Downtown Sebring is basically made up of a large traffic circle. There aren’t a lot of stores. And even the ones that were there are not always open. However, what we did find was exactly the kind of shopping I like to do (not what happened in Fort Lauderdale) and an experience with one store that really went above and beyond.
The last time I was in downtown Sebring was several years ago when I took my daughters to the Children’s Museum of the Highlands. The museum is closed now as it is being repaired after some roof issues. It’s just one more vacant storefront in the wagon-wheel of Sebring shopping.
My grandma and I went to downtown Sebring to do a little shopping after it appeared our Friday afternoon was going to be a wash out. We browsed a few stores, saw a Little Free Library and dug through mountains and mountains and mountains of books at Linda’s Books, a used bookstore in the town.
There was one store on the corner that had lots of neat little things…and they were having a sale.
Steve and Company was the store. We walked in and I almost thought it wasn’t for me. It’s a boutique-type store and the woman working said they were having a sale on all of the retired Brighton items in the store. Well, I’m not a “Brighton” type person so I wasn’t sure I’d find anything there for me. My grandma and I walked around and I saw a few cute things, but nothing I was in the market to purchase. Then I found a purse. It looked like the Brighton messenger bag, but with the heart print of the crossbody.
It was 40 percent off, which meant it was roughly $30-something. It was my first day shopping and I didn’t want to commit, plus, my mom calls me the bag lady because I have so many. I wasn’t sure. So I didn’t get it.
After my failed shopping trip in Fort Lauderdale, I couldn’t stop thinking about the bag I passed on. I figured I’d contact the store when I got home to see if I could have it shipped to me.
Of course, I didn’t know the same of the store so I used Google Maps to locate it, then I found the store’s Facebook page and sent them a message. I asked if there was any chance the purse was still there and, if so, they could ship it to me.
Bummer. But oh well. I mean, getting this bag wasn’t the end of the world. I let it go. Several hours later, I received another message from the store.
Is this not fate? She found the bag and rather than the $30-something, it’s now $22? We exchanged a few messages and I decided to ask my grandma to run over to the store when she had a few minutes and pick it up for me. She did. Then she called me and asked why I “made” her go to the store. It turns out, she ended up buying stuff for herself that she hadn’t seen the first time we were there.
So now, my new bag is at my grandma’s house and I’ll get it when she moves back to Michigan for the summer. I’m slightly depressed that I don’t have it now, but like my grandma said, it’s white and isn’t really a winter bag. So I’ll wait until she’s back.
