I hopped off a plane in 18-degree weather with the snow-capped Sierras emerging in the distance wondering if clothes from my Mississippi children's boutique would "hold up," so to say, for my daughter, Winnie. We'd left tornadoes and humidity for brisk, fresh mountain air. "Here goes nothing," I thought.
I pulled out a navy blue Hatley coat sprinkled with white hearts from my carry-on. My sister graciously lent it to me, but not before she reminded me her two girls had worn this jacket and it thus has sentimental value and that she most definitely expected it back. That's the thing about Hatley: it's quality. It's durable. It's made to take the wear and tear over the years. It lasts. It's a great brand, and yes, of course, I carry it in the store. Currently, we have these darling books-to-bed sets from Hatley.
Told you: just darling! I'm obsessed!
So, I pulled out the tried and true Hatley coat and helped my daughter slip one arm in and then her other. She was so excited to finally see the snow. My parents picked us up, and we headed up the mountain to South Lake Tahoe.
It snowed that evening. Now I'll admit, while I try to carry a clothing variety in the store, snow pants, snow bibs, or snow shoes aren't in stock- ever! But luckily, Tahoe has a great Goodwill, and thus, we were prepared to have a good time in the snow, and we surely did!
As the days dawned and dusked, it warmed up a whopping 7 degrees. The morning we left to fly home, it was 25 degrees. And I'm proud to say, the boutique clothes I packed, "held up!" The key here, like any snow-bum will tell you, is layering. Turtlenecks and long-john pants were layered under classic, trendy looks to offer extra layers of warmth. Turtlenecks?-in stock and on the floor in my store. Long-johns?- yeah, a hard no! So, I added a few winter essentials (long-johns, wool socks, and mittens) to my Amazon cart a week or so before we left.
Now, more importantly, what about my "shop small business" purchases I made before this trip? I grabbed some slippers for Winnie from a local children's consignment store in our city of Hattiesburg. Slippers, as my mom reminded me countless times, are an absolute must to combat their house's cold, stone floors. Since I purchased second-hand, I felt comfortable leaving the slippers there in Tahoe for our next visit. I also picked up a few second-hand books Winnie could flip through and leave on the plane. As for myself? I shopped some of my favorite local boutiques beforehand: Endless Summer and The Fly Boutique, both in the same shopping center as Giggles. All in all, we were prepared to brave the cold, and brave the cold we did. We had a fabulous time!
However, my next vacation will most definitely be somewhere on the warm, sunny, sandy beaches of Florida, and perhaps that's what my next blogpost will be about- packing pieces from my children's boutique for said warm, sunny, and sandy beach. Time will tell. Until then, my friend.
XO, Olivia
P.S. Layering pieces from Giggles I packed:
Outfits from Giggles I packed suitable for layering:
