Black Friday in Lexington

All ridiculous/awkward/embarrassing/hilarious family moments aside, I managed to do more shopping (honestly more like window shopping and asking my mom for things for Christmas) than I have ever done on Thanksgiving weekend. I was kind of shocked by how cute some of the shops in Lexington were because there is a huge difference between Columbus quirky and Lexington quirky.

This is from one of my favorite stores, The Black Market. No, it has nothing to do with the store on High St that's been closed for a couple of years. This place is amahzing. I would buy 90% of the stuff there if I had the money. Some of it is even affordable. It's like my brain exploded all over the store.

So I needed to include this picture partly because I love a colorful retro shoe, but mostly because I feel like you are the sort of person who can appreciate a store that displays jewelry on a porcelain cat.

Okay, I didn't even go into this store and I don't know what they sell, but it's across the street from the black market in a cluster of cute shops and I was oddly attracted to the idea of a glittery pink tree. There are a few other shops. We went into one that is so jam packed with useless knick knacks, ornaments and cat related decor that I got a little stressed out. My sister picked up a book there called "How to Tell If Your Cat is Gay." I was kind of offended by the blatant connection they were trying to make between being an overbearing cat owner and a hag. Anyway, I have perfectly good gaydar, so I'm sure it works on cats. I also went into a fair trade store called Lucia's Boutique. My aunt of course loudly said something about all the "free trade" stuff. They had some nice stuff, but it was Black Friday, so staying in a tiny shop for any length of time was uncomfortable.
We stopped by a jewelry store called Hand Picked. It's a chain that started in South Carolina and hasn't spread outside of the South. I told my mom it wouldn't work in Columbus. Monogramming is huge in Lexington, so they had equipment at the store to monogram jewelry and bags. I think people in Columbus aren't traditional enough for that. I did take their card though because everything was cheap, but not cheap looking. Think boutique-y, not Claire's-y.

Before all of that, my mom took me to a vintage shop called Street Scene where she had found this amazing coat. She kept calling it second-hand. Technically I know that it has all been worn or used before, but that sounds so low rent and I like to be a little more uppity about these things. The weird thing about this place is that it's in a tiny strip mall behind a bigger strip mall, but it feels like something that, in Columbus, would be in the Short North or Clintonville. This is what happens in cities that don't have enough gays or hippies. There is no obvious place to put things I like.

This is the first thing I saw when I walked in the door. Everything about this is perfect. 1) Who doesn't love a woman decorated like a Christmas tree? 2) What a dignified pose. 3) Yes that is a lime green couch behind her.

The front of the store was full of furniture. I wanted ALL that crap, and yes, I'm calling it crap because I am fully aware of my taste level. It was tacky and beautiful.

Look at this lamp! Look at all the crazy blue crap I could get to go with it!

I promise there were actually some really pretty dresses, but they weren't nearly as interesting as a rubber chicken purse. I could totally see certain girls carrying this thing around the Short North, but in Lexington, it just felt odd. I saw my very first Kentucky hipster there. The cashier was a chubby Zooey Deschanel wannabe who stayed on the phone the entire time we were there talking in a little more detail than I wanted to hear about a "lame" party. It was like seeing a unicorn.

WHAT?! An inflatable turkey?!

We walked through a doorway and were suddenly in a coffee shop. There was way too much cute stuff in there. The first room was just full of coffee and tea related stuff I wanted all of.

I didn't actually get to buy anything from Coffee Times Coffee Shop (who thought that was clever?), but I kind of fell in love with this weird tea mobile and now will be forced to make an uglier, sloppier version for my   kitchen.

So, I managed not to go anywhere truly scary on my first Black Friday off of work in a few years and I managed to remember to post this.... Good job me!