| One the greatest American pastimes is shopping. Whether you enjoy window shopping, buying knickknacks as a tourist, shopping online, or simply walking the local mall, there is something for everyone. Shopping has become central to our way of life, with brand names like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger covering everything from perfume to designer jeans. First-rate shopping is easy to find with stores like Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s in malls across the nation. The Mall of America is the nation’s largest, sporting a huge food court, an indoor amusement park, and shopping for all ages. A simple pair of jeans can turn into a day’s project, presenting choices like loose-fit versus boot-cut, flared versus tight, low-rise or the classic fit? Online shopping simplifies your search with websites like buyerdom.com and shopzilla.com, and the every popular Ebay. Magazines like Lucky Magazine and Domino Magazine feature online and local shopping guides from home décor to date night apparel. The Fashion Editor is one of the largest online fashion and trend setting guides, offering advice on the latest styles, the fashion industry, and famous stylists. It’s not just the ladies that find shopping addicting, with AskMen.com featuring monthly fashion and shopping question and answers. Of course, most men would rather be seen at the nearby Lowe’s or Home Depot for home fix-ups and furnishings instead. Sporting goods, electronics, and entertainment are big among most, and feature venues like BestBuy, RadioShack, and Sports Authority. After a long day, Barne’s & Noble and Borders are popular bookstores offering comfy chairs for shoppers to peruse their books in luxury before purchasing. With so many shoppers and so much to buy, yesterday’s purchases are quickly passed on to consignment shops and secondhand stores like Name Brand Exchange, sold at rummage sales, or donated to The Salvation Army and Goodwill. Washington is a beautiful state that sports an amazing coastline, green valleys, rolling hills, and mountains galore. It shares a border with a foreign country, our friendly, northern neighbor, Canada. And it has plenty of diversity: a thriving cultural and artistic element, vibrant music scenes, plenty of outdoor recreation, specialty shopping, mouth-watering cuisine, and of course, plenty of coffee shops. It’s also home to one of the most interesting and intellectual cities in the Unites States, Seattle. Many describe it as big city living with a small city’s pace and friendly neighborhood atmosphere. Here you’ll find the famous space needle, the original Starbuck’s, and the original home to grunge music, as well as many up-and-coming bands. Not far from Seattle, on the other side of picturesque Lake Washington, is Bellevue, an exciting, growing city that boasts one of the largest shopping centers in the region, Bellevue Square. Here you’ll find tantalizing restaurants and upscale shops with new additions like “The Lodge,” One Lincoln Tower, and the Bravern. Another popular spot is the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, which houses over a thousand dolls. And for kids, the new KidsQuest Children’s Museum, contains 10,000 square feet of play space. Other attractions include the famous Washington and Evergreen Point floating bridges. Recreational opportunities include walks on its sandy beaches or a visit to one of its over 120 state parks, hiking, camping, boating or windsurfing in Puget Sound, and snow-based sports, or simply taking in the beauty of Columbia River Gorge. Seattle, Bellevue, Gold Coast, space needle, Starbuck’s, grunge music, Columbia River Gorge, Lake Washington, Puget Sound, Canada window shopping, online shopping, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Marni, designer jeans, perfume, Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Mall of America, loose-fit jeans, boot-cut jeans, flared jeans, low-rise fit, classic fit, buyerdom.com, shopzilla.com, Ebay, Lucky Magazine, Domino Magazine, The Fashion Editor, fashion industry, AskMen.com, Lowe’s, Home Depot, home fix-ups, Barne’s & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, RadioShack, CompUSA, BestBuy, Sports Authority, consignment shops, secondhand stores, Name Brand Exchange, rummage sales, The Salvation Army, Goodwill, sporting goods, electronics, furnishings, home décor
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