Well, it's that time of year. The biggest shopping day of the year.
Folks are planning their shopping strategies, and many will be heading out in just a few hours. In fact, the 10 p.m. news spotlighted some early birds that were camping out overnight to get the best bargins.
Whether you're shopping today or closer to Christmas, check out our Web site, VisitMO.com for suggestions on where to look. You'll find high end designer options and handcrafted goods made by artisans. No matter what you want, we've got it.
Happy holiday shopping!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Being Thankful
Thanksgiving is next week. (Where did the year go?). Anyhoo, in between rants on Christmas advertising that appears in the month of November, I decided to take a moment to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life. I have family, friends, good health, and a job I enjoy. Who could ask for more?
To all of you, I say take a moment to do the same and think about all you have to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
To all of you, I say take a moment to do the same and think about all you have to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Shopping Road Trip
So we had the day off yesterday because of the holiday. What better way to spend the time than by engaging in the sport of shopping?
You didn't realize shopping was a sport? Well, there's an objective. Scoop up the best stuff at the best price. There are strategies and tactics to achieve the objectives such as “stalking” merchandise to get the best sale price before someone else beats you to it.
Shopping often requires stamina and endurance to see it through to the end. Like the tortoise and hare, slow and steady often wins the race. In my family, the training starts early in life; if you can't keep up, you get left at home.
Yesterday, we chose to point the car east and headed to St. Louis. Our St. Louis road trips follow a familiar layout. We start at the farthest point and work our way back. You can even divide the trip into periods, though yesterday we only had three, instead of the usual four.
We begin at the Saint Louis Galleria, which has two levels of stores and includes some of my favorite such as MAC and Nine West. Of course the big department stores anchor the mall. And I always have to visit The Coach Store. (Note I said visit).
I have a thing for shoes, so I've gotta hit all the shoe departments in the big stores as well as the shoe stores. If there’s a sale, I’m in trouble and it doesn’t matter if I don’t have a thing to go with them. You can always find something later. (Right, Mom?)
There are some great restaurant options for lunch, and then it's split up and head out. We've discovered that the other great thing about the shoe department is that it’s a logical place to meet up after you’ve scored your stuff. All those chairs make a great waiting room for the first to show up. You meet up there and then just like the end of the first quarter in a football game, it’s time to change to the other goalpost.
For what amounts to the second period of our game, we headed to West County Mall. This is another two-level monument to shopping. It has some of the same stores, but there are some different ones, like Nordstrom’s. The beauty of stopping here is that you can search out the things that you couldn’t find at your first stop such as the sizes and colors that eluded you. I snagged some great sweaters at The Limited. Buy one, get one half off. Score!
For the third period, we moved again. This time we stopped at Chesterfield Mall. I looked at more shoes. (No surprise there) I also checked out some winter coats that were marked down. I talked myself out of the coat. Not practical. Chesterfield has just undergone a renovation and I had to do some walking to figure out where everything was. This is the mall where I like to visit Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. I just love going in those stores.
We finally sat down for dinner, then headed back home. There’s one other great thing about this kind of shopping day. Walking those malls counts as exercise!
You didn't realize shopping was a sport? Well, there's an objective. Scoop up the best stuff at the best price. There are strategies and tactics to achieve the objectives such as “stalking” merchandise to get the best sale price before someone else beats you to it.
Shopping often requires stamina and endurance to see it through to the end. Like the tortoise and hare, slow and steady often wins the race. In my family, the training starts early in life; if you can't keep up, you get left at home.
Yesterday, we chose to point the car east and headed to St. Louis. Our St. Louis road trips follow a familiar layout. We start at the farthest point and work our way back. You can even divide the trip into periods, though yesterday we only had three, instead of the usual four.
We begin at the Saint Louis Galleria, which has two levels of stores and includes some of my favorite such as MAC and Nine West. Of course the big department stores anchor the mall. And I always have to visit The Coach Store. (Note I said visit).
I have a thing for shoes, so I've gotta hit all the shoe departments in the big stores as well as the shoe stores. If there’s a sale, I’m in trouble and it doesn’t matter if I don’t have a thing to go with them. You can always find something later. (Right, Mom?)
There are some great restaurant options for lunch, and then it's split up and head out. We've discovered that the other great thing about the shoe department is that it’s a logical place to meet up after you’ve scored your stuff. All those chairs make a great waiting room for the first to show up. You meet up there and then just like the end of the first quarter in a football game, it’s time to change to the other goalpost.
For what amounts to the second period of our game, we headed to West County Mall. This is another two-level monument to shopping. It has some of the same stores, but there are some different ones, like Nordstrom’s. The beauty of stopping here is that you can search out the things that you couldn’t find at your first stop such as the sizes and colors that eluded you. I snagged some great sweaters at The Limited. Buy one, get one half off. Score!
For the third period, we moved again. This time we stopped at Chesterfield Mall. I looked at more shoes. (No surprise there) I also checked out some winter coats that were marked down. I talked myself out of the coat. Not practical. Chesterfield has just undergone a renovation and I had to do some walking to figure out where everything was. This is the mall where I like to visit Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. I just love going in those stores.
We finally sat down for dinner, then headed back home. There’s one other great thing about this kind of shopping day. Walking those malls counts as exercise!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Say "Thanks" to a Vet
I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, and I thought this was as good a time as any to share what's in my head. The elections are over and we're now gearing up for the holidays. I can't believe it's just two weeks until Thanksgiving. Where did the time go?
Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, and our offices are closed. I'm hitting the highway and pointing my car in the direction of several malls. I know we'll close the mall tomorrow night.
But as much fun as we'll be having, it's important to remember the purpose of the day. It's the day when we Americans remember and honor our military veterans, as described in this Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day
We live in a great country that allows us freedoms unimaginable in some parts of the world. I'm very proud of our country and grateful to our veterans who have defended these rights for us. So tomorrow, while I'm shopping and lunching and enjoying my freedom to do these things, I'll also be thanking a vet.
Tomorrow is Veteran's Day, and our offices are closed. I'm hitting the highway and pointing my car in the direction of several malls. I know we'll close the mall tomorrow night.
But as much fun as we'll be having, it's important to remember the purpose of the day. It's the day when we Americans remember and honor our military veterans, as described in this Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day
We live in a great country that allows us freedoms unimaginable in some parts of the world. I'm very proud of our country and grateful to our veterans who have defended these rights for us. So tomorrow, while I'm shopping and lunching and enjoying my freedom to do these things, I'll also be thanking a vet.
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