Enjoy a Gorey Story

Ask anyone around here what their favorite book is and more than likely someone will bring up The Gashlycrumb Tinies. This lovely little macabre collection has been a staple at The Afternoon forever, and why not? No one but the incomparable Edward Gorey could have pulled off such a brilliant assault on the alphabet, and besides, it is impossible to not admire his signature black and white drawings! We love Gorey so much that we've given him his own little corner here in the Mall of America store, a tiny shrine to all things slightly surreal, slightly askew, slightly creepy, slightly perfect....

The Labor Theory of Valuables

Beards rule - at least they do in the cases of Santa Claus and Karl Marx (when was the last time this duo appeared together in a sentence?)!! I wonder what Marx and his beard would think of the book/bank/elaborate ruse that is our fabulous Das Kapital Secret Storage Case....He would probably comment on how useful a place it is to unify all of your hard-earned treasures or what an excellent addition it would be to your bookshelf! I can just picture it now, standing stoically between your copy of The Frederick Engels Reader and a large stack of gossip magazines! Maybe Santa needs to come a little early this year, since it seems we're all looking for some new place to stash our valuables (the mattress is so bourgeois!).

Crafty Crawler Fun!

Is this FABULOUS or what! Paper Plate Bugs from Alex Toys. Just what every Grandparent needs. A fun activity to help keep the grandkids busy and send home a colorful reminder for their refrigerator. Just got this kit this week. We made bugs and then saved a couple for next week when they are here again! It was super easy because all the parts are ready to go! Just sat down and had a blast with my 4 year old!

Time Waits For No Bot

Is your desk the most boring place on the planet? Wouldn't it be great if someone (or some 'bot) could come along and bring a little joy into that overwhelmingly uninteresting vortex of paper, post-its, and stress that you call a workspace? Well, just when you couldn't take it anymore, here comes Tokibot to brighten your day!!! Not only can he tell time, and both sit and stand (which is more than you could probably say for some of your coworkers!), but he comes already poised to be your new best friend/assistant/confidant. Who knows? Now you might actually want to go to work!! Come visit Tokibot soon at our Mall of America store.

Measure of a Cat

Calling all friends of felines!!!! You need to ditch your dullsville measuring cups (come on, you know you've had those awful old ones forever!!!!), and invest in our latest kitchen must-have!!!! If you're anything like me your cat is nearly always on your counter top anyway (after all, doesn't your kitchen, and well, whole house really belong to them!!!) - you might as well add a few extra!!! -the more the merrier, right??!!! Plus - maybe now you'll actually get around to all that baking you've been meaning to do......

Tin Tin Memories

Seeing the Tin Tin books arrive late last year made me feel all fuzzy and nostalgic!!! These stories are pure bliss - and I was happily vaulted back to all those afternoons when I pored endlessly over the adventures of this boy detective and his dog Snowy. -and such cool characters, too!! Who could forget Captain Haddock and all of his lovely expletives ("blistering barnacles!"), or my favorite lawyers Thompson and Thomson! Maybe you're longing for a trip down memory lane, too!!! It seems a lot of our visitors are; when we put our beautiful new Tin Tin collection in the window many people stopped and asked "Where are those books? I've just got to show my kids!". I think these are a must-have for every library, and the best part is that kids will love them, but they provide a perfect (imaginary!) getaway for any age!!! I should know - they are among my husband's favorites!!!!

Farkel Party Fun

Clear off the dinner dishes and wipe the table down because playing Farkel Party at our home is a family event! Everyone wants in the game. Some of us even have our own "color" of dice we prefer to roll. At our game table. . . it is all high stakes. Risk what you wish with each roll, watch which dice you freeze, and careful not to FARKEL on the next roll. Bragging rights inevitable if you roll a big score or are fortunate enough to win the game!

Movie Mania

Cool new game we just got in. For the movie buff in your life.

Are you a cinematic fanatic? Put your knowledge to the test! What horror movie would you be watching if you heard the line, "They're all going to laugh at you"? Or what comedy includes "I'll be taking these Huggies and, uh, whatever cash you got"? Think fast: you've only got 60 seconds to answer! Okay, the answers are "Carrie" and "Raising Arizona." Move around the gameboard answering questions in six categories: Action/Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Classic/Western, Science-Fiction/Horror and Trivia. Collect a correct answer for each category to win. Comes with a game board, a score pad, a timer, four pawns, a die and 990 trivia questions.