shop hopping, day 3

Last Monday was the "BIG" hop day. PJ and I met up with Tina and Jennifer and started on our journey into the Wildomar, Temecula, San Diego, etc. loop. Now, brace yourself... I think this is the longest blog post I've ever done.

First stop, Starbucks. (We have our priorities!) I love the prints on the wall at this location. Coolio!


I didn't pay much attention to the order we hit these stores in --probably because I wasn't doing the driving. I *think* it went something like this...

First stop Now & Then Scrapbooks in Wildomar. This store was running some specials just for Shop Hoppers. I picked up a couple of bottles of Tres Jolie buttons:


We also hit Scrapbook Corner in Temecula. Found some very fun stuff here, like Mod by Autumn Leaves and some Tinkering Ink and Hambly stuff. Here's the take from this store:


Aren't those mod plastic letters adorable? (Hey, Jenn I haven't forgotten I need to split these up.)

Next was supposed to be Scrapbooks Unlimited, but we got a little turned around and instead found our way to It's About Time in Murrietta. Loved this store! They had lots of fun lines including Jenni Bowlin, Scrapbour (I'd been looking for this one), and more. The staff was so friendly too. Here are the goods:


Next, we made our way to Scrapbooks Unlimited in Temecula where our entourage was joined by Laura of Desert Scrappers. Sadly, this store is going out of business. However that meant there was an even better discount than the expected 15% --we got 50% off everything! Actually, with a little wheeling and dealing, PJ and Jennifer scored an even better discount on some ribbon by making offers on the entire rolls.

This was another store I purchased a lot at. I'm a sucker for a good deal!




From here we headed to Cool Scrapbook Stuff in Poway. Here's a pic of part of the group:


I had visited this store last month on the way back from San Diego Expo. They have a really wide variety of product here. The staff also told us we could open the brand spankin' new packages of CI papers on the crop table if we wanted to buy any. I resisted those, but not this stuff:


Elena joined our group at this point and was our navigator for destinations south. This worked out great since this is her 'backyard' so to speak. Next stop - Memories in the Making in La Mesa. I think this is the one store I didn't buy anything at (or possibly what I bought got tossed into one of my other bags). But it's still very memorable for what happened after we left the store.

This is Frank of the San Diego Culinary Institute. Frank ROCKS!!!!!


Frank presented us with the most amazing plate of deserts. Yummy! No, he didn't make them *just* for us, but let's just say we were in the right place at the right time! Take a lookie at the creations (oh and a little cheesecake too!)



We had reached the half way point and with that sugar boost, we were good to go. We headed out to Yellow Bird Scrapbooking in El Cajon, named for the owner's parrot. Rumor has it that he is trained to say "discount" and if he says it while you are checking out, you get one. Too bad he wasn't in residence for our visit. Still, we worked our S-H discounts.


Next was Scrapbook Your Life in San Diego, another store I'd stopped by after Expo. In fact, it was just down the road from our hotel, little did we know. I found this cute little Jolee's sticker set:


Flashback's in Del Mar was next. Time for another group pic!


Jennifer took this one which is why she isn't in it. Left to right are: Laura, PJ, Me, Tina and Elena. Didn't spend much money here (thank goodness --helps make up for my lapses elsewhere!)


We were now racing with the clock. We called ahead to Jazi Crafts in Oceanside to let them know we were on our way and would they stay open for us and they did bless those sweeties! They even let us do the make-n-take. This is a store I'd love to go back and spend more time meandering through. There were lots and lots of stamps and related products and just too much to absorb in a quick visit. I picked me up some Piggy Tales and a Heidi Swapp mask:


On to Ever After in Carlsbad. I was excited to see this store in person since I had spent a lot of time in their booth at Expo (most of that waiting for the mk-n-tk). It's a large store with lots of new, exciting products. We picked up a cute make-n-take purse project using Michael Miller fabric paper. I also found some patterned papers by a company I'd never heard of before - Carol Wilson Fine Arts. Loved it!


Our last stop for the day (er, uh... night) was Pink Pineapple in Vista. I had heard a lot about the store and it was as cool as expected. I mean the place smelled wonderful from the moment we walked in. Love the ribbon selection --unique and gorgeous trims at great prices. Definitely a destination store. Here's a look at what I picked up:


We were hoping to pop into Scrapbook Corner in Hemet too, but just couldn't make it before they closed. Still, we managed to fit twelve store visits into one day. Pretty good, I'd say!

If you made it to the end of this post, give yourself a big pat on the back for determination and patience.