FEATURES – APRIL 2009

Best Of 2009: Steals And Deals

Bang-for-your-buck bargains help you live well in hard times

Compiled and Written By: Bill Burnham, Mary Burnham, Jessica Carlson, Bruce Ebert, Patrick Evans-Hylton, Montague Gammon III, Tristen Graves, Beth Hester, Larry Maddry, Pam Majumdar, Melissa Morgan, Sandra Penneke, Ashley Schaefer and Ben Swenson

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It's no secret that this year will forever be known for penny-pinching, budget cuts and economic turmoil. While we hope for and expect a brighter future ahead, we decided to make the best of the worst in the meantime and dedicate our annual Best Of Issue to our favorite bang-for-your-buck bargains. Our editors and writers scoured Hampton Roads to find the best options for steals, deals and cheap stuff—and we found out that around here, you can still live well while saving some cash. We've got half-priced wine, massage deals you can't miss, free Oceanfront parking, beauty samples, bargain getaways, big plates of comfort food and more. And, as usual, we've complemented our poplar Best Of picks with our annual Readers' Choice survey. HR residents have once again weighed in on all their regional favorites. Dive in, sale-savvy readers.

—The editors

THRIFTY TIPS
"At the grocery store, I started buying the generic brands of food, especially canned goods. Why spend more for a fancy can? Pinto beans are pinto beans." —Maria Wilson,pharmacist, Norfolk

SHOPPING

Best Flea Market
King's Flea Market
We can't resist a great bargain, and no bargain is better than a turn at a local flea market. Especially when it's at King's Flea Market in Newport News, with stall upon stall of knick knacks, and where every hunt is different from the next. Don't forget to take a look inside the indoor shops, with specialty stores selling everything from sports collectibles to furniture. Open Saturdays and Sundays. 9706 Jefferson Ave., Newport News,
757-595-9673

Best Designer Outlet Shop
Kate Spade at Prime Outlets
Simple, sophisticated and stylish, Kate Spade handbags have outlasted many fleeting trends throughout the years. Lucky for us, Kate entered our low-price radar last spring with the expansion of Prime Outlets Williamsburg's sprawling outlet mall. One of only eight in the country, the outlet store has all the chic designs and vibrant colors Kate is known for, but with prices she's not. 5715-62A Richmond Rd., Suite #122, Williamsburg,
757-258-9484, www.primeoutlets.com

Best Couture Consignment Store
Worththewait
Just because the economy is suffering doesn't mean your wardrobe should too. Frugal fashionistas of all ages are snatching up fabulous finds from designers like Trina Turk, Se7en Jeans and French Connection from consignment shop gem worththewait. With half the store carrying high-end labels in consigned bags, clothes and shoes—all up to 70 percent off retail—and the other half chock full of jewelry, purses and Vera Bradley galore, you can stop banking on that stimulus check and start looking the part. 3157 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach 757-498-9051, www.worththewaitusa.com

Best Thrift Store
Salvation Army Family Store
This secondhand store is our first choice for finding deals on gently-used (and sometimes new) clothes and furnishings. It's quite an operation. The clothes are color-coded. Books—thousands of them—have their own separate room. The furniture rivals that of any leading showroom. And it has donating on-the-fly covered too; donors pull their vehicles through and let employees do all the work. 5524 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach

Best Pawn Shop
Bress Pawn and Jewelry and 17th Street Pawn
A toss up between the downtown Norfolk megashop, Bress Pawn and Jewelry, and the small 17thStreet Pawn, about three blocks from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Each offers unsurpassed personal service and both go an extra mile to help customers. Linwood Cohen of 17th Street is a man of impeccable integrity, and we know of furniture purchased from Larry Bress' father in 1959 that still sees daily use. 721 Granby St., Norfolk, 757-625-4228, www. bresspawnshop.com; and 327 17th St., Virginia Beach, 757- 428-8510

Best Sales
Prime Outlets
Virginia's colonial capital offers some of the best deals on clothes and furnishings at Prime Outlets. Sale prices in the more than 100 stores are legendary. Shoppers flock there at midnight on Black Friday and pull an all-nighter to find unbeatable prices. But deals can be had all year long, and with the recent completion of more parking spaces, you'll likely find plenty of sale-savvy company. 5715-62A Richmond Rd., Williamsburg, www.primeoutlets.com

Best Online Deals
Shop It To Me
Wouldn't it be great if you could hire someone to go browse the mall all day to find items on sale in your size? You could hire a personal assistant ... or you could just sign up for Shop It To Me, a free web service that does exactly that—finds sale items in your favorite brands, in your size, and sends you a personalized update every day or week, no celebrity status required. www.shopittome.com

Best Online Classified Deals
Craigslist
For better or worse, the classified ads in the newspaper are a thing of the past. Since its inception, Craigslist has exploded in popularity, and it is the place to find playthings, furnishings, jobs, even personal ads. There's no waiting on an auction, and Craigslist's regionally based design guarantees that what you're looking for is just down the street. It's the easiest way to make or save a few bucks in these tight times. www.craigslist.org

Best Place for Affordable Gifts
Tuesday Morning
Gift giving is an occasion when we never want to feel the pinch. Tuesday Morning offers a spectacular collection of items, including fashion accessories, toys, crystal, home merchandise and gourmet foods. Laura Ashley, Calvin Klein and Tracy Reese are just some of the names you might find in this veritable treasure trove. Oh, and did we mention closeout prices? Multiple locations in Newport News, Norfolk, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach, www.tuesdaymorning.com

Best Values in Lawn and Garden Supplies
Lowes Home Im provement Stores and Smithfield Gardens
If you save money on the basics, then you can splurge on the little luxuries. Visit one of Hampton Roads' numerous Lowes Home Improvement Stores to stock up on low-priced garden tools, mulch, potting soil, and fertilizer. In addition, Lowes generally carries one of the broader selections of planters and containers, trellises, and other mid-range landscaping accessories. With the money you've conserved, you can invest in shrubs, trees, herbs and a variety of robust annuals and perennials from Smithfield Gardens in Suffolk; it's not only a lovely destination, but the friendly and well-informed staff will give you all of the information you'll need to create your own backyard oasis. Multiple locations,
www. lowes.com; and Smithfield Gardens, Route 17, 1869 Bridge Rd. Suffolk, 757-238-2511, www.smithfieldgardens.com

Best place for do-it-yourself items
Home Depot
Cutting corners on home repair? We wouldn't recommend it. Luckily, Home Depot's Know-How Center offers free in-store clinics every week. Previous clinics have run the gamut of home repair, from installing interior lighting to tiling your floors and walls. Home Depot also offers Do-It-Herself workshops for women. Not looking to travel? There are plenty of 30-minute workshops archived online for home projects on your own time. Multiple locations, www.homedepot.com

BEAUTY

Best Place for Cheap Manicures and Pedicures
Spa Phoenix Get those little piggies prettied up for spring without the guilt of indulgence. Spa Phoenix, part of Galumbeck Plastic Surgery, offers quality manis and pedis for only $20 and $35, respectively. The environment is peaceful, the soaking tubs sanitary, and the price is half of what many spas charge as a basic price. Extra bonus—enjoy a complimentary glass of wine as the experts slough away. 1817 Republic Rd., Virginia Beach, 757-491-7142, www.spaphoenix.com

Best massage Deal
Advanced Fuller School of Massage Therapy
Only the price is bargainbasement at The Advanced Fuller School of Massage Therapy. If you're envisioning an encounter with an ax-grinding, big-boned blond named Helga, don't worry; staff and graduates alike adhere to high standards, and the school sports a membership in numerous professional organizations. A one-hour massage with a student costs a mere $30. An hour with a graduate: $40. The school also offers reasonably priced Shiatsu/ Thai bodywork, deep-stone massage and Honey-Tea Tree facials. 195 South Rosemont Rd., Suite 105, Virginia Beach, 757-340-7132, www.advancedfullerschool.com

Best Place for Beauty Samples
Sephora
While many department stores offer samples, we love the no hassle/no fuss attitude at Sephora when it comes to trying out new products. Shopping in the store? Get a free makeup consultation and take away personalized product samples, ask at the desk for perfume and other samples, and sign up for the Beauty Insider program. Or order online and get three free samples with every purchase, as well as a deluxe sample after every $100 spent. 701 Lynnhaven Pkwy., Suite #1068 (Inside Lynnhaven Mall), 757-498-3888; 500 Marquis Pkwy., Williamsburg (Inside JC Penney), 757-229-2195; and 2071 Coliseum Dr., Hampton (Inside JC Penney), 757-896- 1924, www.sephora.com

For the rest of Best Of 2009: Steals And Deals, pickup our April 2009 issue wherever magazines are sold.

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