Ocean Front Shack

This is the moment he realized the tambourine looked very similar to a shot-put:

The rest of his interaction with this toy involved throwing the contents underneath shelving units filled with glass-ware, and laughing maniacally as he watched me lay on the dirty floor of the Pottery Barn Outlet reaching for them.  Let’s just say it was a long day. 

Jason and I prefer Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware when we aren’t building our own furniture, but after striking out at both of those stores, I thought I’d give the outlet a try.  They have a lot of floor model furniture, usually in impeccable shape for a huge discount.  All of their accessories are new and no different from the regular store items, but are priced about 30% less.  

They also have the entire Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen lines,. The Sweet Lambie crib skirt we have in Grant’s room, for instance, is $149 online, but only $99 at the outlet.  I’m not a big accessory buyer. most of my stuff is from Target-they do an incredible job of ripping off Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and West Elm-I’m not kidding, I don’t know how they get away with it.  The Blissful Bee  has a great post showing a selection of their imitations.  However, if you are into Pottery Barn accessories, this place is the motherload.  

This is a run-down of our better finds today:

Sonoma Extra Large Medicine Cabinet-online $299, in stores-$29.  This was some sort of “inflatable waving arm man” special (that’s a Family Guy reference), usually you won’t find anything quite so discounted. 

The sofa section:

 This is a sleeper sofa for $549:

They usually have some accessory deals, too.  I liked these for the bathroom, but forgot to go back and grab one.  This was one of the shelves Grant threw his tamborine under.  

Nice lockers for a mudroom

I seriously considered buying this desk.  It was only $199 because the side was scratched.  Scratched furniture is by no means a deal breaker in our house, we actually kind of prefer it, that way we don’t feel so bad when we mess it up ourselves.  Ultimately I decided the color was too dark, and with the wear and tear a desk gets I didn’t want to paint it. 

Kids furniture mecca:

How cute is he in that chair?  He certainly had a great time today.  I, on the other hand, was utterly exhausted.  This worked to Pottery Barn’s advantage though, because with the four hour round trip drive and the cardio workout I endured chasing this kid around the store, I told myself I had to buy something to make the trip worth my time.

We came home with everything to the left.  Each item is still available online at full price, with the exception of the pillows that are part of their summer sale (they’re marked down from $30 to $23 on the website and we paid $19.99).  We paid 35% less than in store pricing. Not too shabby.  And we created a little ambiance in the dining room:

After a day like today, I needed a margarita fix.  Jason made his secret recipe:  tequila, lime juice, and one Splenda.  Growing up in a border town, I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico, and even there they call those shots.  I love my husband, he’s always up for a good time.