Mall Madness

Began a sunny winter's morning with breakfast and A Charlie Brown Valentine. While this 2003 Peanuts special isn't as well-regarded as some of the earlier ones, I actually think it's pretty cute. Charlie Brown tries to drum up the courage to give the Little Red Haired Girl a valentine, then ask her to the dance. As usual, he just can't make himself do it. Meanwhile, Peppermint Patty and Marcie are both eyeing him, Lucy's trying to get Schroeder to notice her, and Sally's making valentines for her "Sweet Baboo," much to Linus' annoyance.

My first stop of the day was this week's volunteering session at the Oaklyn Library. There wasn't a whole lot going on there. A mother was looking for books in the children's section while her son played with Legos. I just kept it to a quick look at the adult and children's DVDs.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a pale blue, the wind had gentled down to a breeze, and it was in the upper 30's by 11:30 (according to the sign at Beneficial Bank in Audubon). It was the perfect day for a Moorestown Mall trip. I hurried to King's Highway, locked my bike at the rack at CVS, and went across the street to pick up the bus. It was about five minutes late, which could have been worse, given the lunch traffic. There were only one or two people on the bus to begin with; I was the only one who went all the way to Moorestown.

Since the bus lets off right at Boscov's, I started there. I do need a few new clothes. I first looked at boots. The soles of the wonderful sheepskin-lined boots Mom gave me a few years ago have finally started to crack. Given how frequently I wear them during the winter (I wore them today), it's not surprising. I didn't see anything that came close to a replacement. All the boots were either too tight, or had high heels (not on a bike!), or no lining, or no tread on the bottom.

I had more luck with clothes. While I couldn't find a winter skirt, I did get a new pair of brown corduroys (the old ones were too small) and a really pretty pink, brown, and white rose-print t-shirt. The corduroys were $14.99 and the shirt was $11.99, both massively on sale. I also looked over their toys section. The only Ever After High dolls they had were Briar and a couple of the Hat-Tastic dolls. Nothing I didn't already have.

It was so nice, I left the mall for lunch. Headed around the corner from Boscov's to the Corner Bakery and Cafe. It looks pretty much like the same thing as Panera Bread - high-end, better-made fast food. Here, though, they bring the food to your table. I had half of a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, a mixed greens salad, black current iced tea, and a vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting. The cupcake was ok, moist but a little too oily, and the icing was too sweet. The sandwich was delicious, though, seasoned just right, and I liked the tangy vinaigrette on the greens.

Went across the parking lot next to Michael's. I haven't been in a Michael's since I lived in Cape May County. (Mom worked in the one in Rio Grande for a while.) This one was smaller than the AC Moore in Moorestown and Deptford, but it had better prices. The Springfield Collection outfits were at least a dollar to two dollars cheaper than at AC Moore. I bought a cute white ruffled knit sweater and pink polka-dot skirt for my modern dolls and the 2014 Wilton Cake Decorating Yearbook. (It's their special 85th Anniversary edition and has a section on the history of Wilton and the yearbooks that's fascinating.)

Headed to Barnes and Noble next. Alas, no Ever After High dolls there, either. (Tons of Monster High, though.) I did make some good finds. They had the soundtrack for Newsies for $7.99, the cheapest I've ever seen it (I think it's out of print). Found the 1-disk version of the Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood for $4.99 and a journal with a colorful cover of exotic lilies on the Bargain tables for $4.98. Splurged on the George Harrison greatest hits CD Let It Roll and another Sailor Moon manga (Japanese comic book).

It was past 3. I wanted to leave by at least 4:30. It was time to return to the mall. I considered the movies, but there isn't really much playing right now besides Paddington, Sponge Bob, and American Sniper, all of which I could wait for on DVD. Besides, there were massive crowds at the theater, mainly kids there to see Paddington and Sponge Bob.

I was thirsty and hot from walking and was hoping to pick up a water ice at Rita's in the Food Court next to the theater. No dice. The line was half-way back to the theater! There was no other place in the Food Court to get dessert. Half the Court was covered with walls and in the midst of remodeling.

I ended up at FYE instead, across from the Food Court. I'm trying to avoid getting a ton of movies, since I got a lot for Christmas, but I found some surprisingly good CD's. I ended up with the Broadway original cast album for Seussical (which I've been trying to get for a good price for ages), a double CD studio cast recording of the early 20th century musicals Oh Kay! and Leave It to Jane, and a Bruno Mars CD, Doo Wop & Hooligans. I bought three to take advantage of the buy two used, get one for a dollar sale. All three were $7.99; Leave It To Jane/Oh Kay! ended up being the dollar item.

Made a short stop next at Hallmark. Got the adorable WebKinz Pink Iced Penguin. She's a very girlie little bird, with glittery bright-pink plush and a lavender bow. I think she's just too adorable. (And she came in a box and did have her tag.) Finally gave up on the crazy line at Rita's and got a Tropical Twist "Chillatta" at Cinnabon across from Sears instead.

The bus ride home wasn't as pleasant as the one going there. There was no traffic, but the bus was eight minutes late. By the time it arrived, some people weren't happy. There were a couple of women in the back who did nothing but talk loudly and curse over people's heads the entire ride. They weren't really nasty, but they were obnoxious and annoying. Not everyone wants to listen to their conversation.

My last stop was the CVS on King's Highway after I got off the bus. I needed contact lens solution and a new toothbrush. They had better prices on Oral B than the Acme. It was almost 6 at that point. They were pretty busy, but they're also big and was able to open up more than one line. The wait wasn't long.

I finally got home around 6:30. It was so late, I just put on the Newsies soundtrack instead of a movie and had the last of the leftover tacos for dinner. Newsies is a delightful live-action musical about a newsboys' strike in New York in 1899. Christian Bale is the head of the group; David Moscow is one of its newest members. It was a flop in the early 90s; it would be nearly two decades before the world was ready for live-action musicals to make a comeback. My favorite songs are the opening dance number that introduces the Newsies themselves "Carrying the Banner" and the energetic "King of New York," after they just got their pictures in the paper.

I bought the last few things I wanted that I hadn't seen at the malls at Amazon. Got a new record player, a simple Jensen model. I enjoyed the film soundtrack for Newsies so much, I decided to give the cast album for the recent stage version a try. My first LP on the new player will be the two-disc set for the Broadway show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Somehow, it just seems more appropriate to listen to Carole King's music on records. (I have her Tapestry on record.) Also picked up Cedar Wood. The daughter of Pinocchio, she's a sweet girl who literally can't tell a lie. She's a really pretty doll, and I've wanted to find her for a while.

Oh, and meet my new WebKinz, Valentina the Pink Penguin! She'll be considered a Valentine's Day decoration and will come out with Amoura the Love Frog. Amoura's her best friend; she has an ice-themed room with some of the new ice furniture near her place where they write love poetry and try on fancy new outfits together.