I must admit I used to fear going into Tuesday Morning because me shopping in there would have meant I was officially 30 years old, and I had started to care about trinkets that go in and around my house that people of a certain age usually care about.

My mom has been shopping there for years and finally convinced me to go shopping with her. Please believe because I did not want people to see me in the store I was dressed down in sweats, which I never walk out the house in unless I am going to the gym, and an over sized hooded jacket. My mom gave me the you look like the one who flew over the cuckoo's nest. I do not know but there is something about Tuesday Morning where reality hits you hard and you can feel the mortality of your life.

I summed Tuesday Morning up as a very sophisticated store that is moderately priced. There are some things I loved and thought was worth its price tag and other things I thought the price could knocked a few dollars. The entire store is dedicated to housewares with the exception of a few areas such as handbags, toys, food and stationary.

I love discovering new ingredients to cook with and the food aisle is where I spent most of my time. Not only did I find a variety of canned foods such as marmalade and jam, I also found a lot of spices, salts, and sauces. I love all things sweet and I found a lot of different chocolates, some name brand and some not, and different types of hard candies. I found a lot of kits such as popcorn and hot chocolate, and I also found a lot of alcohol kits that included glasses and the mixes. Some of the candy was modern and very recognizable while others were very throwback such as the ribbon candy I found. If it was not for my mom I would have never known what ribbon candy is.

I also spent the majority of my time in the housewares area. There, I was able to find a variety of cooking utensils and other tools, study cooking and baking pots and pans, and cookbooks. When it comes to bake ware I try to find as many ceramic dishes as possible because they hold a lot of food and they are easy to clean. I bake a lot of casseroles in the ceramic dishes which is why I am so fond of them. I have to be quick in the housewares section when it comes to making a purchase because I saw a red ceramic dish set, and I put it in the back of everything else so I could return later to buy it. When I came back to the store and to retrieve the set it was good as gone. I was so upset that I promised myself if I ever see something that I like I was going to buy it immediately because obviously no one respects the rule where when you hide something in the back it is not supposed to be touched let alone purchased.
I like the cookbooks because a lot of them are buy good authors or brands such as Food Network, Martha Stewart, Taste of Home, etc. The cookbooks are never the same which makes browsing them much more interesting. The cookbooks area is also another place you have to quick with your buying decision because once it is gone that is it, or if I do not have enough to cover the purchase I will write down the book title and author and search for it online.

Another place I love to browse is the stationary aisle. I guess with age comes an appreciation for how you want your written correspondences to be viewed and received. Tuesday Morning has a nice selection of pretty stationary that is either on a plain stationary with embossing to look more elegant and professional or the fun kind with cute quotes and sayings or with pictures in the background. I tend to buy both: the cute kind to write on at home and the embossed one to send out to family, friends and associates. Some of the stationary also comes in sets for those who want to send out party invitations or thank you and holiday cards. I am a pen hoarder and anyone who knows me will tell you I love to write with a good pen, and Tuesday Morning has a lot of cute pens to go with their stationary products. Some of the pens are included with stationary sets and others you have to buy separately. A fair pen will be around $1 to $2, but a quality pen will be around $5 or more which is not
bad. Considering all I write with are pens even when I am doing math.

The home decor section is okay I do not really go in that area mainly because a lot of the stuff in the store I already have at home or seen somewhere else at a lower price. I like a lot of the area rugs they have, but I currently do not have any room to put one. There is also luggage but nothing I would really look twice at, and that is not to say there is anything wrong with the luggage, it is not my personal style per say. They do have a lot of feminine storage containers I like. I found one with a girl in Paris and it was a five piece set that I love and I purchased all of them within the set I could find. I keep a lot of keepsakes and other memory related items in the storage containers.

The handbag and scarves area is must shop if you like brand name handbags. I have found a lot of Calvin Klein handbags, but again you have to jump on a good deal when you see one because they will be gone. I saw a Jessica Simpson handbag I wanted, and when I came back the following day it was gone. I do not know when I am going to learn not to make that mistake. However, the scarves are really pretty and reasonably priced. Some are printed and thin as silk while others are thick, textured and warm.

All in all, Tuesday Morning is a good place to shop if you love decorating your home and finding nice surprises along the way. There are plenty of good areas in the store to browse and I think it will all come down to personal taste in terms of what you like and do not like. I personally have a quite a few areas in the store I love to shop, while others I just like to stroll down the aisle. The housewares section is the best and is similar to Bed, Bath and Beyond minus the price tag. There is also a clearance section that is worth checking out as well.