Monday, June 27, 2011

#019 Best Way To Make Your House a Little Edgier

After the Saturday Market this weekend, but before Garden Valley, I finally had a chance to check out Great Gargoyles, rated #019 Best Way to Make Your House a Little Edgier.

According to their website, Great Gargoyles provides "gargoyles, dragons, skulls, and gnomes to the general public for great savings."  Their website is the United States leading importer of wholesale gargoyles, dragons and gnomes AND they ship anywhere in the US (with free shipping!). 

I have to say that I didn' find the website very helpful.  I think it is really confusing to sift through, and I was frustrated I couldn't find store hours listed anywhere.  This is really the kind of place you need to wander through.  Once you get to walk through the store and look at the actual items, it is ten times more amazing.  Also -- everything truly is reasonably priced.  I couldn't believe how cheap some of the stuff was.  A fifteen inch gargoyle (which is actually substantially sized) was only $15.

I found the store very difficult to find.  I was headed there from downtown Boise, and I drove past it once.  If you are trying to find it, it is located at 295 N. Orchard Street.  If you make it to Fred Meyer/Walgreens, you have gone about two or three blocks too far.

Once I discovered it, I realized not only do they sell gargoyles etc., but they also sell piercings and random electronic equipment.  There are signs posted all over about them struggling as a local store.  They must have started selling whatever other items could generate a decent margin. There are also signs all over along the lines of "you break it, you buy it."  This is one of those stores where there is a definite attitude, but I was surprised to find I didn't feel uncomfortable.  In fact, I was completely prepared to be uncomfortable.  Sorry Mom, but I already had a justification made up that my "Mom lovvvveed gargoyles" in case they could tell it wasn't my kind of place and asked me if I needed help with anything.  I know, weird.

I really wanted to buy a gargoyle and was trying to think where I could display it in my house.  I have all these super high shelves because of my vaulted ceilings, but I think only a really big gargoyle would look cool.  Thinking about it now, I could probably have gotten a cute seated one to put on the top of my bookshelf.

I wanted to make sure and get something, but didn't feel like spending much because I have been spending lots of money lately! And have a few road trips to spring for.  I have really been needing some fridge magnets, and I found these ones that I love.
I am a little confused about the price.  The website says $14.95 but I am pretty sure they were only $3.95 at the store...However, I thought I got overcharged by $4 and for some reason I didn't say anything (stupid I know) so maybe I had actually misread the price.  Confusing story short, I am fairly certain the store is WAY cheaper and maybe the prices are higher online to account for "free" shipping.

I also got this ashtray for my brother.

It might have been a little different, but you get the gist.  I thought it was $6, but it says $15 online, so you should totally make any of your purchases in-store!
I think these would look cute in the right kind of bathroom (there are toilet paper ones too).
The very best were towel holders like that but the creatures were gnomes.  They were actually really cute.

Therefore, if you are ever in Boise and looking for a way to make your house edgier, I would say Great Gargoyles is DEFINITELY a great option.  From the looks of it, it would be worth your time and money to wait and purchase in-store, rather than order online.  However, you have to admit the free shipping is a nice bonus.

On an entirely different note, I had to share this with you today.

This morning I remembered I had ran out of my caffeinated tea at work.  We have tea for free, but it is the normal Lipton-y kind, and I have a ton of delicious flavors at home, so I like to bring my own.  Most of my tea is loose-leaf, which makes it a pain in the ass to prepare in public spaces.  Therefore, I decided to bring the one box of bagged tea I had in the pantry.

Check it out! Yum, right?

If you can't tell where you should be looking, go down to almost the bottom.  Yep -- right there where it says "Best Before: Dec 2003."

I noticed this after I had drank one cup of the tea, and had just made a fresh new one.  I almost started gagging.  I was envisioning worms and ants in my tea bags and I swore all of a sudden the tea tasted awful.  I am fairly certain I was just imagining it, but omg, that was a nasty surprise.

It ended well -- I went to the store today and splurged on some Chai.  That will be MUCH better than tea that is at least 8 years old.  Too bad this tea didn't get better with age. I think it would be a delicacy.

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