I'm big into shopping locally. Not that I'll EVER pass up a shopping trip to the mall in the city. I absolutely hate shopping at places like Walmart - as a company it's fine, great prices, decent quality & selection, etc. My problem is with the people....See I wanted to grab a few groceries before leaving the city I work in so I didn't have to drive back in later. Big mistake! I was only in there for about 15 minutes and got ran into not once but four times by crabby looking, pj wearing (that's a post for another time) women. No 'sorry's' or 'excuse me's', just a glare and they carried on. I've tried to assertain whether it was in some way my own fault but came up short. Needless to say, I grabbed what I needed to feed the fam for dinner that night and got the hell out there.
Anyway, this post isn't really about terrible shopping experiences. It's about good ones from places that are just outside your door.
I have a super cute store in my town that carries home decor, kitchen accessories, jewelry, scarves, purses. I know, I know it sounds like a crazy mesh up of items but it is gorgeous in there and some how it all works. I'm always talking about it to my co-workers. When my birthday rolled around in Feb those sweet ladies got me a gift certificate. Unfortunately for me, the store was relocating to a bigger place and was closed for a few days. Then life got busy and I couldn't get in there until last week. Let me tell you it soooooooooo worth the wait. Here's my score:
The bracelet was $18 and the purse was $52. I'm absolutely in love with both. They're so unique and fun & affordable! A co-worker even thought the purse cost a lot more than it did :D
So peps, go to your own downtown - take a walk and go find your own diamond. I think it's better to shop locally and help out a real family and maybe make a new friend in the process.
This weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting with my BFF, Jenn. We live almost 3.5 hours apart so our visits are few and like any long distance relationship it takes work & it's so worth it. She comes home or I go to her and we make every minute count. I miss her daily.
It was later Friday night by the time I got there but she was out the door before I even had the car turned off. Once we were in the house we headed downstairs and talked until 1:30 about everything and anything.
Saturday I woke up around 8:30 - she was already up and wrangling her 3 precious boys ( OMG they are the cutest, sweetest little things EVER!). After breakfast, her and her hubby had to head out for t-ball registration and grab a few groceries so I was left in charge :D: I got the low down on all the Easter fun they had with a complete tour of where that silly bunny hid all the eggs. Then, unceremoniously, got my butt kick by a 7 year old on a video game called Critter Crunch (or something like that). It was so wonderful just to watch, listen, and cuddle with them - they're growing so fast.
Then it was time Jenn & I to head out. We went to the next rearest city (about an hour away) for our adventure/retail therapy hoping that maybe the mall was open later. No such luck :(. But we managed to put a serious dent in our bank accounts anyway. With purchases in hand and sore feet we decided to have a sit down in the food court to kill some time (it was still mid afternoon) before looking for a restaurant. How the time flew! Before we knew it the stores were pulling their gates closed and there was serious looking mall cops hovering around.
She was testing a new phone with a app for finding things in the city but just holding it up and scanning the scenery around you. Well, it didn't work as well as we hoped. We drove around for a bit and saw this little English Pub. Thinking 'why not?' we parked and headed in. Well, it was like a scene from a fight movie when the good guy walks it, ready to serve some justice to a poor, unfortunate, misguided criminal - the entire place kinda went quiet (with only the music still playing) and everyone looks at the front door. Apparently they don't get a lot of strangers in this place - that didn't detour us though, even when the regular drunk grabbed my arm and asked me about something. He was harmless so the waitress said anyway. We grabbed a table, ordered, and enjoyed the throw back to our youth with the music (Long live "Cherry Pie"!). Again, the time just raced and we headed back home to talk some more, down a cooler, and stay up way too late.
I had to say my good byes Sunday morning with a tear in my eye knowing that it will be months before seeing them again. I had a great time & I can't wait to do it again.
