shopping

As I mentioned last week, the boys and I took an impromptu vacation to Minnesota. In addition to our regular activities like the Como Zoo, a lake day, visits with friends and family, Ikea shopping, a quick HomeGoods date with my blog pal Jen, and indulging in all the foods of home, I made my way to a new store. My cousin and pseudo sister told me about it, and she happily let me tag along. Where did we go? SR Harris Fabric Outlet in Brooklyn Park. Jenna warned me, telling me it was 30,000 square feet filled with fabrics. Well, now I believe her. Look at this:

That’s one aisle of fabrics stacked over my head. Surprisingly, the store is organized pretty well. Cottons for quilting in one area.

Rows of home decorating fabrics. A shelf covered in bolts of silks, taffeta, and tulle.

I had to practice serious restraint not to walk home with an carload of various silks, knowing full well it doesn’t stand a chance against my kids.

And the ribbon. Oh, the ribbon! Several end cap shelves of assorted ribbon. I especially loved the velvet trims.

In a way, SR Harris reminded me of Ikea. Huge store with plenty to look at, great prices (everything is 50% off the list price), and a do it yourself attitude. Get this, you cut your own fabric! How awesome is that?!? So now, let me show you what I came home with.

Forgive me, because I don’t know most of the names. The green stripe is actually from my Ikea shopping trip. I couldn’t see a designer of the blue stripe, but it’s a nice weight canvas type fabric for $5.00 per yard. P Kauffman makes the blue swirl, and I think the gray is by Ralph Lauren. Both home dec fabrics are originally $19.99 per yard, but everything is half off. No clue about the white sequin brand, but it was too fun to pass up.

Like a raccoon, my eyes like shiny, sparkly things. I got a 1/2 yard to make an accent pillow or two. To top it off, I got a few yards of an aqua grosgrain ribbon for 35 cents a yard and two yards of green velvet ribbon for 50 cents a yard. Perhaps I’ll add it to a plain pillow cover for more detail or around a lamp shade. Haven’t decided yet, but I’ve decided to buy things I love to work in.

Minnesotans, this is definitely worth a stop if you’re looking for any fabric. I can’t wait to go back again to see what other treasures I can dig up.

Do you have a go to fabric store? Do you go looking for something specific? Or just by what catches your attention without a plan for it?

Well, we ordered three stools for the bar. What did we get? The Twist stools from World Market. We took advantage of a Cyber Monday 20% off everything sale plus a free shipping code from EBates. This was the first time I’d used EBates, but if I get another 8% back, that puts another 20 bucks in my pocket, making our stools 28% off plus free shipping. So we spent $80.95 per stool which originally cost $109.99 each.

That’s better than the 25% off or free shipping we considered before Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, the stools are fantastic. Super sturdy, heavy-duty, good-looking, and adjustable. Three tuck nicely under the bar top without taking up space in the living room. A few readers warned us about backless or swivel stools with little kids, but so far they’ve been great. We haven’t let Everett sit on the stools, but Vincent has been totally fine. And, the swivel feature amuses them. Both boys turn the seats like they’re driving.

As you can see, we still have finish work to do on this side, like adding trim to the cabinets, filling nail and screw holes, and painting, but the space is usable and that’s what really matters.

What I like best are the heavy wood tops. Nothing cheesy or fake here. The color to the seats coördinates beautifully with the wooden counter top. Bonus!

Now if Ben and I could agree on a color to paint the cabinets. I want white to match the entertainment center because they’re technically in the same room. Ben thinks we should paint the cabinets the same gray as the kitchen lowers because they’re back to back.

What do you think? Do you have bar stools in your home? What style do you have?