Den of snakes

I went to Toys R Us a couple of weeks ago to check out presents for Lucy. I was particularly interested in getting some plastic food for her kitchen. To my horror all the food assortments available were sponsored by various food conglomerates including McDonalds, Betty Crocker and Subway. There was no plain normal food items, just branded items. She has plain food items purchased from other stores but it was interesting to see that the choices at Toys R Us were indeed limited to food chains wanting to get their product out.

The fridge is broken AGAIN!!!!!!!!

We booked a service call last night at 7pm over the internet and thankfully the service repairman turned up at 8am this morning. Good job! He has fixed the fridge and tried to get us a new one but since it is fixed they are not going to do anything else (until next time). At 8pm last night Andrew drove to Costco and bought the standalone freezer we had been eyeing out. It is only 7 cubic feet but it is also only $200 + tax. We wanted an upright model but given the urgency and the fact that we can't take it back to Oz we settled for the convenient and meat saving option of a chest freezer.

Note to self: never ever buy GE electrical appliances.

Product of the week - pink

October is breast cancer awareness month and as a result many many manufacturers have come out with 'pink' products to raise money for research. From clothes to mixing bowls to bibles there are pink products throughout the stores. Although Halloween has caused many stores to turn orange there is still a significant amount of pink around. It is amazing how much effort some of the big names have gone to for this cause and it is a pleasant surprise compared to the ghost and gravestone products nearby.

Edge of urge

I made it to the funky downtown shop 'Edge of Urge' the other week and got a new tshirt (left). The shop is stocked with lots of cool clothes and accessories. Check it out at www.edgeofurge.com

I also discovered 'Planet' thanks to Katrina which is similar to Dutchee Dutchee in Cronulla but with an emphasis on nick nacks rather than clothes. Both open late in the morning (sometimes 11am) but are open quite late at night (10pm).

Columbus Day Weekend

We had a fairly social weekend catching up with friends.


Saturday morning saw us out and about shopping primarily for new pillows at Bed Bath and Byond. But we also stopped in for a browse at Radio Shack and Jo-Ann's (craft store). Late afternoon we headed out to Pastor Gary's for cheeseburgers and a game of bocce on the golf course. We caught up with lots of people from church whilst the kids, including Lucy, ran around. Side note - it is really strange to hear little kids speaking with a southern drawl!


Sunday morning saw us a church followed by lunch at Bill and Mary-Lou's house. They loved playing with their substitute grand daughter and Lucy even obliged with lots of cuddles. We headed over to their pool (complete with fountains and wading section) so that Lucy and Andrew could have a swim. The water was fairly cool and dare I say it but this could have been the last swim for the season! After a year of summer,and I never thought I would say this, I am actually looking forward to a break in the weather.

But after cooler weather over the last week Monday morning sees us at 32 degrees again!

Walmart - cheap and nasty or inexpensive and wonderful?

Lucy and I had a trip to Walmart yesterday. Whatever people say about Walmart (Michael Moore et al) their prices are extremely low and their variety wide. Where else can you get a lifejacket, a carton of milk and some paintbrushes in the same store? For all those bargain hunters or cheapskates out there here are some examples: we bought an A4ish sized notebook with 70 pages for 10 cents (school supplies are on special), 3 gallons of drinking water for $1.96 (hurricane supplies), 4 ribbon bows for Lucy for $1.96 (her fancy ones were $8 each from a childrens clothing shop) and a pair of shorts for Lucy for $1. And while we were there we picked up a life jacket so that Lucy can go boating ($15.64), a shower curtain for $10 and paintbrushes for Lucy (a couple of dollars). On the downside there are lots of scary things at Walmart apart from bullets. It is the place I look for product of the week (there are a few good ones coming up) and having looked at the meat section once I haven't ventured near there again (btw what are pork chitlings? actually please don't comment as I just checked wikipedia on this point and it is not a good answer) I usually only buy named brand products here that I know and usually save quite a bit of money but I prefer to shop at Harris Teeter and Costco and only go to Walmart occassionally.

PS Don't forget to add tax to the prices

Michaels

Having been in Wilmington for three months now you would think that I would have discovered this place earlier. It is an awesome craft shop!!! I have only been to A C Moore and was a little disappointed. I saw an ad for Michaels in a magazine, checked them out on the web and then headed over. 45 minutes and a full trolley later I was forcing myself towards the checkout. I realised I had a lot of stuff when the lady behind me asked in amazement what project I would be working on. An excellent variety + reasonable prices.

Land of the free (shipping)

Yes that's right! Today's topic is rebates, coupons and free shipping [thanks for the tip Liz]. When going shopping it pays to looks for the above mentioned items. When shopping at the store Linen 'n things I was asked if I had a coupon. Sadly I did not and I am afraid I probably overpaid as a result. Every retailer has some sort of deal on: 20% off the highest priced item, free shipping for orders over $75, or 15% off the total. I have found a site that lists such deals called retailmenot which is great for online shopping. I don't buy anything now without checking this site. The other cool thing about internet shopping is that if the company is out of state you don't have to pay taxes (which can save you a bit of money). Rebates are painful as you pay the higher amount at the store then you need to post the manufacturer a rebate brochure, copy of the receipt, barcode from the box and various other paperwork before they will post you a cheque in 8 weeks time.


Retailers are also big into pushing membership. I have joined up with 4 different supermarkets (Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Lowes, Costco), the local health food Co-op, and 2 booksellers (Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million) just to get the weekly specials. My keyring and wallet are overloaded with tags and cards that need to be scanned during the purchase process. I'm not sure that this membership thing inspires the loyalty they may be looking for but it enables me to buy goods at normal prices.

Mall cruisin'

Lucy and I went to the mall today. There is only one mall in Wilmington and it is a Westfields! All on the one level it is very good for prams as there are no escalators to manoeuver but makes for a lot of walking. The shops are mainly clothing and jewelry shops. There are 4 big department stores. We went into JC Penney and got some great half priced clothes for Lucy for daycare. It is somewhere good to go for clothes shopping. Katrina would go crazy here! (Yes there is American Eagle, GAP, Abercrombie and Fitch, Loft etc) There is a Lindt shop but alas not a cafe! The Crabtree and Evelyn shop is sadly closing down. The food court options are extremely poor and there is no supermarket. However it's nice to be able to wander around undercover without having to drive between stores.

The Fresh Market

AMAZING supermarket/deli!! This place has the best meat and seafood selection we've seen for a while. We've tried out the lamb cutlets ($17 for 3!) and the salmon Toyko style. Lots of fresh bread, cheeses and vegies. That being said the fruit and dessert sections are a little disappointing. The fruit is just not very good quality and everything in the dessert section of the bakery is covered in fake cream. Overlooking these two issues, everything else is pretty amazing. Whilst expensive, the meat on offer is of excellent quality and great variety. I am pretty excited by the seafood section and despite Andrew's disgust Lucy and I are going to eat seafood twice a week for our Omega 3 intake. Shrimp seems to be very popular. Still trying to track down some good Balsamic vinegar.

Tidal Creek Co-op

We have joined the local co-op. It is a great health store full of good stuff that you can't get at the supermarket like flax oil, tapioca bread, cashew butter and organic hot chocolate. Tidal Creek belongs to The Coop Advantage (Julie this is the association which Greenstar Coop in Ithaca is also a member). The farmers markets are starting up again next week so we will be able to get extremely fresh fruit, vegies and hopefully eggs. This year for the first time the co-op was able to return profits to its members. But one of the best things about the co-op is that it has a fresh salad and juice bar in store. Amazing salads including 'endame and arame' which was quite sweet. Andrew loved the fresh tomato and basil soup (so did Lulu). In fact we almost had a fight at the shop because both of us wanted to wander around and check things out while the other minded and fed Lucy. In the end I got to wander around when I asked Andrew when he became so interested in health food! They also sell bread fron the Stoneground Baking Company which seem to make some amazing breads (check out their specialty bread list).

Location: 5329 Oleander Drive Wilmington NC 28403