these boots were not made for walking

After having breakfast with Linda this morning and sending her off to the airport, I headed to Javits to take care of a few work things for the show. Then I headed south for a bit more shopping. I was on the prowl for some black boots. The DSW in Union Square was calling me, and I answered. But first I went one subway stop too far, and that turned out to be the best mistake I've made in a long time.

I ended up at 8th St (Astor Place), and when I came out of the subway station, the first thing I saw was a Gap for women only. Awesome! (There was also a Gap men's and kids nearby.) Even though I didn't buy anything there, I loved what I saw as it was way more hip than what we saw at the Gap on 34th St on Friday.

Across the street was the most beautiful Barnes & Nobles ever: creaky hardwood floors throughout, wood banisters for the stairs, wooden bookshelves reaching 10 feet in the air, and the smell of all that old wood making me feel like I was in rarefied space. Wonderful!

But since I was on a mission to get to Union Square, I headed up Broadway. I came upon probably one of New York's best book stores, though I'd never heard of it before. The Strand. Their claim to fame is 8 miles of books. Indeed! What a cool place. They sell used as well as new books. Too much fun looking around in there, weaving through the crowded aisles and finding nooks and crannies of shelving in the stacks. More wonderful stuff.

A few doors down was a cool clothing shop called Mavi where I fell in love with a short rusty brown blazer. On sale for $89. A little steep for my tastes so I left it behind in the hopes of coming back for it, if I decided I could part with the dough.

Getting closer to Union Square and DSW, I came across a chocolate shop called Max Brenner. Heaven! It's a cool little restaurant that serves chocolate desserts. You can also order a little something for takeout, which I did. OK, $7 is a lot for a mocha frappe (low fat, even!) but it was worth it!

The frappe did the trick and I found some sweet boots at DSW for 40% off the already discounted price. Sweet deal.

Because I knew the PETCO in Union Square has kitties for adoption, I stopped in there to see what kinds of critters they had this time. Cuties of all ages including a grey tiger kitty who was so handsome I thought he should come home to Ann Arbor with me. :)