Let's go shopping

Internet shopping with international shipping is fantastic - you get to shop from places you wouldn't ordinarily get to shop at. But wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to hop on a plane and head off to a fantastic destination for a spot of shopping - in the flesh? My place of choice (today, anyway) would be the Hamptons.

Besides the shopping, there'd be the Hamptons architecture to admire, beautiful gardens, lovely beaches, great restaurants. But the main event would be the shopping! Particularly the Ralph Lauren store in the East Hamptons. I would just love to visit this shop. I've fallen in love with it from the pictures on the Ralph Lauren website.

I adore the white exterior (above) - it looks more like a charming little cottage or a bed and breakfast rather than a store.

You could rest awhile on the front porch, decorated here in blues....

...and decorated here with a touch of pink, with a sailor on the wall to keep you company.

Heading inside... I wouldn't know what to look at first!

Love the cane chairs as well as the white painted round table. But do you think they'd let me purchase the 'fairweather' sign? It could be my holiday memento. Bit tricky getting it past Qantas though.

I think I would have fun in this shop!

On a personal note, I'm feeling very happy today and thought I would share this with you. You see, I had a chat with my son's teacher who told me that he had sat down with the other children in the class and explained that, much like children with autism (which they'd been learning about the week before), my son is a little different, and should be treated with care and understanding, not fear or hostility. He made sure the children understood that they should try to help my son where they can, and he talked to them about diversity. When the teacher told me this, tears sprung to my eyes. After two years at an expensive, exclusive private school, where I was made to feel that my child was a terrible burden and drain on their resources, and where my parenting skills were constantly questioned, here is a teacher and a public school doing their utmost to make my son feel welcome and accepted. I felt grateful and relieved.

Long live public schools and their wonderful teachers!

So that's my happy news. I hope you have had a happy day too.

Best wishes,