Saturday Outing

Saturday, a couple of friends from work accompanied me to L.A. for some shopping fun and girl talk. At first we were going to go to the Pottery Barn Outlet to see if we could find some bargains, but after reconsidering we decided not to go so far and ended up driving about an hour and fifteen minutes from home to the nearest Pottery Barn Store. I needed to meet up with a friend of Mr. Honey's anyway, to collect the money Mr. Honey made selling his Jeep to his friend, so we met up at Starbucks where Mr. Honey's friend was waiting with the money. You have no idea how tempted I was to take that money and spend it all, but Mr. Honey would be proud of me, the money remained in a sealed envelope ready to go into the bank.

Our second stop was the Pottery Barn store. Oh girls, it was a tactile experience. We got to touch many of the items that we sell on the phone everyday. We ooohed and ahhed and walked away with a few bargains that we purchased with our generous discounts.

Of course everything was beautifully displayed and we not only purchased a few things we came away inspired. I bought a new lunch bag for work and a glass dispenser to make sun tea in. I'll save lots of money making my own iced tea, instead of spending going through the drive through on the way to work.

Margaret likes to say she went to Pottery Barn to buy dirt, but really she bought the most lovely sand and a bag of sea shells to recreate the beachy feel of this display inside a latern she already owns.

Still hungry for some more bargains we headed to the local Home Store where Margaret found this darling chicken and Suzie found some great towels and other necessities.

I bought a book for $3.99 on how to keep your heart healthy and a stack of notes to use at work for messages. The notes were only $5 and had the same little Paris scene on the side of the stack that this cute box, below, has on it.

Unfortunately the pretty shiney cannisters below didn't photograph as beautifully as they appeared in the store.

Margaret controlled herself and didn't purchase this lovely chicken tureen, but we had to, at the very least, get a picture of her holding it.

The time shopping at the first two stores passed so quickly we didn't realize how hungry we were, so off to Wood Ranch for lunch we went. I must have been too hungry to think about taking a picture of us at the restaurant, and I forgot to ask the waiter to take our picture. We all three had the most delicious steak salad and sweet potato fries and enjoyed every morsel, but we didn't need a nap, no, we were fueled up and ready to shop some more.

We left Valencia and headed for the Grove in Hollywood. I thought it would be fun to stop at a place called The Farm for desert and what better desert than S'mores. We lit those marshmellows on fire and laughed and laughed. It was like being back in the Girl Scouts without the little green uniforms.

After satisfying our sweet teeth we headed to Pottery Barn Kids, where summer was in full swing. Pretty little adorondike chairs greeted us as we entered the front door.

Suzie was checking everything out, just like any normal little kid would, L.O.L.

We all loved the beachy bedding and getting to feel the quality and fabric was a real treat.

Who could resist Dr. Sues? This bedding was absolutely adorable.

The American Doll Company was also at the Grove, so we had to check it out. Can you believe there is a doll beauty parlor in that place and little girls were lining up to have their dolls hair couiffed.

The next stop was Sur La Table where I found a fleur de lis cookie cutter and a darling $5 tea towel that had an appliqued jar of jam on it that said Homemade. I had to get it for my daughter who loves to make her own jam.

So many pretty kitchen things in one place. I was sure tempted to get that sealed envelope that held the earnings from Mr. Honey's Jeep and buy the place up, but I didn't.

I love the Grove because it's outdoor shopping at it's finest and there is always music and excitement in the air. Margaret and Suzie pose for a picture with all their loot. We are loyal Pottery Barn associates, but we felt a little sad for Crate and Barrel so we picked up a few clearance items.

We all agreed, we need to get out more, this was too much fun!

The entertainment kept us thoroughly entertained! At the last minute, we stopped by the Tommy Bahama store where I picked up a little Father's Day present for my son in-law.

The girls got a final snapshot of me resting my weary feet by the beautiful fountain in the center of the shopping center.

There was no more room in the back of my car for packages, so it was time to say goodbye. It was a lovely day of girl bonding and hey, we got some exercise!