Mark's dessert was my hands-down favorite part of the meal. Two balls of very good, very dense chocolate cake were covered with an excellent hard chocolate shell (not waxy at all, with great flavor). The balls were topped with heavenly homemade caramel sauce, sprinkled with strong sea salt, and garnished with what I believe to have been sweetened and whipped mascarpone. Every element of the dessert was perfect, and it was all fantastic together. I was stuffed to the gills by the time it arrived, and I ate my half with gusto anyway.

As far as atmosphere goes, The Wine Kitchen is a much different place for weekend dinner than for weekday lunch. It was very crowded and noisy. We arrived just after 6pm and got the last open table, and for the rest of our meal, multiple parties were standing up in the middle of the restaurant waiting for a clear table. Our second round of wine was delayed quite a bit, in part because our waitress couldn't make her way through the mob. Still, I like the place, it's comfortable and not pretentious in the least.

I like the prices at The Wine Kitchen, too. The tastes are usually $3-$5, and the flights $10-$16, so it's a great way to taste some wine. The food, too, is very reasonable for the quality and size.

There may well be other great places locally--we'll definitely keep looking--but I think Mark and I may have found our special new date night place here in our new home, and that's a good feeling to have.

Well, I'm thinking of picking the habit back up. Clearly, I won't do it every day--I work from home now, and frankly, most days I don't get dressed. However, working from home and not getting dressed most days has made me all the more interested in looking and feeling ood on the days I do go somewhere. So, on those days, I'm going to try to share.

Tonight, Mark and I had a date night. We went out to a nice, but casual, dinner. I wore a knit, empire-waisted black, gray, white, and red patterned top I picked up a year or so ago at Ross (can't remember the brand and I cut the tag out because it itched); black overdyed trouser jeans from Ann Taylor Loft; black suede pointed-toe boots with sequins up the sides from Annie; and a red abalone necklace I picked up somewhere in Austin. I like this outfit a lot--it's stylish and a bit sophisticated (at least the trouser jeans and pointy boots feel that way), but still very comfortable. I felt good in it.

I went fairly neutral with makeup, too. What you see here is Smashbox primer; Korres concealer; a very small amount of Laura Mercier Illuminating tinted moisturizer mixed with my regular moisturizer; Clinique Almost Makeup powder; Cargo blush in Polynesia; Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in 1999; shimmery champagne shadow from this palette by The Body Shop; Lancome Definicils mascara in black; and Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips gloss in Brandi.

There's nothing really spectacular about this outfit or the makeup, but it felt good to me, like a really nice, pretty, natural night out combination. I'll probably wear it again.

And it was better! It's still not great--it's not Austin and it's not going to be--but it was better! I made actual purchases, at least.

First, I hit Unique (2956 Gallows Rd, Falls Church). Unique is this area's answer to the thrift mega-store. It's a mostly for-profit enterprise, from what I can tell. It's huge--a warehouse--and well-organized. Unfortunately, 99.9% of what is there is crap. When I thrift, I am looking for either new or like-new items at prices much cheaper than they would be new, or vintage or hard-to-fine items I couldn't find new. What I am not looking for is been-used stuff that I probably wouldn't have wanted even if it were new.

That being said, if you're patient, Unique can turn up some worthwhile items, few and far between as they are. The high point sections seem to be the clothes, where I didn't spend much time today. I did browse the ladies' jackets, and found several nice ones. The prices were too high by my reckoning, though--used Old Navy should never cost $10, and no used jacket should be $50 in a thrift store.

But I did come home with a few things. I bought: a set of six blue and white patterned Japanese finger bowls ($.99); a new-in-package set of Emilie Henry ramekins ($4.49); a copy of bell hooks' Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center ($.99); a copy of James Beard's Beard on Bread ($1.41); and a set of green linen napkins that look new ($3.49).

Next, I went further into Falls Church to the Clock Tower Thrift Shop (2860 Annandale Rd, Falls Church). Clock Tower is a non-profit store benefiting "Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS). This is a really tiny store, and it's very crowded. You can barely walk between the racks. However, there are real gems here. I didn't look a lot at the clothes, but the dishes and housewares were full of vintage things I know a collector would love (there was a tea set from the 50s I really wanted to bring home). There were also at least a half dozen nice wool scarves and a big basket of vintage stockings that I'd have been all over if I was a smaller size. However, I was dismayed to see a used jean jacket marked $25. It was Calvin Klein, but come on--that's consignment price, not thrift. Finally, the vintage jewelry section, though it's all cluttered up behind glass and hard to browse, is amazing.

Once again, I managed to pick out a few things to bring home with me (I easily could have brought several more things, but I was trying to be good). The glass pitcher was a bit spendy at $8, but I've been looking for one just like it (that size and heavyweight), so I went for it. The noodle bowl is lovely and was $2. Finally, I was stoked to find new in package, locally hand-made beeswax candles, also $2.

My last stop was just a couple of blocks away from Clock Tower, a store called Joseph's Coat (3022 Annandale Rd, Falls Church). Joseph's Coat is a thrift shop benefiting the Bethany House DV hotline and shelter program. It's a much larger space than Clock Tower, but much smaller than Unique. The first thing I noticed was the stellar book section--best one I've seen here. I recently vowed to stop buying books that I don't for some reason need to own rather than just read (i.e. no fiction unless I really love it, mostly cookbooks, art books, and feminist books), but if I hadn't, I could have gone nuts. The furniture was also quite nice--there was an early 70s slipper chair in great condition there for $69 that I really wanted to bring home (but didn't because Mark would have hated it). Housewares are another strength--lots of full sets of dishes and older glassware. I didn't look closely at the clothes, but my glance turned up a few decent brands and things with tags on them.

It was at Joseph's Coat that I found my favorite score of the day, a bright red tin bread box, for $6. I think it's reproduction and not vintage, but it's super cute, and I've been wanting a box for the half-loaves of bread always cluttered on the top of our fridge. After much hemming and hawing, I also picked up a new condition coffee table book on DaDa. The book was $20, which seemed ridiculous to me for thrift prices, but it's really nice, and I felt slighted for not letting myself buy novels, and I haven't bought any art books in a long time, so it came home with me too.

All in all, a great day of thrifting. The best one I've had since we moved here, and I feel myself getting reinvigorated to do serious, browse-through-all-the-clothes, takes-all-day trips. Stay tuned!