True confession: I have some dangerous friends.

No, they’re not criminals; they’re not drug addicts; they don’t stock their homes with poisonous snakes.

But they do make it shockingly easy for me to part with my money.

I’m thinking of one friend in particular.  This weekend I took Miss M to the mall to see The Secret World of Arietty, which I totally recommend.  We met up with Miss N, one of Miss M’s BFFs, and Miss N’s mom, a close friend of mine.  (Miss M has been good to me that way — I love all her closest friends’ moms.)  We’re about to buy our tickets when we see another kid from the girls’ class, Sir H.  He’s with his mom, who’s just fantastic, and who owns two clothing stores in the mall.  I’d never been to either of her stores, so we all agree to meet up at the higher-end one after the movie.

Oh my.  Her store.

It’s awesome.

We walk in, our eyes goggle, and in about two seconds, Miss N’s mom and I are trying on outfits.  Even the girls get in on it, ooh-ing and aah-ing over purses, trying on dresses, and squealing over everything.  Sir H’s mom, the owner, offers us the employee discount, which is wonderful, and I walk out of there with a dressy sweater and shirt I adore, a new purse for Miss M, and several tank tops from her less expensive store across the hall.  Sir H’s mom sends us on our way with a promise to open the store one night for all the school moms, serve drinks, play music, and let us all have a clothes-trying-on-festivus.

It sounds like a blast… a perilous blast.  I have real problems resisting fabulous clothes at a fabulous discount… especially when plied with wine.

This is why Sir H’s mom is a dangerous friend… though I admit it’s a danger I plan to enjoy tremendously.

Do you have any dangerous friends?  Friends you love, but with whom you know you’ll spend too much, eat too much, do too-crazy things?  I wanna know — tell me all about them!

And if you’re in L.A. and want to come shopping with me, I happen to know a fabulous little store…