A tiny shopping spree

After an afternoon of shopping I have two stores for you- At Home in downtown Homewood and Ann Taylor Loft. If you have never been to At Home it has some of the neatest stuff I've seen any place that doesn't have to check your credit before allowing you in. They have door knobs and glassware and some of the neatest little bowls I've ever seen. There's always something I wish I could buy by the dozen there. Today I found the most adorable jewelry organizer. It's a sort of shabby chic, cream painted iron stand with hooks on it for jewelry and a little bird perched on top. Since I did enjoy having the mirror in my old jewelry box I popped over to Hobby Lobby to buy a tiny mirror I could hang over my dresser since it's really too tall and narrow for a conventional mirror. I can't wait to organize all my jewelry onto it's new home and relegate that box elsewhere.

Ann Taylor Loft has been one of my favorite stores for a couple of years now -ever since I walked in off the street and found silk blend sweaters for something like $10-15. Today I was walking around trying to find a shirt that said, "responsible, nicely dressed, not punched out of cookie cutter young woman well suited to teaching small children." (My resume generated action from the hiring committee.) I also wanted a shirt that didn't say "I am your food budget for the week. Buy me instead of carrots." Let me tell you, by the time I got out of Macy's I was ready to swear it couldn't be done. The $70 shirts didn't attract. The $20 shirts didn't flatter or fit. Then (smacks head) I remembered Ann Taylor. In. Out. Twenty dollars the less and happy. Note to self. Always try there first. Their sale racks are wonderful.

So, what are your go-to places when you really need that one thing you can't find anywhere else?