Dreaming of a Downtown Target

(Flickr pic by Tortuga One.)

Following the news that Macy’s is shutting down its downtown Los Angeles location at the 7+Fig shopping center (its other downtown location, at Macy’s Plaza, will remain open), let the speculation begin on how 7+Fig might fill that 120,000 square foot space.

Blogdowntown’s Eric talked to a rep from 7+Fig owner Brookfield Properties, which is looking to fill both that space and another 80,000 square foot space vacated in 1997 by Bullock’s. The 7+Fig Macy’s was actually a Robinsons-May until Macy’s owner Federated bought the May Co. in 2006; it was only a matter of time that the location shut down, as the Macy’s Plaza location was close by.

Blogdowntown says Brookfield hopes to combine the two spaces and attract a new retailer downtown; Eric suggests one sure to get downtown residents excited: Target.

Blogger Preschooler Sez The Darndest Things, One in a series

– A few days after the 2008 election: “Dadda, I saw a magazine at school with ‘Robama’ on the cover. It was all about ‘Robama.’”

– Noticing my thinning hairline: “Daddy, you’re hair’s gonna look like Grandpa’s soon!”

– A few days ago, as we were walking down the aisles of Target, Evan suddenly screamed: “EVERYONE! TARGET IS CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES!” It was the middle of the day. Not sure if anyone left the store, confused, after hearing the 4-year-old’s stern announcement.

This Is What The Summer Brings

YES! The Yo Gabba Gabba toys have started arriving in stores. We spotted a big selection this weekend at the Burbank Target — plush dolls of Brobee, Muno and Toodee; Plex’s car; a YGG! guitar; and, above, a Brobee microphone.

I bought the microphone. For (ahem) the Kid FKABT, of course. (Maybe we’ll share.) Nontoxic reviews has more info on the new toys here, or read about it at the official YGG! production blog.

And stay tuned… we’ll recount our super-secret visit to Gabbaland later this week! (Seriously!)

The 99 Cents Only Store Shopper

As I mentioned in the past, I love hitting up the 99 Cents Only store for unusual products or flavors that didn’t quite work out in the mainstream. An early morning Easter run to the store resulted in these gems:

– Limited Edition Carnival Flavors Skittles: Cotton Candy, Candy Apple, Bubble Gum, Red Licorice and Green Slushy flavored Skittles! Eat your heart out, Jelly Belly!

– Mini Robin Eggs Milkshake, Strawberry flavor: From the makers of Whoppers. Malted milk candy, but with an artificial Strawberry finish.

– Chex Mix, Apple Cinnamon flavor: It’s like a breakfast version of the snack mix: Cinnamon Chex, Corn Chex, Apple Cinnamon Walnuts, Cranberries, Apple pieces, and yogurt-covered Chex.

– Vanilla Creme Hershey’s Kisses: Probably the most disappointing of the bunch. Like a Cadbury egg, just smaller.

Now, a bonus shopper tip: Target’s line of baked chips, which includes flavors such as curry and Jamaican Jerk (above), are just $2 right now. The Jamaican Jerk is nice, with a kick that doesn’t show up until you’ve scarfed down five or six.

Maria’s Thursday Three

1. Target Meal: We were caught at Target one day when BT declared that he was hungry. We ended up getting him the Target snack bar’s kids’ meal — and were impressed (of course we were — it’s Target, after all.)

The mean included had a hot dog, apple sauce (the menu promised organic yogurt but they gave us apple sauce instead) and organic milk, all for $1.99. I know a hot dog is not the best food for him, but it could’ve really gotten ugly if the hungry toddler was not fed. I thought the applesauce and organic milk made this meal a good bargain. Anyway, check out that box the meal came in: loaded with illustrations by J. Otto Seibold!

2. The Huntington Library Free Day: The Hungtington Library offers free admission today (every first Thursday of the month) — but you must order advance tickets to get in. Good if you have your act together and have tickets for today, bad if you are a last-minute kind of person like me.

3. Year Of The Rat: The Lunar New Year Festival is happening in Chinatown this weekend. Avoid the traffic mess by taking the Gold Line, perhaps from South Pasadena.

Post-Holiday Bargain Shopping at Target

Over at My Target Cart, JustJenn recently extolled the virtues of hitting Target right after Christmas.

Sure, snagging Christmas gear and decorations for the next holiday season is grand. But there’s also an opportunity to snag useful household items that are on sale solely because they’re in holiday packaging. Like Jenn, we grabbed a two-pack of Palmolive soap that was 50% off solely because it was in a snowflake wrap. We’ve also been hoarding perfectly good candy that can be eaten throughout the year. (Well, not by me, now that I’m launching The Bloggest Loser, right?!)

We hit the Target again on New Year’s Day, and now everything holiday-related is 75% off. Now is the time to grab any of that holiday stuff you might want next year. We picked up a bunch of Christmas lights to finally decorate the house next year, not to mention cake mixes, Pez, and Jones holiday themed sodas (featuring Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie, Cherry Pie and Lemon Merengue Pie flavors). The entire package, less than $2!

No Black Friday Celebration

Last year, after my brother-in-law and I suffered through a rather miserable early morning Black Friday experience, I vowed, “never again.”

I’m staying true to my word. Oh, we’ll hit some of the biggies tomorrow, including Target, Circuit City, etc. But I’m not waiting in line at 3 a.m. for a “door buster” that winds up selling out before I even get to the front door.

Speaking of Target, if you frequent the discounter — and trust me, we’re there so often that whenever Blogger Toddler sees a bull’s eye, he assumes it’s Target-related — check out the new blog Inside My Target Cart. It was recently launched by Targetholic JustJenn, who figured she ought to chronicle some of her cool finds, seeing how she also winds up there every weekend.

(Pic: From the Inside My Target Cart blog.)

Maria’s Thursday Three

1. Plate Envy: We finally scored these divided plates for Evan at Target for under $2. I’ve been wondering where Just Jenn got hers from, but how on earth can I make such beautiful, well-balanced meals for Evan?

2. Simply Good Tomato Sauce: I vowed to make Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce after reading about it on The Amateur Gourmet and Masak Masak blogs. It uses four ingredients, requires little knife skills, takes 45 minutes and voila, out comes some pretty damn good sauce. Check out the recipe here.

3. Reform School: This little shop in Silver Lake is such a treat to visit, filled with items made by crafters/artists I admire. It’s a must place to go for some gift shopping.

Get The Lead Out

Here’s what I’m wondering: If major toy manufacturers can miss the lead in expensive toys that are part of massive, multi-million dollar licensing franchises (Diego, etc.), how can there not be lead in those cheap-o toys at places like the 99 Cents Only Store?

Above, a red wooden car I bought for Evan last year in Target’s “One Spot.” The price was right for a mindless impulse purchase — but under the old mantra “you get what you pay for,” did I get a big ol’ lead-painted toy?

Eagle Rock’s Mall of Manila

The L.A. Times finally finally picks up on the mainstream Eagle Rock Plaza’s move to target the large Filipino community in the area — something we’ve written about several times, including this post last year.

But the story doesn’t dive in deep enough to describe the scope of the transformation — no mention, for example, of Bench, a Gap-style clothing chain from the Philippines that filled a void at the mall; nor does it get into the long lines Jollibee created when it first opened — or the fact that Chow King, a Chinese-oriented Filipino fast food joint, recently opened across the way.

Also the story doesn’t discuss the mall’s recent ownership change — Westfield sold the shopping center last year to Pennsylvania-based Centro Watt. I would have loved to hear more from the mall owners about this unique strategy, and how they’re managing to save what was a dying mall. The reporter does touch on the unusual juxtaposition of a mainstream mall — with big anchors like Target and Macy’s — carrying so many chains that target a specific ethnic group. The fact that I can pick up items at Target, then share a halo-halo with Evan at Chow King (and snacks at Seafood City), is pretty cool.