Where's Waldo?

X-man has been at Lego Camp at the Orpheum this week from 8:30-Noon. And every day when I pick him up he points to this sign up with Where's Waldo? on it.

The flyer refers to a Waldo scavenger hunt being sponsored by Jane Addams Bookshop. He wanted to know more about it, so we wandered down to the shop yesterday and picked up the information.

There are 20 shops to visit to find Waldo around downtown Champaign. If you find 8 and get your sheet filled out you get to enter into a contest to win a prize. If you find 16, you get to enter another contest. The scavenger hunt runs from July 1-July 31.

X-man's worry kicked in that he wouldn't be a winner. I explained that was always a possibility with contests, but the point was to have fun and visit stores owned by local people. And maybe we'd find some fun stuff along the way.

He seemed okay with that idea. So, if you see us running around downtown after Camp Explosion gets out at the Orpheum on July 2... you'll know we're seeking Waldo!

Black Friday

Clearly, I'm still at home in my pajamas. My oatmeal just came out of the microwave. I don't drink coffee. But each year I venture out on this holy shopping day to a few stores.

The usual suspects are:
- B.Lime
- Ten Thousand Villages
- Champaign Surplus
- Karen's Kloset
-Body N Sole

When Wind, Water and Light was downtown they were included. Since they've moved to Urbana, I hit them last week when I was at Art Mart and the Art Coop. :-)

I haven't been to B.Lime since they went uber baby focused, so I'm not sure what I'll find. But I used to like to go and get smaller items like water bottles, jewelry, lip gloss, socks, etc. Stuff for stockings for the parents in my life. We'll see how it goes today.

I know there are a mess of people who went out to Toys R Us last night or hit Target this a.m. for the 4 a.m. opening. I usually stay away because I hate large groups of people. That and really everything except stocking stuffers was purchased by Nov. 15th around here...

But I do have to pick up some scotch tape today to wrap some of those bad boys already purchased. I'm thinking finding tape at Schnuck's is probably my safest bet, unless Rogard's is open on for black Friday, but somehow, I doubt the office supply sales has a black Friday hoopla.

Christmas in a Recession

I love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday. Yesterday, I went shopping for a couple hours in downtown Champaign. I usually do a bulk of shopping there for my family, but this year I struck out. Nothing seemed to stand out to me. I got a few things, sure. But for me to walk out of Ten Thousand Villages with just one photo frame is unheard of.

My next stop was Wind, Water and Light. I love that store. I always find some quirky piece of jewelry or hand made paper journal or a print that stands out to me. I did find two things I loved, but both were significantly out of my price range. Big sigh. I hated leaving there empty handed because I don't get to go in very often since it's not a place I can take X-man. (Bull in china shop concept.)

I visited Carrie's and found some vintage Superhero posters that were framed that I liked... but I wasn't there to buy for X-man. As it is both his Christmas and birthday have been taken care of.

My last stop was to B.Lime where I found some small gifts for my parents, who are usually the folks I buy for when I shop downtown. Since I didn't find anything stellar, I reverted to a plan B for them for Christmas. But in a crap economy, I really wanted to do more to support the stores I love downtown. I like that they sell unique gifts made by local artists or fair trade artists or they sell items that are environmentally friendly.

I know normal people are just beginning to do their shopping this weekend. But I wondered if anyone else has been having issues with selection? Nothing stands out to me any more as "buy me." Is this an outcome of not having much money to spend or of not being able to find exactly what we're looking for? I love buying gifts for others, so I swear my lackluster experience wasn't from not feeling the holiday spirit.

Bachrach Closing at the Mall

Tomorrow I have to run out and pick up MacTroll's suit. He had to buy one for the wedding he's in over 4th of July weekend. It turned out to be an okay expense because of the pretty nice discounts he got at the Bachrach at the Mall. The receipt says that the store is going out of business. Currently everything is 20 percent off. So, if you've got a guy with "suit" needs -- now might be a good time to take advantage of any discounts.

That poor mall. It gets something (J.Jill, Ann Taylor Loft, Coldwater Creek, Forever 21) and always loses something (Lane Bryant, Starbucks, Carmel Corn, Bachrach...)