So today I headed to the Greater Philadelphia Home Show.   I’ve been looking forward to it for the last several weeks because I have a lot to start working on this spring/summer.  I try to go every year, but this is the first time the show didn’t charge an admission fee!  And let me tell you…nothing draws a crowd [in a recession] like the word “FREE.”  The line was so long by the time I got there that it snaked around the building.   I heard someone say that 10,000 people showed up.  I’m not sure if that was accurate, but there was a solid 600 waiting in line to get in as I left at 2:30pm.

Anyways, I love to go every year because it’s a great resource to see home improvement products in person and meet potential contractors / manufacturers.  If you live in an old house like me, you’ve got a laundry list of things to fix, so it was nice to see what special offers the vendors had.  Here’s the pile of info & coupons I picked up today.

Today I was specifically looking for ideas to cut down on my energy costs…so I looked for special offers on windows & doors as well as talked to different distributors of insulation and tankless water heaters.  I  realize that none of these is a silver bullet…but I’m open to looking at everything.  My gas bills have been outrageous this winter, so I’m hoping to not have another winter this expensive again.  I ended the show by setting up a few free estimates with a couple of vendors.  At this point, I’m just trying to figure out what I’m going to be able to afford to work on this year.  (Isn’t that the question we’re all wrestling with these days?)

Anyways…on a lighter (and completely different) note, I stopped off at Target on the way home just to see if they happened to have the Orla Kiely mugs yet.  I’ve been getting antsy because I kept stopping by the store and they never had any.  But tonight…was my lucky night!  The Orla Kiely ceramics had finally arrived!   Look how cute they look in my mug collection!!  Yay!

So I’m extremely happy to say that I ventured out early this morning to my local Target store “just to see” if they happen to have any of the Orla Kiely stuff in stock.  Even though the date they’re technically supposed to be set up is Feb 15th, it turned out to be my lucky day!  They had a small selection of table linens, kitchen mats, coasters, aprons, dishtowels…and the organizational items.    (See picture at left.)   Unfortunately, what they did NOT have was all of the cute tabletop items.  (Boooo!)  But hopefully those items will be coming in soon.

Meanwhile, the biggest thing to note is that even though they had these items in stock…they didn’t have much left.  I spoke to the sales associate working in the area, and she chuckled as she referred to the Orla Kiely items as “a limited supply.”   So keep that in mind if you’re thinking about waiting.  (I got the last two coaster sets at the store.)

Lastly, here are the two pics of my score!  Yay!!  This definitely made my day!!

Here are two of the coasters I got.  Only $3.99 for two.  (It’s funny that my last post was about coasters!  Before I even had a chance to purchase the felt ones, I found these.  And I couldn’t resist.)

I’ve been looking for a tablecloth for ages…and this one at only $19.99 fits perfectly!

SFGirlBytheBay just informed the blogging internet about Orla Kiely’s new line of home goods with Target.   I’m so excited that I can’t even stand it!!  Will you just LOOK at how cute that tray is?!  Can you tell that I’m just a little bit in love with her designs?  I did wallpaper my previous vestibule with her floral wallpaper.  Hopefully if this product launch ends up successful, she’ll increase her offering with them.  My only wish is that they had a pre-order on their website.