Have you read any of these books in the No. 1 Ladie’s Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith? There are several in the series, each one as fun to read as the one before. Set in Botswana and starring the unlikely heroine Precious Ramotswe- the books are charming and simple and a pleasure to read. Whenever I need to rest my mind and want a fun book to read, I pick up one of these quirky and endearing novels. So needless to say I was delighted to see that HBO is starting a series based on the books, starting March 29th at 8pm. I hope the books’ innocence is adequately captured in the TV series, but regardless of the medium this is a great group of characters to get caught up with, especially these days. Their simple ways and appreciation for the beauty and spirit of Africa will inspire us all.
I AM OBSESSED with these beautiful water bottles, imported from Italy. We just received them last night and I was gushing about them so much as I was opening the boxes that I sold one right out of the carton! They will be on the website in March, but available in store now. LOVE THEM! Great housewarming present, perfect for next to your bed, kitchen, everywhere… $34
Crazy what? Poppies who?? The name is a little funky (actually it’s FRENCH!, pardon my ignorance) but these solid perfume sticks smell sooo good! and you can pop them in your purse for on the go application.
Sometimes I think I am pretty clever and today is one of those days. It is my brother’s girlfriends Birthday this week and we are seeing her tonight so I wrapped up some fun treats from the store for her, BUT I also made her a special birthday card (see above). She just had Lasik eye surgery and so for her bday card I made her an EYE CHART birthday card- hahahaha. Or atleast I tried, you can be the judge– but no matter what artistic adventure I go on, it always looks like I am back in 5th grade (if you are going to try this yourself, I would have made each row a greater height disparity between the one above and below). I was thinking of giving her our “Here’s looking at you” drinking glasses as well– but we sold the last set just now, need to get more!
As you may recall from another post (re: LL Bean Boots)- I tend to hang on to things for a REALLY long time. Like until they fall apart on me. When I like something, I really like something and keep it forever (from clothing to friendships). Today I broke out my “Grape” Chuck Taylors sneakers that I have had since 1994– see above, still looking good! Actually my husband Rob got these for me in 1994 (hello- that’s 15 years ago!)- for my birthday (stuffed with twizzlers, I love licorice), back when we first dated- and I have hung on to them ever since. I broke them out today in some optimism for Spring time- the weatherman made it seem like it was going to be a heatwave today (40 degrees), and sounds like the forecast is back to snow and sleet tomorrow. So, one little shot of sunshine before it’s back to the LL Bean boots.
Part our “modern general store” mission is to find cool products for your busy, urban lifestyle. We cover a lot of categories online and in our 500 sq- foot shop, and are always on the look out for new items that catch our eye. The Pet category is an important one for us (and there are soo many dogs in Brooklyn!)- so I snatched these up straight away. They are Slurp bowls that hold 2 cups of food or water and can attach to your dog’s leash, so you will always have a bowl for Fido. We have them in the shop as singles for $2.50 or packs of 6 for$13.50- they will be on the website soon!
We are always working on building our community here at Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store- whether its in local Brooklyn/ NYC- or online, we like to support each other– soo when we heard that BLUE MARBLE ICE CREAM (our neighbor and entrepreneurial co-pilot) was nominated for Best New Ice Cream in Time Out New York’s Eating Out awards, we had to ask everyone to make sure they voted for them too! Here’s the link (super easy, they don’t ask you for name or email)– Not sure when the deadline is, so vote NOW!
Annie's Treasure Trove 