March Outdoor Oasis with Tuesday Morning
It’s all about the thrill of the hunt…
This past week, I had the opportunity to partner with Tuesday Morning to shop my local store and snatch-up all of my favorite outdoor decor accessories! If I’m being honest, the last time I went to a Tuesday Morning store, it was probably 10 years ago in Wisconsin when I went with my mom. For some reason, I thought Tuesday Morning stores were a Midwest thing, so I was thrilled when I learned there was a location only fifteen minutes from my home here in Colorado!
Looking for outdoor decor? Shop early!
If I’ve learned anything from my procrastination last spring, it’s that savvy shoppers hit the stores as soon as the outdoor decor comes out. I waited too long last year (didn’t start shopping for outdoor decor until mid-May), and everywhere I looked was pretty picked-over. Once I learned that Tuesday Morning stores had just put out their outdoor decor mid-February, I was like, “OMG! I’m going shopping!” Our weather forecast was showing multiple sunny days in the high 50s/low 60s, so I wanted to make the most of these days by spending the afternoons outside on the covered deck.
The Tuesday Morning Experience
When I walked in, I was greeted by someone whom I’d describe as a mountain man; he was a tall, strong-looking man with a long beard and an awesome sense of humor! “Welcome to Tuesday Morning!” his voice boomed. He greeted every customer who came in this way, and I thought, Wow, what friendly customer service! He also happened to know where everything was located in the store. I mean ev-vuh-re-thinggg. This was funny: I got carried away snapping stories of my #TuesdayMorningFinds to share with my Instagram followers on my @nest.out.west account, and he popped his head out from a nearby aisle and said to me, “No flash photography.” I stopped for a moment and just looked at him, wide-eyed, thinking, Oh crap. Really? But then I came to my wits and realized he was kidding around (he also made a funny face before he went back into the aisle). What fun :)
I must have spent more than an hour in the store. There were some aisles I walked up at least three times, and I discovered something new I NEEDED to have each time. When you go into a Tuesday Morning store, you have to be prepared that it truly is about the thrill of the hunt. It’s a no-frills kind of store. Products are not grouped neatly in bins and baskets and on shelves with other identical items as they are in department and higher-end decor stores, and that’s what makes it fun! Rather, they’re organized by product type: kitchen and dining, toys and games, bed and bath, outdoor, seasonal/relevant holidays, fitness, etc.
Once the nice man directed me to the outdoor section of the store, there were tables stocked full of an assortment of like items. For example, one table was full of all sorts of planters. Another had all sorts of baskets and woven serving trays. A different table contained acrylic drinkware, pitchers, and melamine serveware. There was then an aisle stocked to the top with throw pillows and blankets, and on the other side, an assortment of faux plants that looked SO much more expensive than their price tags showed.
How’d it go?
I got a little carried away because of how great the prices were on things that I saw and couldn’t *not* put in my cart. They were all must-haves! Seriously, I found myself picking something up, putting it in the cart, and thinking, I really don’t need this, but how can I leave it behind at this price?! SO CUTE!
I found everything I needed to style our covered deck for a little afternoon lemonade and cheese snack with my husband and our two small children. I’ll admit, I also bought some decor for our basement renovation (i.e. a beautiful marble lidded box for only $15 and some picture frames ranging from $6-10), and I found a cute $10 antique-looking gold picture frame I’m putting on my dresser so I can frame my favorite shot of my two little sweeties.
Little fingers sneaking in to grab a bite of sausage before Mommy was finished taking pictures of the setup ;)
In the end, I created an adorable little snack setup that my family enjoyed sans coats on this sunny February day. It made for a fun styling opportunity, but beyond that, some adorable moments as a family.
Featured outdoor entertaining products:
Tall (31”) and Medium (23”) Acacia Lanterns: $40 and $30, respectively
Flameless LED large and medium candles: $17 and $15, respectively
Medium (11”) ceramic planter on stand: $30
Small (6”) ceramic planter on stand: $10
Decorative candle: $13
Acrylic drinkware, set of four textured lowballs: $10
Cheese knives, set of 3: $15
Napkins, set of 4: $8
Rose quartz napkin rings, set of 4: $8
Round woven serving tray: $20
Chunky knit throw blanket: $45
Total Spend: $261 for products I’m going to use again and again all Spring and Summer! (Keep in mind, those lanterns alone from a name-brand decor store would cost more than this. Look at how much more I was able to get at Tuesday Morning!)
I highly encourage you to use this store finder to locate a Tuesday Morning store near you, and be sure to go when you can afford the time to really take it all in and enjoy the hunt!