We know this to be true: you will love browsing through the goodies from 60 different stores, from designer boutiques to fancy chocolatiers and home furnishers, without setting foot in a mall.

Specially if it’s for a good cause.

So head to Princeton this weekend for “Shop With Inspiration,” a huge holiday boutique event inspired by Meredith Peterson, who died of breast cancer last year at the age of 36. 

There will be clothing, artwork, home accessories, botanicals and other gifts from local—plus some out of state—merchants and artisans.

Princeton participants include Fantoo’s cool tees for sports fans (www.fantoo.com), financially savvy desserts from Sweet Assets (www.financialcrunch.com), the fancy sarongs of Turtle Beach Designs  (www.turtlebeachdesigns.com), Studiopixe (www.studiopixe.com) and its artistic digital rework of photographs; Tuscan Hills’ home furnishings (www.tuscan-hills.com), designer clothing from Zoe (www.shopzoeonline.com), one-of-a-kind jewelry from Elizabeth b Design (www.elizabethbdesign.com), and just to keep your wheels spinning, skateboard equipment and apparel from Decked (www.deckedshop.com).

It all takes place at the Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place in Princeton.  Friday 6-9 p.m. is a preview and purchase party. A $75.00 ticket (from This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) gets you in and includes food from Mediterra (www.terramomo.com) on Nassau St. Saturday, just come and shop, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mediterra will also be there for your eating pleasure.

“Meredith was the type of person who gave back in so many ways, always involved with the children at school and with the environment,” says Lisa Marttila, one of the event’s organizers.

Proceeds will go to the University Medical Center at Princeton Breast Health Center, and also to the creation of Meredith’s Garden for Inspiration, which will be planted at the Johnson Center. It will include some of Meredith's favorite trees, shrubs, and perennials, and plants that have been identified as having aromatic qualities that comfort patients during cancer treatments. 

Shoppers contribute directly to the garden by purchasing specific plants like wisteria, honeysuckle, and lavender, or contributing to a landscape design that, her friends are sure, Meredith Peterson would have loved.

If you need inspiration to shop, you’ll find it here.