Seriously, I am shopped out.

Small-town Iowa doesn’t offer much in the way of selection for pretty much anything except sweet corn in the middle of August.  I’m stuck with a Walmart, two local furniture stores with outdated styles, and two interior decorators that charge too much for custom designs.  Several consignment stores and a Goodwill round out the offerings, often with spotty selection.

So I was excited to visit a few stores during my time in Chicago.  I even planned out my stops so I could hit them all up.  I had a few items I was looking for, and I was also interested in browsing. Here was my list of hopeful purchases:

  • lamps for our master bedroom
  • a new (smaller) lamp for my desk in our office
  • fabric or drapes for our master bedroom windows
  • bath rug for our master bath
  • hardware for our first floor bathroom (toilet paper holder, towel bar, and two nobs)
  • storage boxes for the office (I’ve been scoping out some from Ikea for a while…)
  • coffee table for our living room
  • serving tray for dining room to corral all our dining table goodies and use for transporting food from kitchen to dining room
  • and completely unrelated, a new pair of jeans since all of my current ones are either ripped or not fitting well (*cough cough*)

Quite the list, and only 4 hours to complete it.  Here’s where I went and what I scored:

  • Target – I love me some Tar-jay.  :-)   I scored a cute little lamp and shade here for $20 for my office.  I also found some potential lamps for our bedroom.
  • TJMaxx – 1 pair of guess jeans!  A bit on the pricey side, but they fit really well and were long enough!  Woot!
  • HomeGoods – Holy cow, talk about home decorating overload!  I walked away with a bath rug, some candlesticks, and two decorative glass jars.  A lot more damage could have been done here, but I resisted…
  • Ikea – It’s been a few years since my last visit to the Swedish superstore, and I was (predictably) overwhelmed.  This is where my feet started hurting…I had fun checking out the fabrics, drapes, and hardware, but only ended up snagging some sleek storage boxes for my office.  I have to say though, I was definitely inspired by the Ikea kitchens.  They’re pretty nice!
  • Anthropologie – I’ve never been, and I was excited to find out there was one in a nearby mall.  Oh the beauty!  If only I could afford something there.  Probably the best I’ll ever get is a scarf or necklace :-)   No purchases made here…
  • Z Gallerie – I’ve window-shopped their online store, but this was my first time in brick and mortar place.  I have to say, I LOVE this place.  Affordable and stylish.  I definitely found tons of stuff here to like.  Unfortunately, most of it is a bit more mod and I haven’t quite figured out how to blend that with our traditional house.  Tips?
  • Crate & Barrel – Oh man, talk about decorating lust.  This place is loaded with beautiful furniture, linens, and entertaining items.  I was hoping to scope out a nightstand I’d like to save up for, but they didn’t have it on display :-(

By the end of my 4 hour spree, I was exhausted and tired, and frankly, a bit overwhelmed.  I used to love shopping.  But I felt like I was drowning in a never ending rush of choices and options.  It was on the one hand very exciting, and on the other, rather disconcerting.  The tyranny of choice and consumerism was very apparent.  And in the midst of my spree, I was reminded of my desire to keep things simple.  No, I don’t need 5 different place settings for various holidays and occasions.  No, I don’t need xyz item brand new or right now.  No, I do not want my house to look like an Ikea magazine threw up in it.

All I really need is a roof over my head, some food, and good friends.  Everything else is just a bonus :-)

Pictures of everything coming soon, I promise!

Related posts:

  1. House Hunting
  2. A lot of Sierra Mist went into this room…
  3. Cover It: Our New Duvet!
  4. Christmas Time is Here!
  5. Weekend Review