Category Archives: Stores and other places that sell you things

New Glasses@Pearl Eyecare Center

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Today was all about the practical. I needed to order new eyeglasses before my benefit went away. I went to a new place for me, Pearl Eyecare Center near the Tacoma Mall. My husband has been going there for years and said they would treat me right. He was right! They spent the time I needed and actually understood how the insurance worked. I ordered two pair. The top pair have a little design on the frames and will be sunglasses. The bottom will be my day to day pair, when I’m not wearing contacts.

2505 S 38th St # A108
Tacoma, WA 98409-7372
(253) 472-1188

I would donate my older pair to charity, but my dog ate them! Rotten dog.

Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art

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Ever since one of my Flickr friends posted a photo of a lovely pair of earring that he purchased at Traditions Cafe & World Folk Art in downtown Olympia, I’ve been wanting to try it out. The place has two components, the store and the restaurant but there is an easy flow between the two. We ordered our delicious and filling paninis at the counter and the staff brought them out to us. Afterward we shopped a bit and I purchased a green hat that I love and some dead sea salt soap. What struck me about both the store and the cafe parts is how happy every one seemed to be, both the employees and the customers. I’m sure we’ll be back 🙂

Their website is here
http://www.traditionsfairtrade.com/pages/tradhome.html

An explanation of the concept of Fair Trade is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

Batteries Plus +

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Not every new place of the day can be culturally, historically and/or architecturally interesting. Sometimes it is just practical. And so soon before the holidays, nothing says practical like a battery store.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/

4027 Tacoma Mall Blvd (Rainier Place Shopping Center)
STE M, Tacoma, WA 98409
(253) 476-2666

Cost Plus World Market for the Holidays

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Today I made a quick stop at World Market to pick up some Christmas cards. The place was packed! But, still in all, I got through the line in good time and the cashier was cheerful.

http://www.worldmarket.com/home/

Unraveled Yarn and Artful Gifts

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When three friends (thanks Connie, Ann and Judy!) suggested that I check out Unraveled Yarns, I put it on my to visit list. I felt right at home in this little store which has a thoughtful selection of yarns and knitting supplies, as well as artful gifts. The women working there were helpful and the place just made me want to pull out some knitting needles and sit down for a visit! And, yes, I got a holiday present for my friend Susan. It’s a ….. oh wait, she might read this!

2154 S. 314th Street
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 941-2268

http://www.unraveledshop.com/

Sadly they closed in April 2012.

What? Shoppe

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

I had thought the new place of the day’s name was Juxtapoz because of the large sign over the door, but it turns out that the store is called What? Shoppe and Juxtapoz is an online magazine. The store is crowded with an interesting assortment of unusual merchandise demanding some serious browsing time. I noticed t-shirts, figurines, wigs, cards, posters, model train stuff and much more. This is a great place to find a present for a hard to please young adult.

740 Broadway in Tacoma

http://whatshoppe.com/

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …

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Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Dear daughter and I were tired of being stuck in the house and I offered her lunch out. She wanted to go to Panera Bread and while I prefer the Lakewood Panera Bread, the Tacoma Mall was closer and the roads still aren’t all that great. I’ve already used the Tacoma Panera Bread as a new place of the day, so I thought I’d venture into the Tacoma Mall a bit and use that. The mall is setting up for the holidays with a spot for Santa (see photo).

Instead of going back to the mall, I plan to shop at the Gritty City Gift Fair!

http://www.cityartsmagazine.com/blog/2010/11/gritty-city-gift-fair-relief-mall-shopping

 

Safeway

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Nothing too exciting today, just a stop at a different Safeway at 707 South 56th Street, Tacoma. This store had been a Safeway for years and then it closed and was available for rent for a long time. But it sat vacant and then finally Safeway renovated and reopened. It’s a smaller store, but nicely maintained.

The store is all geared up for Thanksgiving and here is their Thanksgiving link.

http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/Thanksgiving#iframetop

 This is an interesting Thanksgiving image from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/controltheweb/66672874/in/photostream/

FedEx Kinkos has some darling return address labels

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Today’s new place of the day is Kinkos, which I guess is now called FedEx Office. It’s a very do it yourself kind of place, but the staff was really nice and helped us along. We needed to print a 8″x10″ piece of student artwork in color on glossy paper and it came out really nice. While I was waiting for dear husband to manage the print, I played with the computer and found some charming mailing labels. Perhaps it’s time to stop using the free one that get sent to me and upgrade to labels I actually like!

The link for the labels is here http://businessprinting.van.fedex.com/address-labels.aspx?xnav=pricingdetails&rd=2

Of course they have a bunch of stuff you can make, cards, brochures, invitations, banners, etc.  The return address label I like is below with the little red birds in the snowy tree. 

New Place of the Day, 8/22 – 8/27 (recap)

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http://foursquare.com/

As of 8/22/10 I’ve checked in 267 times.  I’ve travelled in five states (WA, TX, CA, MT, ID) and two provinces (NB & AB).  Today’s new place (which I have been to before, but it’s my first checkin) was ever wonderful Anthony’s at Point Defiance Park for our wedding anniversary dinner with dear daughter.

Update: And here is a new photo of Anthony’s


Today, 8/23/10, My husband needed a tire put on his boat, ummmm I mean car. He replaced three of the tires himself, but the 4th one was really stuck! Since I didn’t work today, I said I’d take it. So off I went to Courtesy Auto Service and Tire of Tacoma near the Tacoma Mall. I always just thought it was called Goodyear, but I guess not. The customer service was polite and the work was done quickly. They charged $15, which seemed alright to me, but my husband thought it should have been less.

A favorite restaurant for my daughter and I has been Panera’s Bread http://www.panerabread.com/.  We go there when we want something special, but not too expensive.  I flutter all over the menu, but my daughter almost always gets the broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl.  Then, more often than not, we wander over to Barnes & Noble to check out the new books.  So, Panera’s Bread in Lakewood was our new place for 8/24/2010.

While we were out and about, we stopped at Safeway (not for the first time) and I took this picture.  The combination of Shape magazine and Ding Dongs was amusing!

http://www.joeseppis.com/

 

On 8/25 we meant with a financial adviser (great guy!) at Forza and then afterwards walked over to Joeseppis Italian Ristoranti.  We shared the Marsala Chicken and still took 1/2 of it home as leftovers!

Thursday I had a special treat because my friend had a get together at her beach cabin.  We went down a very steep trail to get there.  It was just just perfect, good weather, good friends, good food and a wonderful view!  The the pictures for 8/26 show the beach!  FourSquare let me check in here under “the Beach Cabin”.  I can only assume that I was at the same beach cabin that they were thinking of!  I’m sure that’s right. 😀

On 8/27 we went out to a movie (it was awful) and afterwards we needed a bite to eat.  But it was way too much effort to go to a restaurant and I still needed my new checkin for the day.  So off we went to the recently remodeled Stadium Thriftway.  It’s one of my favorite local grocery stores with a great selection of produce and a great deli/premade section.

http://www.stadiumbusinessdistrict.com/Page.aspx?nid=39