I’m currently hanging and shooting the canopy that I made for over Clara’s bed (ahh! it just might be cute!) so I’ll be back with those photos and the whole rundown for you tomorrow. I was actually thinking about writing about September 11th today. I lived in NYC at the time, and it was one of the most life-changing days that I’ve ever experienced, but for some reason, even 12 years later, I just can’t put words together about it. So I’m sending out lots of NYC pride and love to everyone affected by such a horrible day and trying to drum up the courage to talk about it (I’m reminding myself how healing it was to share Clara’s birth story). Maybe this afternoon.
So I have a window shopping adventure to share with you guys this morning instead. It’s been way too long since our last virtual shopping spree. As most of you know, these aren’t paid or perked or anything – we just walk through a store with a camera and take pics of whatever inspires us for you guys. And I especially love discovering small, tucked away, one-of-a-kind places like this. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: The Art of Simple.
I stumbled across this sweet little store while we were on vacation in Destin (it’s in downtown Seaside for any interested locals) and I had to break out the camera the second we walked in. The shopkeeper was so nice, and everything in there was so inventive and inspiring. So if you’re a local – dude, get in there! But even if you’re nowhere near Florida, I’d imagine you can give them a call if you fall in love with something in the hopes that they’ll ship it – or just draw inspiration from the eye candy for your next DIY project.
For example, some of their white bookcases were backed with beadboard and I thought it gave them a really nice crisp look. Some added interest, if you will, instead of that flimsy back panel that most bookcases come with. I also loved the color palette of the store. Lots of white with hits of red, gray, and aqua – among other splashes of color in the fun things that they sold of course.
There was this cool accent wall along the back of the store too (white subway tile with gray grout) and I loved it with the old barn-board-looking floors in their gray-washed tone. They actually weren’t even wood, they were stick down laminate! Couldn’t you see a wall of subway tile with these floors in a laundry room or a bathroom? Yes please.
As sort of an exclamation point in the back of the shop there was this INSANE (in such a good way) red beaded chandelier. I wanted to run off to Paris with it. I didn’t catch the price and I’m sure it’s not cheap, but if it’s not in your budget perhaps you can draw inspiration from it and spray paint a beaded chandelier with candy apple red spray paint? Urban Outfitters and PB Teen usually sell small beaded chandeliers that might look like this gal’s little sister with a new paint job.
They also had these awesome signs. I loved that they were black with ivory lettering (feels like a modern and understated-cool take on some of the more colorful/bright signs that people sell these days). I also really liked what they said. How much fun is The Laundry for a laundry room or The Shanty for your entryway among a gallery of frames? Every house deserves a cute nickname.
This chick had me at hello. I wanted to bring it home but John nipped that in the bird bud. I’ve seen some pretty amazing Pinterest DIYs for making lighted signs though (never seen a chick yet, but I bet it could be adapted!).
There were also some really cool globe ideas, both for folks who want to walk in and snatch them up or for someone who might already have an old globe but wants to tweak it with a little at-home project. This one appeared to be painted with blue paint and rubbed with some distressing glaze and then the countries looked to be painted on with black paint (or drawn on with a big black marker that was outlined in a gold sharpie).
And this one was covered entirely in chalkboard paint and then what appeared to be a turquoise paint pen was used to sketch the countries as well as the measurements along the equator.
These old metal letters had the perfect amount of patina. And I LOVE the idea of using an old metal caddy like this in the laundry room for sorting clothes.
These lights were really interesting to me too! I even ended up chatting with the shopkeeper about them, who told me that the colors of the flowers on each pendant are customizable!
She whipped out these rings o’ crystals and I was in awe. So if you’re redoing your kitchen and just want a pendant for over the sink with three of your accent colors (say they’re emerald green, teal, and navy) you can make it happen by ordering one of these babies. They weren’t cheap (I think around $350?) but in a spot where you just need one, it might be a fun splurge, especially if you can justify it with savings in other areas (like if you save $500 by buying all of your appliances in bulk).
These simple little mussel shells were $9 and I loved that they were sold with other soap holders so the idea for a unique way to use them was sort of planted in your brain. They had a really pretty pink color going on with some bronze. I bet they’d look awesome in an old school bathroom full of black and white tile on the floor and a white pedestal sink.
These were legit marquee letters from the 1940s, and they were heavy and metal and completely cool looking. Predictably, John was drawn to them like a moth to a flame.
This charming painting of an old gas pump was one of my favorite things in the whole store. I loved the rustic wood frame around it and the pretty red and teal colors. Even the red easel that it sat on was crazy inspiring to me.
So there it is. A little shuffle though a sleepy beach town store that I’m still thinking about a few weeks later. Hope you guys enjoyed the virtual shopping spree! Is anyone else discovering new boutiques to ogle? If there are any here in VA, tell me all about them!
I love the idea of a chalkboard globe with the countries drawn on; Kev and I could track all of our globehopping with something like that!
Maybe I should pin it and save it for the pinterest challenge??
That is the color pallet of our laundry room: http://createbakecelebrate.blogspot.com/2013/08/create-laundry-room-wheres-that-from.html
Too bad we dont have those awesome signs, baskets, & letters to make it even more awesome. Thanks for sharing- great shop!
So charming!
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Completely off-topic but still-slightly-sorta in the browsing fun range: Houzz have an app just for kids rooms now. FYI. My work here is done.
Sounds really cool!
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I love all the different letters/typography you found. We are really into that stuff in my house, being designers. I would be totally drawn to those marquee letters too – so cool that they are old-school from the 1940s!
where are your instagram pictures?
We’ve only been taking them sporadically (we did share one yesterday of our rental car though!). There’s just lots going on, but we hope to be back on the IG wagon soon!
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Can’t wait to go visit that store when we’re down there in a few weeks! Those marquee letters and black signs are calling out to me…
I understand how you feel about being in NYC during 9/11. I was in my 5th grade classroom near Oklahoma City when the Alfred P. Murrah building in downtown OKC was bombed and it changed my life. A family friend was killed in the bombing and so many people in my community were affected. (I had friends whose parents worked in the building, next to the building, across from the building, and there were so many children in the daycare center right above the place where the car bomb was parked.) It’s been almost 19 years and it’s still really hard for me to talk about it.
I completely know what you mean. I always start crying. I’m trying to choke something out for this afternoon. Not sure if it’ll make any sense, but it’s all bouncing around in my brain so I might as well try to type some things out, if nothing else than to release them.
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Check out Orange in Carytown – all local RVA artists and reasonably priced, too!
I LOVE that place!!!!
I’ve never been there but I already heard that place before with my friends and I think that place is really nice.
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
I want that store!! I’m twitching and planning a trip there already. Is that weird? Yes? Too bad. I’ve already racked up a couple hundred bucks in my head to spend there. Thanks for the virtual spree!!
You should make a trek up to Winchester, VA. Not only is it amazing apple country but there are a bunch of cute boutique shops in Old Town Winchester (my favorites are Kimberly’s, Make Nest, and Simply Charming)! If you venture up here in the fall be sure to check out Marker-Miller Farm Market and Orchard (pumpkins, pyo apples galore, and apple cider donuts) and Rinker’s Orchards (for their famous apple cider)!
Sounds awesome!
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Completely in love with the beadboard on the back of the bookcases. I have two huge bookcases but they’re kind of junky and chewed up by my dog from when he was teething (didn’t even know that was a thing before we got Norman). Definitely saving that idea for when I upgrade to unchewed up bookcases.
I love the vibe this store has. It would be so hard for me not to walk away with one of their adorable candles. With the cute gold lids… So tempting!
Oooo! I love the color palette of the store too! I’ve just started our kitchen renovation (I’m only on Step #2:http://ridingescalators.blogspot.com/2013/09/kitchen-renovation-step-2.html), and my color palette in there is going to be white, grey, and red… but now I’m thinking that I may need to incorporate some aqua in there too! So cute!
As an antique dealer I appreciate all the work that goes into a shop like that. Sometimes I think shoppers don’t realize just how much work, nice to see someone does.
I had a 9 month old baby on 09/11, and I was watching my 4 year old niece. I felt so bad cause I couldn’t turn off the tv, and my poor niece ended up hiding under the sofa pillows.
All I could think about was my little baby and how could I bring her into a world like this. I think for all of us it was a life changing event. I hate when it rolls around each year and I am forced to bring it all back up. I am a huge fan of avoidance and perhaps denial.
Oh I lerve that store! We vacation down there every summer and that store is dreamy. I even snagged a few extra business cards in June because I love the design so much and I used it as an inspiration for my own business cards. I have them by my bedside table and use them for bookmarks. Geeky, I know. They have the coolest antiques in there. It was fun explaining to our kids what in the world they were all used for! Good call, S & J!
I gave up blogging a long time ago, mostly because I could not figure out how to fix the mess the format became, but before I did, I posted a journal entry that I wrote about September 11 a day or two after it happened. I thought I would want to remember someday. If you can get to it, you need to scroll down to find it:
http://www.cheerfullycrossing.blogspot.com/?view=classic
Might help you with the words you are seeking.
Thank you so much for sharing Jennifer.
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Okay, completely off-topic and random here, but Sherry you totally need to be the Khaleesi from Game of Thrones for Halloween! You look so much like Emilia Clarke to me!
Haha, thanks Carrie! I love her, so that’s my favorite “you look like” person.
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YES!! Please come to Staunton (only a 2 hour drive!!) and visit the COOLEST new shop- LTD 7- you would LOVE it. Besides that, downtown Staunton has so many neat shops. Come visit and I’ll take ya to lunch. :) (Talk about a dream come true, whoa!)Oh and my disclaimer is, I am not an owner or employee of any of these stores, just work downtown Staunton and love love love it.
http://www.ltd7online.com/ltd7/HOME.html
http://www.stauntondowntown.org/
Thanks for the tip Courtney!
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I love just about everything there! My kind of shop, having a good mix of vintage & seaside cottage. Thanks for the tour. Got this place on my places-to-go-next-time-in-Florida list! ;0)
I love that store! I could definitely drop a pretty penny there! There is an awesome store called Everything Vintage in Toano (near Williamsburg, but probably less than an hour from you) They are pickers who also build/restore a lot of awesome pieces. Here is their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Everything-Vintage-Co/233443670009106
Have you been to Culpeper VA? There are a few cute stores like this in their downtown, which is only a couple blocks long. You could roadtrip through there on the way up to Winchester!
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! It’s so much fun to add these places to our list!
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It sounds like you might have the laundry room on the brain. Or maybe that’s just me? We call ours The Dungeon, did they have a sign for that? haha
Haha!
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How fun would it be to get an old globe and paint it with a fictional place like Narnia or Middle Earth? Or kind of combine Middle Earth with our Earth so it looks like Middle Earth is a plane ride away?
It’s a good thing I don’t have kids or I would be totally confusing them!
That sounds like a best-selling Etsy shop idea if I’ve ever heard one. Fictional globes for the win!
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Have you checked out Gather in Midlothian VA: http://www.shopgather.com/?
Not yet, but it sounds like fun!
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this place is awesome! pricey but good for browsing and getting DIY ideas…
I was just about to log my first comment to tell you about Gather. One of my very favorites – owned by a local artist. I want everything in that shop!
You should try to write something about 9/11! I can imagine how difficult it may be….especially sharing it with your immense cyber world….knowing you could probably never quite convey the enormity or gravity of the emotions you feel. But just know, you are a beautiful writer and its extremely brave to share anything at all about such a tragic day.
Thanks so much Marie. That’s so sweet of you to say.
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What an adorable shop! I love finding little places like that!
This is so off topic but I am wanting to repaint our bedroom and was browsing thru your blog (which I love) and saw your bedroom color in your second house. Do you know/ remember what that color was? I think it would go so well with the color scheme I have in mind. Thank you!
Thanks Amy! That was Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar.
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REALLY excited to see the finished canopy for Clara’s bed! SO FUN! :)
Hope you can try to get it all out…writing about September 11. Even if you don’t share it here, like you said…it can be so healing. You just have so much all stuffed inside and it’s hard to make sense. I think sometimes it becomes even harder to make sense of these things now that we have families of our own.
Sending love your way! xo
Thanks so much Henna. You’re always so sweet.
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I’m kind of in love with the gas pump art! You guys need to visit The Lazy Daisy in old Chester. With over 30 ind. shops and 5000+ sf, the one-of-a-kind treasures change daily! fun! (check out The Lazy Daisy Vendor page on FB.)
I second the Lazy Daisy. It’s so fun!
I actually recognize those flower lights! They’re designed by a company called Canopy Designs :).
Love that Laura! Thanks for the tip!
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I LOVE stores like that. Thanks for sharing even though I am not close enough to run to it for a few things I “need”. Oh to dream…
I live in NW New Jersey and lost a cousin in the World Trade Center that day. It is still difficult to think about it 12 years later. So much support got us all through. It’s ok if it’s still hard to think about!
I’m so sorry for your loss Patty.
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I was also living in NYC on 9/11 (now I’m in RIC too) and STILL get choked up when I talk about it. Good luck with writing your post!
Aw, thanks Sloan. I love knowing a fellow NYCer is in RVA now.
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The Art of Simple is my favorite shop along 30A! I was in Seaside in May for birthday and bought myself a gorgeous green and white enamel pitcher. The best part of my day was watching them unload a entire U-Haul truck full of new finds. I wanted to buy everything!!!
Oh my gosh, that would be the best use of time ever. Seriously, sign me up for the next truck-unloading!
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Sherry – You can totally DIY that lighted chick! (Don’t be mad at me, John!!) I used the tutorial link below to make a “LOVE” sign for my engagement pictures/wedding. It was super simple and you can do any shape you can draw on foam board. And you spray paint the whole thing at the end, so it can be any color you want too.
http://ohhappyday.com/2012/06/vintage-marquee-diy/
So sweet! I love it Lauren!
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This store is amazing! I must go here! I would love to own a store like that! So many of my favorite things in one place. Thanks for sharing!
There’s a store similar to this in Rehoboth Beach (new this summer I believe) that I could have spent hours in! I’m blanking on the name of it but it’s on the right hand side if you’re walking away from the boardwalk.
Oh man, I wonder if we’ve been there!
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You can take the girl out of NY, but not the NY out of the girl.
I remember, hours later, going up to the roof of a local store (in Queens) and just watching the smoke rise from the city.
Today, I dressed my boys in flag shirts and tried to explain to my 3 and 5 year olds a little of the significance of this day. I simply said – One day not too long ago, bad people hurt a lot of good people and wearing this shirt today will let everyone know you care more about the good people than the bad people. I am not sure if they got it, but they left the house proud to be dressed in the red, white and blue. I was proud too.
That’s so sweet. I was completely the same way. Tried to talk to Clara about it but mainly just said “be extra sweet to people today.”
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That is really cool Dizee. Thanks for sharing that! I didn’t think of wearing patriotic colors today but that sure is a way to remember and show love for those who were lost. I’ll remember this for next year and keep that explanation in mind for my 3 month old and 21 month old.
Thanks Lisa! Glad it gave you an idea for next year. :)
I’ve never commented before but I’ve read LITERALLY (and I mean that word literally) every post you’ve done! I tell everyone about your site.
I was also living in NY then, actually right by ground zero. On one hand, I’m so tired of being sad every anniversary but on the other it was such a pivotal point in my life and in the narrative of my 20’s. I’ve lived in LA for the past four years and even though I love it here, I feel like NY will always be my home because of what we all went through as a community. 2124Eva!
Completely agree. Something about being there that day bonded us all. NY 4 Eva.
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I was visiting a friend in that area the week before you guys and went into that store also and loved it! The beaded chandelier was AMAZING! The store was very inspiring. They had these wonderful candles on the table under the chandelier that came in beautiful lidded containers. The next time I visit I will let myself splurge on a little something from that shop.
My friend said Seaside was used to film the movie The Truman Show with Jim Carey. It is the cutest town I’ve ever been in.
We heard that about The Truman Show too! Such a cute city! I loved the post office the most.
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Just called the store to inquire about the Lemon tree art. Love it!!! Price tag a little steep for me, but in case someone else is interested it is priced at $3800.00 I’m sure it will find a home.
Susan, I was loving that painting too! I’m glad you made the call. It’s pretty shockingly priced, so it won’t be getting a home here either…
Please go back and get me the tree picture and the gas pump picture. Oh, and a letter B. I’ll send you money!
Haha! Hopping in the car now!
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A sweet boutique just opened in Lynchburg – https://www.facebook.com/PasticheatMain
Haven’t been but all the pics on FB & IG look great!
Holla Lynchburg! Looks very cute. Thanks Amanda.
I stumbled upon this store in Seaside in May and LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing as I had forgotten about it. Seaside is my favorite relaxation spot, so I’m glad ya’ll got to experience it also!
I also found this shop when I was Destin this summer! I stayed in there forever. I really just wanted to pitch a tent and stare…eye candy heaven. I bought the small turquoise mercury glass votives.
So funny! It drew me in from the moment I saw it! Glad it sucked you in too!
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This is my first post like this and how fun! I love wondering into usual stores with tons of nick knacks. I would be one of those people who would plan a vacation around a location to visit a place like this.
Just reread Clara’s birth story with tears in my eyes. So thankful that you are okay and that you have your sweet, beautiful, smart, and wonderful little girl! Sending hugs your way today.
Aw thanks Diana. You’re so sweet. We have so much to be thankful for.
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We’re from Roanoke and although it was a looong drive we decided to spend our summer beach vacation in the Destin area too and it was awesome. We rented a house at Seagrove Beach (right next to Seaside) and visited that same store! I seriously thought when I walked in that you guys would love this place. So funny you ended up there this summer too!!
That’s hilarious!
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I love the look & style of this store — what a great find!
OMG – LOVE Seaside. The Art of Simple and Duckies are my favorites.
I know you wanted to write about 9/11, and I hope you do. However, you have no idea how much I love this post today.
My best friend(who I go to Seaside and this very store with every year) was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June. Chicks are kind of her thing(http://matildajaneblog.com/think-about-it/). Last month I found her a perfect little book about chicks when saying goodbye after a visit, it was silly but it made a sad goodbye a little more lighthearted. Last night, after a rough couple of weeks for her, I was just praying for a sign things are going to be ok.
Maybe I am dumb, but, here in this post, I see this chick – in a store we love and have been to so many times, in this place we love AND it’s posted on a blog I read everyday…and I just feel a little better. Thank you!
Aw thanks so much Renee! Chicks rule! Sending lots of love to your best friend.
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Renee – your post made me tear up. I think it totally is a sign. Sending lots of love and prayers your & your friend’s way.
I would totally feel that way too Renee. Prayers to your friend. September is actually ovarian cancer awareness month. Spread the word!
That lit-up chick is adorbs! If you are interested in DIY-ing something like that (maybe for Clara’s room?) we actually have a tutorial on making DIY marquee letters out of wood and metal (so they’re sturdier and longer lasting than the foam board tutorials floating around) that I bet could be adapted for making shapes other than letters. Check it out! http://evanandkatelyn.com/2013/08/makin-loooooove-complete-diy-marquee-letters/
Thanks Katelyn! Love it!
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