Thursday, April 18, 2013

THE PINK DOOR

Outfit details: Dress, shirt: Old Navy. Shoes: Converse. Scarf headband: Vintage (from my mom).

After a recent lunch outing, we were driving around and saw this pink door.  The sun was out and it was warm, so I made the hubs pull over and take a multitude of pictures of me in front of it.  Begrudgingly taking copious amounts of pictures of you in front of abandoned businesses are what husbands are for, right?  Well, that and watching your stuff while you pee, as Hannah over at Hannah J. Holmes awesomely pointed out. 

The business isn’t open anymore, but it used to be a little boutique.  I had visited a few times and found some cute gifts.  I wish more of these smaller mom and pop type places would be able to make it.  There’s so much competition in the form of big businesses, though, that I can’t imagine how hard it is for these places to stay open.  It’s sad, because they are usually the coolest places.  It’s a tough balance, because ask if I would be willing to pay more money at a boutique than at one of the bigger stores, and my answer would probably be no. 

A really nice antique store just closed down the street from us.  I loved walking over there in the summer to see what they had.  I was more of a window shopper, but did find two repurposed desks there that I bought about a year ago.  There’s just something about a neighborhood store down the street with one of a kind items for sale that feels so small town dreamy.  That sounds like a technical term, doesn't it?

We have so many options available to us now for our every need.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Target and its cheap clothes.  I guess I’m a hypocrite, but how am I supposed to pass up a cute skirt for $15?  Darn Target and Old Navy with their trendy, reduced price fashion.  There’s a shop in Lawrence called Made that sells Etsy type items from area artists.  It’s where I sell my necklaces.  It’s the most perfect shop, and I really hope it makes it.  In fact, I hope the owners want to expand to Kansas City and hire me to run the store.  Then I could ride my bike to work and listen to records all day and it would always be sunny.  Dare to dream, right?  What are some of your favorite local places?

3 comments:

  1. I love mom and pop stores and etsy. The town we live in pretty much only allows such. A Starbucks and a Whole Foods went in a few years ago and you would have thought people we going to up and leave. I love that about here. I think it's why I feel so at home.

    I love that you stopped to take photos with a pink door. I guess this is what you meant when you mentioned not taking pictures with the trash cans in the background anymore. Well, I like both, just so you know. You always look so happy that the background that I barely notice the background.

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  2. Hey! Thanks for mentioning me! I love that door, and you look so cute. I agree about small local businesses, I wish more of them were able to hang on. My current favorite is a cupcake shop in Nixa, a little town just outside Springfield. There is also a flea market in Nixa that always has the most beautiful displays and surprisingly reasonable prices.

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