Before you buy or order seafood again, go to http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/ and click on Seafood Watch for a list of the latest ocean-friendly choices. It's organized by region and you can print out a handy pocket guide -- and enjoy your purchase with a clear conscience.
There’s not a World Market in our little Alabama town, so everytime my husband and I are on the road and pass one, we have to stop and go in. The thing about World Markets is that there’s plenty for both of us to happily browse through. First, we both head to the food section in the back, where my husband gets tickled by the huge nostalgic candy inventory and I investigate the gourmet junk food — are we healthy or what? We linger in the beer aisle and I check out the coffees and teas while he surfs the fiery southwestern choices. After that, my husband eyes the furniture and I ooh and ahh over accessories such as pillows, curtains and candleholders. In truth, his attention starts to wander while I’m still dragging him over to check out this rug or that coffee maker but he’s a good sport and tries to stay focused long enough to veto the paisley-print sheets and the orange batik lampshade. My fantasy is to walk into World Market, tell the clerks, “I’ll take two of everything,” and then live in global bliss ever after. And I’m absolutely sure my dear husband feels the same way.
"Oh my gosh, Mom and Grandma! How long does it take to figure out which ice cream to buy??? Let's go home!"
You got a surprise present in your mailbox this month (no — your carrier isn’t leaving you chocolate-chip cookies again): The cover of the June Anthropologie catalog features an original work from Hatch Show Print, in Nashville, Tenn., and it’s a beauty. Hatch Show Print, on Broadway in downtown Nashville, is the oldest working poster print shop in the country. It began in 1879 and became known for its wood-carved letterpress work for country music, jazz and blues performances — and its iconic balance of layout, typeface, color and Southern culture. The best part is that you can wander into the shop and see posters still being made the same way. I’ve always thought Anthropologie’s catalogues were whimsical combinations of style and design and I was tickled to see one of my favorite Nashville spots featured here. Actually, my parents first told me about Hatch Show Print — because they’re cool like that. Our hometown of Manchester, Tenn., is near Nashville, and Hatch Show Print is one of my parents’ usual stops when they head downtown. They took me along one day and am I glad they did. If you’re headed to Nashville this summer, you owe it to yourself to schedule a visit to Hatch Show Print — chock full of presses and prints and posters and typefaces and wood blocks, it’s unlike any other place you’ve ever seen. Check out Anthropologie at http://www.anthropologie.com and Hatch Show Print at http://www.anthropologie.comhttp://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/experience-hatch-today.aspx
Here’s another guess-that-store quiz. Okay, actually it’s just 
another excuse to squeeze in a photo of grandson Capt. Adorable, but I can’t resist. My husband John Pitts cautions against overwhelming you all with pics of the Captain but we’re all friends here and I know you forgive me and besides everybody I meet in person is tired of me waving my digital keychain in their faces. Anyway, can you identify this upscale grocery? Usually we keep Capt. Adorable in the cart but he couldn’t stand it this time so we allowed some supervised leg-stretching and he immediately headed to the produce section, where he started squeezing the fruit, eating the lettuce and checking out the fresh pistachios. Smart boy.
Younger Daughter was in town from her summer-school classes this weekend to 
be a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding. I 
love all the hair and makeup and these-shoes-don’t-work chaos of getting ready — reminds me of the prom and party excitement from the girls’ high-school days. For the wedding-rehearsal dinner, YD went with simple black jazzed up with purple accents, although she switched these fantastic purple heels for black sandals before she left the house because her feet already were hurting. Then Saturday morning she got her hair done in this sweet sort of loose and messy half up-do that she and the stylist came up with based on a couple of photos and magazine pictures. Both of my daughters have great hair and know what to do with it — a skill they didn’t get from me but I wish I could pick up from them. I loved how it all came together — I thought the pink bridesmaid’s dresses and the orange bouquets were stunning together. The bride had picked out some wonderful metallic heels for the bridesmaids to wear, and after the wedding YD passed hers on to another friend who admired them and is getting married next, probably thereby starting the Tradition of the Traveling Wedding Shoes. I wonder where they’ll turn up next!
And yet, it's all you can think about as soon as you spot the sign, right? Extra credit if you can name the big-box crafts store that prohibits foam squeezing.
One more name-that-store shopping quiz. And this one is easy — plus you get bonus Cute Baby pics! Okay, maybe this was just an excuse to sneak in more photos of my grandson, Capt. Adorable. We were shopping at a national retailer that’s maybe not known for low, low prices but sure is a fun place to stylish and fun budget-friendly basics. And you know that Capt. Adorable’s mommy had scrubbed and sanitized practically the whole cart before we let him in it.
Okay, we’re playing the Name-That-Discount-Store again today. And because you all are too good and had no trouble with yesterday’s clues, today is going to be much harder. Both of these photos are from the same store. I took them this past December but you still can get a feeling of the diverse inventory at this national chain that specializes in closeouts. Every time I wander in one of these, I wonder why I don’t shop there more often. With a little digging, you can find fantastic buys on everything from wrapping paper to furniture to weird exotic packaged food that you’ve never heard of. 
What do you think? Any guesses?
Okay, here’s a shopping quiz to see how well you know your discount stores. Those who feel as if they have to get dressed up to go shopping shouldn’t even try this. Here are two photos each taken inside two different nationally known discount chain-stores. Both are known for their variety of inventory, designer finds and discounted prices. Can anybody name the stores? I don’t have any prizes for the winning guesses — you’ll just have to be content with the satisfaction of knowing where to find the good deals. And really, isn’t that prize enough?????
Coffee with Cathy 