Young House Love

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My Date With Nate

A bunch of you have been asking what I got from Tar-jay for Nate’s big weekend debut, and since I’m a die-hard fan (remember when our hands almost touched here?) of course I was the first girl at the store on Sunday morning right as they opened. Yup, even though we just got back from Cincinnati the night before, I’m a Noupie (Nate Groupie) so you can bet my buns were there, and they were excited. Then I went in. Womp-womp, no Nate stuff out. And when I asked where it was, the two sweet Target girls were all “Nate who?”

Instead of extolling the virtues of Nate, which I totally would have done if time weren’t of the essence (I was picturing mobs of people at other Targets a la Missoni) I ran out to the car and said “other Target, go!” breathlessly to John. Second Target: nada. Then I started to get nervous. It wasn’t that they’d sold out, nothing had been put out yet. So I started to worry it was only available in exclusive cities. We had a family par-tay to get to on the other side of town, so my hunt was put on hold until we were on our way home and passed another Target. But… they only had an unlabeled end-cap with a few towels by Nate. So I just resolved myself to the fact that maybe it wouldn’t come to Richmond or it was a week late or something. And then John surprised me by stopping at yet another Target on the way home, “just to be sure.” Yes, there about a ten Targets in our city, apparently. And when I walked in, I saw this:

Our Instagram

And the clouds parted and I heard angels singing. Stylish accessory-loving angels. Of course I instagrammed that shot immediately, so some of you might recognize it. And I had actually taken that picture after I snatched up the two things I wanted and stood next to them protectively (I was still waiting for a stampede of people to come through and grab every last item). So here’s my “mine” shot:

Target Finds

I’d been ogling the white tortoise shell ever since I saw it in a preview video of his collection, and the little spiky urchin was so quirky and porcupine-esque that I couldn’t resist. When I got back to the car I was holding up my scores and smiling so maniacally that John (who had stayed in the car with Clara) actually started laughing at me. I was that grinny.

And perhaps the funniest thing was that within 24 hours Katie instagrammed her scores, and lookie what she grabbed:

Katie Instagram

Does it confirm best-friend-ness when you buy the same things without knowing it? I think it should. I called her the second it posted and we both cracked up. Good times.

As for where things ended up, this corner always felt a little heavy on the left side…

Office Corner Before

… so hanging the tortoise shell seems to balance things out a little more. It’s so glossy and ceramic-animal-esque. LURVE.

Office Corner After

Bam. Close up. Isn’t it cute on our stenciled wall?

Shell Detail

And here’s where the urchin ended up – on my little fall mantel. Since I already had a bronze spiky orb thing on the other side (you can check it out here), the new guy seems right at home.

Urchin Mantel

So there it is, my date with Nate. What did you guys get? Did you have trouble finding things? Did anyone get any of the bedding or towels? What about those cool chains in those bold colors. I loved the yellow one, I just didn’t really have an idea of where I’d put it, so I passed (it could be a fun DIY project with an old heavy chain and some spray paint though).

Comments

  1. Stacey says

    i was at my tar-jay last night and checked out the nate stuff. i loved the gold vases (i’m on a gold kick lately) and the b&w chevron urns. ultimately, i resisted buying anything, but now i’m thinking if i *need* anything, it’s one of those gold vases ;)

    Reply

  3. Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

    Yah!!! I totally splurged the other night on decorating accessories at Target! I got the tortorise shell, the aries horn thingy and the smaller urn thingy. It is all going in the entryway with a few other things I picked up.

    Reply

  5. Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says

    So cute!!! I am in desperate need to get some of our stuff off the floor and onto the walls. I was going to go thrifting but my hubby said I could thrift through our stuff in the garage first :-(.

    Side note – (which I will never admit to him) I actually found a bunch of things stored away in the garage I am going to modify and use.

    Reply

  6. Emily says

    I gotta say, my hopes were high…but I was disappointed overall. I wanted stampeding-a-la-Missoni goodies. Ah well, better that I not swipe that Target card anyways :)

    Reply

  7. Maureen says

    Hmm, given my love for turtles/tortoises, I may NEED that shell. It would be perfect in my little, whimsical reading room (painted Martha’s Plumage, btw). I haven’t been to target in about a week which is pretty rare for me. I hope they have them when I go on Saturday!

    Reply

  9. Anneliese says

    I picked up the two Chevron urns and I’m eyeing the large brass hammered bowl. Everything in his line rocks… his book is fantastic, too.

    Reply

  10. Lisa Dreissig says

    This post made me laugh out loud for two reasons – 1. I, too, went to several Targets hoping to “beat the crowd” only to find empty shelves and employees who have no idea who Nate is. (WHAT!?) and 2. My husband made fun of my goofy “so excited/christmas morning/birthday presents” kind of grin.

    p.s. I think I read your blog too much because last night I has a dream that we went on a hot air balloon tour together. I swear I’m not creepy! :)

    Reply

  11. Tracie@MiddleClassMod says

    Number one sign you read to much YHL: I saw the tortoise shell on Target.com and immediately thought, “Hey, I bet Sherry gets this!”

    I’m obsessed with the chevron urn, but I’m thinking I could maybe DIY one. Maybe.

    Reply

  13. Emma (Broke Ass Home) says

    My target has the tortoise shell in Mustard. It might have to come home with me to go in our dining room. Is it hollow on the other side? I was thinking it’d make a hella cute centerpiece on a table flipped over with some fruit in it.

    Reply

  17. Mary says

    I bought the white spiky urchin also! And it’s on my dining room mantle. However, my mantle doesn’t look as wonderful as yours.

    With this purchase, I decided that I need to focus on the dining room before Thanksgiving. So I bought a couple of white half circle consoles yesterday at Home Goods which I’m going to paint either black or a deep red. In order to brighten the room, I’m changing out the light bulbs and lampshades on a couple of current lamps that are going to get a paint makeover later this afternoon. And finally my anti-procrastination project of painting the brick will start on Monday!

    P.S. Bought 3 copies of your book yesterday via Amazon. One for me and one for each of my grown daughters.

    Reply

  18. Leigh says

    My Target didn’t have much :( I went Sunday. Nothing. Tuesday, they had the chevron urns and some pillows. I passed since I didn’t LOVE them. I like your finds. I think I need the little spiky ball…..where can I put it so my son won’t hurt himself or the cat???? Hmmm……

    Reply

  19. dana828 says

    I was surprised by how low-key the debut has been, considering all the hype leading up to it! I just happened to be at Target (the one on the other side of town that I rarely go to) with my daughter on Saturday night and discovered that they had some of it out already. I picked up the bronze urchin and a yellow pillow. I really wanted the navy/white pillow, but they didn’t have it. The urchin is perfect! I ended up bringing the pillow back, though, as it just didn’t work for me. Almost grabbed the white ram thing, but talked myself out of it… :)

    Reply

  20. Laura says

    Our target just got the memo too!! They started putting stuff out only today (I have been stalking since Sunday!). I expected it to be a big hit too but apparently I am the only crazy one in the store! I found one end cap that looked identical to the one you found and I picked up the gold urchin thingy. I am still on hunt for the hammered brass bowls! Maybe they’ll put them out tomorrow!

    Reply

  21. Jyoti says

    I <3 Nate too! Thought you would enjoy this fun little story about him … one of my favorite hobbies is flying trapeze (you know, one of those weird things you can do in NYC) and last year on my birthday I decided to play hooky from work in the afternoon and fly. Little did I know that Nate and his bf were going to be in my class! They were both super nice and super fun, and even though it was Nate's first time, he squealed like a little girl because he is afraid of heights. He even was super nice and took a video of me doing my trick. What a guy! I can't wait to check out his collection!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hilarious! I love that story!! He’s so nice, right? I couldn’t stop smiling after John and I met him. Just truly one of those genuine humble people.

      xo
      s

    • Bernadette says

      I fly trapeze too! I’d go to TSNY in the city and missed them terribly when I moved to Chicago. Then they opened a school here last year and I am once again in flying heaven :) anyways…that was totally not YHL or Nate related. I just had to shout out some trapeze love!

  22. Alison says

    I actually found his stuff at my local Target on Saturday night and snagged one of those little white urchin-like things. :) Still waiting to see his new book though… :(

    Reply

  23. Heather W says

    I almost bought both of the items you purchased and still might. However, I purchased his book…gorgeous cover meow anyway… I also got the small chevron urn. I am still thinking about that shell though and the urchin.
    Also, my big target where I lived had things out early that morning because I went too and they were not busy at all. However, the smaller target across town only has his bath goods out now and will not be putting out the accessories until another date. They told me they are a smaller store and their set date is different than the bigger Target???? So, that maybe why you didn’t find his things at your other Target’s yet….. So keep looking. Sherry do you know isn’t his line going to be an on-going thing? So they should replenish items when they sell out I think. Sorry so long…

    Reply

  24. Lauryn says

    I must be a weirdo, because I cannot get into the Turtle shell! I dont know why, but I just dont love it. I was trying to, esp since you guys both got it along with thousands of others Im sure… but the love is just not there. :-) I do love the sea urchin though! Glad you guys were able to find some stuff!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh no worries Lauryn! I definitely think items like that are more of a some-folks-think-it’s-cray-cray-and-others-love-it thing! There were these awesome big chains in different colors and people near me were like “um these are really weird” and then someone else came by and grabbed all of them and ran to the checkout! So funny!

      xo
      s

    • Bethany says

      Ditto, it reminds me of some save marine life documentary I saw a bit of where they make turtle soup and there’s all these sad little empty turtle shells. Oops tmi. But the spiky thing looks fab!

  25. Michael Wurm, Jr says

    The closest Target is 1.5 hours away from me! Don’t feel too terrible, I’ve learned to deal with it. Luckily, I was able to score the same tortoise shell and those chevron vases! I’m in love!

    Thanks for sharing your finds.

    Reply

  26. ashley h says

    Ahh!! I love the turtle shell, and then I went to the website…and saw it in yellow….which is the accent color in my gray and white kitchen…..ahhh! I love turtles :) this might have to get picked up! :)

    Reply

    • ashley h says

      The Yellow one was too mustard…..it had too much green hue to it? Our yellow sun accents are more sun yellow…..however…I did buy the white one….and when I can convince my husband to put it up and that I’m not crazy to want it….I’ll post a photo :)

  28. Jamie says

    I love the black/white urns/vases! I resisted though because money could be spent elsewhere right now especially with the holidays approaching but they’ve been on my mind and I am trying to resist the urge to run back to Target and grab them off of the shelves!

    P.S. I really enjoy reading your blog. You have fantastic ideas!

    Reply

  29. Erin says

    Yeah I’m the loser who shopped online at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning for Nate stuff. I had intended to go online right at midnight but I fell asleep on the couch and woke up frantic (I guess I thought it would all sell out at midnight?). The good news is that I snatched up the two things I REALLY wanted—the wood lamp and the white urchin—but the bad news was that I wanted a few other things too that weren’t available online. I only have one Target anywhere nearby and I didn’t want to miss anything! Tracking says my stuff should be waiting on my porch when I get home today!

    Reply

  30. Stefanie says

    All I saw at mine was the bedding and I’m in a major city. :( I’ve been every single day and nothing new yet. In the words of Sherry, they need to “dude, get on that!”

    Reply

  31. Aubrey says

    Almost all of the bedding from my Target was gone, which was one of the main reasons I went there in the first place. I kind of thought all his stuff was going to be in one area but the accessories were in one part, the bedding in another, the bath stuff in another. I’m going to have to go back and see if any more of the bedding stuff came in! I also really liked the animal head wall thing, and this cool bathroom rug I saw. OH! and the dip dyed shower curtains!

    Reply

  32. heather s. says

    I was a bit disappointed – I thought I’d love more but in person it just looked cheap. The only things I wanted were the hammered bowl and a blue pillow but I haven’t seen either in any of the Targets near me.

    Reply

  33. Alison says

    I loved everything, most especially the white tortoise shell. Unfortunately, I already have a white turtle shell box from West Elm a few seasons ago in the bathroom and I didn’t think our little two bedroom condo could support two turtle themed accessories. Sadness. Cuz yum.

    Reply

  34. Cali says

    I found a great Nate section at our Target this week. I was shocked to see the turtle was $40! I almost grabbed it by my husband would have KILLED me!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, I thought $39 was a bit much, but I thought about how a frame + art in that size would be around that price (or more) so for a wall thing it wasn’t too bad. I just loved that it wasn’t light and foamy (when I previewed the collection I worried it would feel cheap and foamy but it’s glossy and solid and heavy).

      xo
      s

  35. Lindsy says

    I haven’t been able to see his stuff at Target yet, but hopefully will this weekend! I have to say, I miss his show terribly. I used to DVR it every day…

    Reply

  36. Sam M. | Atkinson Drive says

    The husband wasn’t about to get up early so we could go look at Nate stuff at Target {crazy…}. So, I ended up heading over yesterday and fully expecting to not find anything after I heard of your quest on Instagram. To my delight there were no less than FOUR Nate endcap displays!!! It was heaven. I haven’t made my purchases yet {must narrow down the choices first}, but I am SO excited to be able to buy some of his awesome stuff!

    Reply

  37. Linda says

    I’m not really digging the tortoise shell, especially its placement beside a globe, too much bulgyness going on for me if you ask. On the other hand, love love love that ceramic sea urchin!

    Reply

  38. Belinda says

    I live in Canada and I’m heading across the border next weekend for some early Christmas shopping. I’m hoping there will still be some Nate items I can snap up! I want me a tortoise shell! Fingers crossed.

    Reply

  39. Karen Thompson says

    Ditto! Same experience at our Target! I was expecting to walk in seeing a pillar of light guiding me to the exact spot in the store where the goods lay. Zippo. One tiny endcap of stuff….and none of the stuff I wanted (like urchins and tortoise shells). I asked someone if this was ALL the Nate Berkus stuff they had…she said, and I quote “Nate who?”. And other than some towels on another random endcap, that. was.it.

    Sniff.

    I left, dejected, without so much as anything cute to find a home for.

    I think Nate needs to know, don’t you? :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw man, I think Nate might be a little sad about how it launched (I’ve heard many people saying they couldn’t find stuff, etc), but hopefully it’ll all come in at once and stores will have more stock soon!

      xo
      s

  40. MJ says

    I bought the gold spike urchin like your white one, the Aries horns (It cracked me up that the tag said “decorative object” on it as if I would have mistaken it something non-objecty), and the navy and white pillow. I want the white shell, again like yours, but they only had green in stock.

    Reply

  41. Michelle says

    Our Target put the Nate stuff out days early. I was surprised by it one day, and then it all still seemed to be there later. Not quite flying off the shelves in Texas!

    Reply

  42. Patty says

    I am trying to decide if it’d be stupid for me to buy the green shell (online) and hang it in my son’s room. He’s obsessed with Super Mario Brothers, and it kind of looks like a Koopa shell!

    Reply

  43. Elizabeth says

    Same thing happened when I went to the Target in Harrisonburg, VA on Sunday morning. They had nothing out and the sales associate had to go back and check for me. The response I got was that the items would be appearing in a staggered stocking throughout the week. They actually had some Nate bathroom towels and accessories out early in Roanoke last week (Thurs./Fri.), but then not all the items seemed to be out when I checked back in Roanoke on Monday.

    Reply

  44. Erin says

    Thank you for being as crazy about a tortoise shell as I. I picked up one from West Elm a few months ago and since then I’ve been trying to decide if its weird-creepy to have one hanging on a wall or if it’s style genius. Now seeing that not one, but two stylish ladies (and Nate Berkus!) are on board with giant turtle shells, I’ve got the confidence to rock my big, bad shell!

    Reply

  45. Heather / It's So Suburban says

    There’s not a whole lot of stuff out at my store, but plenty of rugs and towels! Just thought I’d throw out there that a lot of the items are available on the website, and you can get free shipping if you have a Target debit or credit card.

    Reply

  46. LARY@ Inspiration Nook says

    We happened to be at Target Sunday night, after seeing your instagram pic I was curious to see if they had anything in L.A too.To my surprise they had exactly what’s in your picture. Me and my boyfriend looked at the turtle shell and we both said “TMNT” out loud. HA I did love the baskets. On a side note, I went to target weeks ago looking for some Andy Warhol cans when you posted that cute DIY. One guy told us someone came in and took home a full box of them and they were sold out. Crazy! I never got them. I’m still sad about it.

    Reply

    • Laurel says

      Hey! I also went to Target after the DIY post and made 3 pen holders (thanks, Sherry!) to the tune of less than $3. Then, just a few days ago, my daughter ripped the cover off of my favorite one (arrrgh!), and I found they are out of that color combo at my two local Targets. BUT, all of this is to say that they are definitely on ebay if you are interested in paying a little more than the 75 cents that they were in the store :). I still haven’t decided if I should shell out $10 to replace the one my daughter ripped. Alas :).

  47. Jules says

    SUPER love the tortoise shell. I cant wait until Target comes to Canada. Glad you found the Nate-mine (like gold mine?…feeble attempt yes) and glad you have a hubby who will drive Target to Target with you!

    Reply

  48. BrookeJ says

    I was at Target yesterday hoping to check out the Nate stuff (I’d been hearing on several design blogs that people were having a hard time finding stuff or there just wasn’t very much of the collection) and I was pleasently surprised that there was a TON of NB stuff. My Target had 5 end displays full. I really like the bedding; sheets and duvets looked very nice and also liked the throw pillows. I thought the black and cream chevron vases were super cute. I was impressed with the entire collection, sad that I’m working on decorating my office with a feminine feel–the collection is very masculine.

    Reply

  49. sarah b says

    On Target’s web site they have some kickass curled antlers. Horns. White. Very cool. We live right near a store so I’m in there every other week, it seems. Will be checking them out and I love the urchin. Score.

    Reply

  50. Lesley says

    No Target in my town, though I did email them once begging them to build one! So I’ll have to make a special trip to the one about 30 minutes away. Soon! I love Nate, too!

    I love the urchin spiky thing. I’d have to pass on the turtle shell, though. Empty turtle shells have always slightly freaked me out for some reason. Even seeing this fake one makes me squirm a bit!

    Reply

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