This past weekend, My mom and Grandma had purchased a wooden dollhouse for my niece for her birthday that came equipped with everything except the dollhouse people. My mission was clear, I needed to find wooden dollhouse people to give to my niece for her birthday that would compliment this awesome dollhouse that she would also be receiving. A friend suggested that I begin my search at The Toy Store on 21st Street.
I had never been in this store (again very sad considering I have lived in Topeka all my life). Walking in felt strange because I remember this store as Hastings and used to frequent the store to rent VHS tapes when I was younger. I was greeted immediately upon walking in by a nice young lady and she was able to direct me upstairs when I asked about some dollhouse people. To my delight, I was able to purcase an entire wooden dollhouse family (grandparents, parents, and siblings) for $20. I was amazed at the selection and price in the store and will definitely be returning for future toy purchases.
It is so great that Topeka has one of only two independently owned specialty toy stores in the world. The Toy Store has been open since 1976 and has stores in both Topeka and Lawrence. You can also shop online. The Toy Store is a perfect combination of family owned business and global capabilities.
As most of you know, Aaron and I lost our beloved dachsund, Droopy, on April 1, 2009 to cancer. A lot of people told us that getting a new dog would help to ease our pain, so we decided to start looking for dogs. The only thing we knew is that we wanted another dachsund because we were familiar with the breed and loved its quirks. We also wanted to find a local breeder if possible. Aaron was looking online for breeders and we looked at Petland, but didn’t find “the one” there.
On April 11, I remembered that there was another pet store in Topeka, but I wasn’t sure if it was still around. We decided to drive over to Brookwood Shopping Center (just off 29th and Oakley) to find this pet store, but ended up driving around the entire shopping center without finding it. We were getting ready to turn onto 29th Street from Oakley and head west to dinner and a movie, when I saw Safari Pets on the North Side of the intersection where a liquor store once was. It was fate, we walked in to Safari Pets and the only dog they had was an 8 week old mini-dachsund. They had just received her that morning from a local breeder (just north of Manhattan). We started to play with her and ended up buying her within an hour. Ruby is acclimating well in the Gooden household. Our experience at Safari Pets was wonderful and we are so happy with Ruby. I wanted to share a little about this locally owned pet store.
Safari Pets is owned and operated by Buster Brown. It opened in 1991. For the last seven years, he has used only one kennel (the local breeder near Manhattan, KS) to ensure that all of his dogs are healthy. He relies solely on word of mouth advertising. For the hobbyist, his fish room speaks for itself. The store prides itself on its selection of fish, but holds its own with pet supplies. Aaron and I had a wonderful experience at Safari Pets, and, of course, couldn’t be happier with our purchase.
This past weekend there was a festival in the parking lots of Discovery Furniture and RoomMakers (just off Huntoon and Wanamaker) called Thank You Kansas. It was Thursday and Friday evening (4/9/09 and 4/10/09) and all day Saturday (4/11/09). The festival had two purposes: (1) Connect those who are willing to lend a helping hand to those that need a helping hand… whether you are an individual, group, business, or charity. (2) To Provide an opportunity for Kansans to say “Thank You Kansas!” in their own way. No idea or contribution is too small or grand. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve previously posted about my love for Hazel Hill and got several comments from other fans, so I thought I’d pass along this email I received (I am on their mailing list):
Customer Appreciation Day – Thursday, March 26th
Please accept a Free full slice of fudge with any purchase this Thursday so show our appreciation for supporting Hazel Hill Chocolate Traditions.
Last year we gave away 98lbs. of fudge.
We are hoping to raise that to 150lb this year.
You can visit Hazel Hill at 724 S Kansas Ave. They are open 10:00 – 8:00 on weekdays and 10:00 – 6:00 on Saturday. Don’t forget to stop by on Thursday and pick up a free slice of fudge if you get the chance … I know I will!
Ever since Denise posted Being an Intentional Topekan, I’ve really tried to follow her lead and make a concerted effort to shop local. This weekend Brandon and I stopped by Hazel Hill Chocolates – a homemade chocolate shop located downtown at 7th and Kansas.
