Shopping in The Woodlands

Since they met in optometry school, husband-and-wife team Drs. Claudio and Grisel Lagunas have dreamed of opening their own practice together. Lifetime Eyecare Associates is the realization of that dream, where the duo and their fellow optometrists use advanced technology to detect and eliminate a variety of eye conditions. In addition to administering primary eye-care services, the doctors specialize in the co-management of refractive surgeries such as LASIK. They treat the degenerative corneal condition keratoconus with specialty prescription lenses, and use the innovative Optomap digital-imaging system to check ocular health and retrieve winning lottery numbers imprinted on the retina from gazing into crystal balls.

The perfect combination of flowers, plants, and landscaping can drastically transform the look of a home—something that P.J. Whitehouse, the owner of Heights Plant Farm, knows firsthand. When searching for a business location, she eschewed the traditional storefront and instead purchased an old house. She then transformed this building's front and back yards into a sea of flowers, potted plants, and trees.

To help customers make over their own yards, P.J. and her staff design landscapes for free, creating the perfect arrangement of flowers, trees, and plants. And to ensure these new residents live healthy lives, they run a deliver-and-dig program. With this service, gardeners will deliver, plant, and potty train each customer's chosen flora.

While plants dominate the outdoors, P.J. devotes her business's interior to handcrafted jewelry, locally produced honey, and relaxation aids. She also stocks the works of local artists.

As one of the largest and most established maternity-wear franchises in the United States, Pickles & Ice Cream outfits moms-to-be and their bundles of joy with helpful gifts and stylish clothing from well-known labels. Designers such as Spanx, Prego, Seraphine, and More of Me dress expecting shoppers to the nines in eye-catching lingerie, swimwear, and outerwear suitable for any occasion, and adorable babywear swaddles infants in comfortable, colorful ensembles. Like a cocktail dress with plenty of cargo pockets, diaper bags from Babymel fuse fashionability with function. Pickles & Ice Cream’s assortment of thoughtful gifts of skincare and baby-care essentials stock shower gift baskets.

With an inventory that includes 14 different palms, 11 fruit-bearing varieties, and dozens of fast-growing shade trees, Big Text Tree Nursery furnishes yards with a wide range of greenery that flourishes in the southeastern Texas climate. At each of their locations, a team of garden experts helps shoppers peruse the greenery and select the ideal tree for their garden, while mobile gardening teams deliver and plant selected trees.

Radio-controlled cars speed along the dirt path of twin, 20,000-square-foot off-road racetracks at RC Hobby Shop, spurred on by shouts of encouragement and furiously twisting thumbs. Too colossal to fit inside the building, the tracks embody RC Hobby Shop’s serious approach to having fun. Inside the 9,400-square-foot retail space, stacks of toys line the aisles and beckon kids and hobbyists with battery-operated modern gadgets and timeless classics such as yo-yos and board games. Model makers of every age can stoke their creative sparks with detailed modeling kits that reconstruct classic cars, elaborate train sets, and Lilliputian crime scenes.

For more than a decade, Sarah Furniture has been displaying wholesale furniture from vendors including Ashley Furniture, Surya, and Homelegance. Customers can purchase hardwood beds, marble tables, and leather furnishings to add sophistication to homes, or complete mental renovations using approximate measurements and a library of drag-and-drop furniture courtesy of an online room-design center. Sarah Furniture also offers a variety of finance and layaway options to help furniture transition to its new home quickly, and provides a furniture-protection plan that covers defects, accidental damages, and stains caused by food, drink, or unexpected visits from the neighborhood mud wrestler.