Food and retail therapy

Went out last night with a group of friends to P.F. Chang's, which is fairly new to the area. The crispy green beans and the lettuce wraps were YUM. As an entree, I had the Cantonese shrimp, which is probably one of the few figure-friendly items on the menu! It was veryvery good, served with snow peas and brown rice. Ooooh, and the Imperial Peach martini is pretty dang good, too.

The restaurant is located in the new Renaissance at Colony Park shopping center off Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland. After dinner, we strolled around to check out the open-air development, which is scheduled for its grand opening TODAY. Stores we saw included Ann Taylor, Talbot's, Williams Sonoma, Solstice (designer sunglasses), Fresh Market (kind-of like Whole Foods), Chico's, Cachet, Harold's, Cellular South, GNC, Barnes and Noble, J. Jill, and a few others. All of the stores didn't look like they'd be ready for today's opening, so I'm not sure how many retailers will actually be open for business today. But the landscapers were out in full force, even last night at 8 p.m. They were putting in a few last geraniums, mulching flower bedds, and otherwise sprucing up the area in anticipation of the big day.

The development reminds me of Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is an outdoor mall with a European aesthetic. The "streets" are cobblestone, with lots of wrought-iron lampposts and hanging baskets of flowers. It would be a very pleasant place to shop in good weather, as the layout lends itself to strolling.

At any rate, I may swing by there today, though booger doesn't usually let me get too much shopping done when he's around! (Like a typical male, he'd rather be almost anywhere than in a store.) I think this development will be great for Ridgeland, as Dogwood Festival mall has been enjoying alot of the business that County Line Road used to get. We'll see!

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