Friday, April 18, 2014

Stay-cation Shopping

I'm stay-cationing this week. It's like vacationing, but without the travel. I'm off work until Monday, and I'm enjoying myself close to home. I've visited friends and family and had the opportunity to visit places normally off my radar. For example, yesterday I went to the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester. I very rarely visit that mall as I am very rarely in the area. But, due to stay-cation plans, I ended up in Manch-vegas and decided to stop by the mall. I'm so glad I did because I discovered the best new shop- it's called Charming Charlie and I may or may not be obsessed.



Honestly, what is so great about this store is that just about EVERY adorable accessory I've ever pinned on Pinterest seems to be there! Cute earrings, necklaces, bracelets, watches, handbags, scarves, even iPhone cases! I don't have an iPhone, but if I did, I'd go to Charming Charlie's to buy a case for it!

But even better than all their fabulous, of-the-moment inventory is the fact that it's all organized by color. And I'm not talking just the basic ROYGBIV. I'm talking individual shades of each color organized together! Kelly green, mint green, emerald green, turquoise blue, baby blue, electric blue, ballet pink, coral pink, fucshia- I'm NOT exaggerating.

I don't know about you, but I know this scenario has happened to me: I put together a fabulous outfit, whether new, or using older items in my closet, or maybe a combination of the two, and as I look in the mirror I think, "All this outfit needs is ___________." And usually that "___________" is something specific, like:

- A pair of moss green ballet flats
- A cluster-y bobble bracelet in various shades of brown and beige
- A cross-body bag in a specific size and the perfect shade of apple red

Do you understand? You know exactly what the outfit needs, but finding the perfect accessory can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Even shopping online can be difficult when you're looking for the item that's "just right." You're a real-life Goldilocks for a while. It lasts either until you find the perfect item, or you give up in frustration and either settle for something not-quite-perfect or go without. Sometimes what makes the item hard to find is that it's not trendy at the moment. Other times, it's right on-trend, but so new it's hard to find on the cheap. (I don't mind spending more on an item I know I'll wear a lot and for a long time. I'm less inclined to spend a lot on something super specific that I may not get a lot of use out of.)

Well, I think that Charming Charlie could solve that type of dilemma once and for all. Don't believe me? Check out these photos I snapped of just a handful of their sections of goods:

One of MANY selections of fabulous scarves


Watches! Lots and lots of watches- this was ONE section of a display that represented about 20% of the total watches in the store! 

Purple!

Red!

Neutrals!

Black!

Turquoise!

Mint green!

They even keep gold and silver separated whenever possible and they even have this fabulous section of super trendy ROSE GOLD! 

Here's a "nautical" section. They also had another section up front themed "Garden Party." 

One final selling point for Charming Charlie: Everything is very inexpensive. It's not quite as cheap as Forever 21, but it's also a significantly higher quality store. I bought a ring, a necklace and a bracelet and spent $22. Look at how happy I am: 

So very happy. 

You can see in some of the pictures that's it's not strictly accessories. They have clothes there as well, but I didn't really look at any of them. I was so focused on the amazing accessories, I didn't even bother to look at a single dress. Maybe next time. 

I am not sure if there are other Charming Charlie's in New Hampshire, but they are most definitely a wide-spread chain with stores all over the country. Have any of you been to this fabulous store yet? What do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Leave a comment and as always, thanks for reading! 

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