Duane, Linda and I participated in the 'Shop Small Business Saturday' that was going on all around the country. Many small shops hope to make this a tradition for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Duane's neighborhood, Seminole Heights, which is a place we love to shop, anyway, had another good event similar to last year's shop hop.
Each store was offering anywhere from 20% to 30% off their merchandise and also offered refreshments (treats and drinks) from 10am to 6pm. We started early -- just a little after 10am by visiting the
Bali Bay Trading Company. All three of us bought a few things there. Gifts and a few items for ourselves. They always have cool jewelry and I bought a tassel necklace and bracelet for myself along with stocking stuffers for my three nieces and a friend. Duane found a gift for her sister and a bracelet for herself and Linda also found a pretty wood and mother of pearl bowl along with a bracelet. She wasn't sure what she would give away and what she would keep. Of course, we had to sample the homemade treats that the ladies of Bali Bay had made. Terrific chocolate and peanut butter brownies.
Next we hit one of our faves,
A Modern Line, owned by our buddy, David. He had refreshments out, too, so we sampled the punch and cookies. I bought a little orange enamel tray for my guest bath that I had looked at a couple of times and Linda and I are both still debating on the
same mid-century modern chest by Lane. Hope we both don't decide to pull the trigger at the same time!
A vintage shop called
Frolic Exchange is right next door to David's shop. They have a little bit of everything vintage although the focus is on clothing for gals and guys with a smattering of accessories, home decor and the prettiest garden area just outside the back door of the store. They had their refreshments in the garden where I had a glass of tasty homemade lemonade. I also bought a plant that one of the owners promised me is impossible to kill. I have high hopes for it in my backyard. Duane bought a pretty vintage English tin with lid.
We headed down the same street to an old favorite,
D & D Antiques and More, where the owner, Debra, seems like an old friend. She had treats out, too, and Linda purchased a set of Christmas oven mitts there. I think Debra would rather have been out shopping but she had to mind the store!
Our next stop was the
Cleanse Apothecary which carries very nice lines of anything to do with soaps, lotions, cards, etc. I discovered that they are now carrying Lipstick Queen lipsticks which I
love. I had been ordering them for years from Barney's but now I know where to get them locally. Linda decided to try a tube and chose the Saint Pink color. I bought a bottle of Philosophy bath lotion/shampoo in Cinnamon for my mom along with a Lipstick Queen cosmetic bag (her favorite and
only lipstick she wears now is LQ's Coral Sinner). Duane bought several delicious smelling handmade soaps for gifts. We all left with our purchases in the Shop Small Saturday bags designed by Rebecca Minkoff.
At this point, we had to have lunch before hitting a couple of more shops. We ate at one of our fave places in Seminole Heights,
The Front Porch Grill and Bar. Normally, we would have had dessert there, too, but we were getting plenty of sugar from our visits to the stores. It was certainly a nice break to have a leisurely lunch, though.
After fortifying ourselves with a meal, we went to Susan Gott's place,
The Phoenix Glass Studio. Susan was there to greet customers and she was having a glass blowing demonstration along with a chance to make something yourself (with some help, of course). I bought some more of her adorable little glass kiss designs to give as Christmas ornaments. I had actually already Christmas shopped at Susan's studio a few weeks back. She had plenty of treats and drinks (alcoholic and non) so Linda had a nice glass of wine.
The last place we hit (we were getting pretty tired by then) was a store that opened recently. It's a design studio and it's called
Christopher Wayne Home. The store in Tampa is actually a sister store to one they have in Nashville. Although the shop does mostly interior design, they have some lovely items to purchase. I bought the coolest wine bottle picture holder and Duane purchased a book that was written and illustrated by a local writer. Wonderful treats and drink were also on hand and we finished off our sugar buzz for the day.
We headed back to Duane's house and took the picture below before Linda and I both left for our respective homes. We all agreed that it was a great shopping day -- lots of fun and we actually accomplished something, too!
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| Our purchases. |
Paul Stokes of Audiobook Reviewer interviewed me on his site and is also hosting a drawing for 5 free chances to win one of my audiobooks of your choice. 
We considered today's estate sale that we shopped to be cool for two reasons. One -- great stuff and two -- cool weather. The person or people who owned the house had been travelers. They acquired a beautiful collection of carvings, enamel and art work from around the world but specifically Japan. 
Peter Rabbit's Christmas written by Duff Graham and narrated by me is now on sale on Audible.
