I was at Wegman’s near my house two weeks ago spending my usual $150 on nothing special. We were about to leave for our snowboarding trip to Breckenridge, CO, and I was worried that Lyla’s lightweight North Face jacket wouldn’t keep her warm (even though Mr. T assured me it would, and that she is always hot).

Earlier in the season I had received a Land’s End catalog with ski gear, and everything was super expensive, so I didn’t really give it a second thought. In my procrastination, I had not looked online much for another jacket, so I had no alternative for her if it was cold. Luckily, a friend had given Ly a pair of ski pants earlier this winter, so we had that covered. Then I tried her ski gloves on, and they were too small. What the heck!

Next to that Wegman’s there is an in-store Land’s End within the Sears. In the almost ten years we’ve lived here, I have been to that Sears maybe six times for appliances and our treadmill. I always went in that entrance. I had never A) entered through the Land’s End entrance or B) even seen this part of the store.

I decided that day to peek in, and to perhaps stumble across some leftover winter items. This is never the time to shop, because you are desperate and short on time. However, I, being who I am, went in anyway.

Well…I was very surprised and elated at what I saw before me. Let me preface the rest of this by saying that I typically associate Land’s End with mom one-piece bathing suits with criss-cross fronts, wide-leg bermuda shorts, and canvas totes. Although, the kids catalogs were the exception, they always had nice ski stuff and good back-to-school gear. I never really thought about the every day clothes though.

When I walked in, to the immediate left was the “Canvas” section, which appeared to be their younger, fresher, hipper brand. It was merchandised super cute (wish I snapped some pics), and it was easy to shop. There were at least four pairs of pants/jeans I really liked, and some relaxed sweatshirts I could have gobbled up. Some items slanted a bit too junior for me (short tops, circle skirts with eyelet, etc.), but even so, there were some really nice things. I saw two bathing suits I adored, but it was not the time for any of that since my little friend was in town cramping me up.

I had E with me, and she managed to pick up many treasures along our way. There was a display with a dog house and a dog that she felt free to get in, and take off her shoes and coat. She was lying inside “sleeping” when this sales guy found us. He was super nice, and didn’t make me feel like the worst mom ever with my child half disrobed and inside the dog house. He guided me to the kids department, and asked me a bunch of questions about E and shopping at Sears. I loved him, and decided I haven’t been waited on this nicely and genuinely in a really long time. I can’t stand the fake niceties you receive at Nordstrom. Especially in the kid’s shoe department where they know nothing, and think by coming around the counter to deliver your bag to you counts as customer service. I digress.

I breezed past the women’s dept. which was chock full of other lovelies, but with E I had to stay focused. We arrived in the kid’s dept., and I was so very impressed. I immediately found two amazing swim suits for Ly that could have been on J. Crew’s web site. In fact, a lot of the inventory reminded me of Crew Cuts and Boden put together. I then headed to the very sparse winter rack. It had about four ski jackets, two wind breakers, and maybe six pairs of snow pants. I just went right for the tags to see if there was anything in Ly’s size. Boom (goes the dynamite)! One jacket, lime green, totally rad in a size 4-6! La. Dee. Da. I looked at the price, and it said $149 with no mark down or anything else. I knew there was no way in April that this was not on sale. So, I looked above, and there was a tiny 50% off sign above the racks. I never believe a sign, but I snatched it up anyway. You know how you feel when you see something on crazy sale? You feel like all of a sudden, someone is going to find out, and get it before you, so you get all butterfly-in-the stomach about it. I should have bought the one pair of pants they had to too, but again, I needed to keep my eye on the prize. $75 was reasonable but average to other stores (not on sale) prices. This jacket was really nice though, and it has this grow-into technology where you pull the lining down when she gets bigger. A plus.

I hoarded the suits and jacket, and decided to pop into the spring section. Guess what? 30 percent off all spring clothes. I had to look right? I couldn’t choose. There were so many cute things. Things I would wear myself! I felt like an intelligence agent snapping photos, (or maybe just a weirdo) so I only took a few, but they had so much loot in this store!

I will say, the prices are not cheap. I felt like because I was in Sears, it would be, but Land’s End is not inexpensive. Dresses were in the $48 range, shorts $28, tops $20. this isn’t crazy expensive, but it can add up quickly. I decided what essentials I needed, and controlled myself to just get those (I ended up putting back these awesome gray jeans and a boat top last minute to keep on my budget).

There is one central checkout area there, and maybe 15-20 people on three lines. It was a bit crowded, and E was full-on in the sunglasses and jewelry nearby. Well, guess who spotted me on line? My old friend from Canvas. He came right up, and told me to come back over to his section where he would ring me up. Just me. I felt like a celeb. In Sears. He commented on my finds, and congratulated me on my jacket find. I asked him to check the price for me first, just in case. It was 50 percent off plus another 30 percent! Ding ding ding. Jackpot! I even called my husband (who yes, told me not to buy a jacket) because I was so proud of myself. All in all, the whole bundle cost me about $160 with all the discounts, and I think I got a good amount of stuff.

So, friends, please go to your local Sears, Land’s End, or Land’s End web site. I am now a believer in both human kind and this brand.