Tag Archives: shopping

Are You a Red Warty Thing?

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You know all those magazine and online quizzes that help you identify what your personality is? Well, rather than defining yourself through your favorite color or by which “Sex and the City” character you most resemble, what about  your choice of pumpkins? For example, are you a Cinderella or a Red Warty Thing? Baby Boo or Fairytale? Or perhaps you’re a Prizewinner or maybe a One Too Many. See for yourself where your pumpkin tendencies lie at Jack O’Lantern Farms, on Garage Road on the TVA reservation in Muscle Shoals, Ala. Hydroponic farmers Steve and Connie Carpenter have the most extensive selection of pumpkins around, including some weird and wonderful ones you won’t see anywhere else. They’re open 4-7 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Check them out at www.jackolanternfarm.com

Florence Fashion

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If you’re not wearing a team T-shirt to the football game today, try one of these super-cute BCBG MaxAzria tops. They’re lightweight enough to be comfortable under jackets but look great on their own whether you’re pairing them with jeans, nice pants or a skirt — versatility plus! And, as always, they cover all sorts of bumps and lumps. My true figure is much more like the green top than the black top, sadly, but both of these tops are so flattering. They’re from Marigail Mathis women’s boutique in Florence, Ala. Check out the Web site at http://www.marigailmathis.com. Marigail recently closed her adjacent shop MG2, and her husband, artist Tommy Mathis, moved his gallery, ARTifacts, into the space. It’s sumptiously decorated and the perfect spot for taking an art break. Visit online at http://www.tommymathis.com/

Fresh Market Shopping

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Sure, first steps and first words and first days at school are important, but in our family, first day sitting alone in a shopping cart at Fresh Market is equally as significant! Here’s grandson, almost 6-months-old Nolan Thomas Behel, with mom Liz on his first Fresh Market trip sitting all by himself — after his mom and grandma spent about 10 minutes sanitizing the entire cart, of course. “This is is great,” Liz said. “We don’t have to carry him or bring in the stroller or anything. How easy!” I predict many more Fresh Market trips in our future.

Hometown Shopping

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This barbershop in Florence, Alabama, is where my husband gets his hair cut. (No. That’s not his truck!) He likes it, he says, because it’s simple and direct — he walks in, gets his hair cut and beard trimmed and then walks out. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done in an authentic sort of way. And that describes this part of Florence — called Seven Points –perfectly: Easy to get to, shopper-friendly and full of local folks with real shops doing real business. Such as Hodgepodge Antiques Mall, 11142 N. Wood Ave. It’s three rooms full of treasures, and you can rummage around all day if you want to. No pressure. Another must-visit Seven Points retailer is Scent-Sations Candles and Gifts, 1123 N. Wood Ave., where you can buy hand-poured candles in almost any fragrance imaginable — visit http://www.pouredbyhand.com to see the list. One of the best things about Scent-Sations is that you can turn your own containers into candles — a great way to recycle. Then head to Peck Ace Hardware Co., 1118 N. Wood Ave. , one of those true hometown hardware stores that’s been there for decades and still has what looks like the original wooden floors. You’ll get a friendly “hello” when you walk and an equally friendly “come back soon” when you leave, regardless of whether you’ve bought anything or not — browsing is encouraged. And then there are some of the most interestingly named businesses in Florence: Crazy Carolyn’s Fashions and Wigs, 1148 N. Wood Ave., actually run by a woman named Carolyn; Polly’s Radio and TV Service, 1128 N. Wood Ave., not run by a woman named Polly (although the building is where I took ballet lessons about a million years ago); and the fast-Chinese-food Wok N Roll., 115 Edgewood Drive. The McDonald’s at Seven Points also is fun — it’s decorated entirely in purple and gold to support nearby University of North Alabama.

Isn’t it amazing what you can find in your own backyard?

Healthy in Huntsville

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Daughter Liz with son, Nolan Thomas, at Garden Cove

One of my older daughter’s favorite places to shop in Huntsville, Ala., is Garden Cove Produce, 628 Meridian St., and I love going along with her. Liz is a vegetarian and cooks organic for her family when possible, and Garden Cove is a mecca for that kind of diet. Just walking into the produce section is an education — there are fresh fruits and vegetables from all over the world. But don’t be intimidated! The helpful staff has all sorts of cooking tips and suggestions if you need help. The grocery part of Garden Cove also has a great selection of non-perishable foods along the lines of a Fresh Market or Whole Foods, much of it organic and natural and most of it hard to find anywhere else in Huntsville. On the other side of the store is a holistic-type drugstore, with cosmetics, health/beauty products and supplements along with some food items such as teas, breakfast cereals and bulk grains. We go there for lunch — it’s self-serve to-go freshly made sandwiches and soup. Visit http://www.gardencoveproduce.com/index.html for details — Garden Cove is closed Saturdays and open various hours on the other days, so check before you go. The other thing — besides the selection — I love about Garden Cove is the people who shop there: Folks with different backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities and incomes all come here to get good food at good prices. It’s invigorating to be a part of that.

Mother-Daughter Style

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Both of my daughters are great shoppers. I’ve taught them well! My younger daughter, Carolyn, goes to school in Birmingham, Ala., and she loves shopping in consignment and charity stores there. Mainly she looks for T-shirts she recycles into other projects, but she also finds great retro/vintage buys perfect for a 20-something college student. She got the three tops on the left from a Goodwill store in Birmingham. The red wrap dress was about $9 — she’s going to wear it over T-shirts and jeans. The polka-dot white top was about $3 — again, wonderful with jeans. The pink cotton embroidered tunic is Free People and was about $5. These tops only needed good washings and they were good to go. She found the embellished yellow slip for $7.50 at Golden Temple Natural Grocery in Five Points South in Birmingham. Somebody had added lace and little satin roses to this slip — maybe to wear as a dress? Anyway, it’s adorable and the perfect length to wear under a couple dresses she’s got.

Carolyn had come home for a quick visit this weekend and showed me her shopping treasures. But before she went back to Birmingham, we had to negotiate a deal. She liked a new dress I had bought and wore to church on Sunday (see post below). I have to admit it looked a lot better on her than on me. So, in exchange for the dress, she gave me the pink Free People top, which she said didn’t really fit her but it was a $5 Free People top so she had to get it! Of course, it’s exactly the hippie-boho style we all wore 30 years ago, so naturally I love it. Thanks, Carolyn!

TJ Fashion

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This is why I love TJ Maxx: I found this short-sleeved, fake-wrap jersey BCBG Max Azria dress in a cute fall print — it’s actually called Fall Leaves Print — for $25. Yes, $25. I’ve had lunches that cost more than that. It’s flattering on my menopausal pear-shaped body, is the perfect length — not too short or too long — and is completely just right with sandals for our hot and humid early fall weather here in northwest Alabama. Plus, when it gets cooler (and it will get cooler, it will get cooler, it will …) this dress keeps going with the addition of turtlenecks and tights, our layering best friends. And the best part? The original tag says “$240.” Even if this dress never actually sold for that amount, I feel as if I scored a bargain.

Fashion Friday

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While the rest of the fashion world is focused on New York this week as designers show their spring 2009 collections, there’s other style news with a New York connection: two lines of “Sex and the City” clothes are in stores and online. Left is a look from SATC designer Patricia Field, whose Destination Style New York is sold as pre-orders now at hsn.com and live on hsnTV from Sept. 23 to Sept. 27. Think edgy, sexy and Vogue cover. Right is a dress from The Kristin Davis Collection, sold at belk.com and in Belk department stores. Think sweet, feminine and Real Simple cover. The Patricia Field line seems meant to directly evoke SATC style — many outfits are complete recreations of some of TV character Carrie Bradshaw’s more memorable looks. On the other hand, Kristin Davis’ line seems more evocative of the actress herself and not related to the show so much as just to be some wearable and pretty clothes.

Aren’t we glad we’ve got choices?

My New Favorite Cookbook

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You have to add “The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper” to your cookbook collection. If you’re a fan of the public-radio show “The Splendid Table,” it’s a must-buy. If the sound of “Splendid Table” host Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s voice is enough to send you into the kitchen with renewed enthusiasm, it’s a must-buy. If you like to eat, it’s a must-buy. If you’re fascinated with food, it’s a must-buy. If you think nothing’s new in the cookbook section, it’s a must-buy. And that pretty much covers everybody.

Why will you love this book? The recipes are new and fresh, with unexpected twists on tried-and-true classics. The photography is lush — while some reviewers have wished for more, the low number of photos leaves room for more recipes and, besides, the lively graphics and layouts keep things fun. But it’s the text that’s so compelling — the stories behind the recipes, the valuable how-to’s, the quick “Cook to cook” tips and the guidelines to answering such perplexing puzzles as how to buy a wok, how to read olive-oil labels and what to do with not-on-purpose wilted greens. One of my favorite chapters doesn’t have recipes: “Essential Equipment,” where authors  Kasper and “Splendid Table” producer Sally Swift tell you to buy the best you can afford and give us a glimpse into what’s usually found dirty in their own kitchen sinks.

Tennessee Trips

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If you’re headed to Lynchburg, Tenn., this fall, make sure to stop at Woodards Market, south of town on Hwy. 55 (Fayetteville Highway) and home of some of my favorite food ever. Woodards is a general-store gathering spot for all of Moore County. You can buy almost anything you need here and catch up on the latest news: distillery gossip, high-school football scores, Sunday sermons, presidential politics — it’s all discussed while roaming the produce section in case your tomatoes are bad and you need to buy some or while waiting in line for fried chicken and sausage biscuits at the deli counter. And while you’re eavesdropping … uh, listening, I mean … pick up local treats such as creamy store-made pimento cheese in regular, white or jalapeno; Granny’s Cow Patties, classic chocolate-oatmeal-peanut butter no-bake cookie, from nearby Decherd, Tenn.; and a bag of whole Uncle Bud’s Salted Peanuts, which are deep-fried so you can eat the shell. If you want to. The shells taste sort of like fried sticks — a bit woody and fibrous — but it’s nice to know you can chow down on them if you want to. Less waste that way, at least.

My favorites are the cookies. I cannot pass up a chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookie, and these are rich and creamy with authentic flavors and nice chewy oatmeal. Perfect for breakfast — I mean, it’s oatmeal, right?