A Leon & Lulu Five for Friday

This is a quick little Five for Friday post, as I haven't done one in a while. Last week, Friday, was my birthday. YOU'RE not asking how old I am, of course, but when my students ask, I say, 17.

They usually look at me with a skeptical, Noooo....

Then I say, I'm 97.

They look at each other and say, Maaaaybe... with a shrug.

Gotta love the littles and their budding number sense. Anyway, I had a birthday of a certain undisclosed number. snort.

I spent the day with my DH exploring. Yes, I've lived in this corner of Michigan all my life and still discover new places and adventures. This time it was a shopping adventure. I can't believe I hadn't heard about this place before now! We spent a big chunk of the day at Leon & Lulu's. Do you know it? If you are from Michigan, Ohio, or Ontario, you really gotta check it out. The building used to be an old roller skating rink, so it is BIG. And it is one heck of a store... clothing, furniture, jewelry, toys, home decor, art, antiques... as a sample, I'll show you my loot... now remember, it WAS my birthday.

1.

Whoot! These are all my goodies spread out on our kitchen couch. What a great birthday haul! I'll highlight just my favorites, though that will be difficult because I LOVE them all! 

2.

Absolutely LOVE this. Don't know if it will be staying at home or going up on my classroom wall. The simple, straightforward, black & white design appeals to me greatly. They had all sorts of fun verbiage.

3.

These are great, soft, comfy pants... I know, hard to tell. But note the bottom! They have a split that goes up a little ways with two buttons. Great now with sandals, or dressed up at school this fall with boots.

4.

This is a dress. Loved the colorful pattern. It has short sleeves so can be worn now, or with a little cardigan come school time. Love three season clothing.

And last, but surely not least....

5.

The Chicken Purse!

Anyone who knows me knows THIS is my favorite of all! How do you spell F-U-N-K-Y! It is molded of rubber, has a zipper on top, is rather cavernous inside, and OH SO FUN to carry around. I've had all sorts of grins and chuckles over it this week. It brings a smile and comments from all who see it... I bet you're grinning right now. If I carried a stash of them in my trunk, I would have sold them all in three days flat. Wait until my kidpeople at school see it this fall... perhaps not the most practical of purses, but the fun factor is so worth it. I say, EVERYbody needs a chicken purse.

An aside... I'm looking back over those photos and sense some personal color preferences which were not in my mind at the time of purchase. Anybody else see black & white and bright? They really are my favorites even when I'm not trying. When I was a little kid I could draw anything if I had the black and red crayon. Really, the store has all sorts of other colors... snort.

Leon & Lulu is actually sort of two shops. Right next door to the skating rink was a movie theater. The owner of Leon & Lulu bought that building, too, and it is a second store AND a little cafe. We had a delicious lunch there with the MOST yummy and unusual treat for dessert... complimentary, because I was the birthday girl. It was a cardamon and lime cookie! Whoever heard of cardamon, or for that matter, lime, in a cookie. But it was quite special and one of those flavors that makes you crave it again... what is cardamon anyway?

I made a fast friend of shop owner Mary Liz, as we had various things in common. She is a character and the store reflects her in many ways. I only wish the store needed a teacher ambassador! As it is, I'll spread the word among fellow teachers and friends. If you are ever even close to Clawson, Michigan, I suggest you stop in. I'll surely be hosting some girls-day-out shopping gigs because it really is a destination shop. Watch the little news clip by clicking on the arrow, and then click on the mug to go to the Leon & Lulu website. There are lots of photos so you can see what I've been blathering on about. And be sure to look up why the shop is called Leon & Lulu... I tell you, there's all sorts of FUN stuff about this place. Prepare to be wowed by this unique, eclectic shop!

Click to go!

So there you have it. I really didn't do this post as an ad for Leon & Lulu's, but for my girlfriends who asked what I did for my birthday. To them, I say, when do you wanna go, because I'm definitely going back!

And now for a quick word while you're here... On Monday, I'm posting a FUN hallway display idea for Monday Made It. I haven't seen it anywhere else and I bet you'll be charmed. And on Tuesday, I'm posting to Teacher Book Talk Tuesday, a book review series that I'm running all summer. I've had people link up pretty much each week to share about their books and I'm hearing lots of good book talk. You'll wanna stop by, and look back at the books that have already been reviewed. 

Also, throughout the summer, I'm posting about classroom features... already covered is The Book Nook, and a No-Sew, Drop Ceiling, Classroom Valance. I will link all these classroom design posts together under this button, so keep an eye out. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you next time.