Remember that gameshow from the 90’s, Supermarket Sweep? … Where contestants were given two minutes to race thru aisles of a mock grocery store, all the while piling stuff into their carts, hoping that their take was the most expensive? It was chaotic, crazy, incredibly cheesy and yes, I completely loved it.

Similar (okay maybe a stretch, but give me the benefit of this doubt) was my experience a few weeks ago at the St. Louis Premium Outlets in Chesterfield, MO. Given a $100 gift card to shop their stores and a (very lax) timeline of 1.5 hours, I, along with 9 fellow St. Louis bloggers (including the hostess of the evening, Psyche from Economy of Style), hit the shops.

Here’s how my night played out:

I had been to the outlets before, so I was starting with baseline knowledge and went for the heavy hitters (at least as my taste is concerned). I started at J. Crew Outlet, found this stuff (total of $85) and put it all on hold.

Next I went into Max Studio with some blogger friends before deciding to go it alone at Saks off Fifth. This was my money ball and I had 40 minutes left. There used to be an Off Fifth next to my office in Minneapolis and some of my favorite designer duds came from that place. I was confident my $100 would not live to see the exit.

And indeed it was true. It took some serious sorting and some even more serious trying on, but I found two goodies with my name written all over them. The first: this Free People dress that I had tried on at Nordstrom earlier in the year (originally $148, outlet price $45). There was one left and it was my size. If that isn’t fashion fate, I’m not sure what is.

I was also on the hunt for a black purse. I didn’t come away with the purse, but I did find this belt bag (belt bag also being on my fall wish-list). It’s Michael Kors (Originally $99, outlet price $35).

If you’re somehow still reading and humoring me on this journey, I have $20 left and negative 5 minutes. I race out of Saks, swing by J. Crew and buy the L.L. Bean- esque tote bag that had also been on hold (see below). In my head there was the screaming of the live studio audience and maybe even a squeaky grocery cart as I turned corners, sprinting back to the Management Offices to share my loot with my fellow bloggers and the Simon Staff… but in reality it was a peaceful Thursday evening in this quaint, suburban outdoor shopping mall. And the sweat collecting on my forehead was most likely from the 100 degree heat as opposed to any sort of lunging down aisles and around corners. But hey, a girl can dream.