So we went down to Austin to visit my sister for the weekend of the 4th of July. It was an interesting visit, chock full of the heat and sun of the Texas summer. We drove down on Friday evening in Mama’s truck, a big giant road trip. Tony drove, and Mama and Cappy rode in the back seat.
I got shotgun with my saffron bolster.
It was an OK drive down to Austin, comfy in the big truck. We got to Austin and prepared for the next day’s excitement: Pottery Barn Outlet Shopping!!! For said outlet shopping we got up early in the morning, Tony and I with considerable backaches from sleeping on the floor. No matter. My sister had promised Amazing Outlet Shopping, and we were determined to get it. If we went on Saturday afternoon, we would have missed all the best deals, so 10 AM we were there with bated breath.
At first I was in awe of the size of the store. My sister had drawn up a layout map the night before, and I had pored over it, choosing target areas to concentrate my shopping might upon. First, The Bin. The Bin is a thing of shopping myth, a legendary treasure trove of surprises.
Side note: First let me say that this outlet is truly an outlet. Some stuff is dinged, some irreparably magled, but if you have a good woodsmith or repair guy in the house, or sometimes just a screwdriver and some paint, it doesn’t matter. We got there early enough that things weren’t too picked over, and we had a good selection. Oh, let me take that back. A SUPERIOR selection. I’m about to lose my mind just thinking about it.
Back to The Bin. It is a crumbling cardboard box, a crummy table, and a tall wire basket, not unlike those you see at Wal Mart full of 99ยข stuff. But within are untold treasures. These are not only “Damaged/Final Clearance” items. They are also “Last of Kind” and “Someone Returned It, That Silly Woman” items as well. Like my beautiful quilt from The Bin, $29.95, West Elm merchandise, teal and pretty, and soft, and not a damn thing wrong with it. My sister got this quilt for the same price. She opened the bag, looked it over, and pronounced it fit for her home. Said quilt is currently being sold online at Pottery Barn.com for $139.99, from the original price of $199. No. Shit.
Another thing about The Bin is that it is refilled periodically throughout the day.
!!!!!!!!
So, in addition to the treasures you already have, you can go back to The Bin and find…more.
Bin Rules:
- Do not touch the clerk’s basket as she approaches The Bin.
- Items in the clerk’s basket are not to be ogled, fondled, or breathed on before they are placed in The Bin. They may be espied and noted, however.
- Step on feet, apologize in Texas Ladylike, but stand your ground.
- Only people at the rim of The Bin are allowed to reach into The Bin.
- People behind the people at the rim of The Bin may watch and hope the woman in front of you is too stupid to realize that the item she holds is priceless.
- Do not touch Bin items until they touch something already in The Bin. Catching in midair is not allowed, and may cause one to become a Bin item.
- Do not feed Bin clerks, as they are extremely dangerous. Looks alone can kill, so behave with respect.
Bin Denizens are allowed, but high-class outlet shoppers pretend not to be a Bin Denizen, hanging out mournfully at The Bin, waiting for the clerk. But, yo, a hand towel for $2-something. Yeah.
Beware the Remora shopper. They follow you from the moment you enter the outlet and after you pick something up and put it down, they will pick it up, look it over too, and most of the time not even take it either. She may only wait a split second after you put it on the table again to swoop in. She may also breathe down your neck, or cut in between you and your sister to grab something you were about to touch. But walking away will not help, nono. Because Remora shopper is always there.
Anyway, we went straight to The Bin, and hung out there until we had picked the damn thing dry, then went on our merry way. We returned to The Bin periodically, especially if we saw a clerk heading in that direction with a cart piled high.
For the rest of the shopping, I went back to my preferred method of gathering items. I am a Take Note of It shopper.
Phase I: Cover the entire store and checkcheckcheck everything out and see what I want to spend my money on. If I see something I adore, I will carry it with me on my rounds.
Mostly, I carry nothing and pass on everything until I have moved to Phase II, Purchase Decisions. This is when I go around choosing what I really want and collecting it.
Occasionally there is a Phase II.5 where I go back around replacing things I thought I wanted and picking up new things I think want instead. It is bad if Phase II.5 goes on too long. I will spend too much money, or forget to buy something I wanted, or give up and put everything back. This time, there was no Phase II.5. Phase II went on for a glorious 2-3 hours. I lost myself. And wished fervently that I had a house to store all of this stuff. And more money to spend.
We limited ourselves to $500, and got a coffee table, 2 side tables, a bookshelf, a wall frame, so many things I can’t even count. The coffee table alone (Zoe) is selling for $399 now on PotteryBarn.com. Originally priced, these items would have been in the $1500 dollar range, if I remember correctly. Holy God. Why have I never been there?!?!?
We returned Sunday night to avoid the traffic, and went to fireworks on Monday night in Plano. We camped out at a Pizza Hut parking lot and looked out over the fireworks. It was a madhouse getting out of there.
I yearn for The Bin.
Just have a peek at some pictures:
Fourth of July
Gratuitous kitty pictures:
Why I called this site Stealingsand:
2 more:
