Summer at the Market Place

Started a hot, sunny day with a quick Three Stooges short while I had Multi-Grain Cheerios with blueberries for breakfast. The Stooges did several western-themed shorts, the earliest being "Horses' Collars." The Stooges are detectives who head west to help a young lady regain the deed to her ranch, which is being held by unscrupulous bandits. When they get in a tight spot, it may take Curly's fear of mice - before the other two bring the cheese out - to save them.

Got the laundry done first around 11:30. It was pretty busy for a Monday, though I was able to get a washer and drier with no problems. I didn't really have a ton to wash, anyway. I only do towels once a month. I was in and out in less than an hour.

I hurried and put everything away, then went right back out. My first stop was Dunkin' Donuts for a Coolatta treat. They have a cookie theme going this month. I went with a Chips Ahoy Coolatta. It was pretty much a Vanilla Coolatta with bits of chocolate chip cookies and cream, but it was cold and sweet and tasty on a hot July day. I gulped it quickly as I headed down the White Horse Pike and across Cuthbert to pick up the bus to Cherry Hill.

The bus was a little late, but not too bad. Since I went to the Cherry Hill Mall with Lauren last month, I opted for the big-box shopping plazas Market Place and Town Center. Pei Wei Asian Cuisine is one of the first stores you see when you come in off the highway. I haven't eaten there since Rose and I went together in January 2010, a few months before Khai was born. They're a dark, simple store with heavy polished wooden tables and chairs. I had the chicken lettuce wraps, two of my favorite Vietnamese Spring Rolls (I love me some spring rolls), and iced tea. Yum. The chicken came on a bed of crunchy rice noodles. The spring rolls came with this reddish dipping sauce that was a little on the hot side. It was messy, but quite tasty.

The main reason I wanted to go to the Market Place was to hit their Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I had two 20% off coupons I wanted to use, one of which was expiring today. The main thing I got was a nice lunch bag. I've been looking around for a new one for months now. My old orange one I bought from the Acme is getting frayed on the edges and is dirty as heck. Surprisingly, given the back-to-school stuff looked like it was just being pulled out, they didn't have much to choose from. I finally found a nice tote-shaped one, with long straps and a pretty teal-brown-and-tan Indian-inspired flower pattern. I also picked up toothbrushes, contact lens cases, a bag of Camp Fire Key Lime-flavored marshmallows, and used the other coupon to treat myself to a fancy box mix for Coconut Macaroon Brownies.

I didn't have nearly that much luck on my next couple of stops. The guy at Dick's said they didn't carry the simple Reebox Classic sneakers I bought the last time I needed errand-running sneakers anymore. I know I saw them at Moorestown. He told me they recently got rid of a lot of shoes and that Reebok is now concentrating on Europe. (Or maybe they're concentrating on online stores? I later found them at Amazon, though I may wait to pick them up until next week.) Couldn't find the second season of Sailor Moon at Best Buy (though they did have the first on Blu-Ray) or their USB sticks.

(I later discovered that the second season of Sailor Moon will be released tomorrow. Oops! I thought it was out last week. No matter. I'll either get it online or at the House of Fun, or I'll wait to hit the Moorestown FYE and Barnes and Noble.)

Hiked down to Barnes and Noble next. They had lots of Ever After High dolls, but the newest ones in stock were for last fall's Spring Unsprung and Through the Woods lines. They had none of the new Signatures I was looking for. (I may have to stick to buying those online as well.) I did end up with two hardbacks off the clearance shelf, the western Little Century and one of the more recent Maisie Dobbs books, Leaving Everything Most Loved.

My last stop was DSW Shoes. They did have both the good walking sandals and the sneakers I was looking for. I wasn't crazy about their prices, though. The Clarks were mostly $70 or more, and the one pair that I liked that were on sale were out in my size. The simplest pair of leather-upper New Balances were $50. I just spent $50 on one pair of sneakers in June. I'm not doing it again for a while.

I considered doing more shopping, but there weren't too many other places for me to go. Justice, the little frozen yogurt shop, and the small toy store all seemed to be gone. I'm not a fan of Talbot's prices or their limited plus size selection. I ended up on the green lawn behind shrubbery to rest and get organized before I caught the 5:30 bus. Turned out that everything I bought from Bed, Bath, and Beyond fit in the lunch tote, much to my delight. The only things that stayed in a plastic bag were the two books. (I also tried the key lime marshmallows. Wow! Boy, were they lime-y. They really tasted like tangy key lime pie.)

The bus was a little late, nothing that horrible considering it was the second half of rush hour. I was back in Oaklyn by 6 and taking out both recycling canisters by quarter of 7. Watched an episode of F-Troop as I ate salmon cakes and cucumber-tomato salad for dinner. Aragorn (Larry Storch) thinks he has "Indian Fever" when he keeps seeing a Native warrior who isn't from the local friendly tribe in his window. Everyone at the fort thinks he's crazy...until their Indian friends reveal that there is a much tougher tribe on the war-path that wants to take on the fort!