We love to shop (?)

I don’t think of myself as a big shopper. Nonetheless, I sometimes get a hankering to go to stores. This past weekend, Noah and I had the shopping itch, so we visited Nadeau and Ridgedale Shopping Center.

Nadeau is a furniture store at 28th and Hennepin. I’ve driven by it many times, and always thought, “their windows are full.”

We decided to look inside and see what it was all about. Turns out the inside gave me the same impression as the outside:

Very full.

Very, very full. The furniture was stacked on top of each other with narrow rows for customers to walk through. Most of the stuff seemed to be of a more vintage style, and I found this gem of an armchair:

oh yeahhh. I also like this blue cabinet:

I guess I would characterize their selection as ‘funky, faded furniture with a twist.’ All of the furniture in the store is handmade – not mass produced – which contributes to the slightly rough-around-the-edges feel. If I were looking to furnish a house, I would consider going back here.

After Nadeau, the shopping itch was not satisfactorily scratched, so Noah and I went to Ridgedale. This excursion had a real purpose though since both of us were looking for shoes. I wanted some walking shoes and some dress shoes that would be comfortable and accommodate my orthodics. Unfortunately, I was only successful at finding the walking shoes.

When we first got to Ridgedale, priority #1 was food since we were both hungry. I got a fruit and yogurt parfait (chunky strawberry topper version) from Jamba Juice. It had strawberries, bananas, yogurt, peanut butter, and granola blended together and then topped with more granola and banana.

Noah got a chicken philly sandwich and fries from Charley’s Grilled Subs.

I didn’t try any, but Noah said it was yummy. After eating, we were ready to look for shoes!

Appropriately, I got my walking shoes at the The Walking Company (where, by the way, I received great service and got a lot of useful information). I got a pair of Dansko Elise in grey.

Noah was looking for a mid-level shoe, meaning something that falls between a sneaker and a dress shoe. He found what he was looking for at Clarks.

The shoes are Clarks Saranac in tan leather. After trying a few different varieties, these ones were the perfect fit.

While I was waiting, I found this gadget:

That’s a shoe horn with a long handle. For some reason I thought it was hilarious – maybe the concept that people would want a tool to avoid bending down to put their shoes on? Or maybe I just liked it since I originally thought it was a backscratcher.