Some of my favorite shops and one I don't recommend

So it is Christmas time and things always seem to get busy this time of  year and we do so many fun things but that is for another post or two. Today I wanted to talk about my favorite shops online and one that is local plus one I do not recommend. I love finding and support shops like these and love to share them with friends.
 The first shop is the Vintage Pearl a wonderful shop I have been following for years . I love to use them as a teacher gift usually I buy a gift card so the teachers can pick out something they like. They have necklaces you can put your kids names or grandkids or they have other necklaces and earring plus ornaments that are super cute. For the kids first grade teacher both had first year teachers so we did ornaments for them. They have keepsakes like key chains or they have ready to ship items like necklaces that say Blessed Mama or rings etc.https://thevintagepearl.com/home.php

The next shop I love for gifts is Barn Owl Primitives they have the cutest hand painted signs. I also love these for end of the year teacher gifts but make great presents for Christmas for a friend or family member too. One of my favorites is we can do hard things because I feel like sometimes life can be hard but with God we can do hard things. They also have other things you can buy this Christmas they had some cute mugs and other decorative items. Check them out for some unique gifts.  https://www.barnowlprimitives.com/

A shop I just recently bought a gift from and I love is Ahoy Amigo they have super cute shirts for kids. I saw these cute cat Christmas shirts for the kids and I knew they would love them. They both wanted the same one but by the time we ordered the one they wanted was gone and so were all the long sleeve shirts so Logan chose a cute short sleeve blue one with a different cat than the one he wanted but it is still cute. The package came with an eye patch ( which my kids fought over who would get it)  that made Payton change her mind so we went back and they were having a good sale and got her a short sleeve red one with the dog with antlers. I loved how quickly they shipped things and the time to make things look so cute. I love company's that have great customer service and make  you feel like they care about  you.https://www.ahoyamigo.com//

Ok the last online shop I have been watching for a few year but only have a blanket scarf from but this year most of my Christmas stuff was from Grace and Lace. They have such cute clothes that look so cozy and soft and that is exactly what I look for in clothing as a mom. I don't like scratchy sweaters but I do love soft cozy sweaters and socks which they have and some are made from bamboo. If you have not checked them out do it they have a lot of great pieces. While you are there read their story and how the shop came to be. I love that a portion of every sale goes toward building orphanages in India and helping the people there by training them and helping rescue girls from human trafficking.http://www.graceandlace.com/

  Today I went to a local toy store called Snapdoodle Toys because my daughter wanted a gift card for Christmas. So I went and go both kids gift cards because it was a really fun play with lots of great toys that I know they will love. I didn't have time to look around but what I saw was really cute plus they have tea or coffee for people who might want something warm to drink while the kids look around. I know we will be heading back after Christmas to go get some toys with those gift cards.So if you are local and live near Kenmore this is a great place to check out for gifts for kids of all ages. https://www.snapdoodletoys.com/

Ok so on to the last store, I really wanted to like  because I have heard good things about the sales they have and maybe they are just overwhelmed by this big sale they had but my experience was not good and the customer service was horrible.
 So let me back track a little and say that I have been wanting a double hood hoodie by Ampersand Avenue for years but have never been able to get one on sale anywhere. I know Mindy Mae's Market has them and often has sales but you have to be quick to get one in your size so I had been planning and waiting and finally on Cyber Monday I went on right way and was able to find one I liked ( but most I wanted were already sold out in my size - not surprising) I was so excited to get one and could not wait to get it so I could wear it! Then they e-mailed saying that it was going to take time because the sale was huge and they had a ton of orders to get out. I was fine with that then last week I final got and e-mail saying it was coming. Then it didn't come because some how my address got messed up and I did this on my computer and it was delivered to someone else. So I contacted them and apparently they didn't understand the situation and thought I got someone else's order  and they got mine but once they realized what happened they decided it was my fault and they could not longer help me and they were not nice about it. I felt like maybe they probably had computer problems from all the sales on cyber Monday that it mixed up my address so now I have no sweatshirt and I will not be buying from them again.
It is the Christmas season so can't we just be nice and find a way to help each other.I understand that are busy and they are stressed and they are busy running this company but they basically told me the computer doesn't change addresses - hmm computers make mistakes all the time or my husband would not have a job. Honestly  I just wanted them to care and maybe give me a refund  or even send me another one. They just kept saying sorry if you had done this and blaming me or  oh you have to contact the post office for that ( oh and when I went through the form it said the time to file had expired and I didn't do anything else because I thought they were going to help me). Not good business .  I want to shop at places that care because they also sent this e-mail with a coupon to say thank you to everyone but also to say oops we messes up and they had to refund some orders etc . So why can't they help me because that is all I want , give me my money back and I will go find my sweatshirt somewhere else. I was really disappointed because there were a few other things I considered buying when they were back in stock that I will not be doing now. So If you want to risk it go to Mindy Mae's Market and hopefully you will have a better experience than I did. Maybe try a different time of year when they have a sale.

So there they are my favorite online stores to shop at for gift or for myself. What are your favorite shops or do you have any that you wouldn't recommend. Gift card are great for these stores if you have any last minute shopping.