Sunday, March 7, 2010
Grand Gift Emporium Review and Giveaway!
Candy and Penny Candy for the Valentines Day Gift
guide I could not stop talking and thinking about
all those old school Yummy delights! It is still too
cold to walk up to Z's around here to get some more
of my Yummy favorites for Michigan is funny like that.
In another couple of weeks we will have a few days
of 60 degree weather then BAM back to 20 for a
week. I think Spring likes to play hide and seek with
us here and I just can't wait that long to get up to
the Store. Spring also is when the young un's come
out here in force and in the complex I live in they
seem to not only multiply like rabbits they also tend
to wander around aimlessly. I am not here today to
get all worked up on some of my neighbors lousy
parenting policy's but instead tell you how a lot of
them have adopted our house over the years.
When we moved in there were not that many
children and the ones that were here were already
on the older side. Andrew was seven and 4 doors
down was another seven year old who was soon to
be his best friend and over in the apartments there
was one more boy who was a year behind them.
Andrews best friend did have a younger brother but
when we first got here he was still in a stroller
though that didn't last for long. There was also a
little girl around 3 and she would soon be joined
by her little sister. Everyone knew each other in the
Condos and we would all take walks to the Candy
Store together and it was all around a friendly
place. Then, as if someone opened the flood gates, a
hoard of little kids moved in and it was all you could
do to keep track of them. Two years ago Andrews
best friend moved, not far, but no longer a couple of
doors down and Andrew was the only older child
around. The little kids didn't forget him though for
most of them were born here and Andrew and his
best friend were the only big kids they knew. Now
Andrew was alone and the little ones were old
enough to play outside and they elected Andrew
their leader. Not for his Political porousness, I
assure you, but more for the fact they knew that
even though Andrew was old enough to go places
himself now, he and I still made our weekly trips
to the candy store. Those guys would line up a
dozen deep when we got back for Andrew would
sit on the porch and pass out Penny candy. They
adored him and he was bored. Last Summer was
the first year he didn't do it and John had take
the torch. Now Z's is nice and they do have some
of the old time selection but not a whole lot. Like
I have told you guys before out of the 150 or so
bins they have a lot are the same candy, just
a different flavor. Take the Tootsie Roll knock offs
they have. Not only do they have the original flavor
they have grape and Orange and pretty much every
fruit you can think off and more. That's a good ten
bins right there and just about every candy that can
come in a flavor is divided the same way. What Z's
is really good for is memories and giving you a
craving for more of that old time Candy. I just can't
get enough of it and after reading your comments
the last time I spoke of it, neither can you!
around, found a fix to our mutual sweet tooth and
our desire to walk down nostalgia lane. I found a place
that caters to both of those interests. In fact,
this place is huge it isn't a walk down the lane
it is walks down lane after lane after lane of nostalgia!
Crossroads market is a store with several stores inside
of it. Basically an On-line Shopping Mall. I will tell
you a little bit about some of the other shops in the
mall in a second but right now we are going to
speak of the Grand Gift Emporium. Say your sweetie
has a even sweeter, sweet tooth? First off, say that 10
times fast and second well, you have found the right
place then. Need to give the sweet tooth a bit of a
rest but are still dig-gen the walk down nostalgia lane
man? Guess what? They are still your place. Groovy
Baby! The Grand Gift Emporium has a little bit of pop
culture from pretty much every generation that is walking
around today. For review we got to try some of their
candy since that was what I had so much fun with
before and hey, Easter is right around the block and
candy is the name of the game there. My son is nuts
for the things I grew up with and loves the stuff my
Mom and his other Grandmother grew up with too. He
must have been the only ten year old out there who
knows the words to a host of Tom Jones songs as
well at Janis Joplin and Heart and even some good old
fashioned Johnny Cash. I remember when he was around
6 he was playing outside and my neighbor knocked on
the door and I opened it. There he stood there with a
dumbfounded look on his face. The man was like 40
and looked lost. I asked him what I could do from him
and he explained that he was sitting outside with the kids
and Andrew was singing a Chicago song he loved and he
was really surprised by that and even more so when I
asked where he learned it and he told the guy from a CD
he has. He explained how they were his favorite and he
had not heard that song in years and he said I could
borrow his CD to make a copy. He then told me he
did feel like a fool right now but Andrew told him to
knock on the door and tell me Andy said he could and
would I grab it for him. I laughed and grabbed it and
as I handed it to him he said he would appreciate if I didn't
share with everyone the fact he was borrowing Cd's from
a 6 year old. It was too funny and I felt for the man.
The Candy collections that they have are a super fun
way for us to tell him all sorts of other stuff that we
remember from growing up. What I really liked about the
decade boxes was they come complete with a little letter
that explains everything that happened that year and even
goes so far as to tell you tidbits of info such as how
much a gallon of milk was in 1970 and a loaf of bread.
It is so hard to relate to a teenager and this box opened
the flood gates on a ton of conversations about what went
on in this year or that. The decade boxes are packed
with favorites from when I was a child. I had a blast
explaining what the Nick L Lips were or one of my
favorites the Bottle Caps. Remember those? I loved the
Root-beer and would get pack after pack just to pick
those out. Whatever happened to O'Henry and they even
have the Double Bubble, the gum we chomped on long
before it came in a designer box like it does now. 5
pounds of Candy and in those five pounds is one of
my all time yummy best, a Rope Licorice. I don't think
I ever finished one, just to carry one around was a
status symbol and we all tried to keep ours as long
as we could. That list had us talking for a whole
afternoon and we never really get to do that anymore
and Andy could not believe people only made $9,350
dollars a year or a brand new car costs $3,900. Do
you remember when a gallon of gas cost 38 cents?
How about laying on your Water-bed and Watching
the Dukes of Hazard. The TV show I would wait for
every week was BJ and the Bear and Andrew was
clueless for he does watch a lot of the retro TV shows
and that one has yet to make the cut. The Decades
Candy box was a tasty, entertaining and informative way
to spend the afternoon as a family and would be a great
item to yank out on family game night. They have the
1940's all the way to the 90's so nobody is left in the
past! I had the idea of breaking out the Candy box on
game night and playing a round of the Pop Culture
Trivia Pursuit. Who knows, John and I might have a
chance of winning that one. Everyone around the table
chomping on Gumballs and filling up their pie with pieces
and maybe a dare or two on the Pop rocks and Coke!
What a blast! Truth? That is a great way for the adults
to spend the evening too. Maybe on adult only night you
can change he Coke to some Boone's Farm or Riuniti and
Ice would be nice!
Emporium at Crossroads Market has the coolest collection.
They have all your classics like checkers and chess and
Domino's and more but instead of in boxes that fall apart
and you end up losing pieces and can never find a place
to put them, they all come in a Mock Book with a slide
out drawer that you can put on book shelf. Neat, orderly and
they look super cool. "Hey Larry, go grab a game, Volume
Backgammon!"
I thought that was the neatest way ever to keep your
games all tidy and in easy reach. They also have a ton
of Toys from when we were kids and batteries were not
the name of the game. Hey, instead of Beep beep, buzz,
beep, insert credit card to buy more batteries, buy your
child something you grew up with. How about a Wooden
Pin Ball game or Color-forms? Woolly Willy or a Water
Rocket? Still to modern for you? Need something a little
bit older? They have Tiddledy Winks! Really! I could
not believe it? Here I went to the store looking
for some old time Candy and I found a plethora of
past goodies to entertain the whole family. These guys
have a little bit of everything for every taste and its
all fun and that is only one store in the mall. Didn't
I tell you this is an on-line mall? Oh, yeah, there is
more, much, much more! They also have:
The Hard to find Grocer
Hometown Favorites
The Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe
Giuliano's
not been able to find a Jolt or a Nehi Grape, the Old
Fashion Soda shoppe has it. Have a hankering for a
Moon pie? Old Time Favorites. Want to make Ice cream
at home? The Hard to Find Grocer has the Junket
Mixes to make it a snap. You can even get some
Curry Sauce right from Tia land at Giulianos World
Market. Here I came looking for Candy and I ended
up with a World of items and a place I will come
back to over and over again.
To comfort you on your journey for I know you are going
to be there a while and just might need something to
much on so they are giving one reader a Through the
Years, Four Decades of Candy Box. Nearly 50 Pieces of
Candy from the past to keep you Revin! To enter just
head over to the Mall and tell me what your favorite
item is? You don't even have to stick to the Gift Emporium,
you can hit any of the Stores in the Mall! The contest
will Start tonight and run to Midnight on April 27th.
USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner
will be contacted by email and have 72 hours to
contact me with their mailing information. As always
you can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest of
the day every day and then posting that you did here
and other ways to enter are posted below.
Grand Gift Emporium
Crossroads Market
Extra entries.
Extra entries only count after the initial entry
is completed.
1. Become a follower of my blog or Twitter
and post that you are. 3 entries,
please post 3 times.
2. Tweet about my blog and post the link
here. 5 entries, please post five times.
3. Grab my button. 5 entries. Please post
5 times.
4. Blog about this contest somewhere else
and post the link here. 5 Entries Please
post five times.
Don't forget to check out Crossroads Market
on the Easter Gift Guide!
Hey there, while you are here don't forget to enter
my Mommy Tool Box and Port a Pong Contests!
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