Create An Outdoor Oasis With Cost Plus World Market

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret...Today is my 2nd Anniversary of turning 29. Yep, it's my birthday! We won't fuss over my actual age, as I'm sure you've all figured that one out. I stopped acknowledging the numbers awhile ago, since it makes me feel old. No, I don't have wrinkles or any gray hair, but anything over the big 3-0 makes me feel a little uneasy. Silly, I know. Age is really nothing but a number.

Anyway, we're not going out or doing anything extravagant today. There will be no presents to physically open. There's a very good reason for this, though. Rather than giving me a neatly wrapped little box with a pretty bow, my husband has gone all out this year. He's buying me a house, hopefully in my hometown in Ohio. You don't get much better than that, and it's so much better than any other gift I could receive! As a matter of fact, we leave for Ohio tomorrow to go take a look and hopefully get the ball rolling. So if it's quiet here for a week, that's why!

Although we have no real plans today other than packing for our trip, I still intend to do something special and relaxing here at home. Last night, we made a trip to Cost Plus World Market to find some treasures to help create our own backyard oasis. This was so exciting, since I had never actually been to this store before, even though it's only 5 minutes away.

When we stepped into World Market, it was like stepping into another world. It was full of colorful, exotic items that made us feel like we were on vacation in Bora Bora or somewhere equally fabulous. We spent a few moments just taking everything in. There were "oohs" and "ahhs", but we were on a mission to create our own outdoor oasis, so we pressed on.

As we made our way through the store, each section had something new and unexpected. There were beautiful necklaces and bracelets, colorful decor items, furniture that looked like it was straight out of an island paradise, and there was even a huge selection of mouthwatering gourmet foods and drinks from every corner of the world.

Ultimately, since this would be my at-home Birthday celebration, we chose to find some great appetizer type foods and an exotic wine. After all, a nice adult beverage paired with imported cheeses and other goodies makes for a nice, relaxing evening on the deck, in my opinion!

I absolutely adored the selection of colorful products at World Market. I got 4 vibrant, jewel toned placemats for $2.99 each! These are super high quality, and absolutely stunning. Reds and purples are my 2 favorite colors, so these were just my style. I also found some great bamboo plates, which were only $2.99 for a package of 8. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love bamboo. It's durable, beautiful, and a completely sustainable and eco-friendly choice.

I also found this adorable and totally unique metal turtle serving dish. It was only $9.99, and is perfect for serving olives, hummus, dips, or pita chips, as seen below! How cool is that?!

I also fell in love with these teal colored, acrylic drinking glasses. They're quite durable, and at only $4.99 a piece, an absolute steal! World Market has a ton of glass drinkware, too, but with 2 curious toddlers in the house, I felt the acrylic was a much safer bet. Let's face it: With toddlers in the home, accidents can, and often do, happen.

After picking out all of our table adornments and serving pieces, it was time to find something to eat and drink! World Market has a ton of options, from imported wines and beers, to gourmet cheeses and olives to loads of chocolatey confections. Check out some of our finds. Of course, they were all very reasonably priced! I was especially excited to find the Hot Pepper Cheese. I tried this once at my Grandma's house and have not been able to find it anywhere. World Market made my day!

In addition to the mouthwatering cheeses and summer sausage, I also found this gigantic jar of assorted Mediterranean Olives. There are several varieties of olives in the jar, along with fresh cloves of garlic and whole chili peppers! This was a little more pricey at $9.99, but is still a great deal. Anyone who loves olives as much as I do knows that gourmet olives are not cheap. I think this was an absolute bargain, even at around $10!

After we had our foods selected, we got to enjoy browsing the extensive wine collection at World Market. They had so much to choose from! Whites, Reds, Imported and Domestic, they had every wine you could possibly dream of, as well as a few you may not have known existed. To keep with my theme of something tropical and exotic, I chose a bottle of Coconut Vine Smoothie. I had never seen this before, but it's a blend of Premium White Wine and Dutch Cream, and is flavored with natural coconut and pineapple. Yum! This, like the olives, was just about $10, which was more than reasonable.

Overall, we couldn't have possibly been more impressed with our World Market experience. Our only real complaint was that the carts are very small and the store is so full of fabulous finds that it is a little hard to navigate in some areas. That may be solely my local store, though. Perhaps other locations have more space to work with.

Aside from a slightly cramped feel, the store was amazing. The staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. My husband actually had a 20 minute conversation with a male employee about various imported beers! We had a great time shopping, and plan to visit this treasure trove of goodies often. I just hope they have a location in North-Eastern Ohio where we will be moving very soon!

HOW TO CONNECT PLUS SPECIAL PROMOTION!

You can check out the awesomeness that is World Market on their website.

You can also connect on Facebook and on twitter to stay on top of their latest products and promotions!

Speaking of promotions, Cost Plus World Market has some awesome ones right now!

If you shop at World Market through July 13, 2012, you can save a whopping 15% off of your round-trip Wanna Get Away Fare with Southwest Airlines! (With a purchase of $20 or more.)

World Market is also holding a Summer Getaway sweepstakes on their Facebook page! Just click the Summer Getaway tab and enter! Each week, they are giving away a trip for 4 anywhere Southwest flies, including hotel accommodations and a $500 World Market gift card!Woo-Hoo!


***Disclosure:This shop has been compensated by Cost Plus World Market, but all my opinions are my own.***