| One the greatest American pastimes is shopping. Whether you enjoy window shopping, buying knickknacks as a tourist, shopping online, or simply walking the local mall, there is something for everyone. Shopping has become central to our way of life, with brand names like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger covering everything from perfume to designer jeans. First-rate shopping is easy to find with stores like Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s in malls across the nation. The Mall of America is the nation’s largest, sporting a huge food court, an indoor amusement park, and shopping for all ages. A simple pair of jeans can turn into a day’s project, presenting choices like loose-fit versus boot-cut, flared versus tight, low-rise or the classic fit? Online shopping simplifies your search with websites like buyerdom.com and shopzilla.com, and the every popular Ebay. Magazines like Lucky Magazine and Domino Magazine feature online and local shopping guides from home décor to date night apparel. The Fashion Editor is one of the largest online fashion and trend setting guides, offering advice on the latest styles, the fashion industry, and famous stylists. It’s not just the ladies that find shopping addicting, with AskMen.com featuring monthly fashion and shopping question and answers. Of course, most men would rather be seen at the nearby Lowe’s or Home Depot for home fix-ups and furnishings instead. Sporting goods, electronics, and entertainment are big among most, and feature venues like BestBuy, RadioShack, and Sports Authority. After a long day, Barne’s & Noble and Borders are popular bookstores offering comfy chairs for shoppers to peruse their books in luxury before purchasing. With so many shoppers and so much to buy, yesterday’s purchases are quickly passed on to consignment shops and secondhand stores like Name Brand Exchange, sold at rummage sales, or donated to The Salvation Army and Goodwill. Nicknamed “The Ocean State” for its close ties to the Atlantic Ocean, no one is more than a 30 minute drive from the water’s edge. Other fun facts are that Rhode Island is America’s smallest state by size, has the largest concentration of Italians and Italian-Americans, was the first to declare its independence from Britain, and the last to ratify the constitution. Narragansett Bay contains many of the states natural islands, of which there are 30 total. Aquidneck and Block Island are two of the more popular. Rhode Islanders have some unique beverages and foods to their credit, like coffee milk, the state’s official beverage, which is milk mixed with coffee syrup. Another is a version of lemonade using a mixture of ice slush, fresh lemons, and sugar. Other culinary eccentricities include wieners (small hot dogs covered in a meat sauce, chopped onions, mustard, and celery salt), grinders (a special type of submarine sandwich), Chouriço and peppers (sausage and peppers), and dynamites (sloppy-joes with peppers and onions on torpedo rolls). A “stuffie” is a large clam mixed with spicy minced sausage stuffing, baked in a clam shell shell. Shellfish, chowders, clam cakes, and other seafoods are also popular in the state. Once visitors get their fill of the state’s delicious cuisine, they often head to one of the many casinos, take a stroll along the beach in summer months, or go for a relaxing boat ride among the islands. The Ocean State, Atlantic Ocean, smallest state, Narragansett Bay, Italinas, Italian-Americans, Revolutionary War, Aquidneck, Block Island, grinders, dynamites, stuffies window shopping, online shopping, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Marni, designer jeans, perfume, Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Mall of America, loose-fit jeans, boot-cut jeans, flared jeans, low-rise fit, classic fit, buyerdom.com, shopzilla.com, Ebay, Lucky Magazine, Domino Magazine, The Fashion Editor, fashion industry, AskMen.com, Lowe’s, Home Depot, home fix-ups, Barne’s & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, RadioShack, CompUSA, BestBuy, Sports Authority, consignment shops, secondhand stores, Name Brand Exchange, rummage sales, The Salvation Army, Goodwill, sporting goods, electronics, furnishings, home décor
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