Exploring State Street in Madison with tweens, teens

Enjoying recent vacation time from school, my tween and I spent a day exploring Madison's State Street. Here are some of our favorite shops:

• Anthology - 218 State Street. Anthology was our first stop and my daughter was immediately drawn to the Make-a-Button display. Some of the items here are: fine papers, craft kits, handmade goods.
• Little Luxuries - 230 State Street. Sunglasses, accessories, purses, jewelry, gifts, books. The take-apart erasers in this store completely captivated my tween.
• The Soap Opera - 319 State Street. Sponges, 100's of rubber duckies, and yes, soap galore.
• Ragstock - 327 State Street. Quality used clothing store, with loads of retro offerings. Bargain pricing on super cool fashions. (Is it cool to use the word "cool?")
• Sacred Feather - 417 State Street. Since 1975, the Sacred Feather has been "the" hat purveyor of State Street. A fun place to check out your look in certain hat styles.
• Urban Outfitters - 604 State Street. Clothing, gifts, books. NOTE: This is a store catering to college students. If accompanied by a tween, know that drinking accessories and "colorful language" abounds in the store.
• The Pipefitter - 520 State Street. NOTE: If accompanied by tweens, know that there are valid reasons why children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult within this store. (As warned by poster at the entry.) Gifts, gags, cards, t-shirts, and hookahs.
• Pop Deluxe - 310 State Street. Pop Deluxe has been voted "Best Gift/Specialty" shop in Madison for the past five years. Loads of cute items to peruse.
• The University Bookstore - 711 State Street. This is the place to find Bucky-wear and gifts in UW red and white. In addition, my tween loved the plethora of art supplies. (It was also my chance to drop college hints to her. "If you get good grades, you could go to school at the UW.")

For lunch, we recommend a slice of Ian's pizza. Prices are very reasonable, slices are large, and the selection of tasty combinations is amazing. Recent review of Ian's.

It was a fantastic day of exploration and connecting with each other. Please enjoy the slide show below.

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