It's a Magical World

I slept in this morning and spent most of it at home. Met Jessa around 11:30-noon to head out to the Cherry Hill Mall for some serious shopping. Though there was no traffic going to Cherry Hill, the mall parking lot was filled to capacity. Thank goodness Jessa bought a much smaller car during the summer and was able to find a parking spot fairly quickly.

You also won't be surprised to hear that the mall was a mob scene today...but I don't regret the trip one bit. The sales were seriously worth it. We parked by Macy's and walked through there first, but most of their merchandise is a bit high-end for my taste. We finally ended up just walking out into the main mall.

The first sight that met our eyes when we got onto the main floor was not encouraging. The small FYE had closing signs posted. Unlike the Audubon FYE, they're not shutting down entirely, just changing malls - seems they're moving to Moorestown. Their loss was my gain. For the second holiday season in a row, a shuttering FYE meant big savings for me. Between the closing sales and my Membership Card, I picked up the TCM Classics Collection Busby Berkley set and the new Tom and Jerry Platinum Collection set for about $14.50 each, the campy 1980 musical Xanadu for $5, Fred Astaire's last major musical Finian's Rainbow for $10.50, and a used copy of Robin Hood: Men In Tights for just $3.14. It came to $51.98 all together...and thanks to the $50 gift card I had, I ended up paying two dollars for the whole lot.

I did even better at JCPenney. They were having HUGE sales all over the place. I had to stand in a long line at the women's department, but it was worth it. I picked up a new pair of loafers (the salesman gave me an extra 10% discount because they were a display pair), a lovely Liz Claibourne blouse in shades of red gradually fading to purple, a periwinkle blue v-neck short-sleeved t-shirt, a pair of light khaki corduroy pants for work, and two fat pillows to replace the very flat ones I'd slept on since childhood. Once again, with the help of major sales and a $50 gift card, I paid eight dollars for everything.

The only place I paid real money today was Lane Bryant. I bought a button-down white shirt there. At $30, it was the most expensive single item I picked up today, but I really need new button-down shirts. The one I bought in the fall doesn't fit. A quick stop at the Disney Store yielded no finds. Alas, all of the Animator's Collection dolls I wanted were gone. They only had Mulan, Aurora, and Snow White left, and just a bare few of Mulan and Snow White. I ended up ordering Tiana and Cinderella from the Disney Store tonight. We also stopped briefly at Journeys so Jessa could trade in some shoes that didn't fit.

If it was crowded when we arrived, by the time we left Lane Bryant, we could barely move around downstairs. It was literally elbow-to-elbow! There was more room in the more open area near Nordstrom's, but we'd really had enough of mall crowds. We decided to head out and eat elsewhere.

After we finally got out of the very busy parking lot, Jessa had a brilliant idea. She took us to Panera Bread, which is in front of the sprawling "town center" mall that's the home of Wegman's, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and the Christmas Tree Shop, among others. I'm so glad she suggested it. Panera Bread reminds me a lot of Saladworks - a really high-end fast food place. However, the prices are slightly better, and the emphasis is on healthy baked goods (though they do have salads, too). My roll, half of a Sierra Turkey Club Sandwich, and half of a Apple Pecan Salad were absolutely delicious. (Though that supposed "half" salad was so big, I couldn't finish it.) Jessa had the Sierra Turkey sandwich and a cup of soup she seemed to enjoy.

After we left there, we drove across the parking lot and made our way to Barnes and Noble. Though they were busy, the Cherry Hill Barnes and Noble is gigantic, and there was far more room to stretch and wander. I was surprised to see a large section devoted to toys - in a book store? They didn't have DVDs, either, which was disappointing. That didn't stop me from finding things I wanted, though. Made some good Bargain Priced finds - the final Calvin and Hobbes comic book It's a Magical World for $8, the newest Carol Higgins Clark novel Mobbed in hardback for $6, and a new journal with a pretty blue butterfly watercolor on the cover for $5. And since Barnes and Noble carries min American Girl dolls to go with the boxed book sets, I bought a Mini Cecile to go with my Mini Marie-Grace. (I love her soft little curls. I wish my curls were that soft.)

It was getting late. Jessa called Dad to let him know where we were, and we went back to my place. Jessa helped me put my new pillows in the pillowcases, and I showed her pictures of the dolls. We chatted for a while, until Jessa decided she'd had a long day and wanted a nap.

Spent the rest of the night eating leftovers out of the fridge for dinner and watching Island at the Top of the World. This strange variation on Journey to the Center of the Earth has a well-bred Englishman searching for his son, who has vanished looking for the mythical title island, with the help of an archeologist who specializes in Norse history, an Eskimo guide, and the French captain of the airship the Hyperion and his poodle. Some nice special effects, especially the Hyperion and once they reach the island.