Fairview Park Mall, I Hardly Recognize You

Sunday afternoon, it was still H O T outside.

I worked at the store until 2 p.m., then Mom and I had plans to hang out together.

We hightailed it up to the rooftop where we enjoyed cosmos and powertanning.

Joke! Haha!

As mentioned last week, Mom and the heat/humidity/The Great Outdoors Oven do not exactly get along.

Instead, it was the perfect opportunity for our July Outing of the Month.

For this month’s shopping extravaganza, we returned to the mall of my teen-aged youth: Fairview Park Mall.

I don’t know how many Saturday afternoons Mom and I spent at this mall from the time I was 12 or 13 til I started university.I do know that at the pinnacle of my mall-rat years, we once had a streak of about eight Saturdays in a row where we shopped ’til we dropped for hours on end. We didn’t usually spend a ton of cash [ok, sometimes, we did not too badly], but time would fly as we tried on clothes, matched accessories, or just checked out sales and new product.

Fairview has undergone a couple of major renos since those long ago days. I hadn’t been down to this Kitchener mall in at least two years since my mall of choice these days is Conestoga Mall, and I don’t even get up there all that much – I accomplish most of my shopping needs in my neighbourhood.

Mom and I parked outside of The Bay:

my self-portrait skillz are failing me, of late - i wanted to get "The Bay" sign in the background, there...

no dice...let's get shopping!

We started off in The Bay to get underwear for Dad.

I wish I was joking.

I’m not.

No photos, and let’s quickly move on, mmmm’k??

there's no aritzia at conestoga mall, so in we went...

I ♥ Aritzia and have had good luck here before.

I tried on these tights-that-appear-to-be-cargo-pants:

on sale for $25

I passed on them; now I am full of regret. Should I go back, and if so, will they be there??

Sidenote: interesting security precaution:

i had to lock my knapsack in this cubbyhole while i tried on the pants. that's the first i've ever seen of this practice

Next, we blazed a path to the store I was most eager to show to Mom:

i had heard thru the grapevine that sephora had opened in june

Kitchener is hitting the big time!!! I’ve only been in Sephora once before, last fall in Toronto – very cool to have a location close at hand, now. [Is it too much to ask that Lululemon and/or Whole Foods make a local appearance, soon??!!].

i would love to try this crackle polish (sure to be a christmas list item!)

did you know that the "cake" founder is a local girl?! good for heather!

that's me, daring and chic, no?!!

The sales associates in Sephora were very…eager. If anything, they were a little too attentive in their pleasantries and offers of assistance. But hey, I’ll take that type of customer service any day over being ignored.

The raise-an-eyebrow moment of the day:

a christmas display at the front entrance of the hallmark shop!

Mom and I had the best luck of the day at The Body Shop.

It was buy one, get one half off, so Mom got something for herself, and a treat for Dad. We appreciated the excellent, A+ service from sales associate, Lindsay!

smile for the blog, lindsay!

We each received a sample of cream to test out.

satisfied shoppers!

Whew! We need to take a break!

thanks for the COFFEE, mom!

I enjoyed my first cup of Second Cup decaf coffee – it receives a Kiki Stamp of Approval!

By this time, it was pushing 4:30 p.m., and the mall closes at 5 p.m. Being in retail, I am sensitive to not overstaying a welcome – when you get to within 30 minutes of closing time, it’s time to call it a day.

an indoor effort. darn- so close!

Two observations:

1) Customer service was excellent at every single store we visited, today – even at The Bay where we notoriously are ignored or snarled at. Sales associates were awake friendly, helpful…ie doing their jobs. It was just a shocker a pleasant surprise to feel so welcomed!

2) If I had to choose between Fairview Park Mall and Conestoga Mall, I would choose…

Conestoga.

You’ll find a lot of the same stores at each location (ex: The Gap, RW & Co, Aéropostale, The Body Shop etc etc) . Yes, Fairview has Sephora, Town Shoes and Coach, for example. But, Conestoga has Old Navy, Winners, Shoppers and even Zehrs (with a Joe Fresh section!). Happily, each mall is only a 10 minute drive away. I definitely won’t wait another two years to go back to Fairview!

Who’s your favourite shopping buddy? Or, do you prefer to shop solo? Mom and I always seem to have great luck when we’re together. Plus, we’re honest with each other when it comes to making a purchase or taking a pass!

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