Commerce No. 6: Old Town

I’m always up for birthday snow – Only a few more weeks to make it happen! – but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth either. So when I found out it was going to be in the SEVENTIES today, I knew there would be no sitting around at home.

What?! A year’s worth of Vitamin D in one day and there’s no beach involved?! This pasty girl’s totally there! ;)

For all the time we’ve spent in Old Town over the past month, there were/are still a lot of little shops I wanted to check out. So I booked the husband for lunch and made a day of it. I took the bus to the Metro station, grabbed a roast beef sammie at The Butcher’s Block for me (I’m hooked!), a coffee at Starbucks for Mr. C, and met him on Market Square for a picnic in the sun. (He refused to eat any of my sandwich, because apparently the peanut butter ones I make are just that good. What a cowboy.) The sandwich was delicious, of course, although I mistook the cheese for dried mangoes at first because I’ve never had hard cheese in a sandwich before. I felt decidedly low brow after that. (Is this like the new thing?)

After lunch, I roamed around and tried not to spend too much of Mr. C’s money. Paper Source, Mint Condition, the Torpedo Factory: I stopped at all my favorite places and a few new ones in between. I picked up a pack of (Clearanced! So it was okay! ;) gingko leaf kraft paper at Paper Source and a few pairs of $5 consignment shop pants. (I discovered yesterday that 2 out of 3 pairs of my “good pants” have grease stains on them. You know, the kind of stain you can barely see but never get out? So annoying!)

But by far the most dangerous moment of the day was when I ventured into the Crate & Barrel Outlet. It’s not on King Street, which is why I’ve never seen it before, but Sister V. spotted it earlier this week on our way to the Metro station. Egads. Who knew they even made Crate & Barrel Outlets?! Why does her eyesight have to be so good?!

When I walked in, all I could think of was this:

But of course I didn't listen. ;)

Unlike most outlets nowadays, this actually was an outlet. Everything was seriously discounted: dishware, scratch and dent furniture, and leftover not-quite-so-seasonal-anymore merchandise. But by far the most deadly part of the store was the fabric counter. Why? Because they sell Marimekko fabric for $4 a yard. Let me do the math for you: that is 90% off retail, folks. Translation: I'm going to need a bigger sewing machine. And a dedicated room for all the new projects swirling around inside my head. ;)

Thankfully, I had to leave the store without buying anything in order to make it to the bus stop on time, but it doesn't matter. The damage has been done. Watch out, CBO. I'll be back!