I know what you’re thinking! Katie’s not a shopper! And she’s cheap! She’s always saying that! And, yes, it’s true. But by chance I’ve stumbled on two more shopping destinations, so I’m doing one more post. And then, I’m done. No really: I’m serious. So if you have a store to tell me about, I don’t want to hear it unless you are also hosting a completely free family-friendly event. With food, a bouncey-bounce, face painting, pumpkin slingshots, and alpacas. I’m kidding! Ummm, mostly.
A friend was inspired by the Upper Union Street post to write me about her neighbor’s business, Beastly Buddies. Its creator Anee Teekle makes “boutique quality” costumes for children, and, my friend gushes, she “genuinely loves what she does and making kids happy with her costumes. I thought it would be a perfect time of year to help her get the word out on your site, with Halloween coming”.
The Beastly Buddies warehouse is located at 301 Nott Street at Erie Boulevard in Schenectady, on the third floor. My friend reports:
The warehouse is open Thursday and Friday 3:30 to 6:30 pm, Saturday 10-3 and Sunday 12-3 (closed MTW). The warehouse is 20% off regular priced inventory. I recently went there and was blown away by how big it was. There are tons of costumes and all kinds of dress-up clothes, wings, hats, wands, headbands, capes, accessories, etc. It’s definitely worth the trip!
I thought I’d pass the word around for those of you who haven’t pulled together a costume yet. If you check the website, check out the Accessories, which could practically make an entire costume. In case you happen to be, like me, cheap. And if you are super-craftily making your kids’ costumes, way to go! I salute you! And I would never mock your efforts like some people.
Speaking of celebrating important seasonal events, you may recall that I had a birthday recently. Now, if you’re a regular, you know my neighbor Mary. Of course, she was too thoughtful and generous, and she’d gotten me a lovely sweater because I admired one of hers. It was one of those ginormous sweaters made by someone in South America, with a bunch of pretty colors. It was very nice. I was happy with it. No: Mary thought it was too big. It was a little too big, but it’s rare to feel like a super-hotty in a warm sweater, anyway, so I was okay with it. There was more discussion and pondering, and it was decided that we’d go on a shopping expedition together to weigh the multitude of options at The Sweater Venture in East Greenbush.
There were a ton of sweaters, ranging from the ginormous multicolored numbers to items that were light and dressy and elegant. In fact, if you go to the website, it looks like just a ton of ski sweaters, but there’s actually much more variety than that, as well as some pretty jewelry. Oh, and it seemed a little bit cheaper at the store, plus there was a nice selection of clearance items, and they weren’t the kind of clearance things where you say, “Well, no wonder nobody wanted this!”
They also had cutey-patootie kids’ sweaters and slippers.
I also always appreciate it when a store has some space and/or toys set aside for little kids: it just feels more welcoming, even if my kids are getting over this stage.
They’re also big into fair trade, so once again I can contribute to world peace through delightful self-indulgence!! Yippee!!
I wasn’t entirely convinced that I needed to come along with Mary (and her husband, too: he acted as chauffeur and then read a book in the car! apparently this is a typical day for them). But I’m glad that I went. We enjoyed chatting. I really liked the first sweater, but I love-love-love the new one that I picked out, which had been on Mary’s “short list” when she’d gone on her own.
I had already gotten a gorgeous hand-knit sweater from my parents for my birthday, so if you’re trying to find me sometime this winter, just look for the chick who’s looking fabulous and toasty warm!
