Tucked away in a small shop on the south end of Nashville is Crow's Nest - Handmade Gifts (at the…read moreback of the shops by the Nashville Fudge Kitchen.) I had never noticed them before today, so I decided to stop by and see what they had. The variety is pretty broad considering the size of the place. There were candles, bags and accessories, singing birthday cards, and knick knacks. There is room enough to browse and the man behind the counter greeted me (coming and going) but otherwise let me look around on my own. If you are looking for something unique, stop by this place to see what you may discover. Review #2776

One of my favorite parts about visiting Nashville is stumbling across little locally owned shops…read moreyou weren't planning to visit...and Lakehouse Candle Company was exactly that kind of find. We were staying in a nearby cabin for the weekend when I realized I'd forgotten to pack a candle from home (yes...I'm one of those people ). We stopped in hoping to grab one, and I'm so glad we did. The shop itself is absolutely adorable--bright, organized, and full of incredible scents. Mandy hand-pours every candle herself, and narrowing down my choices was honestly the hardest part of the visit. Whether you like fresh, fruity, bakery, floral, seasonal, or woodsy scents, there's something here for everyone. The real test came once we got back to the cabin. I lit one that evening, and it burned beautifully. No tunneling, no overwhelming perfume smell--just a clean, even burn with a fragrance that filled the room without overpowering it. Exactly what I was hoping for. I also picked up a few of the handmade fire starters (sadly Mother Nature had other plans, and the hot, muggy weather meant no campfire this trip), so I'm already looking forward to trying those next time. One of the coolest things in the shop is Mandy's collaboration with a local potter. You can purchase one of the handmade pottery vessels and have your candle poured directly into it, creating a one-of-a-kind piece that's both functional and beautiful. But honestly, what made this stop memorable wasn't just the candles. Take a few minutes to chat with Mandy and Andrew. They're incredibly welcoming, genuinely kind, and the kind of people who make you feel like you've known them longer than the ten minutes you've been standing in their shop. Those conversations are what make small businesses so special. Needless to say, I left with more candles than I originally planned... ...and absolutely zero regrets. The next time we're back in Nashville, Lakehouse Candle Company will be one of our first stops.

Downtown Nashville is full of cute little unique shops around every corner. One of my favorite…read moreshops is Lakehouse Candle Company, a place that specializes in candles and scented items. This is a woman-owned business, and it offers hand-crafted candles created with quality ingredients, all made with care and attention. I visited for their Pour & Restore event, which had us creating our own candle, and then enjoying a gentle yoga session in the candle shop. During the Pour & Restore event, we first got to walk around and sniff all of the candles to figure out what we wanted our candle to smell like. I like natural scents, so I chose a herbaceous, clean scent. Then, we were led through a candle-making demonstration, where we got to mix our scent, pour our own candle, and come up with a name for our new scented candle. (I chose ILY, because that combination of letters is significant to me!) While we waited for the candles to set, we were led through a restorative yoga session right there in the store. It was a wonderful experience to lie on the mat and breathe in the warm and fragrant scents that were all around us. I was lucky to participate in the inaugural Pour & Restore event at Lakehouse, but if they offer this again and you have to opportunity, I highly recommend attending! Doing yoga in a candle store is way more relaxing than I could have imagined. And even if you don't do yoga here, you need to stop in and check out the candles. There are so many wonderful scents!

The Toy Chest will make you feel like a kid again no matter what your age! I swung by Nashville…read moreafter a day spent at Brown County State Park and luckily got to drop into the Toy Chest before their 6pm closing. I had so much fun shopping for books for my niece, and even picked up some Smiskis for myself. They are the only authorized Smiski seller in the state of Indiana, so I'm happy I got to drop in. The prices are great and the staff are super friendly. It's definitely worth checking out!

Warning: Don't take your grandchildren, or you will come out broke! This is a cute little…read moreindependent toy store located in an old house in Nashville. The rooms are packed with higher quality toys for toddlers up to teenagers. There was an interesting assortment of books including early readers. They carry many Melissa and Doug toys. Expect premium pricing. The Toy Chest is an excellent place to pick up quality gifts while supporting a locally owned business. There is limited (free) street parking, so get there early or plan on walking.

Lovely shop. Relics sells several vendors products and collections as well as local artists goods…read more We found the shop incredibly clean and well organized. Owner is very friendly and welcoming!

Great vintage and antique items at great prices. Friendly staff. I will definitely keep coming back.read more

This is a huge antique mall in downtown Bloomington - very cool place and absolutely GINOURMOUS…read more Prices are actually very reasonable and some of the sellers offer 20-50% discounts. I didn't end up purchasing anything but I enjoyed walking around and looking at everything they offered.

Lots of stuff. 3 floors of it. But it was all priced way too high. Like two to three times higher…read morethan it should be.

Tucked away in the back of the Heritage Mall Shoppes on Van Buren (east side), Angry Robot has lots…read moreof pop culture related items for sale. Comic themes? Sci-fi themes? How about caps and shirts, license plates and socks? Yes to all of these things. The space is small but has plenty of room to move around. I found some Game of Thrones items that caught my eye for a Christmas stocking stuffer. Friendly staff who could carry on a conversation as well as ring up the order. Fun place to check out! Review #3232

Small little shop with a little bit of everything for a casual geek. As an out of stater I was…read morelooking for a cute pop culture store to find toys and comics and whatnot. There was a small section of comic books mostly filled with marvel and DC book, though there was some indie stuff mixed in. I ended up only buying an Angry Robot tshirt since I was on the hunt for a cute Indiana shirt. Definitely recommend stopping by for a perusal.

I stopped in here for the Indy Indie Book Crawl and what an adorable bookstore! This was my first…read moretime in and we also visited their second store just across the street. There are a variety of books for all ages, some book themed gift items, puzzles and even a visiting bookstore cat. I don't believe he was supposed to be in there, but he ran in the open front door and was greeting everyone who came that day. All the staff were super nice and friendly! The second store was just as cute as the first location and seemed to focus more on gift items but also had some books as well. A must stop if you are in Columbus!

The staff here are really amazing! They were helpful and friendly. When you think of a charming…read morebookstore this is the place that jumps to mind

Wow. I did not expect such a huge antique mall. Even though I walked through 90% of the mall I…read moredidn't stop at each booth, unless something specific caught my eye, because I was limited on time. I'm sure I could've spent hours and still not have seen everything. Many booths with prices varying. If you needed help there were ways to get ahold of someone without having to walk all the way to the front. I picked up a few treasures that I'm very happy with. Will definitely return.

This is a neat little spot off of exit 76 in Edingdurgh just past the outlets. The only way to…read moredescribe this place is one huge rummage sell. It looks like vendors rent booths in the store and sell their goods. They have some very unique old items such as comic books, shirts, candles, candy, records, toys, knives, swords, stuffed animals, signs, jewelry and postcards clothes. One of the most unique things I saw during my visit was a Vietnam-era Army Coat. There are tons of items here to browse. Because the store has independent vendor booths, you may able able to negotiate with the vendor to get a lower price on some items. This is a neat little spot that even though it is huge, it is clean and very well organized. You could spend a considerable amount of time going through here. I recommend checking this place out if you are in the area and looking for some odd or/or unique finds.