Day 12

Here we are on the final day. My did that go by fast! Did you get all your shopping done? Do you still need a few last minute gifts before you travel over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house?  I gotcha covered kiddo. On day 12 we've got restaurant gift certificates, home decor and toys galore (not from the store Toys Galore but from something better: Learning Sprout, which is a local independent business and the Duchess digs that much more).

What did we accomplish with this 12 Days of Shopping project? We exceeded 1500 viewers. (To be exact there were 1599 as of this posting). It was read by viewers in 10 different countries! I really didn't expect that. The top 3 were United States, Russia and UK. I didn't see any indication that these viewers had arrived here because of Google. About 98% of the visitors came from Facebook, FeedTacoma and Twitter.  I attribute the success of the blog to the my friends on Facebook who shared the links I posted daily to their friends. That's another reason to love Tacoma. People are willing to do things like that even when there is no personal gain for them. Our virtual wagons circling around our beautiful city. I haven't got any sales reports back but I didn't want to bother anyone during their busiest time of the year. I'm hoping the businesses will communicate that to me after the holidays are over.

Before I get to the last day of shopping I want to tell you some things about Tacoma in case you are reading this from somewhere far off. Tacoma is a waterfront city. We are not directly on the ocean but in a much calmer bay called Puget Sound. It is the third largest city in Washington State. If you drive 2 hours in any direction you can encounter entirely different climates. We have desert, mountains and the ocean. That means if you want to go skiing one day and sunbathing the next you can probably do that. We've got incredible hotels and there are more spas within a 10 mile radius than I can count and they are ALL amazing. We've got a wide variety of shops. We have world class entertainment via Broadway Center for the Performing Arts and live music every night of the week. There are ongoing theater productions from places like Tacoma Little Theater and Tacoma Musical Playhouse.  Tacoma is rather known for its underground art scene. In addition to our two large art museums (Museum of Glass and Tacoma Art Museum) we have a large selection of smaller art galleries too. We've even got our own film festivals including one where the filmmakers only have 72 hours to write and shoot it.


Its absolutely amazing to be in Tacoma in the summertime. We tend to get the most sunshine July-September. We have so many summer festivals that there seems to be one or two every weekend. A few of my favorites are Urban Arts Festival, Art on the Ave, Proctor Arts Fest, Ethnic Fest, Hemp Fest, Downtown Block Party, Freedom Fair, Taste of Tacoma and Zoobilee.


If you're idea of a vacation is poolside reading, we've got that. If you're more adventurous and you like snowboarding, hiking, sky diving, mountain biking, river rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding, water skiing, rock climbing, scuba diving or basically anything along those lines we've got you covered there too. We've got casinos, terrific restaurants and a wide variety of entertainment options.  For more tourism information, please visit this website: http://www.traveltacoma.com.


Isn't Tacoma amazing? And so few people know about it so we don't have issues with downtown traffic congestion at all. Speaking of Tacoma's streets, let's continue our walking tour. I started at 7th and Pacific Avenue. First stop was my favorite place to eat spring rolls. You know how you feel after a good workout or a day at the spa? Sometimes my friends and I just go to the eucalyptus steam room at Clara Spa and I always feel so clean and refreshed. The last thing I feel like doing is eating anything deep fried or heavy. What I crave is spring rolls and peanut sauce and 701 Pho has really good ones. They have other food too by the way. 

701 Pho

Learn more about this restaurant at their facebook page.

Ghamarian Rug Company

Like the sign says, this rug store is going out of business. The owner said maybe they will be there a month more and then he is moving to Atlanta. Now is the time to get a great deal on really good quality rugs. They are all handmade Persian or oriental rugs and they are gorgeous. The signs say 40 to 70% off. Here's  link to the website for more information.  

Here's an article that came out when the store first opened.

Three Bridges

New to the neighborhood is this home interior store. She just moved here from her previous store location in an area in Tacoma known as the Bridge District (near North 21st St.). When I walked in I was surprised by how big the store was and how many amazing items she has in there. Some items in the store are upstyled by local artists. 

Bird cages. I told ya.

I don't know if you can see this tall lamp with the
black and white damask print but I gotta tell you
I was in love. Damask is my new fav.

I love these wall sconces. Its like a chandelier for walls. Amazing.

Fluer de lis is another weakness of mine.

You MUST visit this store but bring a truck with you because you won't want to go home empty handed. Here's the web address if you need more information: http://www.threebridgesinteriorstacoma.com/

Meconi's

One of Tacoma's best loved watering holes. Good food. Comfortable atmosphere. It has that hometown watering hole appeal.

Matador

Matador is considered by many to have the best happy hour food in Tacoma. They have 2 happy hours every day. One is 4 to 6 pm and the other is 10 pm to 1 am. It's also one of my favorite hangouts. I love the steak nachos and I'm not really a nachos person usually. The ambiance is cool. They play cool music like radiohead, flaming lips, massive attack and things along those lines which gives an edgy feel to this Mexican restaurant. Don't bring the kids with you though. This place is strictly 21 and over. Be warned, its very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes there's a 20 minute wait for a table. 

 

Just $5.00 for any of these items during happy hour!

Learning Sprout

This is considered by many parents to be the best toy store in the region. There are two floors full of toys, games, baby supplies, educational materials, stuffed animals, costumes and all sorts of fun things.
They even have tiara's for little girls. Maybe this explains why there are so many stores carrying Tiaras. They start them early around here. :)

These are piggy banks. I'm glad to see parents are still encouraging their kids
to save money. I think they call us Gen X people the credit card generation.
Why save when you can just borrow? Ugh. Don't get me started.
BTW how cute is this unicorn? He's so HAPPY!

Hatgasm! Granted these are more whimsical than
the ones I usually wear but still, some pretty
great haberdashery here. Should I get that kings hat
and hold onto it until I find the one who's worthy of it?

Why do they only make these adorable outfits for toddlers?
I find that wholly unjust.

 

Teeny tiara

I love this lifesize dolphin.

I know these are supposed to be diaper bags but I kinda
wanted one anyway for a purse. What can I say, I'm a recovering
damask addict.

Not quite life-size giraffe but still pretty cool.
Did you know giraffe print is a huge fashion trend?

They're not dolls Mom, they're ACTION FIGURES!

These are Star Wars alarm clocks. Maybe these ARE the droids you are looking for.

Oooh! Cool. I kinda want one of these.

Impress your friends. Who knows, you might be
transported to a whole new magical world.

I had one of these when I was little. Such a cool toy.

Hey, they do birthday parties. I wonder if they'd do mine?

The Office

OK, time for a beer.  Luckily you're right next door to a little pub called The Office. I recommend their chicken ceasar salad.

Another little sign of home town pride. 253 is our area code
and you'll see it used lots of places.

Paddy Coynes

This Irish Pub has great food and service. I go there quite a bit. Ironically it's their cheese burger that always calls my name but their toasted cheese is very well known and their breakfasts are really good. Try the soda bread and the marmalade butter.

India Mahal

The service and the food here is really good too. I *love* the butter chicken and the garlic nan. I swear that whenever I have a cold or flu I eat that stuff and almost immediately feel better. Its like magic. They also make the sauce mild, medium or hot for you. I always get the mild and its plenty spicy for me. They will also deliver if you're not too far away.

Here is their website: http://www.indiamahal.com/

You can also find them on Facebook.

OK, that wraps up our 12 days of Christmas Shopping

Perhaps my goal to visit EVERY retail business downtown was too ambitious. Maybe even *I* didn't realize how many amazing places there are in downtown Tacoma. I never made it to the wonderful Opera Alley. I never made it to the shops along A Street. I never made it to anything higher than 21st St on Pacific. I also missed the shops between 9th and 15th on Pacific. I never made it up to Fawcett or Tacoma Avenue. I never made it over to Jefferson. I missed all the shops between 7th and 6th on St Helens and a few on that same street between 9th and 7th. And much to my disappointment, I didn't get to any of the museums or down to Dock Street and the cool shops by the marina. I guess this means that there is still work to be done beyond the 12 Days of shopping. I'm not sure what the frequency is going to be Kenneth, but I will keep posting shopping tours for you in the new year. Make sure you click the "Join this site" button on the right hand side of this page so you can keep up with this journey and keep telling your friends about this blog.  


Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year. I hope to see you at First Night Festival. I'll be hanging out at Angela Jossy's Broadway Plaza Stage. The bands on that stage are going to be brilliant!! 

Here's a sneak peek at Roman Holiday:




Here's a sneak peek at Not From Brooklyn:





XOXO,
Duchess of Downtown 

PS. If you found this 12 Days of Shopping helpful/entertaining or if your establishment benefited from the exposure, please consider making a contribution by clicking the donate button below. If that's not possible for you right now I'll accept your lavish praise in the comment section below. :)

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