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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

What A Girl Will Do For Bookbinding Supplies!

Yes, I ventured outside our teeny-tiny village of CdM because I found a local store that sold waxed linen bookbinding thread.
Wonders never cease.
I HATE MALLS. Yes, HATE is a harsh word - a word I usually reserve for certain politicians...but I use it freely when I say I HATE MALLS.
So, where do I find myself this afternoon?
In a freakin' 2.8 MILLION square foot mall. You read that right.
2.8 MILLION square feet of over 280 stores.
I took the plunge and went to Paper Source at
South Coast Plaza
Thinking I had parked in the right area...acres and acres of parking with more valets than a 5-star hotel...I talked myself into actually entering...hoping I would not get lost in Oz and find my way home again.
Well, after wandering around, reading those large MALL MAPS (malls should not be large enough to warrant a map!!!!) I realized I needed to cross over a major roadway via something called The Bridge of Flowers..or something to that effect...oh no! I thought, there will be poppies for sure and I may never see Auntie Em again!!!
I was talking to myself (in my head, not out loud Jill!) and hyping myself up that I COULD DO THIS.
I got on the escalator, walked across the 600 foot bridge and landed in ....three more stories of crates and barrels, build-a-bears, and cafes being wary of every turn for flying monkeys.
The place had more sanitation workers than Disneyland. And a merry-go-round that was filled with tourists snapping digitals of everything spinning out of control, including their Mastercards!
There were others like me. Wandering. Dazed. Confused. Looking for yet another escalator to take them down, down, down the rabbit hole.
Finally, I get off the moving stairs and for a moment I expect to see a tram and hear the Disneyland Railroad whistle blowing. But all I see are MORE stores...but THERE...RIGHT THERE..in front of me....Paper Source!
I wanted to kiss the ground. To exclaim to all the shoppers "EUREKA, I have found it!"...but security was everywhere, and well, you know, I don't really like to attract too much attention to myself :)
Was it worth it?
You bet it wasn't.
I found only 3 colors of thread that I did not order online from my thus far favorite source
Hollanders.
But let me tell you -- it is PAPER heaven. And when I am in need of stocking up again on paper...I just may order it ONLINE from them.
I still HATE MALLS!!!!!!!!!

11 Comments:

  • At 6:40 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    ROFL! I could feel myself having the same expression you described while wandering through the mall. Thankfully our neighborhood mall is small enough not to get lost. Just a huge square with three floors. LOL! A Paper Source would be nice. At least I wouldn't have to cross any bridges to get there.
    Thanks for taking me on a virtual trip to the mall with you!
    Linda

     
  • At 7:43 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    LOL Jolene!
    Do you hate malls even more than Jill (and you?) hate Wal-Mart?
    ;-)

     
  • At 7:58 PM , Blogger Dagny said...

    See? Yet another reason for y'all to move to Berkeley. Because the location of the Paper Source in Berkeley? So not a mall. Instead it's this funky little street filled with boutique type stores, restaurants, and a couple of chains -- Restoration Hardware, Z Gallery, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel outlet store. Oh, and there's a great indie bookstore there as well.

    So y'all just think about it ...

     
  • At 8:09 PM , Blogger ~jolene said...

    Anon...uh, er...NO, I hate NOTHING more than Wal-Fart! ;-)

    Dagny...did you say INDIE BOOKSTORE? Find me a house...I am SICKSICKSICK of GIANT-GENERIC-BEIGE-BOOKSTORES!!!

     
  • At 2:53 AM , Blogger Kristin Saegaert said...

    You're so funny!!!!!! No paper source around here, lucky dog! Glad you made it home safely!

     
  • At 9:00 AM , Blogger Gene Black said...

    So do I take it that you DON'T want to go to the Mall of America with me?

     
  • At 11:59 AM , Blogger ~jolene said...

    Kristin: "Safely" is a relative term. I was emotionally drained. HA HA HA!

    Gene: Hmm, for YOU, I might make an exception..because YOU would do a song or dance, or something to distract me from the fact I was actually IN a MALL :)

     
  • At 1:42 PM , Blogger Tammy said...

    YIKES!! I hadn't heard of paper source OR Hollanders before... UH-OH!! I'm a paper junkie... for sure! I'm gonna have to be careful looking at these two sites!!

     
  • At 10:09 PM , Blogger ~jolene said...

    Tammy, THIS IS A WARNING, no...this is an ACTUAL ALERT..you WILL spend money like a crazed woman if you access the Paper Source website. Wear a bib - you will drool.

     
  • At 8:23 PM , Blogger Kelly Kilmer said...

    OK, so how is the S.C.P. Paper Source?? :)

    I Love that Paper Source in Berkeley it cracks me up though 'cause that's the "high end" of Berkeley vs. my favorite part of Berkeley-the "other" end with the cool bookstores and oh so much more character.... ;)

    Oh God, I HATE Walmart too and I HATE malls!!

     
  • At 9:07 PM , Blogger ~jolene said...

    Kelly, as a Paper Source virgin - and not yet a Paper Whore (no names!), I would say it ROCKED in the paper department! I was just disappointed that I risked my life hoping I would find more bookbinding supplies ;-)

    I am sure I would LOVE the 'other' side of Berkeley -- living in Vanilla..er..ORANGE county can get very drab at times...

     

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