Shopping in Newport News

Wine & Cake Hobbies provisions partiers, bakers, home vintners, and aspiring brewers with the tools and skills necessary for fashioning mouthwatering baked goods and homemade wine and beer. Cake-decorating classes help assuage artistic sweet teeth while hops, fully stocked winemaking kits, and informative beer-brewing classes can prepare amateur drinksmiths for everything from upcoming barbecues to the return of Prohibition. A wealth of cake decorations and baking instruments turns simple pastries and tortes into multitiered masterpieces bedecked with colorful frosting. And an array of party favors, bridal cake tops, and decorations can add the perfect touch to weddings, anniversaries, and showers.

As one of the area's only comic-book and graphic-novel stores, Local Heroes helps transport wide-eyed readers to a world where the pants-less parading of Halloween occurs every day. A friendly and knowledgeable staff of superpower scholars assists visitors in unearthing intriguing issues and answers questions about proper cape maintenance. A wide variety of options are available in the kids and young readers section, helping make reading fun for youths and providing role models that aren’t pirates or monster trucks. Mounds of new releases ranging from $3 to $4 and graphic novels starting at $15 are within reach, showcasing striking illustrations and gripping plot lines unmatched by amateur attempts at providing proof in traffic court. In addition to a stunning array of reading material for kids and adults, Local Heroes offers a welcoming atmosphere decorated with vibrant comic art, cushy lounge seats, and a kryptonite coffee table.

Step through the door at Jeannie's Used Books and immediately spelunk into a tome-lined cavern of literary stalagmites. The store has an alphabetized inventory of 150,000 volumes in more than 160 categories— ask Jeannie about specific volumes among the myriad. Trade paperbacks and hardbacks are at or below half the cover price, the industry standard for used volumes. Customers looking for a specific book or genre can easily pounce on their printed prey like literature-minded lobsters, and casual book hunters and hardcore literary addicts alike can spend hours searching the towering shelves for the ideal book to keep them occupied during next month's desert-island shipwreck.

Monticello Shoes has carved a fiercely stylish reputation among foot owners as a sublimely stylish boutique with the functionality of a ballet flat. Handmade in Brazil, Monticello's signature foot boats use top-quality materials such as kidskin lining and natural leather soles, coupled with foot-friendly features such as double-comfort padding to create a seamless merging of form and function. Showing their dedication to newly hatching styles and trends, Monticello's vibrant 2010 Spring/Summer line ($109.95–$157.95) will ensure your toes' social status as the cool kids on the playground. Foot containers such as the Cynthia ($114.95) are perfect for any occasion, while the butterflied Mariah ($209.95), are glitterly adorned with authentic Swarovski Crystals for the spiffiest of outings. Stylish gentlemen looking for an attractive alternative to unsightly orthopedic options should keep an eye out for the Impactjel Double Shock Absorbers feature available on certain men's shoes.

At O'Baby Organix, eco-conscious parents who've grown their own babies or acquired them at neighborhood garage sales can scoop up sustainable finery from B nature, babysoy, and kate quinn organics. Softer than a puppy cloaked in cashmere, the organic-cotton long-sleeve bodysuit ($22) is a gender-neutral confection of 100%-organic interlock-combed cotton fit for infants up to 12 months. Active and aspiring tree dancers will appreciate the babies' organic-cotton bodysuit with skirt from B nature ($25), a stylish suit designed with comfort in mind. Cautious parents can also prep for colder months with a babysoy soy-fiber-and-cotton soft hoodie ($26), super-soft cotton booties ($26), and cargo pants ($21 value).

As he explained in a local ABC News feature, Players Sports Nuts owner Keith Carter, a displaced St. Louis Rams fan himself, wanted to create a business that catered to sports fans of all stripes, whether they rooted for local franchises or teams from across the nation. With memorabilia representing all major sports leagues and an emphasis on the NFL, the shop equips fans with trinkets such as logo-emblazoned shot glasses, player bobbleheads, and team toothbrushes. In-store autograph sessions with stars such as Percy Harvin allow fans to sign their names on their favorite players' foreheads in the hopes of increasing their value for future contract negotiations.