Portland and San Francisco friends (well, Austin and Seattle too), brace yourselves: you are about to love me. (Wait. You didn’t already?) Not that the rest of you should tune out…this brainstorm is sure to sweep the nation.

Am I right that the most annoying, let-down quality of online shopping is delayed gratification? You spend two hours a few minutes scrolling through Shopbop, buy a couple of things, and then you have to wait three whole days (first-world problems, I know) for that beautiful brown box to grace your doorstep. And if you went with Nordstrom or one of my other standbys, it’ll be even longer. (Don’t even get me started on how long it takes Banana Republic to deliver a box. Are they using carrier pigeons?)

Plus, in your heart, online shopping wasn’t even what you wanted. What you wanted was to pop out to a few boutiques in town – shopping local is always nice, of course, and you get to take your goodies home right then. But…ugh. Parking, conspicuously leaving work (and returning with shopping bags), all that driving around…and, of course, there’s the let-down when you’re on a spending spree and you walk out of a store empty-handed. (Damn it, I cam here to spend!)

But, can you see the clouds parting? Can you see that sunbeam shooting down? It’s Boutiika – a new site that just launched in Portland, and is already a hit in San Francisco.

Log on, shop your favorite local shops from their site (really, they have all of my favorites on board, from Shop Adorn, Moulé and Mabel & Zora in PDX to Heidi Says and Park and Pond in SF), then click on that dress you have to have for tonight’s hot date and the store will hold it for you until you can dash over and pick it up! No more driving to ten stores to find that new grey cardigan – you can search everyone’s inventory from the comfort of your desktop, and just pick up the winner on your way home! It is good, friends. Truly, if they add a couple of my Hayes Valley favorites to the site, I’ll be in serious trouble.

And if you’re in San Francisco, it gets even better. Same-day delivery, people. Why, I’m positively giddy. Imagine the thrill…pick a dress at noon, and some strapping young bike messenger drops it off you to you by 3? I can’t handle it. It’s too wonderful. (PDX, don’t fret – you’ll be on in the same-day delivery action soon enough.)

Check it out, lovelies…you’ll have a whole new addiction on your hands.

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