I determined a few weeks ago that there were 2 things I wanted to do before the kids got out of school. One was to go into Boston one day, meet my husband for lunch, spend the rest of my Anthropologie gift card and browse at Paper Source. The second was to take an inspiration/shopping trip to the Cape. Here it is the last day of school and I did make it to Boston and Cape Cod. Of course the Boston trip was just to pick up my husband and drive him to the emergency room at the local hospital (he's fine). No strolling in the Back Bay with that trip.
Luckily, I was able to visit the Cape last Tuesday. I invited my mom along and we made the most of my 7.5 hours of freedom.
{photo: window along Main Street, downtown Hyannis}
First stop: downtown Hyannis. Our target: Colorful Creations. Somehow the last time I was in this "papercrafter's paradise" (last summer??) I didn't buy anything. Shocking, even to me. That was not the case on Tuesday. In fact I made a historic purchase: my first 2 Copic markers. I used my Yellow Green and Robin's Egg blue markers this weekend and I love them. Great markers and they make an excellent stocking stuffer, right Mom ; ) I chatted with Jenn, the store manager, about iPhones and several of the project samples and a bunch of the fun classes and clubs they have at Colorful Creations. Decided that an hour is definitely not too far to go to visit an art store and made a mental note to return soon.
{photo: exclusive line of Cape Cod themed rubber stamps at Colorful Creations}
By the time we left CC, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon, if a bit cool. We hopped in the car and headed up the road to Heartbeat Quilts. Their magical bin of rolled fabric 'logs' is addictive to dig thru. I picked out several and then handed them to my mom so she could pay for them. What can I say, it was only a few dollars and I didn't have any cash. Thanks Mom ; )
{photo: a beautiful pink peony outside Heartbeat Quilts} No sooner had I set the GPS for our next destination, when we spotted a thrift shop and made a quick (and worthwhile) detour. We picked up a few small treasure including a {free} brass butterfly that I already spray painted blue and stuck in my garden.
Back on the road, we headed to West Barnstable--home of Melissa of Yummy Goods! Among Melissa's many talents are: artist, textile designer, shop owner, and Cloth Paper Scissors Studio magazine cover {studio} girl. I've been reading Melissa's blog for a while as well as following her on twitter and truth be told, my main reason for going to the Cape was to visit Yummy Goods : ) My mom and I had a great time meeting Melissa and browsing around her shop and studio space. She is so welcoming, engaging and informative, if we had more time I'm sure we would have hung out there all day (have you seen the picture of the couch with the thrifted afghan? Very comfy!).
Once I dragged myself out of Melissa's studio, I picked out some fun gifts {for myself} in the shop. My favorite purchase is my Mandarin Sake soy votive candle. I haven't even lit it yet but the fragrance as it sits on my desk is near intoxicating. It's normal to repeatedly pick up a candle and sniff it, right??
Thanks so much to Melissa for her hospitality, we can't wait to go back and visit you & Yummy Goods again!
{And if you find yourself on Cape Cod this summer, definitely stop by, she's there everyday for the summer season!}
At this point, we had some rumbly tummies so we headed to Subway where lunch was healthy and courtesy of Mom once again (thanks again Mum!). Once fueled up, we headed to our final stop of the day, Tumbleweed Quilts. Tumbleweed is a wonderful fabric shop, & only about 5 minutes away from Yummy Goods. In fact, Tumbleweed carries the entire Sugar Snap fabric line (Melissa's fabric), lots of cotton eye candy here. I also spent some time "fishing" in the fabric pool here as well.
All in all, a wonderful day to visit some fun shops and inspiring people. Can't wait to go back--and hit the beach!
