Shopping Local

There is a darling shop here. I almost missed knowing about it. I had driven by many times but didn't stop. I assumed it would be stuffy and pricey. I was pleasantly surprised and completely delighted. I stopped in yesterday looking for dresses for an event I have this weekend. I found two contenders and could have bought more. I had looked at all of the big stores in town, Macy's, TJ Maxx, Old Navy. I found a few things but they were more than I wanted to spend or not very original.

So I stopped into this darling little place called Patina in the historic downtown area. They have unique clothing, shoes, jewelry, housewares and best of all original art from local artists. A very brief bit of history; we used to have a shopping district downtown. There are reasons people believe it failed. I have my own theories. Stores went away. The mall closed and moved south into a small town bordering our town. It's not the same. It's not a great place to shop. There is nothing interesting,unique or fun about it. It's more of a chore to go there. So I'm thankful for shops like Patina that are off the beaten path and committed to quality, good prices and style. It makes me want to open up my own little shop to sell something, anything.

There are other local shops that I will be visiting this summer. I look forward to new discoveries.

Here are some photos of Patina. Can't you just see the coolness?