Traipsing around Town

Last Friday I had the pleasure of spending a lovely spring day with my Mom & Aunt who were visiting from the colder temps of Ohio. So of course we got out and about around town and did one of our favorite activities - window shopping! I need to do this more often. There are so many local specialty shops that I want to visit.

Some of our stops included ...

The Buttercup on Providence Rd. - I love the fact that this gift & stationery boutique has been in business for over 35 years! And you tell that they've perfected their service and selection. Need a gift? You can find something for anyone here!



The Cubbyhole in Ballantyne (Harris Teeter shopping center) - as I was browsing this store for ... oh about an hour or so :) ... I realized that the majority of their products are unique to this store. You can find things here that are outside the norm of all the other Charlotte gift shops. Two women own this store and they've also been in business for 20+ years.



Zada Jane's in Plaza Midwood - it was gorgeous out so we had to eat outside at Zada Jane's to get our fillin' of fresh organic eats.



Antique Shops in Plaza Midwood -  very eclectic and interesting. We didn't buy anything, but a good time was had just poking around.



Salutations in Ballantyne Village - I might as well just go ahead and admit it. I'm seething with bitter jealousy at the cuteness of this stationery shop. It's clean, clutter-free, top of the line products in paper & gift, and I always appreciate the window displays.

I've got a crush on ... Blis Gift Boutique

I'm going to start a new post theme called "I've got a crush". What this means is something that inspires me to the point of pure jealousy. I want it, I want it!  So my crushes could be a store, an inspiring project, a blog, a celebrity, etc... whatever I deem crushable.

I recently had a weekday afternoon off and popped into a really cool little store in uptown Charlotte, NC.  Blis Gift Boutique is a dream come true for busy corporate women shopping for a quick gift, or like me, just looking for a quick browsing break and mental escape. Blis was recently awarded "Best Place for a hostess gift" by a local publication.

A mom and two daughters own and operate the store. I talked to one of the daughters during my visit, and we caught up on some of their new trendy gifts, stationery chitchat, and I told her about PaperConcierge. They're big fans of Whitney English, so I felt like it somehow connected us, haha! This visit prompted me to bug my own mom and sister about how cool it'd be to own a store like that together. Le sigh ... if only they shared the same dream too.

Charlotte, NC Design Guide on Design*Sponge

Design*Sponge is a really popular decor & design blog that I sometimes read. I never noticed that she has an archived section for different cities. This post is really neat if you live or are visiting Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm definitely going to hit up some of these places that I've never been!

Click HERE for the full article.