Sorry I've been MIA...

But it's all for a good cause, I promise.

I've had the privilege of working on an amazing project called Strides Across Texas. Last January, a radio DJ here in Houston (Kevin Kline) decided to train for an entire year to run a nearly 500- mile, 13-day ultramarathon across Texas to raise awareness about pediatric cancer, and to raise money for Texas Children's Cancer Center.

My husband and I drove to Dallas this weekend because I did the PR for the entire campaign, so I wanted to be there to coordinate the media at the kick-off on Sunday morning (hello 5 a.m. wakeup time!)

If you're interested to learn more about what Kevin's doing, or you'd like to donate, click here. Kevin will run through the holidays, giving up Christmas to give back to the children and families who need it most.

I can't seem to travel to any city without going shopping (I think I'm just naturally drawn to the mall, no matter where I am.) On Saurday when I had a break from working, I somehow convinced my husband to take me to the largest and most amazing mall in Dallas, called NorthPark Center.

NorthPark literally had every store I would want to shop at, aside from Club Monaco. I couldn't believe the wide array of stores, and don't even get me started on how awesome their Forever 21 was (it's the Dallas flagship store, similar to our downtown one in the Houston Pavillions and the one at Memorial City Mall.) I like to see the kind of stock other stores have. I always end up finding something I haven't seen at stores in my area. I only purchsed two tops, but the store had a lot of cute items.

What's the best mall you've ever shopped at? What did you like about it over other malls you've shopped at?

For me, the most important thing is variety of stores I like to shop at. I like it when they are all in one place, and when the stores are large and have a lot of stock. I saw things at the Victoria's Secret in Dallas that I haven't seen here in Houston, but it could just be that they just got some new stock in.

So tell me, what makes your shopping experience a great one? Is it all your favorite stores in one place? the size of the stores? the look of the mall? where the mall is located? how much parking is available, etc?

xoxo,

Veronika.