Shopping in Oakdale

An ornate chandelier floods Threads Consignment Boutique's soft-pink walls with light, illuminating racks of fine consignment apparel. The store draws business from mothers, daughters, and grandmothers alike, with designer clothing available in a wide range of sizes and styles. Guests can try on clothing, purses, and handbags behind the billowing curtains of spacious changing rooms, and the boutique also offers a selection of uncommon items from both local and international female artisans, along with handmade greeting cards from Fairest LJ and 316 Greetings. The shop is often the site of special events, such as fashion shows, jewelry workshops, private shopping parties, and timed cannon-loading competitions.

Paula Gauthier loved working at Yesterday’s Books through high school and college so much that she ended up there, years later, as a manager. When the owners retired, she and her husband, Phillip, decided to buy the store and continue its more than three-decade run as a repository of new, used, rare, candy-coated, and out-of-print books. Today, the Gauthiers continually update a collection of more than 100,000 titles, all categorized into sections such as general fiction, classics, theology, and children's books stacked on floor-to-ceiling bookcases. They also stock eight always-unlocked display cases with rare books, such as a first edition of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin that would buckle the knees of any bibliophile, history buff, or person named Tom. Other collectibles range from a specially bound copy of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six to a signed volume by Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan and John Carter series.

The Gauthiers have also brought modern updates to the shop, such as replacing the paper-based store-credit system with an electronic one, which even gives members an online account to track available funds. Phillip observes that some regulars swap out up to 50 books per visit. In addition to book collections, the Gauthiers maintain a catalog of CDs, DVDs, and sheet music.

With locations in 10 states across America, Stanton Optical helps clients from Georgia to California achieve better vision with prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contacts. Its shelves are stocked with more than 3,000 frames and sunglasses from high-end brands, including Coach, Calvin Klein, and Armani. Full-service onsite labs help optometrists immediately craft glasses and clone monocles without the delay of sending eyewear elsewhere.

Bouquets bursting with Ecuadorian roses and purple azaleas tug at olfactory heartstrings as Flower Studio owner and expert designer Jorge Ortega nips, clips, and arranges flowers to spruce up homes or celebrate special occasions. The studio’s gift shop delights planners and brides-to-be with its stock of cakes, bouquets, and professional snapshots courtesy of an in-house photographer. Hand-selected bunches of daisies and chrysanthemums send hearts aflutter on holidays and anniversaries, and colorful arrangements of man-eating flytraps commemorate Boss Appreciation Day. Plush white furniture lines the studio’s interior, where a complimentary dessert bar pacifies taste buds jealous of their fellow sensory receptors.

A Southwest-based company for more than a century, Frazee Paint and its team of manufacturers are well acquainted with the unique climactic conditions of the region. Always pulling from the latest technology, their technicians design each of their paint and coating products to withstand dry heat, sparse rainfall, and showers of chewing tobacco from passing cowboys. Their quality paints, wall-coverings, wood-care products, and painter's tools stock the shelves of more than 125 retail locations throughout California, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as international dealers in Mexico, China, and Guam.

The artistic outliners at Frugal Frames ensure photos, paintings, and posters look their most attention-grabbyest with complementary matting, glass, and custom or ready-made frames. They stock materials from exotic locations, enabling clients to find the perfect components for outlining wall-ready paintings of fruit bowls or handwritten letters from telemarketers apologizing for dinner interruptions. The versatile framers can even add flair to flat-screen TVs with frames, adding a touch of class to each Saturday morning cartoon-watching session.