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Jan
27
Today is another 20 percent off day at Rosewood Market. How do you get the discount? Just ask! The Shop Tart popped in early this morning to stock up, but before she shares her haul, you need to know about this. Do you ever resolve to take fish oil? And you do it for a few days, but then you stop, because you can’t handle the fish burps? No? Well, skip the next part. The other day, Rosewood had samples by the cash register of Nordic Naturals DHA supplements, for children and adults. They were supposed to be chewable or swallowable*. The X-Man chewed it and — we won’t say exactly how he described the taste — but he recommends swallowing them.
His mother swallowed a couple of these.
So, here’s the thing. Don’t chew them. The X-Man and his mother were both pleasantly surprised by the taste of their ensuing burps, delightfully strawberry, not unpleasant at all. Actually quite tasty. Grossed out? Don’t be, because fish oil is really, really good for you!
This morning, the Shop Tart headed to Rosewood to take advantage of 20 percent off day. She’ll probably go back later this afternoon to grab half a dozen things she forgot. In her cart…
Olive oil, because she was out of it, and a can of vegetable soup, because she recently introduced her children to Campfire Stew and they love it. Recipe: Brown some ground beef, pour in a can of coup. Make toast. Spoon the stew over the toast. Easiest dinner ever. Make it whole grain bread and ground turkey or — even better — Boca crumbles and you have a reasonably healthy meal.
Palmetto Pepper Potions hot sauce, another necessity that was missing from her kitchen counter, because she goes through hot sauce like…whatever you go through really quickly.
Crackers that she should not buy — Mediterranean Baked lentil crackers — because they are so good, like the proverbial crack. She also picked up a container of vegetable stock, because she’s too lazy to make it and seems to reach for it fairly often.
Baby carrots, because the Shop Tart employs that age-old trick of leaving them out in heavily trafficked areas of her home, knowing her children will absentmindedly eat them. Hooray for vegetables! The thyme is for sauteing the rest of her Gnome Grown Mushrooms from the All-Local Farmers’ Market, in butter of course.
These millet and flax spinach wraps from Sami’s Bakery are insanely delicious, so much like junk food the Shop Tart has to keep reading the label, to make sure they are healthy. Many thanks to Tracie for introducing her to them. Underneath, there are some softer spinach wraps, perfect for making omelet wraps for the children in the morning, which they can eat in the car without too much mess if they’re rushing out the door. (Doh! Forgot frozen spinach, which is perfect for adding to the omelets.)
Daiya, y’all. It’s dairy-free cheez. That melts. For real, yo.
Simply Organic fish taco seasoning. Takes those tacos to a whole ‘nother level (←Recipe Alert).
These ramen-esque noodles from Thai Kitchen seemed like they might make a pleasant after-school snack. They were 99 cents each, 80 cents with the 20 percent discount.
Jerky Natural doggy treats, for the dog who was very annoyed to have been left at home so early in the morning. He totally approves of these treats and seems to have forgiven the Shop Tart.
The Shop Tart did not purchase bread, as Mr. Shop Tart — who is half French and knows about these things — is in charge of all bread. He will be thrilled, overjoyed, actually, to learn that Crust is making baguette now, and plenty of other awesome loaves. Who wants to sit at home and eat bread and cheese all weekend? With sides of olive oil, butter and wine? Let’s do! This bread can be found in front of the deli, to the left of the drink case.
Last, but not least, she brought her own mug and bought a cup of hot coffee to drink while she shopped. And took a refill for home. Heaven!
Speaking of hauls, though the Devine Street Sidewalk Sale isn’t until tomorrow, we hear VanJean has already hauled out their sale merchandise and deals are flying out the door. Up to 80 percent off, y’all!
Another Devine Street favorite, AnnaBelle LaRoque, is gearing up for the sale (marking all winter things down 75 percent!) and the Carolina Cup. Order your Cup dress now for the best fabric selection. This is the best way to insure no one else is rocking your look! Could this be yours? Pretty!
The Shop Tart hopes you have your day tomorrow planned, with plenty of time for the sale and a few hours for the World Beer Festival. Did you win tickets? Check Wednesday’s post to find out!
In today’s post…
- Rosewood Market, 2803 Rosewood Drive, 765-1083
- All-Local Farmers’ Market, 711 Whaley Street, 4 to 8 pm Wednesdays, 8 am to 12 pm Saturdays
- VanJean, 2734 Devine Street, 252-4339
- LaRoque, 2700 Devine Street, 765-6062
- 2012 World Beer Festival, Saturday, January 28th, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
* Why is chewable a word but swallowable isn’t? Using it anyway. Take that, spell-check!
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Jan
26
Well, that’s not strictly true, but they have so much going on right now. You won’t want to miss a thing. Check their calendar regularly; go ahead and bookmark it. Tomorrow night, join the Columbia Design League for a screening of Sex Sells: The Springmaid Story. But don’t wait until tomorrow to go to the Museum Shop. Today through February 2nd, museum members get 35 percent off everything in the shop. (Not a member? Time to join!) The Shop Tart will be scooping up a pair of these fab candle sticks (one of those wedding presents she’ll buy for herself).
Now, the Shop Tart is not one for tchotchkes, but there is something about this. Love.
Speaking of wedding presents, the invitations for spring and summer are starting to roll in, so the Shop Tart has a few ideas, like upcycled wine bottle glasses from local creator Mr. B’s, artwork by local artist Whitney LeJeune.
Or noodle bowls! Everyone loves noodle bowls! (As an aside, these bowls made the Shop Tart want noodles so bad, she had them for lunch.)
Need little dishes to hold the chili paste to serve with the noodles? Voilà! Also perfect as salt dishes if you’ve inherited some of those sweet little sterling salt spoons.
Speaking of salt cellars, the Shop Tart would like to keep one of these fresh, modern looking tilted bowls on her counter with salt for cooking. They can also be used for votive candles. Mad chic, y’all. And the little creamers? Adorbs.
And speaking of creamers, this one is purrrrty.
Still speaking of creamers — ’cause why stop now? — you need them when serving hot drinks like coffee or tea. The Museum Shop has some fab things for tea.
When the Shop Tart was there yesterday, manager Bohumila was unpacking a new shipment that included these flipping awesome tea pots, complete with mesh basket for steeping. Want. At less than $30, these would make a lovely gift for anyone.
And what comes after coffee or tea? Shots! In artsy glasses, they are super classy. These would also make sweet small bud vases for a luncheon. (Then you could dump out the flowers…and do shots!)
And if the party goes really late? You probably need to bring out a bowl of chips. These silicone bowls are unbreakable. And fabulous.
Shall we move on to the office? Don’t you want to be the cool kid with the neat, orderly, design-inspired desk?
Perfect next to your mod tape dispenser, n’est-ce pas?
And just to the left of your pencil cup, full of color.
Need to add a little levity to your day? Sticky tabs are fun!
Desktop Dodgeball, much safer than the real thing.
Need something small to add color to your workday? Business card cases.
Lunch boxes are for children. Sure. But this one’s too pretty. The Shop Tart takes her lunch to work sometimes and this would make her even happier to eat it.
The Shop Tart saw a few other things for children that she wants for herself, like these Project Runway themed design kits.
She could also while away some time dressing Retro Chic Magnetic Figures. They come with clothes. And accessories!
Dressing Frida Kahlo or Marilyn Monroe seems a little more grown-up.
The children’s room in the Museum Shop is huge, with toys, puzzles, dolls and art supplies for all ages.
The Shop Tart loves puzzles, especially the really huge ones, with tons of pieces, that you do when it’s raining on vacation. This one might keep a little one occupied while the grownups worked on theirs at the dining room table.
The Shop Tart’s next project? A puzzle featuring art by South Carolina artist Jonathan Green.
This clock, reminiscent of the totally awesome Rubik’s Cube, would be perfect for a kid’s room or any other spot in your home.
Need a cool wallet? Done.
The Shop Tart is a little obsessed with this bag. Just a little. Okay, a lot.
The Museum Shop always has a table or two devoted to the current exhibition. Nature and the Grand American Vision: Masterpieces of the Hudson River School Painters is showing through April 1st.
The Shop Tart is also looking forward to Arts and Draughts on February 3rd, Wine Tasting 101 with Gervais and Vine and Rosso on February 6th, Brooklyn Rider for the Wadsworth Chamber Music Series on February 16th and the Contemporaries’ Artist of the Year on April 13th. Speaking of Brooklyn Rider, they are not exactly unattractive. Yes, it’s about the music, but handsome dudes are a nice bonus.
And about that Contemporaries’ Artist of the Year competition. They’re accepting entries. The winning artist gets $2,500. One artist will receive the $300 People’s Choice award and Jasper Magazine will award one artist the “State-of-the-Art” $200 cash prize and a spread in a future issue of Jasper Magazine. Get your entries in soon!
When you’re finished shopping the Museum Shop, plan to make your way up and down Devine Street (and back again) on Saturday during their famous Sidewalk Sale. The deals are insane, y’all. Shop early for the best selection!
Speaking of Saturday, did you enter to win tickets to the World Beer Festival yet? It’s easy! Just leave a comment on yesterday’s post before midnight. Good luck!
In today’s post…
- The Columbia Museum of Art and the Museum Shop, 1515 Main Street, 799-2810. Check their calendar for all the great things they offer!
- Devine Street Sidewalk Sale, Saturday, January 28th, all up and down the street!
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
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Jan
25
UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Roxanne, who was chosen by Random.org and had the following to say:
“I LOVE BEER. And wine. And cocktails. That’s neither here nor there. BEER! BEER! BEER!”
Roxanne, you sound like fun! Please email the Shop Tart to arrange to pick up your tickets before tomorrow. Congrats and enjoy!
Are you single? You should go to the All-Local Farmers’ Market tonight. They’re having another Singles’ Night, a great time to meet some cool new people and do a little shopping while you’re at it. From the market’s recent email:
“Singles Night is back and better than ever! Things get going at 5pm. Here’s what you can look forward to:
- $10 gets you entered to win prizes, a wine tasting, and $2 off your dinner from Rosso.
- Live music by Bob Benjamin.
- Dinner by Rosso Trattoria and Bone In Artisan BBQ Truck.
- Wine tasting by Rosso Trattoria.
- Beer sampling and a chance to win tickets to this weekend’s World Beer Fest.
- Live broadcast by Columbia’s best radio station, WXRY.
- The best vendors in the state for produce, meat, baked goods, crafts, and more!”
Not single? Check it out. There’s plenty for you to enjoy. Please check the market’s website to see what vendors will be there this week. The Shop Tart will be hitting Aysa’s Organics — usually in the parking lot, right as you arrive — for dried beans, collards and perhaps some loose tea. She’ll also swing by Lime Green to tell them how much she loved her birthday gift from her Aunt Susan, a fab set of coasters made from repurposed newspaper.
She’ll also pick up greens from City Roots, no more than one bag of cookies from Cafe 1201 (and maybe some peanut brittle) and some more Gnome Grown Mushrooms. Gnome Grown is a new vendor and totally worth a look. The Shop Tart used some of their delicious mushrooms in soup earlier this week. Now, they won’t be there tonight, but you should come back Saturday to see the folks at Sea Eagle and pick up incredible seafood. The Shop Tart splurged on a pound of lump crab meat last week and made crab cakes, which thrilled her children.
Want the recipe? So easy. If you were the Shop Tart’s kid, you might have found a crab cake sandwich in your lunch the next day on Nova’s Bakery bread from Rosewood Market with Cafe 1201 pimento cheese and City Roots Greens. Wouldn’t that have been cool?
Speaking of the World Beer Festival — which we were, up above, in the context of Singles’ Night at the All-Local Market, which is tonight — the Shop Tart has a pair of tickets to give away. Don’t like beer? Doesn’t matter. The festival is a blast and the Shop Tart has always wanted to go. She usually misses it, as it falls on her birthday weekend, but this year, she’s already celebrated, so you may very well see her there! Besides, there’s a beer out there for everyone, right? This is your chance to find yours. Want the tickets? We’ll do this just like last week. Leave a comment below — any comment, because the Shop Tart enjoyed reading all of yours last week and promises to get to answering the questions soon — and be entered to win. Enter by Thursday at midnight and a winner will be announced Friday morning. The tickets are worth $40 each, so the pair is worth $80 of beer-y goodness and fun. Ready, set, go!
In today’s post…
- 2012 World Beer Festival, Saturday, January 28th, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
- Singles’ Night at the All-Local Farmers’ Market, TONIGHT, 5 pm. The market starts at 4. See the Facebook Singles’ Night event page for more details.
- Rosewood Market, 2803 Rosewood Drive, 765-1083
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
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Jan
24
There are times when the Shop Tart wants to make a statement with her makeup — helloooo, sparkly eyeliner — but most days, she just wants to look a little prettier. Or a lot prettier, in a totally natural way of course. And Trish McEvoy knows pretty, as does Ursula at Coplon’s. A few months ago, Ursula pulled out Trish’s Classic Lip Color in Vibrant Apricot (#31), a lovely pale orange, with just enough color to keep it interesting.
Trish McEvoy makes excellent lipstick: It goes on smooth, sticks around for a while and doesn’t have a weird, icky taste. By the way, have you ever read that thing about lipstick shape as in indicator of personality? No? Here it is. According to that, the Shop Tart is…
- Opinionated. True. Just ask her anything. She’ll have an opinion.
- High-spirited. What does this even mean?
- Dislikes schedules. Not true. Schedules are awesome.
- Selective of friends. Hmmm. True, but she likes an awful lot of people, each for different reasons.
- Outgoing likes attention. Believe it or not, not true.
- Argumentive. That’s not true! Okay, it is.
Anyhow, what does your lipstick shape say about you? Do you agree? The Shop Tart does not know of any empirical studies that have been done on this analysis tool. If you like the lipstick, today is a great day to head to Coplon’s. All fall, winter and holiday merchandise, including clothing, handbags and shoes, is 60 percent off. Happy post-holidays!
So, today is this writer’s birthday. Not the Shop Tart’s; she was born one very lazy spring break in April. The Shop Tart is a few years old; the writer is thirty-something. And how will she celebrate? Since it isn’t a banner year — and she had a lovely celebration at Camon last year — she’s invited family and a few friends to the Nickelodeon for a quick drink. She has no desire to entertain them. She would like them to see the progress that’s been made in the new theater and hopes they’ll be inspired to join the Nick if they haven’t, make a donation if they haven’t or throw in a little more if they have. How about you? If you are so moved, please make a donation — in any amount whatsoever — to help move the Nick to Main Street. If you and some friends can pool your cash and donate $1,000, you can buy a seat and put whatever you want on a little plate on the back. They are so close to being able to have seats installed in the lower level theater and the lobby is shaping up nicely. It has bathrooms and everything! Peek in the window at 1607 Main to see the progress or email the Shop Tart and she’ll be happy to arrange a tour or give you one personally. (She will, really. It’ll be fun!)
The Shop Tart has several goals this year. One is to raise cash for the Nick, obvi. Another? To learn the words to Kaoma’s Lambada, because she’s always wanted to be able to sing along. And if she can do enough yoga to get her bottom to look like the lady’s bottom in the video? Bonus. (Warning: The video below is NSFW — not safe for work — or children, though the Shop Tart won’t judge if, in fact, it’s perfectly appropriate for your office. Spoiler Alert: This may be the only time you’ll ever see a lady in a thong play the accordion.)
Last, but not least, did you know? There’s going to be another single’s night at the All-Local Farmers’ Market tomorrow night and WXRY will be broadcasting live from the market to keep it interesting. Go do a little shopping and meet some new friends!
In today’s post…
- Coplon’s, 4825 Forest Drive, 790-0015
- The Nickelodeon, currently at 937 Main Street, moving on up to 1607 Main Street, 254-8234
- All-Local Farmers’ Market, 711 Whaley Street, Wednesdays from 4 to 8 pm, Saturdays from 8 am until noon
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
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Jan
23
The Shop Tart went to Charlotte for work last week. At times, her job is a lot of fun. And she had to eat while she was there, right? She was looking to try something new and, in her experience, Twitter is a great place to ask. Charlotte reporter — and all-around awesome lady — Dianne Gallagher responded.
MHause, another Twitter friend, seconded the suggestion and that was enough to convince the Shop Tart.
Crêpe Cellar Kitchen & Pub in NoDa is flipping awesome. The ladies decided to sit at the bar and started with cocktails. The Shop Tart asked for a recommendation for a vodka cocktail from the bartender, who suggested a French martini, which involved vodka, pineapple juice and some other delicious stuff. Cheers!
The rest of the cocktail menu was intriguing.
The Shop Tart and her friend were drooling — not literally — over the entire menu and decided to start with appetizers. They had both eaten late lunches and were hoping to get hungry again. The pesto brie french fries are quite possibly the best idea anyone has ever had.
The Brussels sprouts tossed in arugula pesto were divine.
The ladies had to save room for pastries at Amélie’s French Bakery, where they were headed next. Sadly, this prevented them from ordering more food. The Shop Tart may have to make a special trip just to try the buckwheat crêpes with spinach, wild mushrooms, caramelized shallots and goat cheese. Is your mouth watering? The ladies did order a glass of wine with their food. The pour was so generous, the Shop Tart actually didn’t finish it.
The pastries and decaf at Amélie’s were worth it.
The Shop Tart and her friend tried about ten things, each more delicious than the last. The salted caramel brownies were a favorite.
The next day, the ladies made a quick trip to another Charlotte favorite of the Shop Tart’s. She and her husband lived in Rock Hill briefly, about a hundred years ago, and the Shop Tart used to stop at Reid’s to pick up something for dinner on her way home from Carolinas Medical Center, where she worked. The chicken salad wrap was an excellent lunch.
The Shop Tart also picked up Beverly’s red lentil soup and Bahamian tofu and bok choy from the Reid’s to-go case to take home for dinner. Yum!
Do you have a favorite Charlotte spot? The Shop Tart likes quick overnight trips to feel refreshed and Charlotte is an easy one.
Did you enter to win the Cellar on Greene gift certificate? Scroll to the end of Saturday’s post to find out if you were the lucky winner!
In today’s post…
- Crêpe Cellar Kitchen & Pub, 3116 N. Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC, 704-910-6543
- Amélie’s French Bakery, 2424 N Davidson St. Suite 102 Charlotte, NC, 704-3761781
- Reid’s, 2823 Selwyn Avenue, Charlotte, NC, 704-377-1312
- Cellar on Greene, 2001 D Greene Street, 343-3303
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
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