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Dec
14
As we hurtle through the holiday season at the speed of light, take time to enjoy yourself and your friends. Haven’t started your shopping yet? Neither has the Shop Tart. Really. People and parties are so much more important. This time of year, enjoy people you haven’t seen in ages who are just in town for the holidays, go to Yoga or the gym in preparation for the next party, do something for somebody else. Opportunities to donate time or money abound. If you see an angel tree, grab a card from it. If you can’t afford the item yourself - and often, if you really think about it, you can - ask a friend to go in with you. Smile, darn it. Do not whine about how stressed out you are about all the shopping you have to do. That is so boring. Acknowledge that nobody’s making you do it and you are lucky to have the means to shop if you choose. Do not complain about another party. Politely decline if you don’t want to go and be thankful someone liked you enough to extend an invitation. If you really don’t want to go to the party, enjoy the “Skip a Party” discount at Cellar on Greene, Mr. Friendly’s and Solstice. (Check the calendar for details.)
The Shop Tart is never one to turn down a party invitation. In fact, she has such finely tuned babysitter getting skills, she can obtain one at a moment’s notice, anywhere in the world. She has a closet full of party clothes - purchased in seasons past for a fraction of the regular price, bien sûr - so she always has something to wear when faced with a last minute invite. On Saturday, she realized she had forgotten about a soirée that very evening. (To her credit, the invitation had been extended at the end of another fun evening when the Shop Tart didn’t have her calendar with her.) First, she found a sitter. Next, she rushed out to get a Christmas tree because she had been meaning to since Thanksgiving. She and Mr. Shop Tart had invited a few people in to watch them string the lights so they wouldn’t fight while they did it. The guests left by eight, at which point a slightly tipsy Shop Tart slapped on a dress she had worn just two days before (but only for a couple of hours, in front of an entirely different crowd) and added fishnets (nothing says “I like to party” like fishnets) and a furry vest borrowed from a friend. Speaking of borrowing from friends: ladies, get on the bandwagon. After all, you probably don’t want to wear your new dress to three parties in one season. But the dress can certainly be worn by three people to three parties in one season, so let’s share. Shop each other’s closets. S’fun.
Saturday’s party was so much fun, the Shop Tart had an insane need for cheese fries on the way home. They went to the Whig, which isn’t on the way home, but has the best cheese fries in all of Columbia, if not the world. (Full disclosure: The photo below is a stock photo of some other Whig cheese fries the Shop Tart ate. The fries on Saturday were very similar.)
At the Whig, the happy couple enjoyed a rousing discussion with Sara of the Half and Half about Lady Gaga. (As you can imagine, the Shop Tart thoroughly approves of Lady Gaga. New fashion is good fashion, even if we don’t want to wear it. And her music is fun.) Sara, one of the artists at the Half and Half, recently designed Sid & Nancy’s new t-shirts. They are available at Sid & Nancy right now. Mr. Shop Tart already has one, so you know it’s cool.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Half and Half, they do really cool screen-printing. Their work can be seen all over town on various posters and at Sid & Nancy.
Tonight’s party will be a dressed-down affair (or maybe not, because the Shop Tart is not shy about being insanely over-dressed). She and Mr. Shop Tart, along with some of their most fun friends, will be headed to Smoke in Blythewood for a fab dinner with Chris and Idie Hastings of Birmingham’s Hot and Hot Fish Club. Word on the virtual street known as Facebook has it the dinner is sold-out, but you never know, so contact them if you’re interested. Yum!
Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!
P.S. It’s the fourth day of Christmas at VanJean and they are offering 25 percent off all accessories by Tory Burch, Loeffler Randall, Kenneth Jay Lane, Phillip Lim, and Love Quotes. Time to re-accessorize those outfits from a few months ago so you can wear them again. The Shop Tart has her eye on some Kenneth Jay Lane bling.
P.P.S. Remember that today is USC’s graduation, so call ahead to your favorite restaurants to make sure they have room for you.
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The Shop Tart Loves...
Pug has heard buzz about Smoke dinner tonight. Pug’s jealous.
Tom was talking about all the bacon or sausage or something that they are going to slather all over the oysters tonight. And that’s just one dish. Um, I am so stoked.