I never ever use the category Shopping because I hate it- shopping, not the category. I set aside about two hours yesterday to buy my sister a birthday gift, and decided to walk in this boutiquey shop, Adorna Bella, on Columbus. I was delighted! And ten minutes later had a supreme gift! So I wanted to share with all you sf-metblog readers that have a need for a girlie gift, this is a great find. The collection is created by local artisans, the prices are reasonable (35-50$ of what I was looking at), the designs are very unique, and they have receptions frequently- just sign up in the guestbook. Thanks Jasmine for all the info! What I did with my extra time- rent Lost, of course.

Trader Joe’s, in the morning right after they open at 9am. It’s the bomb. “The shelves are stacked, there’s no crowds, and we’re all in a good mood” the cashier told me as I was checking out at 9:05. No elbowing at the salad aisle, no jostling for free coffee, no “let me move my cart so you can move your cart, so you can block the aisle deciding what pinot goes with goat.” Also, you get to hang out with your local firefighters as they stock up for the day. And, there’s SKA playing on the PA. One caveat is that the free coffee may not be totally ready.