Shopping in Cookeville

Founded by Robert Hartline, who began selling phones out of his car in college, Absolute Wireless is currently celebrating its 10th year in business. In addition to handling Sprint and Nextel wireless plans, Absolute carries a wide selection of phones and headsets that fit the wireless needs of time-strapped individuals and businesses. Additionally, accessories such as Bluetooth headsets, memory cards, holsters, skins, and chargers are available to enhance the wireless phone experience. With several convenient, well-stocked locations, Absolute Wireless is a solid choice for one-stop communication-gadget shopping.

Owner, buyer, and stylist Elizabeth Allen loves fashion, and she’s not alone. The popularity of her Murfreesboro boutique spurred a new location in Gulch. At both shops, Elizabeth and her team of stylists select and share seasonal fashions from brands such as French Connection, Frye Company, and Whitney Eve. Though the shelves and hangers are replete with printed dresses and vintage Chanel accessories, the boutique’s Denim Bar serves both women and men.

At Mid Tenn Motorcycle Education Center, nationally certified instructors impart the secrets to safe and street-legal riding. Through their basic courses, students step in on Friday and leave on Sunday with the comprehensive knowledge and skills to bypass the written and driving portions of the state licensing test. The instructors spread tutelage across 5 classroom hours and 10 hours of on-cycle instruction. More advanced students can dip into six-hour experienced-rider courses to practice precision handling, advanced braking, and dodging squirrels. The school also hosts women-only classes that teach terminology and skills free of testosterone-induced wheelie popping.

Inside Ashley Furniture HomeStore’s sprawling warehouses and showrooms, friendly staffers stock plush beds, sturdy end tables, and stylish home accessories. Expert designers craft these dwelling fillers, testing raw materials' durability and basic arithmetic skills before transforming them into classy furniture items that mesh with any decorating style. They build many tables and chairs to meet eco-friendly business standards, using recycled engineered wood to reduce landfill waste and slow down deforestation. Ashley also stocks nonwood items, including a selection of state-of-the-art body-cushioning mattresses from brands such as Sealy and Simmons.

For an additional charge, Ashley Furniture HomeStore transports its furniture using its own fleet of semi trucks and fighter planes, which ensure that comfortable couches and slick dining-room tables are never damaged and always fresh smelling. Each location is locally owned and operated, meaning staffers are friendly residents who know which couches best complement regional design trends and indoor weather patterns.

At The Book Gallery's two Nashville-area locations, savvy staff members point readers toward fiction, comics, and nonfiction titles available in hardcover and paperback at discounted prices. Thousands of kids' and young-adult fiction selections provide more educational entertainment for moppets than playing video games or rearranging PB&J sandwiches into alphabetical order.

Secret agents prowl the premises, peering through magnifying glasses at pop stars' fallen boa feathers and dusting pirates’ treasures for fingerprints before reporting their findings to a headquarters fortified with cupcakes. Murfreesboro Toy Company invites children to take on these and other imaginary personas within all-inclusive party packages. A team of party planners lead soirees for up to 12 guests, with themes such as Secret Agent Spy—complete with fingerprinting and decoding secret messages—and Pop Star Diva, whose commemorative music video zooms in on children wielding inflatable guitars and wearing feather boas and glittering makeup. Tables swathed in colorful cloths and dotted with coordinating flatware host feasts of pizza, cupcakes, and punch, and each guest departs with party favors such as bath gel or temporary tattoos. Murfreesboro Toy Company's cheerful storefront teems with whimsical and educational toys by Madame Alexander, Playmobil, and other brands. Selections include bathtub basketball hoops for toddlers, Fancy Nancy dolls, and solar-system floor puzzles to test school-age tykes' spatial skills and allegiance to heliocentrism.