Hark, what is that I hear? Why, it’s the sweet (relative) silence of a sleepy weekday at the Freehold Mall. These weeks following the big gift-giving holidays are notoriously dead as everyone rests and lets their wallet recover. But if your dedication outpaces the pack, or you’re simply going stir-crazy cooped up in the house and need an outing, I have a few suggestions to maximize your savings right now. Last week I told you this was the perfect time to buy winter coats, and where to get the hottest styles. Well, that logic still holds: this is the time when retailers want to clean house and…

We all know shopping can be taxing work, and sometimes you need to refuel before braving the next store. Snacking is an age-old mall tradition, dating back to the time of the Orange Julius, and it’s alive and well in the Freehold Raceway Mall. Next time you get a snack-attack, use this handy guide to the salty, the sweet, and everything in between.  All Star Bagel. Besides the obvious, All Star offers hearty breakfast sandwiches and wraps. There is also a fresh selection of cookies, muffins, and the like. This shop also carries an array of reasonably-priced drinks, so you should forego the $3…

“Baby it’s cold outside” seems like an understatement lately. That mild weather that characterized the end of 2011 has passed and temperatures are foreboding. Luckily, this is the perfect time to shop for winter coats and accessories; as retailers make room for new spring merchandise, sales abound on cold-weather gear you can still use for months to come! Here is your guide to the season’s best styles with longevity (meaning you’ll still like them next winter.) Double-Breasted Peacoats. The classic shape is timeless and flatters everyone, but gets updated with bold colors and patterns. Some …

Happy New Year, mall maniacs!  Things are (finally) back to normal at the Freehold Raceway Mall: regular hours have returned, everyone’s vacation has ended and with them the parking lots drained, and your favorite stores are rolling out brand-new merchandise for 2012.  To start the year off right, enjoy these sales and events for the week of December 31. SALES J. Jill offers an additional 25% off sale through Sunday, January 1. Nordstrom’s Half-Yearly Sale for Men is on until Friday, January 6 with a great selection of new markdowns for men. Pandora will give you a genuine sterling silver …

It seems like the presents are hardly unwrapped and it’s already on to the next holiday with nary a moment to waste! 2011 is at its end, which means celebrating in style. This is the perfect time to go absolutely all-out, and I have some tips for getting funky this New Year’s Eve. All That Glitters. New Year’s Eve was made for glitter. Break out the sequins, break out the glitter, break out the sparkle. You should aspire to make the Times Square ball look dull. Too much is never enough! Luckily just about every store is on-board this trend, so you’ll have no trouble finding it. Gilt-y as …

How did it happen that while I was thinking about all the time I had to do my holiday shopping, suddenly it was less than two weeks before Christmas? If you’re as bad a procrastinator as I am, you’re in luck. Not only are there sales to rival Black Friday’s in the weekends preceding Christmas, but I have some tips to help you sift through the interminable options and find the perfect last-minute gifts for everyone on your list. For Mom: Forego the department stores and head to Perfume Kraze; not only does it lack the eye-watering overabundance of samples, but the prices are generally better …

I’ve never been a coffee-drinker, but I think I’m about to start. With the holiday season now begun in earnest, holiday hours at the Freehold Raceway Mall are being taken to new levels, to the dismay of its already-bedraggled employees, and with questionable benefits. But before I get carried away, let’s start at the beginning, with Black Friday… Last year, the mall opened for retail’s biggest day at 4 a.m., which I know because I lined up with the best of ‘em to bust some doors before heading in to work a shift that ended at midnight. This year, I found myself walking into the mall very late…

Now that we’ve all been (literally) stuffed on turkey and the dust has settled with Black Friday’s marathon sales, the holiday season is officially in full swing. Santa is in residence and “Frosty the Snowman” is seemingly inescapable in the Freehold Raceway Mall. To avoid burning out before it’s even December, try these fun tips to get in the holiday spirit! Get a jump on shopping… this weekend. For those who opted out of the mania that is Black Friday, don’t feel like you missed out: many stores extend sales throughout this weekend, and you’ll be relatively unbothered with all those door-…

This Friday, Nov. 25, is the biggest shopping day of the year: Black Friday. Most stores in the Freehold Raceway Mall will open at midnight Thursday night with amazing deals all day until 11 p.m. For those brave enough to venture the early morning (or late night, as it were) crowds, there will be holiday survival bags available at guest services, a pajama party hosted by WPST FM in center court by Starbucks, and of course, countless sales. Good luck, and happy shopping! SHOPPING Aerie – 40 percent off entire store, all day. Aeropostale – Doorbusters until 1 p.m. Everything 50 percent off (…

While the stores may already be playing “Frosty the Snowman” and Santa is firmly ensconced across from the Starbucks, Christmas is not yet upon us. Before we start shopping like madmen and bundling up against the cold, can’t there be a moment to enjoy autumn, and that other holiday that comes with it? Since Thanksgiving is all about being home and eating, Sur La Table is just the place to go to spice it up. Here are the top ten Thanksgiving tools and toys to be found there: Joseph Joseph Chop2Pot Plus, $16. In my meager cooking experience, the attempt to scrape chopped vegetables from the …

Fans of How I Met Your Mother will know that the ideal name for a bar would be Puzzles: People would be like, “Why’s it called Puzzles?” That’s the puzzle.  In lieu of such a magnificent watering hole, the Freehold Raceway Mall is now home to two fun and stimulating puzzle shops. Itz-A-Puzzle is upstairs between the food court and the elevator. This is probably what most people envision when they hear “puzzle store.” It’s a veritable oasis of jigsaw puzzles that I wish I’d known about a few weeks ago when I went trolling Barnes & Noble and Toys ‘R’ Us looking for a fun puzzle with more than …

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression, but sometimes looks can be deceiving. When I was in high school, Hot Topic in Freehold Raceway Mall was the go-to spot for those angsty teens who fancied themselves “alternative.” The walls were black, the music was moody, and the shirts (sometimes literally) said “I am misunderstood.” As I exited adolescence, I never thought I’d set foot in that store again, until some reexamination changed my point of view. From the outside, Hot Topic strikes an imposing figure. A twisted wrought-iron gate wards off parents and preppy types alike…

Forever 21, H&M, Charlotte Russe… and Sears? When you think of the stores frequented by young fashion-forward shoppers, the appliance and home-good giant doesn’t exactly top the list. However, if there’s one thing guaranteed to draw attention, it’s a Kardashian. With the new Kardashian Kollection, glamour has come to Sears. Designed by everybody’s favorite reality-TV sisters, the Kardashian Kollection is fairly predictable. There are tight body-con dresses, corset styles, insanely high heels, and a smattering of leopard print. In its own way, it’s sort of refreshing to see such sexy styles …

The witching hour is nigh. With fall in full swing, my favorite holiday is just around the corner – no, not the one where people shop at 4 a.m. Halloween has come to Freehold Raceway Mall, and whether you’ll be trick-or-treating, going to a party, or just to work, I’ve got your crib sheet on how to get into the spooky spirit. First and foremost must be Everything Halloween, which shares the lower level of Borders’ old location with Smart Toys, but commands the larger portion of the real estate. The store is the typical costume shop full of bagged costumes, wigs, hats, makeup, masks, and …

If the four blankets I piled on top of myself to sleep last night are any indication, fall truly is upon us. And though it saddens me to retire my sandals and sundresses, the time for layering and boots and hats has me jittery with excitement. To help you ease the transition into those frigid months, and look good doing it, here are my top 15 trends for fall, and where to find them. 1. Chunky cable knit sweaters. The thicker and cozier, the better. Lots of stores now have great bright colors to spice the look up, too. Find them at J. Crew and Banana Republic for both men and women. 2. Combat …

Shopping can be many things to many people: a dreaded obligation, an ecstatic escape, or even Very Serious business. To me it is usually an enjoyable sort of treasure hunt, but I notice in my double life as a retail servant that many people take their shopping far more gravely than that. What I’m wondering today is how far different stores (and customers) will go for their purchases? In the store where I work, there is a process when a customer can’t find what they want. First we check our inventory, then scour the stock room and mannequins for the appropriate items and sizes. This is where, …

As we all know, there is so much more to a store than what it sells. If that were the only matter, clothes would be hung haphazardly in linear rows beneath blank walls in silence. I’ve previously ruminated on the psychological effects of the store environs and the drawing power of window displays, and now I offer, for your consideration, the mannequins. Mannequins are a huge part of stores’ marketing: they are faceless forms to fill the clothes, all the better for you to picture yourself in them. But the picture each store paints with them is something different altogether. Firstly, the …

As a sometime-cashier, I should know better than to cause trouble at the register; on the other side of it, however, I don’t always remember that. A while ago at American Eagle, I nearly came to blows with the girl ringing me up over nothing more than an email address. How much of your information are stores entitled to, anyway, and is it worth it? In this particular instance, the cashier first asked my email to look up my All-Access Pass, the store’s frequent shopper card. I hesitated, then found my card anyway, and won the battle. However, after scanning my item, she again pressed me for my…

Ahoy, mall maniacs!  These are the sales and events at the Freehold Raceway Mall for the week of Sept. 27. SALES Haagen-Dazs has a sweet deal of 20 percent off all purchases, like $5 off a $25 ice cream cake, until Friday, Sept. 30. J. Jill’s Teacher Discount gets educators 15 percent off full-priced styles every day with a valid school ID through Dec. 31. J. Jill is full of sales: take 20 percent off any purchase of $100 or more and 25 percent off a purchase of $150 or more. Also enjoy 15 percent off their entire Wearever Collection, now through Friday, Sept. 30. Pandora is giving away a …

Freehold Raceway Mall has no dearth of options for the fashion-savvy consumer. But both newbies and fashionistas alike know there’s something much more basic that they must have first to make it all work. Here is your guide to finding the right underpinnings in the mall. The Basics Some people like their underwear leopard-printed, lace-trimmed, and ruffled within an inch of its life – and we’ll get to those inclinations in a minute – but others seek only simple, stylish utility. H&M has basic underwear, bras, and boxers in the most basic colors as well as a few fun prints. Aeropostale has …