Boutique Day

The skies looked threatening so I opted to walk the mall instead the park. It was later than my normal walking time and although the mall was relatively quiet, Stein Mart was buzzing. It seems that today was Boutique Day and Karen McNew was scheduled to give a health talk to be followed by a fashion show and refreshments. I only learned of this as I passed a sign in front of the store as I walked by. There were some chairs set up in the boutique department but since I had a luncheon appointment I couldn't stick around to participate. Too bad. It might have been fun. I did enjoy shopping for bargains though like the bed ensembles for 50% off. I hope the sale is still on when I have the money to spend.

The spring flags are hanging around the mall to announce Spring's arrival. The Easter Bunny was sitting for pictures today surrounded by a garden bursting with colorful flowers and cherub-faced little ones with wide eyes. That's right, the "Easter Bunny", not the Spring Bunny.

Too nice out for walking inside

Maybe it's all those years of working indoors and often not even seeing the light of day that compel me to spend as much time as possible outdoors when the weather is so wonderful. Of course, the warm Spring weather means yard cleanup time. My aching back! That's OK because I have a great chiropractor and a fantastic massage therapist to keep me in shape. I first visited Dr. Chris Lauria before I even moved into my house upon relocating to Roanoke. I have been under the care of a half dozen chiropractors in the past and Dr. Chris is the best by far. He cares about his patients and offers wellness tips beyond chiropractic adjustments alone. He offers workshops and workouts to keep his patients healthy. He is always cheerful and I actually enjoy my visits.

My massage therapist is Jean Saade of Elegant Look Skincare. I have had therapeutic massages for the past 25 years and Jean is the very best at deep tissue massage therapy. His massages are like Lay's potato chips; nobody can have just one!

New and improved Jaclyn's Hallmark

Even if I didn't have a reason to visit the new Jaclyn's Hallmark store I would have anyway. The bright lighting and colorful items on display are so attractive. But I did have a reason to explore because it's my mother's birthday on Saturday and I was looking for a gift. I explained to a sales associate what I was looking for. She led me to an area where there were similar items to what I had described, but not exactly what I was looking for. I thanked her and then continued exploring. After about 10 minutes the same sales associate approached me holding an item that was very close to what I had asked about. Since it was a promotional item I ended up buying it along with some greeting cards. I found it refreshing that this person kept looking for what I had described and even tracked me down in the store to show it to me. Now that's salesmanship!

On the bench

You miss a few days of walking at the mall and suddenly there are walls where windows used to be. And the benches that are typically filled with old gents shooting the breeze while waiting on their wives have been relocated to a center isle in the mall. Based on the erection of the newest interior wall, I guess there's no hope that there will ever be an inside entrance to TJ Max. I hope that won't be the case when Stein Mart relocates.

I spent a couple of days this week near Leesburg in northern VA. A shopper's paradise! I hope that in the future we have shopping venues that will compare with those of our neighbors to the north. Of course, if that means we also need to build on every square inch of land and congest all of our roadways with traffic in order to get it, then forget it. I'll just take a little shopping trip now and then.

A busy Friday

It's amazing what a difference a couple of days can make in setting up a new store. The new Hallmark location is almost put together and I'm sure that the staff will be relieved when the move is over. It's been interesting to see the changes in the mall as stores have moved from one location to another. I sometimes wonder, however, what were they thinking? For instance, why would TJ Max move to a spot that is not accessible from inside the mall. I used to shop there every time I went to the mall. But since they moved I have only visited the store twice. And what were the owners of the upper level hair salon next to Belk thinking when they decided that the exterior walls should be made totally of glass? I don't know about you, but when my head is wet, or covered with coloring solution, the last place I want to be is on display at the mall with strangers gawking at me as they walk by. I have never seen more than 2 people in there at any one time and they are usually men. They must be the kind of men that like the attention. Well, maybe that's the clientele that they're trying to attract. As for the new Chik-Fil-A location, it's a winner. I had hoped to grab a coffee for my walk today, but it turns out that noontime is a heck of a lot busier than first thing in the morning. I walked past the counter 3 times and the number of customers in each of 2 lines never dropped below 8. No problem. I just walked over to Starbucks at Barnes & Noble for my brew. The only problem there is that it tests your willpower to avoid getting a piece of cheesecake to go with that.