the hairbrush

May 12, 2011 No comments

hairbrush resourceful woman leesburg

There is no better thrift-store-shopping spot than downtown Leesburg, Virginia. The town has quite a few true thrift stores — dirt cheap prices, lots of junk — as opposed to the overpriced boutiquey-feeling shops that try to pass off all their items as vintage or antique. I found this great hairbrush (for decor, not actual hair brushing) at the Resourceful Woman Thrift Shop. Don’t you love the detail on the back?

hairbrush resourceful woman leesburg dollar

Though the store’s name is a little funny, it’s a total winner. It’s a non-profit endeavor run by the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter. I only spent a dollar, but I like knowing my money is going toward the shelter’s programs and clients.

resourceful woman thrift shop leesburg

the double chocolaty chip frappuccino crème

May 11, 2011 No comments

starbucks frappuccino creme chocolate

Since I’m not a coffee drinker,  I had never experienced the wonder that is the frappuccino until tonight. Why didn’t anyone tell me there is a non-coffee, cream-based version? Starbucks’ frappuccino crèmes are absolutely delightful. If I was into paying $5 for a drink, I would be a total convert. Luckily, I had a gift card that allowed me this purchase at the Starbucks in terminal C at Logan Airport tonight. To spend my dollar, I threw a handful of coins into the tip jar, and the darling Asian barista could not have been more grateful. Her exact words were “happy goodnight.”

The menu listed four different flavors of the frappuccino blended crème — vanilla bean, strawberries and crème, coconut crème, and double chocolaty chip. Obviously, I went for the chocolate. It was a perfect mix of cream and milk, blended ice, and chocolate goodness. Quite refreshing during a perfectly speedy JetBlue flight to DC.

the strawberry huller

May 10, 2011 1 comment

strawberry huller famous concord shop

Despite my small kitchen and limited drawer space, I totally have a thing for single-use kitchen gadgets. You know, like the absolutely necessary avocado slicer, garlic press, or pineapple corer. I found this $1 strawberry huller at The Famous Concord Shop — a hardware store for the kitchen — and decided to give it a shot. I eat a bowl of strawberries every day (sometimes with cereal, sometimes with yogurt, sometimes plain), and I usually use a knife to hull the berries. After trying this little huller, I’m not convinced it’s any better than a knife — I think it would be more effective if the ends were sharp enough to cut into the fruit’s flesh. When it comes to dollar purchases, I guess you win some and you lose some.

The store is definitely a winner, though. There just aren’t enough kitchen shops in this world. If Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table get your heart racing, you’ll love this place. It’s got every gadget, cookie cutter, small appliance, and cookbook you could dream of. I counted about two dozen colors of decorating sugars. I’ll give you a dollar if you think of something they don’t have.

famous concord shop kitchen hardware

the famous concord shop kitchen hardware

the feather

May 9, 2011 1 comment

feathers nesting on main concord

I have a new favorite shop. It’s called Nesting on Main, and everything about it is completely charming. The Concord store offers a mix of antique, vintage, and found objects, with a little “new” thrown in here and there. I saw a number of enticing dollar options to choose from, though all were solo pieces of larger collections (the feathers above, antique pen nibs, vintage calling cards). I decided a gathering of feathers would a good idea for my house, so now I’m a feather collector.

You know what else I’m on the lookout for? An antique file box. I was first intrigued by one at Re-tale in North Carolina, but when I saw this one at Nesting I fell head-over-heels in love. It would be the perfect place to store recipes, blank notecards, photos, and basically anything small — I’ll find any way to justify such a purchase. Unfortunately, this one is not for sale, so I’ll continue my search.

vintage file nesting on main concord

nesting on main concord

the shortbread

May 7, 2011 Comments: 2

main streets market & cafe concord

We spent a good chunk of the day in Concord, and I feel more convinced I could live there forever — it’s definitely one of my favorite towns. The purpose of the trip was to visit Orchard House, but we decided to seek sustenance first at Main Streets Market & Cafe. It’s a decent lunch spot (though always packed on Saturdays), and has more dessert choices than anyone needs.

main streets market & cafe concord desserts

We settled on the shortbread to top off our lunch (turkey/cranberry/stuffing panini for me, fish and chips for Tim). It was the only option that came close to our dollar budget — you can get two for just over $1.

main street market concord shortbread

After some walking around downtown, we headed to the Alcott home for a tour. I’d been wanting to go there for quite awhile, and it did not disappoint. Before visiting, all I knew about Orchard House was that Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women” while living there. But we learned all sorts of fun facts during the tour. For example, the Alcotts were vegans! Also, unlike Jo March (the character she modeled after herself), Louisa never married. She decided, while in her teens, that she would do whatever she could to make money and support her poverty-stricken family. She figured a husband would get in the way of all that, so she did without. Our extremely knowledgeable tour guide shared loads of interesting stories about this incredible family — put this place on your Boston to-do list if you haven’t been already!

ash tim orchard house concord

the library fine

May 6, 2011 Comments: 3

american pastoral

I have been known to rack up some serious library fines. I think it’s because I secretly like paying the fines — I’m donating money to a good cause, you know? Isn’t it crazy that we have these big buildings full of free books (and CDs, and DVDs, and magazines, and more) and we can just walk inside and borrow whatever we want? It’s amazing. Though I currently owe $4.75 from overdue books, I chose to pay just $1 today — I figured I should make it count for my blog post.

So now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about some of the great books I’ve read recently. For the last few years I’ve slowly been making my way through the list of Pulitzer Prize winners in the fiction category. I decided I’d read them all, and I’m about halfway through. So far this year I’ve read — and quite enjoyed — American Pastoral (finished a few days ago — did not want to put it down), Arrowsmith (almost made me want to become a medical researcher), The Fixer (complete heartbreak on every page), In This Our Life (early 1940s tale about family drama), and His Family (touching story about a New York widower in the 1910s).

In other library news, I officially have one class left before I become a master in library and information science.

the neutrogena

May 5, 2011 No comments

neutrogena nordstrom rack

There is something completely refreshing about a bar of classic Neutrogena. I don’t know what it is. The smell alone brings me back to my adolescence. Not that adolescence is necessarily refreshing, but there’s something nice about the nostalgia.

I’m not very picky about my face wash, and I’ve had to go without on my last few trips since the one I’m currently using isn’t small enough to get through security in my carry-on . So when I saw this $0.97 bar of Neutrogena at Nordstrom Rack, I knew it was a winner — it’s mini and perfect for traveling. It’s a good thing I have a trip coming up in a few days, because I’m getting rather excited to use this soap.

the chocolate

May 4, 2011 No comments

godiva chocolate jc penney

I got another one of those magical coupons from JC Penney — $10 off a purchase of $10. I don’t know why they appear in my mailbox, but I sure like it. To avoid the stressful experience of trying to find something in the store that I actually want to take home, I went straight for the Godiva this time. These giant bars (and by giant, I mean 3.5 ounces each) were even on sale for 10% off the usual $4 price. All I had to do was find the dark varieties (dark with mint, dark with raspberry, and plain 72% dark) and hand over my coupon and a $1 bill. I couldn’t love this dollar deal any more.

the robin eggs

May 3, 2011 1 comment

mini robin eggs shaw's brookline

These mini Whoppers Robin Eggs are the only thing keeping me awake as I struggle to finish editing a report for work. Started working at 6 a.m., and I’m now wrapping up at 1 a.m. But don’t worry — I squeezed five-ish hours of school in the day, too. (To be completely honest, it wasn’t an entirely bad day — I did enjoy a lunch break with Tim and some delicious fettucini alfredo with friends at dinner.)

I didn’t get my fill of Easter candy before Easter, so I’m making up for lost time with this $1 bag of Robin Eggs from Shaw’s in Brookline. Pretty sure these are my favorites of all the Easter treats.

the lip gloss

May 2, 2011 No comments

lip gloss victoria's secret

I had an unused Secret Rewards card from Victoria’s Secret that was scheduled to expire April 30, so I visited the mall on Saturday and cashed it in. The Secret Rewards cards contain anywhere from $10 to $500, and I was pretty sure I would be one of the big winners. As it turned out, my card was only worth $10, so I treated myself to this basically free lip gloss. With tax, I paid just under a dollar!

I’m sort of handicapped when it comes to makeup (mascara is all I regularly wear — and sometimes I forget to put it on), but I love a good lip gloss. I’m sometimes tempted to invest in shades that are more exciting than the typical roses and corals, but then I remember I probably wouldn’t actually wear a bold color. This pretty pink shade is called blush.

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