A few days ago, my social media lit up with posts from two of my favorite bloggers (Carly from The College Prepster and Krista from Covering the Bases, who also happens to be a UK alumna!) that Lilly Pulitzer and Starbucks had teamed up for a water bottle collaboration with S'well Bottles. I was pretty pumped, since I'm basically obsessed with both Lilly Pulitzer and Starbucks, and because I could actually use a new water bottle.

So, I decided to devote a couple hours to the search. Now, in my very limited defense for wasting time on this project, I will say that I had to fast for a little medical test, so I knew I'd be way too hangry to actually work on my manuscript this morning. Plus, I had an hour or so to kill while waiting for the vet's office to fill Max's prescription. So, I decided to check out how Louisville Starbucks scored among the 4,000 Starbucks outlets that would receive a shipment. I figured that since Louisville is the 38th largest metro area in the nation, and is a city full of Lilly lovers, we stood a pretty good chance of getting this merchandise at at least a few stores.

Now the Starbucks website lists 38 stores for the area inside the Gene Snyder Freeway in the Louisville metro, including those in malls as well as Target and Kroger stores, on campus at U of L, and at the airport. I assumed that standalone stores in high-traffic areas that meet Lilly's demographics would be the most likely to receive a shipment. Here were my results for the Louisville market.

1. Starbucks at Frankfort & Lexington, St Matthews: They did not have the bottles when I visited in person last night; said that a new shipment will be in late today, so check back this evening.

2. Starbucks at 4400 Shelbyville Road, St Matthews: Didn't have them when I visited today, said a new shipment of items will be in on Sunday, so check then.

3. Starbucks at Hurstborne & Shelbyville: Did not have the bottles out on display; the store was way too busy to bother a barista or salesperson.

4. Starbucks at Holiday Manor: When I called, they said they didn't have them and didn't expect to get them.

5. Starbucks at Paddock Shops (formerly the Summit): When I arrived there around 10 this morning, I was told that bottles had been put out first thing this morning and had quickly sold out.

6. Starbucks at Target, Westport Rd and Hubbards Ln: I walked by the kiosk; no bottles were out. (I didn't think that Target ever wanted to hear the words "Lilly Pulitzer" again, but I thought it was worth a try.

7. Starbucks at Kroger, Westport Rd and Hubbards Ln: I walked by the kiosk; no bottles were out.

8. Starbucks at Baxter and Highland: Aren't answering the phone. At this point, I don't blame them.

9. Starbucks at Dixie Highway: I heard a rumor on Facebook that they sold out first thing this morning.

After all this, I decided that I may look for one on Starbucks.com later this spring. I'm certainly not paying the speculators on eBay, though. Let me know if you find one!