shopping after class
after the conference yesterday, i headed to historic(!) uptown to see the sights. well -- I guess i shouldnt be disappointed -- half the places were closed due to Spring Break. It's a WEEK, and you cant keep your restaurant/tchotchki shop open? WTF. Even the record stores were closed. ANNOYING.
But, thankfully, the store where MBB has her things was open... it's much more of a clothing store (think RagORama) than it was before. Some gorgeous 50s tuxes. But, I wasnt looking to buy. Chatted with the woman behind the counter for a bit, and she pointed me back up another street to a former favourite store which I thought had closed.
In the other store, I found one of my most-coveted cookbooks from the 60s -- The Betty Crocker Casserole Cookbook. 50 cents. No lie. They also had a simple metal bedframe I wanted, but would need to be repainted, sadly. The price was right, tho, just like old times.
From there, I headed back down to the corner (cant remember the name of the store) but it's essentially a jewelry/stoner/hipster clothing shop, and it's going out of business. This is where I found two little Saint statues which I didnt buy, but which struck me as funny -- Saint Martha (which I giggled at), and Saint (Rose?), amongst the other plastic action figures. I didnt end up buying any, but made a mental note to tell MBB about the sculpted Day of the Dead pins they had for 25% off (making them $4.80).
Once I'd had my fill of patchouli (god, I can never spell that right), I headed back down to the bookstore to get a decal for my back window. Of course, all the smaller cheap ones for inside your car were hidden below the GIANT EXPENSIVE ONES which go on the outside of your vehicle. And after that, I decided I'd try to get comics in the crappy comic shop I remembered from 10 years ago.
What a great surprise to find the old comic shop under new ownership and with friendly, helpful, and well-groomed (and bathed) staff. It was a total 180-degree turn from what I remember. Comics and action figures lined the walls in a space twice the size of the old store. AND they had just about any kind of figure you might collect. And, the guys were willing to make a deal to sell em. I got 20% off (same as in my favourite store up here) and ended up with a Promethea/Sophie 2-pack and a Tom Strong/Pneuman 2-pack, totalling $50. I will definitely be going back there in 2 weeks, and taking Nala and Jay. It's the kind of shop to be proud of, AND, they had 2 video games and an old-school pinball game in the back of the store -- 25 cents to play! I couldve wasted hours.
At that point, I knew I was hungry, and since Burger King was no longer uptown, the local restaurants were mostly closed, and I didnt feel like Toxic Hell, I ended up cruising to the end of town to see what fast food was available for drive-thru... forgetting there was a WalMart -- which had an Alt Rollbar, a Dark Crumplezone, and a Cybertron Defense Scattorshot. AND a Spud Trooper.
I snagged a quick burger at BK and headed north towards home, stopping first at WalMart in Logan (nothing) and then taking old 33 into Lancaster to stop at Target. Nothing there, sadly, either. BUT, TJMazx was another story. I ended up buying (yes, sadly) more clothes -- 2 shirts, 4 ties, and some socks. AND found the 4x6 rug we were looking for (I think) for $40.
So, you might say yesterday was a good day. Unless you checked my bank account, which was squeaking by this morning. Ouch.