An Urbayne Legend

Urbayn

AJ’s Fine Foods in Ahwautukee, at Casa Paloma, is one of my favorite places to shop. I have a thing for the fruit and yogurt parfaits that they make there, since they have fresh fruit and honey in each cup of heaven. I also love the crushed ice in the iced tea. This is often one of my weekend traditions, and has been for many, many years. And even though I now live much further from Ahwautukee than I used to, I still venture into the foothills to do my shopping and to visit AJ’s on occasion.

So it’s no wonder that when I walked into AJ’s a few weekends ago, and looked to my right, I was pleasantly surprised to notice a boutique that I really hadn’t paid much attention to before. It was called Urbayn, and, well, you know me…if it’s new, and it can be shopped, I’m totally there.

When I walked in, I was immediately drawn to the merchandising. It is organized, shelves filled with lovely little gifts, most of them resembling presents you could imagine gifting to your best girlfriends or your favorite coworkers. There are custom made martini glasses, with adorable expressions and catchy quotes. There are bottle openers with cute sayings and inscriptions, and darling stationary. Urbayn is the type of boutique you dream of having a sister or best friend open, so that you could spend countless hours going through all the boxes of goodies she gets from her shopping trips in the LA market.

If you are searching for the perfect present to include in a stocking at Christmas time, or the right stationary to send letters to your friends in other countries, or even a cute outfit for your puppy, Urbayn is the place to be.

I found these cute conversation tins from a company called "Always a Girl's Girl" (if you're not close to Urbayne, visit their website at: www.alwaysagirlsgirl.com to order or find retailers near you) and thought they were just darling.

The one flaw in the shop…and you know I’ll tell it like it is, my friends…is the unfriendly staff. When I walked in, the man working there neglected to say hello or greet me, and I was the only one in the store. As I perused the store, he didn’t ask if I needed help finding anything or even how my day was. In an economy like our present one, treating customers like gold is not only a principle we should all live by, it’s a necessity.

Even still, Urbayn is a place to check out, if anything, so you can pick up a cute martini or wine glass, take it home, and toast to good friends, good health, and by God…toast to shopping.