More Discount Shopping

A new fashion store is also coming to the Millcreek Mall in the fall of 2012. Ross Dress for Less, an off-price department store, will move this fall into the former location of Borders Books in the Millcreek Mall Pavilion.

 

The store will occupy about 25,000 square feet next door to Old Navy, according to an announcement from the Youngstown-based Cafaro Co., which owns the Millcreek Mall.

Customers can expect to find designer and brand name fashions for men, women, and children at savings of 20 to 70 percent compared to department and specialty stores.

Ross’s buying teams are located in the fashion centers of New York and Los Angeles, where they have a pulse on the market and work closely with manufacturers to negotiate the best possible deals.

Another way Ross passes along great savings is by maintaining strict controls on expenses and inventories. The stores are designed with "no frills", featuring simple displays and centralized check-out stations.

Ross Dress For Less claims to be the largest off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States, with 1,037 locations in 29 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

What do you think of this news?
Do you like Ross?
Will you shop there?
Do you think this will be a draw to the Canadian shoppers?

Foto Friday: Tulip Spiral

Remember spring? It came and went pretty quickly in the northeast part of the United States. Too quickly, if you ask me. I took this photograph at Penn State's Arboretum on March 30, 2012.

I had/have a plan to make my family room's decor theme "four seasons." I already have snowflake photography from my mom. And I have some flower photos and canvas prints. My plan for autumn to to collect fallen leaves and frame them. So then I need spring art/photos. My idea was to take photos of budding flowers, I have a few and this tulip bloom is one that I think may be framing-worthy. (I'm thinking of cropping it square.)

Any other ideas for spring-inspired art? Although, it may be too late for me to capture with photography.

thur-YEARN-sday: Les Mis

Les Miserables was the one of three Broadway musicals I saw in New York City at age 18. I sat dead center, in row C (as in the third row). I cried my eyes out. I loved it.

I am looking forward to seeing the movie with Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius and Samantha Barks as Eponine (who played Eponine at the Queens Theatre in London's West End and sang her part in the 25th Anniversary).

Apparently the reason Hathaway's version of "I Dreamed A Dream" sounds raw, is because director Tom Hooper reportedly had the actors sing their performances live on set, a tactic rarely done on big-screen musicals, which allow many singing performances to be fixed and tweaked in post-production.

Hooper says, "If you are miming to a playback, even if the synchronization is done very well, there is a part of you that knows something is off, something is false. When it's live, you believe it so much more. The actors have complete freedom rather than following a recording done three months before."

Les Miserables arrives in theaters on Dec. 14. I'm ready for it now.

YouTube-sday: First Steps

Foto Friday: Great Blue

Today's Foto Friday just proves that much nature photography is about being in the right place at the right time. And that place was Orlando, Florida, and the time was lunch on April 3, 2012.

I honestly thought this Great Blue Heron was a statue. And then its head moved! You can imagine my surprise. And luckily, I just happened to have my office's camera with me -- as I was in Orlando for business (Yes, I have a big girl job that let's me travel and it's fabulous!).

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is the largest North American heron -- head-to-tail length of 38–54 in., a wingspan of 66-79 in. a height of 45–54 in. and a weight of 4.6–7.3 lb.

thur-YEARN-sday: Earth (wind) Fire (water) Pit

I've been trying to find an affordable fire pit. Well, this is not it. But it's beautifully inspired. In my next life, I would like to come back rich and put this in my backyard.

Created by Rick Wittrig, Functional Steel Artist, the Third Rock Fire Pit can be yours for $1,679.

Current Read: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

So I started reading the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer, this month without really knowing what I was getting myself into.

It's a strange one. But also interesting.

This is a book one must read (IMO, not suitable for audiobook format). The author uses photographs, illustrations, and interesting typography that makes for unique reading experience. The story follows a nine-year-old boy on his quest to discover more about his father who died two years earlier. In a separate storyline, it tells the story of his grandfather. When the stories finally intersect, the book is difficult to put down. The observations made by this innocent, yet mature, boy leave the reader with much to think about.

Here are a few of the things I jotted down and wanted to share:

• Is life worth all the work it takes to live? 
• There are more places you haven't heard of than you've heard of.
• There's nothing wrong with not understanding yourself.
• It takes a life to learn how to live.
• "We're standing in front of a closed box which we cannot open." - Albert Einstein
• I wish I had made things for life to depend on.

I'll leave it there. For you to decide. Whether it's worth your time.