The Shop Around the Corner

My very favorite movie is You've Got Mail. I have always wanted to have a little shop just like the one in the movie. One day this past year I was exploring the shops on the square in a nearby town, when I happened upon the most magical store. It's called The Wild and is run by the sweetest woman named Jane. Even though she is living my dream, I still like her. I'm so in love with this store that I would actually work there for free. When you walk through the door something just happens to you. I think it is a real gift to be able to create that kind of environment. I love the idea of giving my money to an actual person rather than a corporation so I have taken to buying books and gifts there as often as possible. Sadly, since Emma started school we can't get there for story time very often so we were thrilled when they had a special Valentine story time at 4pm this past Wednesday.

The inside of the store is just magical. I can't imagine how wonderful it must be for a child if it affects me the way it does. This is the back of the store where events take place. There are tree stumps for the children to sit on during storytime. Sometimes they even offer Ukelele lessons!

This is part of the front of the store. You can see that it has so much more than books. They have an amazing selection of puzzles, crafts, puppets and handmade items. We bought Emma a ballerina puppet for Christmas like the one in the picture.

This is Pages the cat. He lives in the store and can usually be found sprawled in this window or on the counter by the register. He is kept company by a bunny named Bunnicula and a bunch of fish.

These are our treasures from this weeks trip. Emma spent her own money on this sweet bear. I found this beautiful children's apron marked 1/2 price with the Christmas items and this wonderful Italian architecture watercolor book in her used book section for $1.