Readying for Retail

Okay, to try and get ME a little happy or excited I decided to write about some of my favorites places to go/shop while in Florida.

The first is Old Town, which has 75 specialty shops, a few cute restaurants, arcades, some rides and bungee jumping stuff. It is like an open shopping plaza but really cute, with old classic cars (they even have 2 car nights) parked around, bull riding, live entertainment at times, etc. It is just so cute and fun, it even has a General Store, and candy stores with taffy being pulled in the windows. The BEST taffy in Florida to me anyway, so soft and so tasty! I LOVE the Black Market Minerals store the most. They have the coolest jewelery made and you can buy all sorts of beads, etc, to make your own customized jewelery. And it has cool gemstones and gemstone boxes, coasters, etc. Cool carved statues, geodes, just everything from incense to hand painted wooden boxes. Old Town also has Wound N Around, which has poodle skirts and tees with Marilyn and Elvis and James Dean, and paraphenalia with them on it. Old posters and music, etc. I LOVE it, it is where I got my pink Pink Ladies tee from Grease. It just has all sorts of unique stores, leather goods, candle stores, gift stores of course, christmas ornament stores, surf shops, just a bit of everything.

I also love the 192 Flea Market, it is in open buildings and is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It has everything from Seen on TV booths, to luggage (I got my HUGE suitcase on wheels for 35 bucks), to watches, to crystal stuff, just everything and CHEAP. It has over 400 booths, so it is like 4 huge building, jewelery, sunglasses, clothes, Perfumes (I got my Chanel No.5 WAY cheaper), Avon booths, make-up by HUGE people much cheaper, just a fun place. I have gotten temporary tattoos (Tink!!), personalized candles...it is just a must see. Sure I buy less nowadays, only because I have been there so often I have the best stuff, but I love the prices so when I need or want new watches (and I do want to check out the watches, so gorgeous) or luggage, etc, I love this place.
And yes I am an addict about going to the Florida mall! I have to! It has stores you will never see in a mall anywhere in CT. Even stores that I have catalogs for, but no real stores anywhere around here. It has over 270 stores so it is QUITE a walk, but so worth it. It has all the usuals so I buy things I could never afford up here, but it has stores like LUSH (coolest soaps and face masks), Quiksilver, Billabong (sure PacSun has stuff by these guys but these are THE company's stores), it has the biggest M&M store I have ever seen, a 2 floor Old Navy (love that), Delia's, etc. This was the first place they had Torrid, before it finally opened a few stores in CT. And as a bigger chested woman, I say YEAH!! And the vendors in the between spots just have really cool stuff that regular malls do not sell. So I go there once during our trip...last year no one would go with me...did it stop me? No, but someone better go with me this year! I just have such FUN spending money there. I could actually BUY things at Sephora, I HAVE money!

Sure there are other places, Universal Studios City Walk has really cool specialty shops and restaurants. There is this other OUTSIDE mall I can't remember the name of, that has a big FAO Shwartz, and a Johnny Rockets which I think is SO cool! I love all sort's of 50's stuff so this restaurant is so fun! The soda jerks (that was what they were called!!) are all in pristine white uniforms, there are tabletop jukeboxes, 50's decorating, I just LOVE it!Well, I do think the prospect of shopping is getting to me now that I have written about some of my favorite haunts. Oh don't get me wrong, I love to shop at the parks too, especially Epcot. Japan and China are my favorites, they always have something I want. And I can't wait to EAT in Japan, they have the most delicious Tempura at the Teppan Edo!! I even eat the fish broth soup (not Miso, it is called Japanese Clear Soup)! This is an actual pic of my meal (sans soup) from last year...I have no idea what was in that bowl on the bottom, it had 2 different weird looking things I was too scared to try. If you can tell me what it is please do!And this is me loving the soup so much Sam took a picture of me, as she ate sushi (yuck, I so hoped to like it, but I can't even do cooked sushi!). Did I mention I also love when we eat at GOOD restaurants while on vacation?! LOL!