Monday, July 28, 2008

We Now Have An Aldi!






Hurray, an Aldi supermarket just opened in the next town! Now, we can get rock bottom prices on milk, eggs, and produce. Well, I think so anyway. I will be checking prices against the new Super Walmart (two towns over) the next time we go for our monthly stock-up visit. And, yes I know that 1.99 price for milk won't last too long. But, for now, that sure beats the 3.69 a gallon our local Dominick's charges.

We didn't buy much on our first visit. I was surprised that the prices on their own brand canned goods were comparable in price to the discount price on name brands at Walmart. Again, I will be doing some price comparisons just to see who has the best deal. I am also leery of taste - if a name brand is the same cost as generic - of course I will take the name brand.

Aldi is small in comparison to other super markets in the area so it had a very limited selection. I didn't see any customer service desk - maybe I just missed it. I couldn't watch items being scanned because the screens were turned away from the customers - that really bugged me. Credit cards are not accepted - you can pay by debit card, check, or cold hard cash.

If you want a plastic bag at check out there is a charge. So I didn't mind bringing my own canvas totes for bagging. Actually that's a good habit to get into for all stores.

I over-heard a customer say "This Aldi is much more expensive than our Aldi". Hmmm, interesting. I wonder where that gal lives. And why does the chain think they can charge higher prices in a different town - because the store is new? - because they think the populous is more affluent?

Will Aldi be big competition against other stores in town? In my humble opinion - NO. The town has a nice Jewel, excellent butcher shop and fabulous bakery. I can see Jewel stocking less milk and eggs but otherwise they won't loose much business.

We will pop into Aldi whenever we are in the area just to pick up a few things. But when the town gets it's new CVS Pharmacy we will plan a shopping day once a week. I know how to play the drug store game so I am really looking forward to even better savings.

How lucky we are to be getting more shopping options. It's a good feeling to save more money as the cost of groceries keeps rising.

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Garage Sale Finds: Tony Trabert

Just a few garage sales last week. Beth and Wullie were quite happy to come along and check out what was being offered. It was pretty disappointing. We didn't find anything until the very last sale.



All summer the kids have been having fun at our house hitting a rubber ball with a broken tennis racket. At this sale there were two rackets so we picked them up for the kids. But, one of the rackets was a vintage Tony Trabert signature Wilson racket - oh, the dollar signs were dancing in front of my eyes. Couldn't wait to check out the racket on Ebay - surely this was worth some bucks! Well, NO! There were a number of them listed on Ebay - no bids on current auctions, and no sales on completed listings. Oh well, that's the way Ebay has been going so I wasn't too surprised.



The kids ended up with two nice rackets and a new, unopened tube of balls for $5.00.



Beth also fell in love with these two china cats for $2.00 so I said she could have them. Oh no! I am letting my granddaughter turn into a collector! Is that a good thing or a bad thing?



And for Ebay I bought these two Precious Moments figurines for $2.00. I've had pretty good luck selling Precious Moments before so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will see a profit on them.

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

PhotHunt Theme: Hanging




You can never have too many magnets "HANGING" on the fridge!

Answer to last week's "What IS That?" Photohunt theme:

Photo # 1. Gelatin molds on a rack. All my commentors were too smart - I didn't stump anyone!

Photo #2. Everyone who guessed cakes was right. But they were not for a birthday or sports event. They were Wedding cakes at the wedding reception we attended a couple weeks ago. The bride and groom are certified baseball nuts devoted Chicago Cubs fans.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Garage Sale Finds: Buzz Lightyear




There was only one local garage sale last week. Maybe, if it stopped raining there would be more. I know we want to have a sale ourselves but we need sunny skies for a full week to do it. We have to set out our wares along the driveway and in the front yard so we are at the mercy of the elements. Rain and winds like we have been getting would scatter our junk all over the neighborhood - and the neighbors would not be pleased.

At any rate, we had Wullie and Beth with us when hit the one and only sale. Good thing as we finally found a bicycle helmet that we could try on Wullie - perfect fit and he loved that Buzz Lightyear was the graphic design on the helmet. It is in like new condition - only a dollar.

There were a lot of Polly Pocket bits in bags and my guess was that Beth would want those. I was surprised that she showed no interest. She fell in love with a cute teddy bear - 50 cents. The last thing she needs is another plush critter but she really loves her stuffed animals so it was a good buy - it is her new constant companion.

That was it - nothing else purchased.

Now that the kids live so close we can take them to lots of sales - WAIT - NOT A GOOD IDEA! I use sales to find Christmas and birthday goodies - can't do that with kiddies in tow. Guess we'll have to hit the sales first and take them to the ones that have toys later. Or maybe, we should just skip this activity with the grandkids and save money. Naw, it's good to reinforce the idea that garage sales are a wonderful source of toys and clothes. It's frugal summer fun.

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: What IS That?

This week I have two pictures for the PhotoHunt Theme:



Answers next week!



For more photos and this week's PhotoHunt check out tnchick.com

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Garage Sale Finds: Route 66


We decided to take full advantage of our drive down to the White Pines Forest State Park last Saturday. We left early dressed in our garage sale uniforms (blue jeans and tees). Our plan was to hit as many sales as we could find, or have time for, between home and Rockford. When we reached our son's place we would have a nice visit. Then we would change into our fancy party duds and head on to the wedding. All went perfectly. So, what did we find to buy? - nadda, ziltch, zip! We stopped at a lot of sales too. There was nothing for Ebay, children's gifts, or something we need or collect. Oh well, it happens that way sometimes. It was still a very pleasant drive. I feel we got extra value out of the money spent on gas and as always the fun is in the hunt even if we come up empty handed.

On our way home Sunday we were surprised to find an estate sale. Finally a few fun things - I spent a whole two dollars.



For Ebay: A Mary Engelbreit figurine titled "Get Over It, Get On With It", a small Route 66 mug, and A Disney/Pixar figurine "Francis the Ladybug" from "It's a Bug's Life".



For Us: A Disney magnet - can never have too many magnets on the fridge! (Ah, yes, what can I say - yet another one of my many collections!).

Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Monday, July 14, 2008

A Fairy Tale Wedding!



Is there any experience more magical than a fairy tale wedding? Ah, young love!

Last weekend's nuptials took place at the White Pines Forest State Park near Oregon, Illinois. What a gorgeous setting for this lovely outdoor ceremony. The Bride and her father arrived via horse and carriage - as befitting a beautiful princess! It was one of those days we will never forget because it was such a special event for everyone.

As wedding guests were we frugal? Well, sort of, but not cheap. The bride was my dearest friend's daughter - her baby - the last one of her children to tie the knot. We decided to give the wedding couple money - an amount we felt was generous but not insane. We had to remember that when our own son got married, my friend and her husband were extremely good to Charles and Di. We needed to reciprocate in kind - and we did.

So, how did we save money beyond the wedding gift?

We got a beautiful $4.00 wedding card free. Walgreens.com provided me with a $5.00 off a $20.00 purchase coupon. We purchased the free after rebate items for the month and a couple groceries on sale for $16.00 - the Wedding card was covered with the coupon.

The wedding party and guests were encouraged to rent cabins at the White Pines Forest State Park. Since our oldest son lives about 30 miles north of the park we decided to stay with him that night instead. We made sure our alcohol consumption was minimal (only one glass of beer for the evening) - driving back to the Rockford area was easy and saved us a night's lodging.

Clothing for the event was not a problem for my husband - he has a nice suit. Also shirt, tie and shoes relatively new. As for me - I must admit it was just pure luck. I needed a blouse to go with a dressy skirt purchased about three years ago at Khol's (free with coupon after $50 Christmas purchase). This has to be my favorite store because I am always lucky enough to find items geared towards a plump grandma body. I got the nicest top on sale for $15.00 and a classy looking purse big enough to hold my digital camera for $15.00 (both were free as I used a store gift card that Junior gave me last Christmas).

I took a ton of digital pictures and have had prints made for both the bride and groom and my best friend. This was an added expense BUT Walgreens just had a photo print special - 10 cents each. 140 prints cost me slightly more than $15.00 (including tax). I also splurged and got two classy looking photo albums at Walgreens (another $15.00). So, I spent a little more than I could have. But this was one of those fun, feel terrific little splurges for a dear, dear friend. Our treasured friendship is worth every penny.

We had a number of these at the reception - Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Friday, July 4, 2008

PhotoHunt Theme: Pointed





A Claymore is Pointed!

For more photos and this week's PhotoHunt check out: tnchick.com