Mid-Winter in Philadelphia

A certain publishing event is happening in less than two weeks in the beautiful city of Philadelphia. I have never actually been there, although I recall driving through the city of Hershey, Pennsylvania (the streetlights were shaped like Hershey's Kisses) when I was about ten years old.

If I were to attend this event, at the last minute, I would want to be sure to hit up a few boutiques, bookstores and museums while there. I may even spend a little money at some quaint little toy stores or gift shops along the way to the Convention Center.

Here are just a few local hot spots I've only heard about:

State of Grace Boutique














BOLETE







SAILOR JERRY:
The Original Vintage Tattoo Brand





BING BANG:
Jewlery & Leather Goods









VINTAGE CONNECTION







RAE Restaurant

And yes, enjoy a Philly Cheese Steak while you're there...it's a must!

San Diego Shopping

Finally, I've compiled a list of just a few of the trendy boutiques found in San Diego:

For Kids

Gracie Kids










Leaping Lotus




Because Diamonds (and Silver) Are Forever







LUZ


Photography

Just Hatched


For Hip Moms and Dads









Neighbourhood Boutique
(Tell Christine you read about her here!)



Viejas Casino & Outlet Center

Happy Shopping!

The Countdown Begins

There are four more weekends to shop before Christmas. I've discovered some hip new sites including a few that feature adorable clothes, high-quality products and toys for the little ones on your list.

THREADS FOR THOUGHT

And in case you're wondering, the one thing I'm asking Santa for this year is a coffee pot. One that doesn't drip all over the counter and that ideally matches the rest of my stainless steel kitchen appliances.

Shopping Spreeeeeeeeeee

Wow, do I LOVE to shop. We drove to the desert on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and headed straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Renaissance Esmerelda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. After a long windy drive through the mountains, I was SO glad to get into our room and relax.

Saturday we sat by the pool before our MAJOR highlight of the weekend - shopping! Did I mention that my shopping partner - a male - was SO MUCH FUN to shop with? He helped carry my bags, waited outside a few dressing rooms for me and dragged me away from the $500 green Prada suit I was drooling over in SPACE. I can't even remember what stores I didn't go into since there were so many at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets.

The stores I do remember: Armani, BCBG, Coach, Gucci, Guess, Juicy Couture, Levi's, Oakley, Skechers, and we had to wait in line (just to get inside) at True Religion and Burberry.

Shopping sprees like that are dangerously exciting for me - orgasmic - and something that I will probably not experience for a long, long time or I will need to seriously sell my soul to the credit card companies (and charge them interest).

We also had a really good meal that night at The Falls in Palm Springs, although we kept having to change our reservations later and later because we just couldn't stop shopping!

Christmas is coming, I realize. I'm sitting at my computer thinking about all of the wonderful online sites I can hit up to fill the gift boxes for those on my list.

Oh, and to top off my wonderful weekend, my sweetie completely surprised me this morning with a beautiful 7-diamond necklace as my early Christmas gift.

My luck has changed!

Shopping in St. Paul

...and Minneapolis (Part Two)

I spent a good portion of my time researching boutiques for Moms and children in last week's post. Here, I'm going to focus on even more!

Cal Surf: large selection of skateboarding / snowboarding gear
Uptown

JL Esso: stylish footwear on the edge
Southdale

Shu: global footwear
Grand Avenue, St. Paul
Grand Way, St. Louis Park

Wiggles N Giggles: shop there for their shoe section
Blaine

Awakenings: Enhancing intimacy, education & strengthening relationships
St. Paul

Bjorling & Grant: pieces with a past
Minneapolis

Happy Shopping!

Ready, Set, Shop!

Sweetest Day - Yay or Nay?

What is with Sweetest Day and why is it now suddenly important to me to not get left out on this gift-giving holiday? I find myself questioning whether or not I should choose to celebrate an event that the majority of the U.S. population has not even heard of. Those who have are not eager to dish out more money to the retail companies who profit off of these types of celebrations.

I do have sweet people in my life who I would like to recognize. Valentine's Day is certainly a holiday reserved for couples and significant others, but what's the difference between the two? Should I honor the people in my life that make the world sweeter on October 2oth, or shall I reserve giving them kudos for another four months?

And who decided to place yet another holiday in the middle of the already-overly-busy gift-giving holiday season? I mean, let's take a look at the calendar here. Between September and June we have Grandparent's Day, Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.

Why not select a summer month to add in a new holiday? There's nothing going on in July or August except simply enjoying time with family. Maybe that's the whole point. Perhaps with school and the busy schedule surrounding the time between September and June, we've forgotten to celebrate the people in our lives by simply sitting back and spending quality time with one another.

Perhaps the retail companies got it right and are just giving us what we need - something to feed the guilty conscience that we create by filling up our time with work, after-school activities, play dates, book clubs, mom's night out or girl's night in.

I haven't solved the dilemma of whether or not to introduce yet another holiday to my son. Although perhaps I could simply start a new tradition and honor the special day by doing something very special.

I just checked my calendar and it looks as though we'll have to celebrate another time. I've got plans that night. Figures.