Yet Another Reason to Love IKEA..

With the exception of the blue pot (Bachman's), everything is from IKEA. Cacti, $2.99 each. Pots, $1.00 each. Rocks, $1.50/2lb bag. Boom. Saharan desert, meet Antarctica. Hey, if I can't get it outside, I'll try anything. Also, avoid getting poked during the transportation, transplantation process. It hurts.

reasons to have a baby #928, 929...940..

Minnetonka Moccasin Infant.

how adorable are these?

I am truly in love with these sexy, little footsies.
Hot pink is also now available in the 3 layer fringe. MMM. To my disappointment, they are only available in children's sizes. Looks like I'll have to do some research and figure out the conversion of a woman's size 5 1/2 - 
Because, they are simply a must-have. I have a couple of pairs of Minnetonka Moccs and I have pretty much exhausted one, for a second time, as I have already replaced them once. Everyone has a vice. Drugs, alcohol...mine's shoes. I really don't have a ton of shoes, but I have a few amazing pairs that I pretty much wear down to the skeletons (if that makes sense). Seriously..check them out. So FUN! For all  you mamas out there....They also have an infant pair of hot pink moccs....hmmm, maybe in a few years. HA.

My Newfound Love:

Bachman's.
It all started about a month ago - I was sitting at work, wondering where I should go/what I should do for my break, usually I eat, but it was a short day and I was feeling adventurous. And then, it happened, I discovered Bachman's for the very first time. It doesn't help that it's adjacent to work! I didn't realize they had all of this shabby chic/vintage decor and pots, pots, pots GALORE (not meant to rhyme, but I'm keepin' it). I bought a pretty, glazed one...for $3.99 (pictures to come) - Needless to say, it has inspired a windowsill full of pots and (as if this were not already an issue) even more of a green thumb than I already have.
Here it is, my current Bachman's wish list (it could change tomorrow, people - as I am unsure what their approximate turnover rate is or product shipment date - but that would be useful. hmm. I digress.

www.BACHMANS.com

Spool No. 72

Oh, how I love you.

See more.

black friday..

is for the crazies.

Black Friday, to me, is like going to an amusement park and having to wait in line for evvvvvvvvverysingleride. For 5 hours. It's just SOOO not enjoyable. I don't get the rush - I just want to punch people - acting like a pack of carnivorous wolves, awaiting that big old, juicy steak that is the giant 50'' plasma flat screen. OK, so maybe I am exaggerating a little..I take that back. Because I am nice, I accompanied my little brother on a trip to Walmart at 12am on Black Friday. The items that he wanted to purchase were, of course, not on sale - typical guy - but he wanted them right that night. Turns out he was given false information - that one of his sought after PS3 games would be half off - mmmmNOPE. AnyWHO, we got our goods and headed to the front of the store to wait in a massive line. The place was PACKED, which is a bit suprising for the small town of Litchfield, Minnesota, but I'm sure everyone in the 30 mile radius thought it would be worth their time to check it out. My sister took off on a trip to St. Cloud (about a 40 min. drive from Litchfield) at 3am and came back with nothing but boxes and a free snow globe. OOOoooAhhhhh. Nah, this girl would rather be sleeping. I have come to discover a veryyyy interesting personal trait of mine. After being involved with retail for a decent amount of time, I realize that I expect the best customer service, or else I get annoyed ppppreeettttyy easily. If you're not good at it, you shouldn't be doing it, bottom line. If I'm going to be pumping my money into a store, I don't want to be trampled, ignored, pushed, held-up, stressed or running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Props to those of you that ventured out on that evil, yet financially stupendous day.

Corporate Pedofilia

I tuned into Nightline, a couple of weeks ago and was infatuated by the segment that was done on Corporate Pedofilia. The idea is that these large, retail powerhouses are targeting tween girls (ages 9-12), based on what their celebrity idols are wearing (Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, to name a few). One of the main reasons why these companies signal out this age group, is simply because they have a very high disposable income - be it the result of allowances, babysitting, birthdays or other holidays - they got that dough, and more importantly, they LOVE spending it (to the tune of $43 billion, annually). Of course, young women imitating celebrities has always been the case, but compare the celebs of then to now. My mind wanders back to the contrasting times of innocence and Judy Garland - it's hard not to think of what the future has in store for our impulsive society. By observing what has been and what is now, it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is to come with teen/tween celebrities and their youthful styles, whether they are appropriate or not. One thing we know for sure, however, is that retailers will keep benefitting from celebs and their always contagious styles that move fluidly - as they are funneled from adults, to teens, to tweens, to children, to toddlers, to infants.
For your enjoyment, a look at teen celebs from backintheday to today.

daily, weekly, monthly. . .

It doesn't matter when or how we get there, only that we do.

I finally finished Paco Underhill's Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping. I loved his first, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, so I just knew that I couldn't pass this one up. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in shopping, spending time at the mall, architecture, visual merchandising, advertising, design, retail, in general - and the list goes on and on. I cannot wait to fall into his next and final book, for now, What Women Want. Now, although my background is in retail and soon-to-be more of the psychology of the consumer, as a consumer myself, I found this to be such a great read. We have ALL been in a mall, COUNTLESS times and, like the book mentions, I'm sure we have all had a few 'wtf/scratching the head' moments - mostly in reference to asking the question: what were those companies thinking? Or maybe that's just me? Nonetheless, Underhill puts everything into perspective for both the consumer and corporate minds in charge of all of these shenanigans; what works in the mall and what doesn't - and what should be changed immediately (small tweaks that could raise profits DRAMATICALLY). He refers to the Mall of America and Southdale (the first enclose shopping space, or mall, which help us locals paint a better picture. It also makes me so much more interested in consumers, in general, how they act and why and what these retailers are doing similarly and differently over the years that have been fool proof.

This book also brings me back (about a year ago) to working at a mall kiosk. If you are really curious, I sold calendars and games - at times, it was very insightful and interesting, on the other hand, it was boring and often times embarrassing (never thee ideal job), but really - I learned a lot from that job. I would stand there (yes, we weren't allowed to have chairs - even for the 9 hr. shifts) just observing/people-watching. To think back on it, I had a front-row seat to the mall, all of the action, especially during the 3 month holiday season, when our kiosk stood strong, and we did well, might I add. I would place items on the ground (we had a toy monkey that rolled around on the floor, laughing) or start playing with toys (bouncy balls, hand-held, wooden puzzles, ANYTHING) that would attracts kids to the stand. This strategy (although it was done mainly to keep my sanity) worked about 80% of the time - even if they wouldn't buy anything, it got them interested, asking questions and, ultimately, looking. This is just one of the many examples of an on-the-job activity that I would 'experiment' with while working in a retail setting. However, one could only stand there bouncing a ball for so long. Eventually, I got smart, went down to Border's and got lost in a good book.