Fall gets her every time

She starts decorating the moment she can smell a new season coming. Fall wins hardest: warm colors, cozy scents, nostalgic accents, pumpkins on everything.

“The instant I sense a new season approaching, or even prematurely "smell it in the air," I'm already excited to decorate.”

The bins felt stale

Unpacking this year's decorations, the whole lineup looked tired. Nothing new, nothing exciting, just the same pieces she had already used.

“my lineup felt stale”

Three holidays, three collections

She decorates separately for fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. All three sets needed refreshing at the same time, which is a lot of shopping.

“all three collections needed some (pumpkin) spice”

Two stores, one building

She went to her nearest Michaels and Hobby Lobby for ideas and found them literally next door to each other, sharing the same building.

“the nearest locations of each craft store were next door to each other, in the same building”

Fall arrives in August

Both stores were already fully stocked in mid-August, with complete fall collections, festive displays, and seasonal sales running.

The similarities stopped there

Same vibes, same sales, same season on the shelves. Past that surface match, the two stores diverged, and the comparison is where it gets interesting.

“but that's where the similarities ended”