Shopping in Granger

The Hills True Value family calls upon more than 38 years of home-improvement expertise to provide customers with the proper tools and services for residential projects and regular upkeep. While exploring the menagerie of homecare necessities, customers can become inspired to tackle lawn and garden projects or get started on indoor renovations for the kitchen and bathroom. Patrons may also enlist help from the knowledgeable staffers, who can perform common maintenance services such as sharpening chainsaws, cutting keys, or memory-wiping protocol droids.

MustHaveShoes.com's interactive site pairs feet with stylish new friends, crunching metrics that include size, price range, and style before suggesting pairs that match your ultra-specific criteria. Enter in a keyword or characteristic such as "sexy" or “Paleolithic,” then page through options such as Madeline Gabean's glam sidewalk stompers in chili-pepper red ($59). Typing in brands such as Poetic Licence brings up more than 100 different styles of heels, flats, and sandals, and keying in cryptic words such as "weird" returns a mishmash of ocular delights, including Electrica Love in silver pink ($146). MustHaveShoes.com speeds its carefully packaged cargo via domestic UPS ground shipping free of charge or passive-aggressive Post-it notes.

Gardeners Bruce and Aimee Johnson channel their shared passion for landscaping into Woodland Gardens' verdant acreage, which abounds with beautiful flora selected to appeal to both the avid collector and casual gardener. The thriving nursery ships out a stunning array of hostas and charming daylilies bred to ensure a uniformly brilliant color that only enhances nature’s subtle variations. The plants’ reliable blooms often last long into the autumn months, and their excellent table manners make them ideal for bouquet centerpieces. Though the online store features a vast selection of hostas and daylilies, a visit to the nursery—where Japanese maple trees grow alongside a host of rare and interesting plants—is a gift in its own right. Selections appeal to avid hosta and japanese maple collectors, as well as casual gardeners.

When bikes fall ill, they can drag themselves over to The Avenue Bicycle Station and ask for John and Margie Hall, who not only sell bikes but repair and restore young and old two-wheelers alike. The Halls—whose shop is an outlet for Schwinn, Mongoose, and GT velocipedes and their closest relatives, Star Trac spinner bikes—have the chops and tools to fix up even the most busted of bicycles while extending the legacy of former store owners, Scott and Hanna Kelsey. Their pick-up and drop-off service lends a helping hand to busy riders on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To aid home bike technicians and entrepreneurs looking to invent Bike 2.0, they’ve amassed piles and piles of hard-to-find and vintage parts in a special salvage yard.

Since 1947, Mid-City Supply Co.’s friendly staffers have helped avid home improvers to outfit their digs in premium products. Nowadays, the experienced showroom staff displays much smarter fixtures, from faucets that turn on with the tap of a hand to eco-friendly water heaters powered by domesticated dragons. Though technology has changed, the company keeps quality high, stocking name brands such as Delta, American Standard, Toto, Gerber, Brizo, and Elkay. Customers can check out items in person at one of six showrooms in two states. To give back to the communities that helped them to grow, the company regularly donates to United Way.

The floor-to-ceiling windows that frame Sentiments Bridal & Special Occasion display fashionable formal attire for men and women. Owner Marie Brown stays abreast of the trends, updating the displays regularly so the colors, textiles, and styles suit the season. Brown coordinates dresses for bridal parties, rents tuxes to groomsmen, and designs custom fashions for mothers. Accessories, including hats, shoes, and jewels, complete outfits. Brown's shop also outfits children with miniature garments for special occasions, such as christenings or space-camp graduations.