Today I had to go do store checks. That’s where we go out and check a bunch of stores to look for new trends and potential opportunities in the market. I hit B. Dalton, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Claire’s, Icing, Dick’s, Urban Outfitters, Justice, Hot Topic, Journey’s, WalMart, Target and Anthropologie. Yup, my feet hurt!
Anthropologie. Listen, I love this store. Truly, I do. It gives and it takes (my money). I always drop some cash when I’m in there, but I usually walk away with great ideas or validation of some of my own *ideas*. At the moment, Anthropologie is decorating with old wooden spools and sewing machine cabinets (le sigh…). Three sewing machine cabinets have slipped through my fingers in the past 2 weeks.
I loved the enormous jar of matches sitting on a shelf, I have about 3 of these jars of matches in various places. I’ve had them for at least 15 years. I used to fanatical about collecting matchbooks from everywhere I went.
My Mom has one of the jars in the kitchen pantry…holding up a shelf!
Solid perfume. I am a total sucker for solid perfume. Reminds me of my childhood. Do you remember the solid perfume pins for kids from Avon in the early 70’s ? I still have a few of mine! I keep them in my jewelry box – the dorky scarecrow pin is one my prized possessions.
The ceiling fixture had a price tag of $80 on it.
Looks like it would be easy to make with a couple of old golfball (or egg, etc.) crates, some little planters and thick twine. Alas, I do NOT need one more project at the moment so someone else needs to jump on that bandwagon. So what’d I buy? A handbag on clearance, some hair accessories…and a $12 bar of soap. I can’t believe I spent $12 on a bar of soap. I’m a sucker for Lemongrass.
For a mere $38 (go ahead, giggle) you can purchase a completed (framed) paint-by-numbers at Urban Outfitters.
The dog is super cute kitsch, but I’ll stick with my $2 deer from the flea market.
Around 5:30 we headed to the beach. We spent about 2 hours rolling around on the sand, getting our feet wet…and laughing at the odd family that brought a mattress to the beach.
THANK YOU to the dude at Valspar that offered up his email address and
help in figuring out this lacquer/crackle nightstand mayhem.
I truly appreciate the offer and will email you tomorrow.
July 15th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Jean ,you make me laugh!! I tried selling Avon when Heather was little, and tried to get the head person their to pass on about those perfume pins!!! I loved them and wanted them for my daughter…I can’t believe you still have them!! I also just bought some lemongrass hand soap at a shop in Woodstock, Vermont…. maybe we were siblings seperated in Massachusetts???
July 15th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Possibly! Pittsfield isn’t that big after all!
July 15th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I am a sucker for lemongrass too. I should go buy some lemongrass soap next time I am in Seattle…
July 16th, 2009 at 2:56 am
I think I still have the Bunny Rabbit perfume pin
. We don’t have an Anthropologie store within 3hrs of us!! I just heard they are carrying a line of VERA (Neumann), and I want to go to one SOOOO bad 8(
July 16th, 2009 at 5:05 am
I’m a hater but I may have to go smell that Sadie solid perfume… in honor of the dog, of course.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:13 am
I have one of those big jars above my kitchen cabinets. It has broken glass from the gravel bar on our section of the river. I need more jars like that. I have a ridiculous amount of river glass, and I just keep picking up more. I have a rule about only buying containers for my broken glass second hand or on sale, though, so I have a real hodge podge of glass containers. The big jar is one of my favorites.
July 16th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Vera? Like the fern print sheets and towels popular in the 70s?
July 16th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I have lately been remorseful that I did not fix my mom’s sewing machine, just like the one in the photo. I took it in for a tune up after years of no use and they convinced me it wasn’t worth repairing and I should buy a new one. That shop closed down soon after. The new one is made of plastic and has no cabinet.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I’m a little remorseful that when I moved in with the mister, one of the (many) things I let go of was a basket full of old wood bobbins. Wah WAH.
July 16th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
mmmm…lemongrass.Also the name of my favorite restaurant.
Love the Anthropologie displays. The thing that kills me though is once they switch them out the store employees will have to destroy all that fabulousness and chuck it in a dumpster. True. I read about it on Decorno and Apartment Therapy. Turns out that’s a common practise with many stores because they don’t want to ruin their brand integrity and ship it off the stuff that doesn’t sell to thrift/closeout stores. *snif* those wooden spools are wonderful…
July 16th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hey ,now I can tell my hubby my collection of vintage sewing machines are trendy!!!! I did ‘release’ a few cabinet machines 5 years ago when we moved “sniff” . I still regret it!!!!!
July 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I had some of that perfume as well….but it brings back the smell of musk perfumes to my memory, which I am not fond of today. LOVE Anthropologie!
July 17th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I love that lemongrass scent too, but I never end up liking the soaps that smell that way. I have to stick with my Dove bars. If only they would make a lemongrass scent.
I have a pair of floral paint-by-numbers that I love, and they were $18 for the pair (framed!) at a nice antique mall. $38 is ridiculous.
A mattress at the beach? I think it’s kind of genius.