Hollywould Go Lightly (And Did)

What a pleasant surprise to stumble upon the great sales happening on Hollywould.com. Just check out these cutie flats (they're only $100!). There's a lot on super-sale - aka: Final Sale - and a handful of metallic espadrilles and other super hotties that are on basic sale.

Something Old, Something New?

So I'm feeling a little melancholy about Girlshop being officially gone. It was either the last time I was in NY (March 2008) or right before I moved (May 2007) that I went out to the retail store in the Meatpacking District because it was having a going-out-of-business sale. I didn't understand at that point that actually the retail store, presumably a last-ditch attempt for the online retailer, was the first stop to end-of-businessdom. And I feel blue about it because I bought plenty of items at Girlshop (sample sales only, mind you, which is probably a main reason why they're now gone) that I don't own today due to wearing through, wearing out or getting bigger. It's like a time period in my life came and went and I have nothing to show for it.

In related news, it seems that Nau is now coming back. Those brats! As you may recall, I recently bought a couple of items from Nau. While I am indeed impressed by the comfort of the material of the pieces, I ordered what are my usual sizes and of course, both dress and skirt were too big. There's no returns while this company morphs into something new, so I'll just have to don these items when I'm feeling fat, I guess. But I feel like clothes that are big on me make me feel even bigger, so I'm not quite sure what to do with these duds. Anyway, stay tuned for the Nau developments.

Suggestion for the Makers of Crocs

So Crocs are really popular down here for kids, and kids are really popular down here in general. I was thinking that due to the typical kid-like wear and tear a shoe will receive, and the fact that kids grow out of their shoes faster than you can say "apple juice," there are plenty of Crocs being thrown away.

In light of the green movement going strong across the country, wouldn't it be a great PR move if Crocs had recycling locations at the major retailers selling their sandals? Maybe people who actually recycled their (kids) Crocs could receive a discount on the purchase of their next pair.

If the company has some good PR/search people they will come across this posting and take my advice. Or maybe a plan like this is already in the works/happening? If so, kind reader, do let me - and the other handful of peeps who actually visit this online destination - know.

Best Shopping Resource for Columbia, SC Stores

Dear Caroline,

What's the best way for me to quickly learn about all the good boutiques in Columbia and the special deals, sales and trunk shows they might be having?

Sincerely,

Southern Shopper

Dearest Southern,

A new friend of mine, Anne Postic, is fashionably fabulous, a dedicated locavore, an intense Pilates instructor and has two blogtastic websites (to name a few of her many talents and interests). Her newest endeavor will be your main resource for learning about everything happening, shopping-wise, in the Colatown. It's called The Shop Tart and if you're wondering if I'm jealous that she came up with this great idea the answer is "yes!"

So here's the drill - yesterday, once I peeled myself off the couch after watching a Project Runway marathon (the season that Chloe won. Yes, I thought she had the chops and skills, but I liked Santino Rice's final show so much better and didn't care that it wasn't cohesive and I want that pleated dress with the ruffles down the front! More on that to come in another post), I had the urge to shop. Furthermore, I had to go find a birthday gift for CC so I pulled up The Shop Tart website. Lo and behold, there's up-to-the-minute information on the latest sales. I was thrilled to learn that Kicks is one of the stores with items on sale - most everything in the store is 30% off. Sure enough, I managed to find these groovy BCBG silver platform shoes on the super-sale table. They were only $57, people!



Anne also maintains another blog called The Daily Digress. There's no way to give this blog true justice in a simple description. It's genius - just read today's post (July 13, 2008), bookmark it and thank me later.

Mullets...

...have finally hit Columbia. This just in: it's been 5 years, but they've finally made their way down.

More to come.

Patriotic Poison Ivy

This week, in preparation for the July 4th weekend, I managed to get a serious case of poison ivy in our backyard. As I mentioned earlier, apparently we have it growing all over the place back there. He's a shot of it creeping up our neighbor's fence (this is the side of the fence facing our yard).



Bel Biv Devoe, now I know!

In the meantime, Thacker finished painting the two rooms that were a horrible color. I was therefore able to settle our things into the rooms a little more and now feel comfortable sharing some more shots of the house. Here's the guest room -- ready and waiting for your visit down to the South Cack.



And these are the two living room/den areas on the first floor on either side of the fireplace.





By the way, the guest room is more of a grey, but a pretty blueish grey it seems. I guess our house is evolving to showcase the color blue. Here's our bedroom, which we didn't repaint.