Some purchases and TJ's Grocery Haul

By Gaby -
Today, as usual, was my day off and I spent it doing some much needed errands and to also check out some random items I'd been lusting over online.

These storage canisters from Pier1 Imports:



I was getting pretty tired of pulling bags of flour and sugar from the pantry and making a mess, too, whenever I used them.  Plus, I'm trying to make everything around here a little more organized.

I "pinned" this cute butter container (and I needed one anyways, so it wasn't completely a frivolous purchase) on Pinterest not long ago and finally snatched it up:






And lastly--I don't know why--but I took a photo of my Trader Joe's grocery haul; up until now I'd been shopping at our local Kroger (I think in other regions they're also known as "Ralph's") thinking I was getting such a good deal because of their fuel rewards.  I finally decided that I was being scammed and from now on will be making my main grocery trips to TJ's:





See that Toblerone in there?  Yeah that's already all gone.  I got:  Brie and Pesto gouda cheese; eggplant, broccoli florets and rainbow chard; shrimp, frozen crab-stuffed flounder, bag of frozen chicken and spicy sausage; steel cut oats, coconut oil (have heard good things about that), butter, cream, pasta, and of course, Greek yogurt.  I was so sure the final bill was going to be much higher, considering that if I'd gotten all the same stuff at Kroger, I'd be seeing a high grocery bill--but to my surprise, my total was around $60.   I'm probably going to have to head back to get a few more things I forgot, but I'm always happy with TJ's.  I promise to be more loyal from now on!

Something strange happened this evening...but it's late and I'm tired and have a dentist appt early tomorrow morning...and I also don't want you to think I'm crazy after you hear the story (because my husband thought I was off my rocker when it happened) so I think it's going to have to wait.

Night!




Comments

Valerie said…
That's really interesting about Trader Joe's. I've always considered them to be more expensive, but I may need to do some comparative shopping.

Oh, and now you have me wanting to hear your story!
March 7, 2013 at 8:04 PM
sarah marie said…
I used to think TJ's would be more expensive than 'regular' grocery stores too, maybe because their products seem to include more organic things and unusual or foodie-type products, but I've found the same thing you mentioned -- I really think I can buy our groceries more affordably there! And I by no means do everything organic but I have been trying to buy organic dairy and eggs, and they have them at better prices than Shaw's or Stop & Shop. I love coconut oil and TJ's makes it affordable -- I use it all the time now, including on my skin and my baby's skin. :) Your canisters and butter dish are amazing! Maybe I need to go to Pier1. I've been wanting some canisters with chalkboard labels like that.
March 11, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Gaby said…
Valerie and Sarah marie: at least in my area, I've recently noticed that prices are rising on "normal" purchases (flour, sugar, vegetables, etc.) at my grocery store. I used to see TJ's as just the occasional shopping trip for stuff like their cooked sushi (which is pretty cheap)but there are definitely many things that are cheaper. But for sure, there are still things (like organic) that are pricier, like their milk and meat. However, I frequent their frozen food aisle and that seems to be reasonable. It might just take some extra time to peruse through the store, but I've heard that they describe themselves as being less expensive b/c there is no middle man and they do not advertise normally.

Oh, and those canisters were pretty cheap--$10! It's possible that you could also just buy the chalkboard labels separately and then just attach them to any canisters you already have. I think I saw those there, too.
March 12, 2013 at 10:45 AM
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