Day 10: Uptown, Bachabee, Kie and Kate, oh MY!

My mom was in town this weekend in order to celebrate Halloween with us.  She braved the cold on Friday night (brrrrr) and was treated with the Pumpkin Ravioli I bought earlier in the week from Rosalia's Deli.  I have to say that it was delicious!  Everyone in the family (including the picky 4.5 year old) at it.  It was the perfect end to a VERY cold evening.

On Saturday we had a few hours before Scott and I were headed to Solider Field for the USA vs NZ rugby game so naturally my mom, daughter and I did a little shopping.  We weren't really looking for anything in particular, but we all do love to window shop.  My mom particularly enjoys Elmhurst shopping and just seeing what the stores have.   I also had gotten so many awesome suggestions from Facebook for places to stop in that I wanted to do some "research" (i.e....shopping!).

Our first stop was The Uptown Shop.  During the City Center trick or treating last week we stopped in for candy and I knew I wanted to go back asap.  The thing I love is that they have a little bit of everything, but it all seems to fit as part of the store.  They have jewelry, candles, toys, purses, clothes and home decorations.  LOT of cute and unique things in the store. It is one of the stores where you have to spend some time looking so you can see everything.  Every time I turned around I saw something else I liked!  Our daughter liked the toy sections and that kept her occupied so I could look around a bit.

There were so many things I liked that I could put 20 pictures in this blog.  One of my favorites was this set of entertaining dishes where you could change out a decorative piece for each holiday, parties, etc.  They were so cute and my mom and I were talking about numerous family members that would love these.  The best part is that I have never seen anything like it.  It is cool to see things that are truly interesting & unique.  (I may be putting these in the blog as a BIG hint to my husband...he is a loyal reader...hint hint, dear...)

After Uptown Shop, we headed to Bachabees.  We had been to Bachabees before and it is one of my mom's favorites.   Last time we were there, she bought a pair of socks for a co-worker that said f*** cancer and they were a big hit!

They have a nice mix of things from books, gift items, soaps, trinkets & beautiful ribbons.  Like Uptown, it is the kind of store that you can spend a lot of time looking and find new, fun things in all the nooks and crannies of the store.  I only got a few pictures as the 4.5 year old was enjoying picking up everything she could find, breakable or not (yikes!).  I spent a lot of time watching her so I am anxious to go back!  I took a few pictures off of their website so I could show how cute the store really was!

One thing I loved is that they had a cute book called "Giving Thanks" that is a guest book for Thanksgiving that you put out each year and everyone signs and writes what they are thankful for.  I host my husband's family every year so I may go back!  It would be a very fun addition to the holiday.

Another area I thought was really interesting is that they had a beautiful selection of ribbon.   I made a mental note for a later date.

The last stop was at Kie & Kate.  I simply love this store as it just exudes FUN.  They have clothes, accessories, gifts, toys, trinkets and lots of fun & interesting items in the store.  They also had some very cute holiday pieces and I had wished I had a chance to go prior to Halloween.  They had a "buy one, get one" sale on Halloween pieces.  They were VERY cute.   We all spent a lot of time do the "oh did you see this..SO cute".  My daughter in particular liked Kie and Kate as there were lots of books and trinkets that she liked.  She kept saying "oh, mommy...oh mimi...I must show you something".  adorable.

One of the really unique parts of the store is an area where you can create a custom tee shirt or onesie with adorable appliqués!  Very simple and cute.

I ended up buying an early holiday gift for my nieces.  (I was afraid it wouldn't be there when I went back).  My nieces are 9 & 10 years old and obsessed with Instagram.  They are constantly taking funny pictures of themselves, us and their friends.  When I saw this "Photo Booth" package, I could not resist.  It is a cardboard photo frame and some fun accessories (on sticks) to create some funny pictures.  This is absolutely perfect for them.  For a quick background, I saw something similar in Zulily about 3 months ago and wanted to get it for them, but it was way too expensive for some cardboard items.  I thought I would make it myself, but lets be real - I don't have time for that.  Kie & Kate had it for a THIRD of the price of the one on Zulily.  Score!!

Overall it was a very fun few hours of "research"!  Because my job is incredibly busy in November and December I am an early Christmas shopper (I have already started).  I have a great mental list of potential holiday gifts (and a few things I would love..of course!).