Shopping & Services

We tried to resist our newest obsession, vintage carnival chalkware, but we failed. It certainly didn't help that while we were out looking for end tables, we stumbled on a treasure trove of this cool stuff, which used to be handed out as prizes at carnival dime pitches in the '30s and '40s. Our shelves were already stacked with tiny chalk Pinocchios and big, scary-eyed kewpies covered in chalk's trademark hyper-colorful, randomly spray-painted way, when we tripped into Historic District Antique Mall, which has the best selection of vintage chalkware we've seen anywhere, hands down.

We spied a pair of sleepy cherub bookends; a super-rare (and really gigantic — is there such a thing as "too big" when you're talking chalkware?) Porky Pig; and not one, but three, majorettes, which were popular figurines in chalkware during the '30s. We ended up buying a chalkware lamp shaped like a fawn and a pair of really ugly schooners, simply because they were so cheap and because we'd never seen chalkware that depicted a boat before. Looking for a new obsession? You, too, can become infatuated with the joys of vintage chalk — and if you do, we recommend nursing your chalkware jones at Historic District Antique Mall.

Looking for that ultra-spicy ginger beer that they serve at your favorite indie restaurant? Come to Pop the Soda Shop. Not only do they have the elusive drink you've been searching for (as well every conceivable kind of ginger ale, ginger soda, and ginger beer out there), they have more varieties of "alternative, imported, and gourmet" sodas and non-alcoholic beverages than we ever thought possible. It's just plain fun to stroll the aisles of this specialty shop, where there's everything from cane sugar cola and exotic energy drinks to old-fashioned sarsaparilla, birch beer, and root beer. For the sugar-conscious crowd, check out the fancy bottled water, tea, and diet sodas of every flavor. Chocolate soda? Check. Moxie? Check. Purple Love Potion #69? Check. (Seriously, they really do carry an "arousing carbonated drink" with such an entertaining name.) It's hard to stump the folks at Pop the Soda Shop. But why would you want to, when discovering wacky new sodas is this fun?

Francine Sumner didn't mean to become a successful jewelry designer. She just didn't want to fork over a lot of money for that cute "mommy jewelry" she wanted, namely the hand-stamped silver discs with kid names that every mom worth her station wagon is wearing around town these days.

Sumner learned how to make her own, then started selling it at local stores like MADE art boutique and About Face.

And then she got into Twilight — Stephenie Meyer's vampire novel series for young aduts — and started making jewelry based on the characters created by Meyer, herself a local mom. The Twilight jewelry, like the books, has flown off the shelves. You can find it on her Web site or at Changing Hands bookstore. We love the "good vampire" and "bad vampire" necklaces, as well as the "Go Ask Alice" motif. And the "bite me" charms are, well, to die for.

Ten years ago, if a restaurant were to charge $5 for coffee, it would have been laughed out of business. That's why Toshi's Roast in Surprise nabbed our vote this year — because if a cuppa Joe is going to cost as much as a decent burger, than it had damn well better be imported from South America and roasted in-house using a $15,000 machine. Owners Randy Miller, a former California juvie probation officer, and his wife, Marie, were clever enough to create a niche market for themselves, offering Asian-themed blended drinks like the popular Black Dragon Mocha, plus a selection of Japanese teas. The result is an upscale and trendy coffee house that brews a solid cup of coffee, whether it's the cheapskate's Americano or a fancy latte that's actually worth the five bucks.

In our often-sheltered, middle-class world, nothing's worse than waiting in line for a cup of coffee. And though there are plenty of mainstream and mom-and-pop shops in town serving caffeinated goodness, there always seems to be a queue moving at a snail's pace. Grrr. That's until Conspire began serving coffee out of its off-the-radar house in the Evans-Churchill district. The indie biz, formerly known as C.O.L.A.B., is an artist-run store that sells all sorts of handmade fashion, visual art, and coffee with (yes!) zero to little wait. (At least, before 'Best of' hits the streets.) We're so happy every day knowing that we'll get our morning fix when we need it.

It's easy to forget about this downtown gem — but every time we remember it's there, we wonder why we don't go more often. True, it's located in a part of town that's usually busy only on game day, but it's worth stepping off the beaten path (by which we mean Roosevelt Row and/or Seventh Street) for a cup from this place. Royal Coffee serves it up just how we like it: fast, friendly, and strong. Like a lot of downtown coffee shops, it also moonlights as an art gallery and hosts special events on First Friday. It's smack dab in the middle of what will (um, probably) someday be the "Jackson Street Entertainment District" and we hope Royal weathers the construction so that when downtown Phoenix becomes the new Mill Avenue, we'll totally have bragging rights to this spot. And so will you, if you follow our advice.

If coffee shops were people, Fiddler's Dream would be an aging hippie who just wants, like, music, freedom and peace, man. Despite its weekend-only hours and Quaker meeting-hall digs, we love Fidd's because it's a true community in a city of 5 million-plus people. The $1 brew's pretty solid — not complicated by a dozen chocolate, caramel, or seasonal-flavor extras — or you can opt for equally cheap tea, juice, or soda. The nonprofit volunteer organization hosts live acoustic music on Fridays and Saturdays. And by acoustic, we mean kickin' it old school. No speakers. No mics. Just regular folks, chatting about life and love over a cuppa joe while a guitar plays in the background. Exactly what a neighborhood coffee shop should be.

Mighty Cup is housed in an awesome vintage home with funky furnishings, serving up a mean cup of joe (along with teas, espressos, and other high-octane drinkage) with a groovy, laid-back vibe. But there's more than just beverage action to be had, as the works of local artists adorn the walls, and the place packs in the patrons on different nights of the week with spoken word on Thursday, as well as a variety night (featuring a mix of open mic, karaoke, and comedy) on Fridays. Local musicians such as singer/songwriter Steve Bailey performs at Mighty Cup on Saturdays.

Being stuck in Phoenix, sans vehicle, sucks. That goes double if your ride is in the shop and you're relying on your folks, who live in east Mesa, to drive you around. Ugh. Where to go? Hightail it (rather, get them to hightail you) to Ground Central, an indie coffee shop tucked away in one of those corporate shopping centers that so often begets pleasant surprises in this city. After we ordered a tasty caffeinated beverage and a fine pastry, plopped down at one of the spacious tables, and busted out our laptop to work on the free Wi-Fi, we wanted Mommy and Daddy to leave us there all day. Even if you're computer-less, there's plenty of eye candy at Ground Central, where you can watch national news on the TV and folks from the neighboring health club ruining their workout by ordering gut-busting sweets. The hang is open seven days a week.

The Orange Table is almost invisible compared to high-profile neighbors like SMoCA and AZ88, but we kind of love that about it. You can stick with coffee — the menu's complete in that arena, and no one will mind if you hang around all day, on the patio or inside. But trust us, you'll want a nosh. Everything here is tasty in a made-from-scratch way, and it's a real toss-up as to which meal of the day is best — breakfast, lunch, or dinner — so our advice is, stay for 'em all.

Looking for coffee in all the wrong Tempe places? Get your bean-loving butt to Cartel. Walk through its cheerful black-and-white tiled foyer into the mellow-but-hip high-ceilinged space, and you will swear you've died and gone to coffee heaven. And that's before you taste the espresso, which, in our humble opinion, is among the best in the Valley. Want a cup of regular coffee? They'll make it for you on the Clover 1S machine, which has five customizable options and brews one cup of coffee at a time.

Open since January and tucked into the same complex on University that houses several other local independent businesses, including Wet Paint, this gem of a shop is owned and run by husband-and-wife team Jason and Amy Silberschlag. The Silberschlags are both native Arizonans — he's from Tucson, she hails from Wickenburg — and both coffee freaks with a conscience. Their business model was coffee roaster with espresso bar, which still applies; they roast small "hand-crafted" batches of beans purchased from just two places in South America, including a family-run farm in Guatemala, and distribute them wholesale around the Valley. But the espresso bar has taken on a life of its own. There's a steady stream of customers, changing art on the walls and a regular event on Final Friday — usually live music. "It's become the neighborhood living room," Amy says.

Just like our living room — if it were way cooler and served coffee so good you wake up the next morning craving it.

This upscale espresso emporium, located next door to the bucolic Joe's Farm Grill, offers the same variety of caffeinated beverages you'd find at any other coffee house around the Valley (lattes, blended drinks, iced mochas). But that's where the similarities end, as The Coffee Shop is far superior to your corner java joint. It's overflowing with high-styled décor and aesthetic touches with nary any shabby-chic furnishings, with (gasp) friendly baristas, who almost look like models instead of starving artists and who warmly greet patrons as they enter, pouring quality gourmet coffees with a smile instead of a sneer. The pastries available for purchase aren't just ordinary muffins or scones. They are made-from-scratch chic treats such as lemon glam cupcakes with flower-like swirls of frosting. A full menu of epicurean breakfast and lunch selections will also please your gourmand tastes. Surrounding the outdoor patio is a lush nursery of plants and flowers for sale, offering shade to suburbanites thumbing through copies of Vogue, GQ, and House Beautiful, looking for their own 'topia.

Tea is cool. Or hot. This cute little shop will lure you with delicious aromas that permeate the neighborhood. Perhaps that's because the stewards of this one-of-a-kind establishment have collected about 120 varieties from the world's greatest tea estates. The selection includes white, green, black, and oolong teas. Don't expect to get right in and out of Souvia. Lingering, tasting, smelling, chatting, thinking (and not thinking) are the order of the day. These teas are no tease. If tea isn't a religion to these folks, it's the next thing to it for us. Join the cult — that is, the club.

Graffiti Shop, often referred to as "Graffiti Underground" because it's downstairs from Gordon Biersch, has been around since 1987, making it one of the longest-running, independent business left on Mill Avenue. True to its name, the walls (and ceiling) of the shop are covered with graffiti, but the main attractions are the racks and display cases, which house a variety of high-quality bongs, pipes, hookahs, and various other smoking paraphernalia.

The shop also carries nitrous oxide cartridges and dispensers, hand-dipped incense, and a variety of T-shirts, vinyl, and fetish wear (including some killer, Romper Stomper-ish boots). The owner of the shop, Lawrence (he'll probably want you to call him "Larry") is an affable guy with a goatee and ponytail who can answer any questions you may have about his shop's merchandise — and he's not above giving spur-of-the-moment discounts to cool people who're willing to drop some dough in his establishment. And since Larry recently purchased the Zong Company, which produces some of the most innovative, artful, high-quality bongs on Earth, money spent at the Graffiti Shop is well-spent (and well-smoked).

The first time we set foot in Churchill's, we were smoking novices. Sure, there'd been a few cigarettes here and there, but nothing serious. The guy behind the counter gave us a big smile, as though he could sense how green we were, and asked what we'd like and what we'd smoked before.

Lesson one, he said, is to always keep the bands from your cigars. Keep track of them so it's easier to tell where you've already been as you continue your tobacco-fueled journey into fine smoking products.

Speaking of which, you'll find no shortage of choices at Churchill's. The cigar stock is so exhaustive that you could spend a day checking each one before you find the one that fits you. Our advice? Ask the rep to set you straight.

Hobo wine is shockingly hard to come by these days. In search of the perfect gag gift, we scoured the landscape for the self-proclaimed "American Classic," but were running on fumes 'til we stumbled on a Web site called bumwine.com. In addition to profiles of the tramp-booze clan (T-Bird relations include Night Train, Cisco, Wild Irish Rose, Buckfast Tonic, and Boone's Farm) and little-known facts (Ripple is defunct!), the site directed us to two locations in Phoenix where Thunderbird is shelved. The second is DD Liquors at 50th Street and Van Buren, but V.A. gets the nod based on the following factors: 1) It rests within easy shambling distance of the Van Buren/Hobo Land strip. 2) It's a ramshackle-shack kinda place with an utter lack of charm (see the photo at www.bumwine.com/buy.html). 3) The dude behind the counter at V.A. wrapped up our bottle real chaste-like in a brown paper bag. The DD guy didn't even offer. That's the last $3.56 we spend there. Huff.

We thought we knew the meaning of "jaw-dropping" until we set foot inside Total Wine, the sprawling Dionysian temple whose name pretty much says it all. In the past year, the national retailer has opened two locations in the Valley, and both have become to wine lovers what IKEA is to compulsive home decorators: destination shopping. Total Wine is gargantuan, to be sure, but it's got a comfortable layout that feels less like a warehouse and more like a high-end grocery store, with displays arranged by region and varietal, and wines displayed alphabetically, along with tasting notes and Wine Spectator ratings. For as much inventory as they have — around 8,000 different wines at every store, along with an amazing variety of beers, spirits, and drink-centric accessories — bottles are so easy to track down that you may as well bring along a checklist. (Actually, it would be easier to bring a highlighter marker to mark up a copy of the store's free shopping guide.) Not to mention, there are plenty of employees roaming the aisles, ready to help you in your search. Weekdays are good for unhindered leisurely browsing, but it's even more fun to stop by on a weekend afternoon for one of the regularly scheduled wine tastings. You'll never have to twist our arm to sample these goods.

If you live near downtown Mesa, you have no idea how much we envy you. Because Sun Devil Liquors, that unassuming, ordinary-looking little joint on Country Club happens to be one of our favorite haunts — and we don't even live in the neighborhood. Yes, we're shamelessly devoted to this den of delicious drinks, especially for its outstanding selection of suds. Sure, there's plenty of wine and liquor, but have you seen the shelves at the far end of the store? Packed from floor to ceiling with so many beers we've never even heard of, and definitely can't wait to try. They have all of our favorite microbrews here, as well as imports from around the world. Clearly, somebody at Sun Devil is a big fan of Belgian and Belgian-style beers, as the shop happens to be a treasure trove for fans of those bold, distinctive Lambics and Trappist ales. Cooler still is the tiny in-house bar, where you never know what kind of brew they might introduce you to. Who knew that the Valley's best place to buy beer would also be one of its coolest hidden watering holes?

In addition to carrying more than 1,700 wines and 600 beers, Top's has also been staying on top of the latest imported trend drinks. It was one of the first locations to offer absinthe when the lucid, weaker American version was legalized, and it was the first location we found Agwa de Bolivia Coca Leaf Liqueur, weeks before the drink came to the attention of the general public. While the more potent European version of Agwa is still unavailable in the states, Top's carries the American version at a decent price — around $50 for a liter. And for the uninitiated, the clerks and cashiers at Top's can offer drink tips. We also picked up a free Agwa drink recipe pamphlet at the register. Happy debauchery.

The government can take away our right to privacy, free speech, and reproductive choice, but damn if they'll stop us from grabbing a 40 for the road. With its colossal teal-and-white sign and red flashing marquee arrow, Jerry's Liquors is like a time warp back to the days of bobby socks and bubblegum music — complete with all the booze and none of the social responsibility. Its location just across the street from the ASU Main campus ensures a huge selection and college-cheap prices. And these guys aim to please. Pull up to the ancient drive-up window to order domestic and imported beers, wine, or hard liquor and they'll grab a bottle, take your credit card or cash and have you driving away with brown bag in hand faster than you can chug an Irish Car Bomb. Despite their good-guy rep for turning away drunks and minors, anyplace that's willing to sell you a jug of 100-proof single malt Scotch while you're in a moving vehicle without batting an eye is pretty effin' cool in our book.

Like Sonny and Cher used to sing, "It's the little things that mean a lot." We couldn't agree more, and that's why we've made Los Olivos our one and only — car wash, that is. Besides getting a great wash and wax, Los Olivos offers a long list of "little things," like more-than-friendly service, a comfortable waiting room, and a shoeshine booth right on the premises, so we can kill two birds with one stone while we're there, leaving with a clean car and newly polished shoes. We love that the friendly owners remember us and greet us with a warm smile each time we pull up, even if it's been a couple of months and our car is disgracefully dirty.

And we're grateful that they're just as courteous when we're in a hurry and have time only for a $6 Quick Wash as they are when we stick around for a regular hand wash (only $9.99!) or The Works, which includes Armor All, Poly Clear-Coat, and an air freshener of our choice all for only $17.99. Los Olivos' fast, friendly brushless washes and waxes are enough to keep us coming back, but the extras are a nice touch we haven't found elsewhere in town. And speaking of Sonny and Cher, that dynamic duo filmed part of one of their movies on Los Olivos' property in 1967 — another reason we love going there.

It doesn't take a lot to be the best cab company in Phoenix. Valley bar hoppers and newcomers alike can tell horror stories about Phoenix cabs. One such baby Phoenician says she called for a cab and was picked up by two non-English speakers in an unmarked minivan. When she asked to go to the aeropuerto, the driver had no idea where Sky Harbor was.

Alas, all it takes to be the best cab company in Phoenix is a fleet of reliable cabs, driven by drivers who are on time and know their way around town. Yellow Cab fits that bill. Whether your car breaks down or you're making a late-night call from a bar, Yellow Cab usually arrives within 15 minutes. Drivers know their way around town and even drive in yellow cabs. Not too shabby.

So you're afraid of Arizona's insanely strict DUI laws? Join the club. But there's good news. Now you can go drinking and get a free ride home. That is, if you're willing to intoxicate yourself at a growing roster of high-end Scottsdale bars, restaurants, and resorts.

Those destinations will foot the bill for your luxury transportation to and from the watering hole. And not just any transportation — a "five diamond" experience in a brand-new Mercedes. It's courtesy of local entrepreneur Tony Christofellis' Idle Inc. Exclusive Chauffeur Service. (Yes, he gets paid by the restaurant you go to.)

Idle's current list of locations with courtesy chauffer service include: Camelback Inn, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Mastro's Steakhouse, Par Exsolance Salon and Day Spa, Sol y Sombra Mexican eatery, and the JW Marriott golf courses at Desert Ridge.

Heck, with gas prices what they are, you might wanna call for the Idle chauffeur even if you're not getting sloshed.

Browsing or buying? What's a car junkie like you to do when the Barrett-Jackson auction is months away and you're desperate for some auto lust? We've got just the glory land, with your fill of Ferrari, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Maybach and other $200,000-plus rides. This gem of a dealership sits kitty-corner from a less-pretentious Jaguar/Land Rover dealership.

But don't let that deceive you. Scottsdale Ferrari/Maseratti houses a great collection of Ferraris (duh), both brand-new and classic. It usually stocks a few dozen other non-Ferrari rides priced between $100,000 to $300,000.

Unless you're paying with cash, prepare for a car payment on par with the typical mortgage payment ($2,000/month and up) for these rides. Then again, most serious buyers here have private jets. For the rest of us, it never hurts to dream.

The law of entropy says that energy dissipates if not contained. But humans like to localize their energies, and thankfully so because some of us have some pretty sweet cars. There's no better place to see a hundred or so collector cars than the free Scottsdale Pavilion car show, every Saturday night. The Pavilions Car Show is a weekly gathering of gearheads from across the Valley; the show's Web site says it's the "the largest consistently run car show in the United States."

The cars start rumbling in around 4 p.m. every Saturday, but it takes a couple of hours to fill the parking lot near Best Buy and McDonald's on the north side of Indian Bend Road (just off Loop 101).

By 6 or 7 p.m., the parking lot is usually stocked with hundreds of cars, from vintage classics to modern-day imports with coffee-can exhaust tips. Clusters of make/model and year form naturally.

You'll find rows of 1950s Chevy Bel Aires, followed by 1960s Camaros, and, across the way, vintage Mustangs and '32 Fords. You'll also find a few rows of newer rice-burners, including tricked-out Toyota Supras and Acura NSXs, as well as the usual wanna-be Honda Civics and Volkswagen Jettas with crappy fiberglass ground effects.

If you work up an appetite or just want a milkshake, that McDonald's is a few paces away, and a 5 & Diner is across the street.

Wayne Frank's west-side bike repair shop has been 'hood-certified for years. A throwback to Sesame Street's Fix-It Shop, the BRC is all hanging bike frames and seemingly scattered parts, while proprietor Frank doles out rock-solid service with a smile. The shop's landline has been long gone — too many moochers soliciting Frank's well-informed repair advice over the phone. Bikes for sale range from chromed-out lowrider-styled cruisers to Frankensteined salvage jobs. Frank spins great yarns en español, too, his fluency forged from years of Peace Corps service in South America and sharpened by interactions with Latinos in the Phoeniquera.

For the Bike Saviours, good habits start at home. The co-operative, run out of a residence, puts the power of bicycle knowledge in the hands of the people, teaching them to fix and maintain their rides or even build one from scratch. Recycled parts, tax-deductible donations (Saviours has nonprofit status), volunteers, and a lot of DIY love keep things afloat. Last fall, Brazilian artist Jarbas Lopes even tapped the Saviours to run a functional satellite co-op as part of his installation and project, "Cicloviaérea," at the ASU Art Museum. "We saviour bike," they say, but their punk-rock ethic just might save the world.

Maybe it's the store's proximity to College Town, USA, but Tempe's Cowtown is the shiz when it comes to scoring the hottest skate gear. Look for limited edition and hard-to-find stuff like Sector Nine's gorgeous surf-inspired long boards, cool Royal brand skull-and-crossbones trucks, and Nike's "Lobster" shoe, complete with blue rubber band to hold the claws (toes) together. Cowtown's rep also attracts a knowledgeable staff of experienced skaters who wear board shorts year-round and carry bruises like badges of honor. They'll help you trick your truck or recommend a monster ride if you're looking to try vert skating. Don't know what that is? Better stay home. These guys can smell a poseur a mile away.

Earlier this year, Gren Radcliff's toy store for big kids moved from a cubbyhole inside of The Firehouse art collective into a beautiful and more visible location inside of Pravus gallery. We don't want to tell Radcliff how to run his business (and no offense to the good people at The Firehouse), but we think the decision was a freaking amazing career move because now there's more room for all those designer toy critters. Our favorites are the customizable vinyl Munny figures that local and national creative types have dolled up into awesome art pieces. The store, which is open seven days a week, also features the occasional First Friday exhibit as well as a toy-of-the-month club.

If the comic book mega-stores that dominate this category every year are the Superman and Batman of the retail universe, then this tiny, 550-square-foot shop in the heart of downtown Glendale is more like the Boy Wonder — puny in comparison, but with a lot of heart. Let's face it, X-Men freaks and Magik addicts want to buy comics from someone who knows the difference between The Green Lantern and The Green Arrow, and Drawn to Comics owner Ken Brown fits the bill. Here, kids get the kind of personalized service your grandpa got when he was saving two months' allowance to buy an issue of Captain Marvel. Brown personally greets every new visitor and hosts in-store gaming competitions three times a week. In addition to screen T-shirts, action figures, and 200-plus current titles, the shop has an awesome selection of back issues — some for less than a buck — and offers a 10 percent discount to students and military families.

Today's video games just aren't what they used to be. Million-dollar budgets and expectations for cinematic cut scenes in full rendered video have ruined the once-humble game. Can you imagine Pac-Man as a 70-hour epic MMORPG epic? What's wrong with just eating ghosts and, sometimes, a pretzel?

If you need a fix of nostalgia gaming, we can't recommend Arizona Arcade and Pinball Store enough. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and more are waiting for you to rediscover in Arizona Arcade's showroom. Whether you prefer a vertical arcade cabinet or an ultra-retro tabletop version, you can find it here. Don't worry, pinball wizards, they've got you covered too. Best of all, you can buy game cabinets to start building your own in-home arcade. Sure, they're a little pricey, but PS3s aren't exactly cheap, either.

If you're driving by Burton Barr Central Library and think, "By golly, I think I'll check out a first-run DVD tonight!" — uh, no. Barr's by far the largest repository of municipally owned intellectual property in the state, and the Phoenix library system's flagship is a victim of its own excess. Everybody knows it's the best, so it's not anymore, and the new-release section looks like a wheat field after a locust invasion.

On the other hand, we — and by we, we mean Maricopa County residents — are beneficiaries of Scottsdale's bounty. If you live in the county, you can get a Scottsdale library card. If you get a Scottsdale library card, you've just scored quality time with some highly desirable flicks. There are two ways to go about this: 1) Walk cold into any Scottsdale branch (Civic Center, Arabian, Palomino, or Mustang) and you're a lock to walk out with at least one new release; 2) create an online account and place holds on those new issues you're dying to check out, then pick 'em up a group at a time to save gas. For its relatively small size, Scottsdale purchases an insane number of movie titles — typically 50-plus copies for marquee releases — so the selection is fabulous, and you can conserve those precious slots on your Netflix queue for the rarer, cooler stuff that only Netflix stocks.

What makes a real city? For us, it's always been about the magazines. A good town can't have too many magazine racks. Our favorite local rack is found at one of our favorite local shops, MADE. The selection's not as big as the commercial bookstore departments, but don't let that fool you. The selection here makes the best bedside reading in town: Craft, Art Papers, Sculpture, Juxtapoz, Paste, Venus, Raw Vision, Ad Busters and, to be honest, our favorite: Heeb.

Intrigued? Then get yourself down to MADE for a look-see.

Bookstores may be a dime a dozen (the way novels used to be), but there's something priceless about Changing Hands Bookstore, the independently owned Tempe shop that's become a Valley destination for book lovers, shopaholics, and DIY types. Along with a stunning selection of new and used reads — many displayed with insightful comments from bibliophile employees — Changing Hands hosts more public speaking events and book-signings than any other bookstore in the Valley.

Renowned physicist Michio Kaku and bestselling author Stephenie Meyer are just two big names to make recent appearances. In addition, there's a multitude of other interesting events on the Changing Hands calendar, from writing workshops and crafting groups to toddler-parent yoga. Besides books, the gift section has a well-edited variety of quirky finds.

Who can resist a crisp new journal, some exotic incense, or maybe a goofy Blackbeard action figure? Every aisle here is full of temptation. And as a bonus, you can waltz right into Wildflower Bread Co. when you're ready to sip some espresso and ogle the goodies you just bought. We'd probably live at Changing Hands if we could, but then they might just put us to work.

Considering this just-opened bookstore is in the middle of a brand-new shopping center in Cave Creek, we assumed we'd see a lot of soccer-mom reading, like Jodi Picoult and Mitch Albom. Boy, were we wrong! The husband-and-wife team that owns this friendly shop has carefully assembled some really interesting books, with a great representation of local authors and a respectable antiquarian selection. But we were most impressed to see the collection of Westerns by Zane Grey. It's a touch of old Carefree even in the middle of new Cave Creek — and though the books aren't cheap (some cost over $500), they're a dream come true for serious collectors. The rest of us, of course, are welcome to look, too.

If Edgar Allan Poe were alive and a Phoenician, where would he buy his books? Probably at the Poisoned Pen, the Old Town Scottsdale home of all things mystery and fiction. More likely, Poe would set foot in the Poisoned Pen during a book tour. After all, many of the best mystery authors in the U.S. visit this cozy little shop for book-signings.

The Poisoned Pen boasts a competitive selection of fiction, from mainstream bestsellers to out-of-print titles and autographed first editions. It stocks a bevy of thrillers, historical fiction, sci-fi, and even a fair collection of nonfiction travel and food writing, too.

The Poisoned Pen indulges book nerds with a number of frivolities, including weekly book-signings, writing workshops, the "coffee and crime club," and book-discussion nights. Even if you're not up for the coffee and crime club, you might want to peek inside. There's something delightful and old world about this little bookstore's stone exterior, corner location, and book-shelved walls.

The meek may inherit the Earth, but it's the cunning and the cocksure who score the cool stuff at this long-lived literary offload. The boldest treasure hunters leave nothing to chance, camping out the night before as if they were trying to score tickets to a Led Zep reunion concert.

All to purchase books. Used books. Perhaps the death of literacy has been greatly exaggerated. Perhaps there are more people than you'd think champing at the bit to help the needy. Or, perhaps, among the 600,000-plus items for sale at very nice prices, there are scads of smokin' deals and rarities lying around waiting to be discovered.

Nah, couldn't be that.

The 53rd annual edition of the VNSA is scheduled for February 14 and 15 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.

If you're an eBay PowerSeller, you'll scoff at this modest sale. The number 30,000 — that's the total quantity of items typically up for grabs — will make you chortle softly. Poor saps, you'll say to yourself, thinking of those potential book buyers who choose to thumb through books, read prefaces and inscriptions, feel the heft of the tomes in their hand, and generally lollygag their way through the selection process. "Thirty thousand books," you sniff. "Hmph! They'd have to add another zero to get me there."

Good! Stay home, you resale vulture! There's more to life than first editions and publishing gaffes!

We go to this low-key annual affair 'cause we like books. We like choosing them. We like reading them. When we've finished the last line, we like placing them on a shelf and feeling a small ping! of joy when we encounter them again in the future. People who get the ping! will understand the Market. When the sale opens, you just kinda, well, walk through a door — which isn't jammed with pushing, shoving people — take a few steps to a long table filled with books, which isn't overly crowded, and start looking.

It's pretty revolutionary. You should try it.

Before desktop and laptop computers, there were typewriters. Remember? Well, we do, and we even use them from time to time to type up to-do lists and letters to be sent in the mail. (Yes, people still do that, too.) Our favorite place to browse for these time-tested machines is the Mesa Typewriter Exchange. Bill Wahl's shop in downtown Mesa carries workable manual and electric typewriters, including the most popular back-in-the-day brands such as Underwood, Royal, and IBM. Unlike thrift-store typewriters, which have zero chance of working, Wahl personally repairs and puts 50-plus years of typewriter TLC into refurbishing and repairing the machines. Business hours are limited, so make sure you call ahead before stepping back into the past.

We've given owner Georganne Bryant a nod in our Sideshow profiles but really, an issue of Best of Phoenix just wouldn't be complete without an award for Best Boutique, and we've gotta hand it to Frances.

From carefully chosen vintage clothing (we even noticed the Goldwater's Department Store tag still affixed to one item, and a picture of the original owner on another!), thick Mexican leather purses and belts to pendants and rings so whimsical they'll take your breath away, this space rivals any specialty boutique we've been in, anywhere. Toss in housewares, stationery, baby gifts, and new clothing (mostly women's but with a few men's T's thrown in for good measure). The signature touches on everything from the Web site to the wall displays just ooze style — and put our fair city on the shopping map, for sure.

In some cities, no self-respecting chick would ever disclose where she found her great clothes. Names of sassy stores and boutiques are guarded like state secrets. And sometimes they are — ever notice how downtown types dress like ensemble creation is an Olympic event? Not so for Bunky Boutique — devotees of Rachel Richard's charming store gush with the fervor of the recently converted. Why? Not only does she stock some of the most adorable threads in town, she's worked long and hard to make sure they're priced well. And by well we mean dresses for $50, wraps for $30, and Havianas at the best price in the 'Nix — under $25.

Sure, vegan-friendly ultra-stylish bags by Amy Kathryn might be a bit more, but the $4 Catholic Saints bracelet helps justify the expense. From Fluxus to Brown Round to Kidrobot, Bunky Boutique stocks the merch that will keep you coming back again and again. And at these prices, you can afford to.

If you've ever worried that fashion and budget couldn't possibly co-exist, you've obviously never been to Anna Marie's funky Shop Devious on rapidly changing Grand Avenue. We've slated our lust for handbags here many times, like when we snagged a brand new herringbone and velvet ribbon clutch for $6, or a slouchy purple hobo bag, also new, for $7. Vintage fashion your thing? It's here, and almost nothing in the entire boutique is over $15, with shoes — even boots — for $10. Want to embrace your inner club kid? How about wicked and wild fake eyelashes, in every color of the rainbow, and even some that aren't — like Day-Glo or glow in the dark. Looking for a custom anime wig? Gotcher head covered, along with snap-in hair extensions to match your outfit and bottles of Pixie Glitter for your inner sparkly fairy princess. No, those prices aren't misprints; it's the real deal.

The best part? This stylin' store is open almost every day. Grand Avenue isn't just for First Fridays anymore.

All the way at the back of The Mix, the glam, Fred Segal-ish collection of shops on Scottsdale's Stetson Drive, you'll find our favorite boutique, Garage. Here, almost all pretense is thrown to the wind, and you can hang at the candy bar (eat your heart out, Dylan Lauren) and browse mini-me versions of the latest Marc Jacobs and Sonia Rykiel designs for kids. We love the liberal dose of Paul Frank and similar comically inclined designers, and while the "body shop" motif is present, there are plenty of frilly duds for the little girl in your life.

You'll leave asking the age-old question, "Why don't they make that in my size?"

There are lots of kiddy hair salons cutting their way into the market, and frankly, they're all about the same when it comes to Junior's buzz cut. But our favorite, aesthetically speaking, is Lollilocks. From the candy-themed décor to the spa pedicures in the back and the handy "kiddy corral" that allows you to contain one kid (in front of a TV!) while tending to the other, this is a well-designed beautification plan.

And the bonus: great merch! We happened to hit the place during a massive sale, not long ago, but even at full price, this stuff is a find: kiddy sunglasses in Spider-Man print for boys and funky pinks for girls; Scout tote bags for mom; Lollilocks' own scented lotions and potions; and, of course, every hair accessory imaginable.

We got all our upcoming birthday gifts covered, and walked out with two well-coiffed kids. Now, that's sweet!

We were shopping for gently used kids' clothing long before some greenster thought to call it "recycling." Whatever you call it, Small Change is the place. You won't find clothing from Target or Old Navy (what's the point, it's practically free at the lower-end spots) but Small Change stocks the castoffs of some of the best-dressed kids in Scottsdale. That means labels from Neiman Marcus, The Gap, Baby Style, and a lot of designers we know we should recognize. Watch out, the place is addictive, and they're piiiiiiicky — so don't expect them to take your own stuff in exchange.

This shop is kind of a two-for-one deal. Mint is located inside Red Modern Furniture, one of the best and most reliable places to find quality mid-century furniture in town. But, as that '70s chaise we have our eye on is a bit out of our price range, Mint Vintage is the real reason we frequent this address. The quality of a vintage shop depends a lot on the quality of the owner's taste. Too many vintage racks are packed with cheap, easy-to-thrift crap from the '80s. Yawn. That's why we're thrilled that the brain behind Mint seems to favor mod, disco trash and glam — as well as the occasional lovely '40s frock.

We also spied three pairs of "big e" Levi's and a jacket to match. It's heavenly. And, according to the Web site, Mint loves Pucci. You really can't go wrong there. It's a little pricier than what some AZ vintage shoppers might be used to, but consider this: the flawless silk green and yellow '50s party dress we were eyeing recently for $60 would have been double that in NYC or San Fran. See? There are perks to toughing things out in PHX.

Wouldn't you like to see what recycled designer threads you could find at a Goodwill in Beverly Hills? Well, you don't have to fly to L.A. because we've got a Goodwill in Scottsdale that, yes, recycles the designer digs of trophy wives and trust-fund babies alike.

We know a wise man who used to say that anything worthwhile requires hard work. The same holds true for Goodwill's designer-jeans hookup. You must be willing to plug your nose and dig, but if you do, you may walk away with treasures ranging from $2 to $12. In addition to donating families, at least one Scottsdale dry cleaner drops its unclaimed (and cleaned) designer clothes here, too.

Of course, if money isn't a factor, you can head north to Scottsdale Fashion Square and pay up to $500 for the same brands. But if you've got some treasure-hunting blood in you, head south, young jeans buyer.

When it opened a couple of years ago, this wonderful antiques shop made its mark by offering the usual cool old furniture and wonderful mid-century housewares at rock-bottom prices. But not long ago, proprietress Heidi Owens opened up Hollywood Regency's back room and made space for a mind-blowing collection of vintage fashions from the last half of the last century, and now we're unable to stay away. We drop in weekly to ogle the near-mint '50s poodle skirt, and fantasize about making our mom wear it with the pair of sparkly spectator pumps, also on sale here, that someone wisely dyed to match. We're also enamored of the shiny '70s platform heels that make us long for our old Angel's Flight disco-wear, and the frankly fabulous hand-knitted poncho trimmed in sequins we saw on our last trip there. All the items can be mixed, matched, and accessorized with neatly displayed bags, wraps, and jewelry that will scream, well, "Hollywood Regency!" to anyone who spots you sporting them. Oh, and we bought that angora sweater, but there were two more there the last time we looked, so head on over to Hollywood Regency, where you can be outfitted in genuine fashions of almost any era for next to nothing.

This new fetish and fashion shop has everything a sexy freak needs for a night out, from glittery hair extensions and spiked bracelets to vinyl bustiers and straitjackets. But the shop's most impressive merchandise is its selection of gas masks, and we're not talking about some cheap-ass, generic imitations. Fetish Falls stocks the real deal, from Israeli black gas masks and German M65 gas masks to Russian Youth gas masks and East German gas masks. Prices are reasonable, too (anywhere from $25 to $45), so shoppers can save some green for important accessories like shoes. Fetish Falls carries a small but impressive assortment of high heels, from the classic hooker red vinyl pumps to new platforms with skull-and-crossbone designs. And if you're worried about how your legs will look in that rubber mini-skirt, Fetish Falls has got you covered with a wide variety of hosiery, too.

Maybe you're hunting ghosts and you need an electromagnetic field detector. Maybe you want to spy on your significant other with a hidden camera made to look like a desk clock. Perhaps you're the parent of a stoner teen and would like to find an EZ-5 disposable drug test. Maybe you're the stoner teen and need a safe designed to look like a soda can in which to hide your stash. No matter your espionage needs, Spy Headquarters has your back. The shop carries a variety of gear, including police products (such as fingerprint kits and lock picks), computer surveillance systems and counter-surveillance devices (like phone tap detectors and voice changers), personal protection devices (everything from air Tasers to stun guns), and plenty of books and badges, too, making Spy Headquarters the perfect place to be cool and go covert.

It probably would be therapy enough just to visit the Boulders, an elegant resort set in a particularly lovely part of Carefree, on a landscape with massive clumps of brownish-red rock and lush desert life. But once we've driven that far north, there is no way we're not going to make a stop at the Golden Door Spa. The massage and treatments are beyond compare — our companion swears that he's never had such a good Thai massage, and we couldn't stop raving about the citrus scrub. Even if you're not a spa junkie, it's worth it to sign up for a treatment just to get pool access. Lying on a soft towel, giant rocks and desert all around you, you might even trick yourself into thinking you've made it to Heaven — without that nasty dying bit.

Forget Disney World. The first thing we'll do after we win the lottery is head straight to the spa. The unequaled bliss of a day of pampering, fortified by a chorus of angels trilling "aaaaahhhhhhh" in the background, beats standing in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean any day. Unfortunately, the cost of that kind of pampering heads straight up to the stratosphere and could, quite possibly, rival a mortgage payment (or a Park Pass). That's why we're in a lather over Spa Week. Launched in 2004, this annual event aims to bring resort day spa pampering to us regular folks at a budget-friendly price: $49 for nearly hourlong treatments at 22 of this year's participating spas. How about facials at the Arizona Biltmore, Swedish massages at the Mondrian, pedicures at the Valley Ho? We've only two regrets — that it happens once a year, and only for a week. But tick tock, we're already counting the days 'til next year, and you can, too, by checking the Web site.

Don't get us wrong: We're all about the cheap mani/pedi. We've scoured the city for low-end (but not dirty!) spots to get our toes polished for under $20. But sometimes, a girl's just gotta have a little primping, and that's when we head to Sundrops.

Not in the hoity-toity spa category, this pretty little spot has a cute "nail bar" and comfy spa chairs (that aren't falling apart!) and sparkly pink touches everywhere, from the clothing and accessories available up front to the shiny-tiled bathroom in the back. Your feet will sparkle right up to your heels with our favorite, the "Down and Dirty," $55 for an extra-long foot massage and the only method in town (something about walnut shells and seaweed) we've found that actually softens our calluses.

Cheaper options are available, like a mini-pedi for $26. But we like to splurge so we can stay as long as possible.

We'd sent brownies and iced cookies to just about everyone we know, which is why we were so happy to find a sweet new alternative to flowers. The folks at Nothing Bundt Cakes have turned the humble bundt into a work of art, starting with a moist, rich cake in your choice of flavors, and pouring on a sinfully thick cream cheese icing, then festooning the whole thing with a huge sunflower or another equally adorable theme.

With Nothing Bundt Cakes, you can have your flower and eat your cake, too. Tasty!

We've used this mom-and-pop shop just off the McDowell exit of the 51 for years — and never once experienced a bad attitude, a missed deadline, or even a typo. And we know we're not alone in appreciating Award Mart's charms: Just about every time we're in there, we run into a cop or a politically connected attorney picking up a plaque or trophy. They clearly enjoy the place's friendly vibe and professional work just as much as we do.

Shopping for a wedding is the worst. Especially if the wedding isn't yours. Sure, shopping for your dress is kind of fun — getting to feel like a princess and having tons of attention lavished upon you always is — but the rest just sucks. You can burn a lot of gas driving from shop to shop looking for what you need, or you can just get it all at the Wedding Accessory Superstore. We were skeptical at first, too. The name sounds a little Wal-Mart-y. But this place is great. You bridesmaids will love it because of the surprisingly good selection of hip, re-wearable and affordable dresses. You'll love it because you can buy everything but the flowers and the cake here. For your dress, you might want to look elsewhere, but for all those other random little things you just have to have to tie the knot, this is your spot.

We went for a 14-inch pizza pan and ended up hauling home a giant bagful of other stuff and signing up for a cooking class, as well. Once you've been to Sweet Basil, you'll understand why. There's too much temptation in this shop, which is clearly run by people who love hanging out in the kitchen as much as we do. We've looked around, so we know that there are few (if any) other places in these parts where one can find a good pair of pizza shears and a decent-size Parmesan cheese shaker. We love Sweet Basil's unique selection of serving pieces, cookbooks, paper goods, cookware, linens, barware, and gadgets. And don't get us started on this swanky shop's gourmet food and coffees; we'll never shut up. Suffice it to say we can't stop eating their grilled vegetable sauce, which we discovered when we took Sweet Basil's pizza-making class, one of a dozen or so different on-site cooking tutorials the shop offers for a mere 50 bucks apiece. We can't decide which to sign up for next, "Creative Chicken" or "Foods of Chile." While we decide, we'll continue to cruise the aisles of this, the best cook's corner in town.

It's no wonder people call Phoenix Knife House the barbershop for chefs. This inconspicuous little shop is not only a treasure trove for folks who need serious gear for the kitchen, it's a place for chefs to hang out and talk knives, food, and life with owner Eytan Zias, himself a former chef whose résumé includes stints at Kai, Circa 1900, and Fiamma, as well as New York culinary hot spots like Aureole, La Côte Basque, and Craft.

As the shop's name implies, Zias is serious about knives, carrying 12 different lines of high-end cutlery, mostly Japanese. In fact, he claims to be the only person in the U.S. to carry prestigious Sugimoto cutlery, whose roots are in swordmaking. You can have Zias hand-sharpen your blades, or he'll give you a free sharpening lesson so you can do it yourself at home. Along with knife rolls and sharpening stones, Phoenix Knife House is also the place to stock up on chef jackets, houndstooth pants, and clogs, books on culinary topics, and an assortment of utensils, from spatulas to rolling pins. Yep, there really is everything but the kitchen sink.

We've always loved ABC Baking, but recently we took our favorite 7-year-old there, and experienced the place anew. The kid was awestruck by the rows of old cardboard boxes of treasure in the form of plastic cupcake toppers — bearing everything from the brand-new Kung Fu Panda to old-school bowling pins/balls. We bought a pile of the latter, along with a bag of Yummiland doll rings (if you have to ask, consider yourself lucky), plates, napkins, the makings of icing and a pile of pink bakery boxes (you can never have too many). We can't wait to go back — and neither can the 7-year-old.

Oh, sure. You can get paintbrushes at any art supply store. But how about airbrushes? Or grease pencils imported from Latvia? Or one of those clever, little wooden guys with all the movable joints?

There are art-supply stores, and then there's Arizona Art Supply, where the help treats you like a favorite houseguest and you can buy stuff you didn't know existed, like a handmade pine easel that collapses into a tiny box for easy transport. We wanted to make a lampshade but didn't know where to start, so we headed over to Arizona Art Supply and, after conferring with the friendly staff, came away with handmade paper from London, a pair of pinking shears, and a lot of suggestions about where to start. We also couldn't resist a calligraphy set, a sale-priced packet of oil paints, and a canvas. We know that once we're ready to tackle the art world — or the vagaries of hand-lettering — all we need do is drop back by our favorite art-supply house for a little friendly instruction.

Graffiti artists of the Valley, we feel your pain, yo. Sucka politicians are constantly trying to put the smackdown on your creative efforts with their anti-graffiti programs and by handing out some pretty wack penalties if you're caught doing your thing (including up to $150,000 in fines and more than three years in the clink). Luckily, the hustlas behind Just Blazed are on your side, as their McDowell Road shop is a hyped-up haven for taggers such as yourself. They've got glass display cases filled with more than 300 different colors of spray paint, including such brands as Belton Molotow and Montana, as well as a hundred different kinds of permanent paint pens available. The owners will also let you test out your designs on the cinder-block fence of the joint's courtyard or on the walls of several closet-size booths, far from the prying eyes of John Q. Law. If you need some additional inspiration, they also sell CDs from local hip-hop artists like MC Bener One and Willy Northpole.

If you're talking about photos, not pants, when you say "cropping" and you've got more punches than Muhammad Ali, you'll be in your element at Scrapbooks, Etc. The store offers a huge selection of lignin-free archival papers printed with everything from teddy bears to wizards to footballs. There's a die-cut lab for punching cute shapes, a wall of ribbons, and dozens of accessory racks on which you can find the daisy-shaped silver brads you need to complete little Suzie's baby album. Customers get 20 percent off on their birthday and a coupon for 10 percent off after every $100 in purchases. Scrapbooks Etc. also hosts some kooky classes we adore, like coffee-filter bookmaking and a beginner's luck class that's the perfect place to meet another soccer mom and become BSFs — best scrapbooking friends — forever.

Oh, we love The Paper Studio. We love The Paper Studio so much that we're genuinely afraid to go inside — with our wallet in tow, at least. It's hard to browse with so much temptation — from handcrafted paper to scrapbook supplies to stamps and pre-made cards and glitter and, oh, we could write a book about the great stuff here. And with the helpful tutelage of the artist/owners and classes offered on site, we literally could make one.

Beads Galore is the REI of Valley bead shops, which is fitting, because it's just around the corner from the outdoor mega-store's East Valley outpost. BG is stocked wall to wall with everything a beader (beginning or advanced) could want, from basic supplies like wire and clasps to pearls in every color of the rainbow. A small selection of semi-precious gems may tempt you, but your dollar will go further in the bins of Czech glass beads, where you can feel free to dig for just exactly the right color, shape and size. Or grab strands of everything from crystals to trade beads to polymer clay. Your only limit is your own imagination.

"Diane" is like the crazy love child of Michael and JoAnn, a place where you can find much of the crafting gear available at those bland chain stores, but where you can also find an entire aisle devoted to old plastic doll parts, equal in size to the ribbon department. There's no rhyme or reason, and that's why we love this dark, sort-of-scary warehouse, so far off the beaten path that these folks don't know the meaning of the term mega-mall. But there's nothing small about Diane Ribbon, except the parking lot, so be glad this place is still a buried treasure. Get over there, though, because rumors abound that someday, the chains will put poor Diane under.

We try to feel only the love in Best of Phoenix, but we've got to stop and grouse for just a moment. Though we have a vibrant art scene, certain financial realities dictate that galleries don't, for the most part, keep regular hours — at least, not the downtown spots with the funky work we want to buy. Miss first and third Fridays, and you might be S.O.L., wanna-be art buyer.

That's just one reason we love etsy.com, a national site featuring scores of independent salespeople — including the Valley's own Jason Hill, a fantastic printmaker whose iconic Phoenix images have graced the cover of New Times on occasion. Hill had a show recently — up for just one night — and we e-mailed him, lamenting the fact that we already had plans.

Hill graciously pointed us to his etsy shop, and now we can shop his stuff to our hearts' content, 24/7. Now if we could just decide between the "I Heart Urban Sprawl" T-shirt and the Arizona Biltmore print. Or maybe the Bikini Lounge one.

And we wonder who else among our favorite local artists we'll find on etsy. This could get expensive. But worth it!

First, we wanted the multicolored writing desk with the crossbow legs. Then we had to have the bright reddish-orange workbench, to use as a coffee table. Finally, we couldn't last another minute without the black-and-white-spotted legless side chair (we wanted to put it next to our bed as a nightstand). We knew we didn't have room for all this gorgeous stuff in our house, so we started fantasizing about moving into a new house and having it decorated and painted entirely by Joe Willie Smith, and at this point we realized we were freaking out, so we just bought the legless chair and fled. But this sort of extreme reaction is pretty much how we — and anyone with a deep fondness for cool furnishings — tend to respond to the work of local artist Smith, whose fun, funky furniture can be found at Lizabel's Treasures on 16th Street.

Smith is a multimedia artist who works mostly with found objects, which he turns into well-regarded artwork that has been exhibited at eye lounge and at Bentley Galleries, among other local arty hotspots. At Lizabel's, though, Smith's art is as much about function as form: witness the low, gorgeous, rough-hewn chest he's painted a warm blue (if it were ours, we'd top it with glass and use it as an end table) and the multi-hued writing desk that would look great in our entry hall . . . Oops! There we go again, obsessing about Smith's fabulous furniture. You can, too.

Everyone knows that the last thing you're supposed to do before you leave the house is stop, look in the mirror, and remove one accessory. It's the key to elegance, as far as we're concerned. (Not to mention avoiding looking like a clown.) But when it comes to the home, we ditch the theory in favor of what we fondly refer to as "cluttered chaos." Family photos, tchotchkes, light fixtures, candles, pillows — bring it on. More to dust, but more to love, and we love showing off our personal style in our personal space. That's why we were awed during a recent trip to Embellish Home. We wanted it all: the delicate bedside lamp with the pink chandelier accents, the funky Mediterranean-esque lantern, the cabinet full of scented candles. Hey, give us the cabinet, too! If you can't choose, Embellish offers interior design services, including a clever, reasonably priced consultation package where the designer helps you work with what you've got. But after a visit to Embellish, you just won't be able to resist adding a few more touches to your home.

The best high-end antique shop in the Valley is in the center of the city, on the northeast corner of Central and Camelback. Victorian writing tables, cherry wood waterfall bureaus, and Deco dining suites share space with Eames chairs and Mondrian prints — every era of fine furniture is represented here, and shares space with a wide variety of smaller pieces, like the vintage shaving kit we bought for $22, or the '30s ceramic planter shaped like Shirley Temple for a little less than 50 bones. Bargain shoppers will be happy with the many great deals to be had on glassware, dishes, and religious arcana, too — and be sure to tell your friend the vintage Christmas ornament collector about the shocking display of really old bulbs and blown-glass bits on sale at this, our new favorite antiques mall.

We had no idea what we were going to do with the 1830s Federal-style hope chest we found at this, our fave place to buy shabby-chic décor for our home and garden, and we didn't care, because the price (and the piece itself!) were so breathtaking. Ditto a 19th-century French silver coffee service, a 1940s rubber frog squeak toy, and a chrome centerpiece punch bowl. We couldn't pass them up, because they, like everything else we ogle at this cleverly organized store in Seventh Avenue's Melrose shopping district, were so perfect and so perfectly priced. Rust and Roses specializes in vintage garden and architectural salvage, so they offer nearly as many gorgeous artifacts for sale on their vast outdoor terrace as they do indoors. We bought a perfectly patinaed patio set last time we were there but resisted the many pretty pieces of vintage chalkware we spotted, because, well, we were afraid that if we didn't stop shopping, we'd buy the whole store!

Vintage Solutions' tagline is, "Offering you endless possibilities for your home," which is certainly true — we've decorated practically our entire home with amazing finds from this fabulous furniture store. But what's really been piquing our interest of late is the swell selection of high-end '60s furniture and accessories this nicely appointed, welcoming shop has to offer.

Oh, sure, the guys who run this place always feature an array of great stuff from every era (we recently bought a gorgeous Deco Bakelite-and-chrome floor lamp for next to nothing), but lately we've become obsessed with their selection of high-end, low-priced pieces from the Swinging '60s. The long, low, Formica-topped coffee table looks great with our '50s sofa, and the pair of gold-leafed chalkware vanity lamps is perfect with our 1930s bedroom set.

We didn't used to have the nerve to mix and match interior accessories from different eras until we started visiting Vintage Solutions, where stylish mixing and matching is the name of their display game. What's more, we didn't even think we liked '60s stuff until we started seeing it through the well-trained eyes of this store's proprietors, whose flair for fashionable interiors has us considering redoing our game room around a groovy oil lamp we saw there recently. We're newly brave, thanks to the 40-year-old beauty we've found at Vintage Solutions!

The following nugget of wisdom was drilled into us the minute we signed our first mortgage: Take care of your house because, someday, it'll take care of you. Weeeelllllll, maybe. If you live in Connecticut. Or Monaco. Here in Phoenix, homeowners are shackled to the fickle fortunes of a Wild West, boom-and-bust economy. Yee-haw.

This nugget of wisdom was drilled into us pretty much the day after we dumped all our money into a house: Diversify. Don't be a boob and hold on to those two remaining shekels like grim death. Rub 'em together in the hopes they'll go forth and multiply.

A surprising number of the smart shekels these days are going into . . . movie posters? Yep, the burgeoning collectibles sub-genres known as ephemera and Hollywood have come together with a boom in recent years, escalating the Golden Age poster market to ludicrous heights. Crazy, perhaps, but when you think about it, posters exude a lot of natural charm as collectibles: 1) many are rare, because they were considered expendable (a.k.a. ephemeral) in their day; 2) the most coveted — Casablanca, The Mummy, etc. — contain archetypal pop-culture images that transcend eras and styles; 3) many people practice "theme living" these days, and a collectible poster or two can really spiff up that home-theater room; 4) it's Hollywood, baby; everything sells.

Mark, Sherry, and Brandy Goldberg of Femmes Fatales are collectors and resellers of the vintage beauties, which they display in a remodeled 3,000-square-foot building on Scottsdale's Main Street drag. (Much of the funding for the swank spot comes by way of Mark, a founding partner at the personal-injury law firm Goldberg & Osborne, a.k.a. "The Eagle." See how Mark diversified, students?)

About 200 of the clan's 1,500-poster collection — spanning the 1920s to the present — are on view at any given time. Prices vary, but the tags usually start at $200-ish and can run to five figures. Ouch, right? Well, that's not so out of whack with what the "real" art in downtown Scottsdale brings, and it's not even close to the six figures the rarest of the rare posters net. (The record, as of this writing, is $690,000 for a 1927 Metropolis.)

For their part, the Goldbergs play mostly to the "theme" crowd. Therefore, they stock common works powered by high-watt superstars like Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Errol Flynn, Brigitte Bardot, and Robert Redford. They can also hook you up with top-notch restorers and framers, and will even use their connections to help you find that highly elusive poster you didn't know you couldn't live without.

Because musicians are some of the most competitive folks we know in the creative community, a music store founded and operated by these people may sound kind of intimidating. But even folks who are starting or playing in their first band will feel welcome at Musicians Discount. The spacious store in the Poca Fiesta strip mall that once housed Tower Records specializes in brand-name new, used, and vintage guitars. There's a quiet room where you try out any of the store's instruments by plugging into a variety of amps and jamming out. The shop also sells the most affordable effects pedals in town as well as sonic odds and ends such as speaker cable and recording gear, all at reasonable prices.

These cats, in business since 1927, definitely know what they're doing when it comes to headstocks, fret boards, whammy bars, and all of that other fancy talk about guitars.

Even if you don't speak the lingo, you can still find yourself a kickass acoustic or electric guitar during the store's monthly swap meet. For the past 16 years, folks have been gathering at Ziggie's to buy, sell, trade, and upgrade guitars and other stuff, including amps, straps, and cases. Trade gear every first Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon.

Aside from being one of the few truly independent record stores in town, Eastside's always had a reputation for satisfying eccentric tastes. Sure, you can go to the mall for that copy of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds (Eastside will have it, too), but where do you go when you're looking for Lydia Lunch's spoken-word manifesto Oral Fixation or a copy of the 1996 U.K. import Jitter Juice, by now-defunct goth rock band 12 Rounds? Chances are, Eastside will have whatever you're looking for, and if they don't have it, they can order it. The in-store selection isn't the largest (four rows of CD bins, as opposed to the dozens found at most chain stores), but Eastside's CD bins are treasure troves of underground tunes, right alongside the usual Top 40 suspects.

Of course, Zia offers more in trade than in cash (after a recent sale, they offered us $57 in trade credit or $39 in cash), but they also pay more for CDs than any other place in town (some places, like a particular bookstore chain that also sells used CDs, will offer only pennies on the dollar). The clerks are pretty savvy, too, so as long as you're not trying to pass off some beat-up copies of Debbie Gibson records or Danzig bootlegs without covers, you're likely to get a pretty good bang for your buck.

Revolver has a small amount of CDs for sale, but the store's forte is vinyl records — rooms upon rooms of them. There's an entire room of records filled with jazz platters, and rows of rock records, too. Hell, we even found two copies of the 1972 post-Jim Morrison Doors record Other Voices, with guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek splitting vocal duties. Thankfully, Revolver also has vinyl listening stations, which saved us from purchasing the album out of sheer curiosity. In addition to its voluminous library of records, Revolver is also one of the few places in town where you can buy turntables — and not just any old turntables, either. Revolver sells USB turntables, which allow listeners to plug the turntables into their computers and record and rip their vinyl albums in a digital format. Now that's music geek love.

About once every month, a hall that's normally reserved for bingo and pasta dinners is transformed into a place where rare dusties and cheap-o wax cylinders in every musical genre possible sell for reasonable prices. The heavy hitters of the local vinyl scene — including Revolver Records, Tracks in Wax, Arizona's unofficial music archivist Johnny D, and up to 40 individuals with record collections numbering in the 30,000-title range — sell crates of LPs and 45s. You can even bring your own portable record player and sample albums before deciding to buy. Admission costs $5 between 9 and 9:30 a.m. and $2 thereafter.

We would head to the southeast corner of Guadalupe and McClintock just to go to Changing Hands — or Trader Joe's, or China Max, or even Baskin-Robbins, but now we're happy to report we have yet another reason to hit the south Tempe strip mall. Hoodlums, the record store smoked out of the Memorial Union at ASU by a recent fire, is graduating to a spot just a couple doors down from Changing Hands. Now we can shop for books and music, and we're looking forward to joint projects from the two businesses, like a recent event featuring the author of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.

We like the sound of that!

Problem: Your dog stinks. Auxiliary problem: You're can't stomach overpriced groomers who slap those pink bitch bows on your pal's collar even though he's a pit bull named Butch. There is a solution, and the "green" chain Wag N' Wash pioneered it at its six stores in Colorado, Illinois, and right here in Phoenix, on the Seventh Avenue Curve.

For a thrifty $13 to $17 — depending on your choice of Basic, Premium, or Ultimate Wash — you get a roomy, stainless-steel work space and all the bells and whistles you could possibly need to rinse out the reek. These include temperature-controlled sprayers, brushes, combs, professional-strength dryers, and personal-grooming products such as cream rinse, skin moisturizer, and no-more-puppy-tears shampoo. Two other things to note: 1) You don't have to clean up after yourself. They do it. 2) They don't carry pink bows.

The 20-gallon fish tank we bought for our children three years ago is a regular Garden of Eden, where lots of going forth and multiplying goes on, and death is a stranger. We owe it all to Pets Inc. Things weren't always this good. We were worried when we set up the tank — we knew anything that doesn't bark or meow when it's hungry had a low probability of survival. Sure enough, two die-offs occurred in the first year — including a major one while we were on vacation that left all but two fish floating on the surface.

With the help of the friendly staff at Pets Inc., we soon had a lively tank full of fish again. The staff hooked us up with a better pump system than we'd been using, and they also imparted the key knowledge that we should change the charcoal filter now and then. We selected a bunch of mollies, a pencilfish, a big suckerfish, and some others whose names are hard to recall. And we got new decorations for the tank, including a scale model of the Roman Coliseum and lots of faux sea ferns. We found the prices at Pets Inc. to be very reasonable — the fish and stuff cost less than a nice seafood dinner for two, that's for sure. Amazingly, we haven't had to buy fish in two years because the mollies are so randy.

Even one of the pre-die-off fish, Spot, is still wiggling his tail. When we're ready to move up to a bigger tank, or maybe try our hand at saltwater fish, or find replacements for the Third Great Extinction that is yet to come, we see no reason to go elsewhere.

Pets Inc. remodeled last year and added more shelf space, more products, and an above-ground pond to show off its new line of pond plants, koi and turtles. The large store also specializes in reptiles, and has an impressive menagerie of lizards, snakes, and tarantulas. Even if you don't buy anything, Pets Inc. is great for looky-loos who just want to treat their kids to a free mini-zoo experience.

If you can't find the fake lure to fit your specifications at this off-the-grid outdoors emporium, it doesn't exist. The selection is mind-boggling, monstrous, even excessive, if that's possible in this big-box age. However, not everyone is a sucker for the Bass, which started life in 1971 with eight feet of shelf space in a backwoods Missouri bait shop and has mushroomed into a chain boasting more than 40 big-box "Walleye-Marts." (Outgunned) competitors are naturally disdainful and true sportsfolks won't set foot in the joint, but weekend warriors can't get enough of the 200,000-square-foot retailer/tourist destination.

On the fence? Want the worm of your dreams but not sure you want to pay the social toll? Here's a hilariously appropriate yelp.com post we found from one similarly conflicted Phoenix woman:

"Talk about retail meets theme park meets playground meets the wild outdoors! When you first walk in, you aren't sure what your eyes should settle upon. The flashy boats? The four-wheelers? The huge fish tank? The gun room? The arcade games? From slingshots to dog collars, we looked it all over. We even spotted a camo bikini. Absurd. [Despite] being in sheer bewilderment of the enormity of this place, I had fun. I hate to admit it, but it's true. From admiring the wood furniture to snapping a camera pic of a bull's testicles, I had fun! I even managed to find some flip-flops I convinced myself I needed. Now that's powerful marketing!"

Indeed.

Thanks to the popularity of "green" these days, you're probably already buying organic food for yourself. But what about your very best friend? Sarah Dixon started this popular Cave Creek-area pet supply shop a few years ago because she was frustrated by the lack of additive-free, free-range, organic pet foods for her Pomeranian, Bonnie. Now Bonnie — along with a bunch of other lucky North Valley pups — enjoys food that's free of toxins and tastes great, too. Bonnie's Barkery also offers toxin-free toys and bedding.

Hey, if it's important enough to buy it for yourself, you probably ought to be doing it for your dog, too.