When the Goin' Get Tough, the Tough Go Browsin'

Being a mother with the chaos of home life can be straining. So sometimes I go to stores (without child... important... without child) to make me feel like life can be orderly, peaceful, smell good and not have to pick up things off the floor. I don't always buy, but here's where I browse:

The beautiful smells, the way the kitchen gadgets call out my name innocently... The nice people there who make the shopping experience relaxed. And the way they wrap their green boxes with that beautiful cream ribbon... the world is at peace.

My regular (but annual) visit to Nordstrom woos me with it's music, it's fancily dressed salespeople who don't say "I'm on commission" but make you feel like a princess... the kind customer service and the amazing restaurant and coffee bar.  It's very woo-ey.

Especially at Christmas... the lights, the smells, the decorating of their windows... life is good. And their Land of Nod Children's Store is a page out of a Storybook. 

I love their table decor. I told Dan that "when we're old and rich" I'm going to march into one of their stores and order an entire table's worth of dinnerware and decor. haha

Okay, only in AMERICA would a store exist simply to store our abundant love of stuff. I suppose I should feel guilty saying that, but it's amazing... if you want to store your collection of vintage pushpins (huh?) or create a closet that is exactly the dimensions of your dreams... it's all there. I was there yesterday and it took all my strength to only leave with the things on my list. Oh, and stocking stuffers there are a BLAST. 

Good old Starbucks. Gotta love the carefully chosen furniture, the strategically  placed "impulse" buys in a variety of price ranges, the selective choice of music that oh-by-the-way-you-can-buy-here... I don't mind being sucked into their amazing marketing enterprise. And the coffee is good, too. It's a good place for comfort.