Did ya’ll know that LL Bean has outlets? I know, right?? Who the hell would need a LL Bean outlet?? Well, my friends, people who travel to Maine in the “Spring” need a LL Bean outlet. It has taken me two trips to Maine to get the hang of packing…and by “get the hang of it”, I mean not succumb to Seasonal Affective Disorder in a brief 24 hour period of rain and grayness. 
During the Rapid Fire House Hunting trip, I realized that while things in South Carolina may be green, sunny and covered in pollen, Maine wasn’t quite there yet. As in, the grass that survived the winter was  covered in mud, the skies were certainly not blue and it.was.cold.
Ya’ll, I packed the one coat I own, a gorgeous Trina Turk trench that is perfect for Winter here in South Carolina. Seeing as it was supposedly Spring in Maine, I thought my Winter Coat would certainly handle whatever the Maine elements had in store for me. Uh, no.
After our 10 hours of house hunting out in the elements (disclaimer: it was honestly a “beautiful Spring day” in Bangor – a brisk 50 degrees and the sun was shining-ish), it became clear that I needed a coat. And Justin needed duck boots – the kid was house hunting in loafers and no socks- sooooo Southern! And we’re worried that I’m not going to acclimate?? Please.
Anyways, our heroic real estate agent Pauline suggest we head to the LL Bean outlet in town for a new Spring Coat. As it turns out, there are LL Bean outlets in pretty much every good sized city in Maine. Our local Bangor LL Bean was ready and waiting with everything a Southern girl might need to live on the frozen tundra:
long john undies
hiking balm for feet 
carabiners
flannel sheets
chapstick that will not attract bears
After Justin made me put every.single.thing. I had in my hands back on the shelves, I headed off in search of a Spring Coat. 
The outlet had some interesting choices….a Barney Purple quilted knee length coat is never going to be flattering…on anyone…ever. 
Luckily, I actually hit the jackpot.
Behold, my new Spring Coat:
Even better, my new “Puffer” (is that what we call these things??) only cost me (ok, only cost Justin) a whopping $32! That’s right baby, warm all Spring and cash left over for more wine and pizza! 
So after all of this, one might think I had gotten the hang of this whole “what to wear in Maine” thing, right? Ah, I appreciate the vote of confidence.
For our second trip to Maine, I decided that since it is already May (and 90 degrees in South Carolina…no seriously, it’s 90 here today), Spring would have officially hit and my Spring Puffer would be a bit much.
I left South Carolina in:
white cropped skinny jeans
a Lilly silk floral print top
flip flops
I carried on one tiny bag that I had managed to stuff my Late Spring Gear into, so for my first real Spring day in Maine I wore:
dark wash jeans
long sleeve black tee
leopard scarf
Northface rain slicker
thick wool socks
Hunter rain boots
Ya’ll, it rained the ENTIRE time we were there. 
But damn if we weren’t going to make the best of it! In my mind I kept saying “Maine, I want to love you, but COME on!”
Sadly, I had not considered that if it rained the entire trip to Maine, I might need an extra pair of socks (or any socks for that matter, I had to borrow some of Justins), an extra pair of non-soaked jeans and more than one long sleeve top. So basically, I packed appropriately for one day in Maine. And on that one day, I wore every single item of clothing that I had packed for the entire weekend. 
Sigh.
Luckily, I won’t be back to Maine until I move there permanently so I’ll have access to an entire closet worth of long sleeved items to wear all summer long!
xo,
Stephanie