Groovin' on a Tuesday afternoon

{Trees blooming in front of Crown Fountain, originally uploaded by robinsegg0523}

I'm in Chicago for a conference my company produces, and found time to play tourist this afternoon. My fab assistant Kelly and I had lunch in Millennium Park, where we sat outside (80 degrees!) and enjoyed the view of these trees blooming in front of the Crown Fountain and the lovely old buildings on Michigan Avenue (some date from the Chicago World's Fair days - any other fans of Devil in the White City out there?). I have no idea who these people in my photo are, but note the top of the recycling bin in the bottom of the photo. Next to it is a garbage can. We sat there for over an hour, and everyone who made a deposit sorted their trash. Just goes to show you, if you make it easy for people, they will willingly recycle!

Sunny new purse cures gray day. Film at 11

{Glazy Days clutch in yellow, by Kenneth Cole Reaction}

My BFF will call me crazy for buying yet another purse (hey, cut me a break, I haven't bought one in two months, and I didn't have any in yellow), but I saw this today and felt it was the perfect cure for a gray day. Plus it will fit perfectly inside the carry-on bag that I tell the TSA is my "purse" when I go to Chicago next week. You can't tell from this photo, but the leather has a nice glaze to it, hence the name Glazy Days. I feel better already.

If they don't have it, you don't need it

{Hardware store dog (Bo), originally uploaded by estteolson}

I had to go to Home Desperate this weekend to pick up some little thing and I was dreading it. I miss small mom & pop hardware stores like the one in the town I grew up in. It had creaky old wooden floors and the store was really narrow but ran the full length of the building. You could get keys made, buy tools and grass seed, pick out paint and wallpaper and order lumber. But you could also get some Pfalzgraff (when they still had only 6 patterns and hadn't moved into every outlet mall in Suburbanville), a hurricane lamp, real linen dishtowels, a crock pot, baking pans, horsehair brushes, and a red flyer wagon. I bought a steamed pudding mold there that I still use. I think there was a cat. If there wasn't, there should have been. They had the best selection of greeting cards, lots of Boynton, Kliban and other non-Hallmark staples. There was a simplicity about shopping there that the big box stores completely lack. You could walk in, find what you wanted pretty quickly (and if not, someone who worked there -- and who actually knew what they were talking about -- would help you find it). You didn't have to hike through a huge warehouse of a store, and there were only two or three options at most for each item, not like the option overload of modern-day shopping.

I know there are still stores like this -- there's one on the main street of the town just west of mine. But they are a dying breed, and those that are still around are having to scale back on what they offer as the big box stores eat their profits. I know for a fact that the store near me did not have the item I ended up buying at HD, because I went there first. I did, however, buy some soy candles, a flower pot, and some picture hooks. ;-)

New birds on the block Nos. 9 and 10

{Birdie Mobile by spindesigns}

Mrs. French was loving this pretty mobile today, and it just so happened I was looking for some new birdies to post. I love the simplicity of silhouettes, and this design has simultaneously captured the whimsy of a vintage design with the spareness of a modern look. Plus there is some assembly required, so you get to feel crafty, like you made it yourself (well, if you happened to have some museum mat board and a laser cutter lying around). You can pick it up at SpinDesigns' Etsy shop.

{Michelle Jank dress, photo from Courtoture.com}

All Things Bright And Beautiful is another daily haunt, and she was obviously feeling my bird vibe today, as she posted this and other dresses by Australian designer Michelle Jank. A true flight of fancy, no?

Not your average brown bag

{A b.happy bag in the Leslie pattern}

I'm managing a big event in Chicago in a couple of weeks, and among the schwag are these fantastic, upholstery-grade, 100% cotton, made-in-the-USA grocery (etc.) bags from b.happybags. We ordered three different fabrics (because we couldn't decide on just one) and hopefully there won't be too many fistfights over who gets which pattern. I'm partial to this pattern, since I have a thing for Jacobean prints, and I think the plaid on the side is not as Burberry-ish as it looks in this pic.

b.happybags was started by two Phoenix-area women whose goal in producing these bags "is to appeal to the people that think you have to don your Birkenstocks to make a wise post consumer decision." Plus its way cooler to carry your cat litter in a Pucci-inspired tote.

The last thing I need, however, is another cotton grocery bag. I have been bringing my own bags to the grocery store for about 6 months now, and while I occasionally have need of a paper grocery sack to store the newspapers before recycling, for the most part it has been an easy switch for me. And I actually remember to bring them into the store with me 99% of the time. I keep them all in my trunk in a tote-shaped basket with leather handles that I use for heavier canned goods.

Okay, maybe just one more bag...