My parents are in from San Francisco, staying with me for the weekend. Which means, of course, that I get to take a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond. Thank goodness they’re here – I never knew how empty my life was until I got a suction cup sponge holder for the side of my sink!

Still, the BB&B here in New York is worth the trip for anyone from out of town – very few other bedroom superstores feature uniformed doormen hailing taxis for exiting bag-laden shoppers. The highlight of the store, however, is the shopping cart escalator. Next to each person escalator, a narrower parallel track hauls shopping carts between levels. Nota bene: riding in the carts on the cart escalator is apparently discouraged.