life skills from mom

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Shopping on Thursday
Some insider info on planning your trip to the mall:

Patrice Vailes-Macarie, a personal shopper at Lord & Taylor in Washington, D.C., confides, "Our department store receives new shipments just about every Wednesday."

Sophia Griego, JCPenney Fashion Expert at Bellevue Square in Bellevue, Washington, says, "At JCPenney, the best time to shop is the beginning of the month, when we receive the new season's products, which means we will have the most sizes, and the newest product will be displayed up front, for easy access to our customers."

Jill Martin, Today show contributor and coauthor with Dana Ravich of The Weekend Makeover: Get a Brand New Life by Monday Morning, says that swimsuit shopping is best done early in the day. "You don't need to go starving, but we all feel our thinnest in the morning." Plus, you'll have more energy, and the sales racks will still be orderly and fully stocked.