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Dance Supply Store

October 13th, 2010
Dance and Drill Tyler Texas

Dance and Drill

When my daughter first started to take dance classes at Cassie’s School of Dance in Whitehouse I did not know where to go to get the shoes and clothes that she needed. My daughter’s dance instructor told me to go to Dance N Drill which it near Toys R Us. I did not know what exactly I was doing or which tap shoes I had to get.

Since the store only sold dancing supplies I was really surprised that the prices were very reasonable and comparable to Target’s, Payless’s, or Academy’s dance supplies. All the frill and colors of the dancing outfits quickly caught my daughter’s eye. I do not think that anyone wants to be a beautiful princess ballerina more than a three year old girl. The staff that worked there gave special attention to my daughter. They sized her feet and found the perfect tap shoes. I was so impressed that they made this experience special for her. I had already gotten her ballet shoes from Academy and her out fits from Target, and realized that the dance supply store at Dance N Drill has a bigger selection for close to the same prices.

If you are like me and are new to the dance world than I recommend making Dance N Drills store your one stop, so you are not running all over Tyler looking for all the right things.

Clair’s in the Mall

September 13th, 2010

Claire’s has been in the Broadway Square Mall for a long time. When you raise two extremely girlie girls that love dressing up, Claire’s is a frequent stop while shopping at the mall. My girls’ faces light up when they see the corner of fairy and princess accessories.

I can get all my kids’ dress up needs here at Claire’s. The walls are lined with tutus, princess crown, colorful jewelry, hair bows, and fairy wings. With Halloween just around the corner you can dress you kids up with the fun, colorful accessories.

Claire’s does not only have stuff for toddler girls, but for women of all ages. They have the newest styles and accessories. Claire’s has had sales pretty much every time I have gone into the store. Many times they have earrings for “buy one get one half off”. The store has all different style of necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. You can get all different jewelry for a great price. Some of my favorite things in the store are the selections of bags, scarves, and hair accessories. They have all accessories to top off all of your outfits for every season of the year.

When I was really young I got my ears pierced at Claire’s, and I recently took my daughter to get her ears pierced there too. They pretty much do the same thing that they did when I got mine done. They sat her in a car and let her hug a teddy bear. A lady marked her ears with a purple marker just to make sure that they keep the earrings even with each other. I sat her on my lap just to make sure she did not jerk and to make sure that the lady did not miss the mark that she made. After the lady pierced my daughter’s ear, my daughter started crying, but the lady was fast at getting the second ear pierced even though she had to “re-load”. As the lady was doing the second ear, my daughter jerked, but the lady still pierced it on the right spot. After it was done my daughter was still crying so the lady helped calm her down by showing her how beautiful her ears were and by giving her a lollipop. Candy always helps kids be happy. The only thing that I had to pay for to get her ears pierced was the actual earrings. The piercing was free and it came with a solution that you have to clean the ear with three times a day.

Claire’s is a great place to shop for all your make up, and jewelry needs for a low cost. And it is a great place to shop for all little girls love for finger nail polish, princesses, jewelry, and dress up.

The Texas Rose Festival

November 25th, 2009

The Texas Rose Festival is an annual three-day celebration held in mid-October at the peak of Tyler’s rose season as a means to recognize and remember the importance of the rose growing industry in Tyler’s history. The Texas Rose Festival draws thousands of tourists to Tyler each year and has become an economic boost to the city. Yet as a resident of Tyler, it took me 5 years to investigate any part of the festivities myself. A friend convinced me my darling daughters would love to take part in the Queen’s Tea, dubbed “Tea with the Queen.”

On Thursday, the Texas Rose Festival kicks of with the Queen’s Tea, a massive garden party open to the community, hosted on the Tyler Rose Garden grounds. Visitors are allowed to meet the crowned Rose Queen and the members of her court arrayed in spectacularly lavish royal dresses. Every would-be-princess’s eyes will pop as they enjoy tea and cookies while gazing at the glitter and glory of the bedazzled royalty. They’ll definitely want to pose with a glittering princess, so don’t forget your camera!

Any down side to the Queen’s Tea? My 5 year old was deeply disappointed that she was not actually allowed to sit at an elaborately prepared table and sip tea from delicate floral china, sharing pleasantries with the Queen herself. I quickly decided to skip the long line waiting for a photo op with her majesty and instead maneuver my young princesses toward a lesser royalty clad in an alluring pink dress with gold sparkles (and only three people in line) hoping that would suffice for a scrapbook memory. All was well until the questions forced me into a political tight spot: Are they real princesses?” No. “How do they get to be princesses?” Hmm…“Can I do that someday?” No. Daddy doesn’t make enough money to buy the sequins on the queen’s dress. And the Rose festival is all about money.

You see, it is a well known fact that the Rose Queen can never be a Cinderella. Regular peasant girls need not apply. She is chosen on the basis of financial donations from her family. Even physical attractiveness takes a back seat to the cash. So unless you have already dumped truckloads of money into the city’s pockets and have paid your dues wining and dining the selection committee while your little girl was growing up, she will have no hope competing against the daughters of East Texas royal families like Jack King’s, even if she is twice as congenial and three times as pretty!

Kids on the young side might be overwhelmed or in danger of getting lost in the crowds of the event, so you might want to leave them at home. Unless Junior is old enough to be interested in girls, he would probably want to avoid an ultra girly event like the Queen’s Tea unless the allure of cookies is strong enough. If pressed too long, he may decide to entertain himself in one of the reflection pools to escape all of the pink commotion.

Friday is the exclusive theatrical Coronation of the Rose Queen at the Cowan Center. Tickets are $20-$30 for the matinee, and $45-$60 for the evening extravaganza. (Sorry girls, but the Tea is free.) Other Friday events which require tickets are The Ladies Brunch (tickets sell out way in advance) and the Men’s Lunch ($40).

If Friday night’s excitement is too heavy on the pocketbook, relax, the parade is free. You will have to deal with crowds and traffic, though. The parade begins at Glenwood and Front St. or for a bird’s eye-view and play-by-play commentary, pick up a ticket ($7-10) for a seat in the Trinity Mother Frances Stadium, 700 Fair Park Dr. The Texas Rose Festival Parade winds down the festivities with rose-adorned floats bearing the new royalty, bands, drill teams, Shriners, and the typical parade fare.

Texas Rose Festival Tickets are available at www.texasrosefestival.com.