The 99 Cent Store

On the east coast we had dollar stores like the Dollar Tree.  Usually I'd go in there for things like paper plates that I needed for a birthday party or gift bags or paper towels.  When I was trying to get pregnant I stocked up on their ovulation predictors and pregnancy tests because they measure the same thing and worked just as well (and lets face it... I went through them like candy)!   Most merchandise at the Dollar Tree was made like, well, like it cost a dollar, I guess.  I picked up a few fun Halloween decorations there and I also picked up some festive Christmas decorations, but generally, it wasn't a place that I'd normally go for anything other than an odd or end.  I certainly wasn't using its shelves to decorate my home, that's fershure.

In California we have a 99 Cent Store.  This place blows my mind.  Okay, so it is full of the same old crap that the Dollar Tree had.  I am not going to make any claims that the overall quality is something really amazing, but they do tend to have name brands and you can buy things at the 99 Cent Store that you'd pay 3 dollars for at the grocery market.  They even sell produce and groceries (though, this sketches me out just a bit... I mean, WHY is that huge bundle of asparagus 99 cents?)

Today I totally scored this old, metal, vintage "your brain on drugs," sign, which I promptly came home and nailed up to my wall of crazy colors.  For the record, I did not purchase this because of what it says or because I think it's funny.  Last night when I was talking to my husband about it and asked if he liked it, he said, "Yeh.  I guess it's funny.  It has a cartoon chicken on it."   I found this disturbing to a place deep in my core.  I said, "I didn't buy it because of what it said.  I mean, you don't buy a T-SHIRT because of the writing on it."  At which point my husband had a hardy chuckle at my expense, claiming that most people DO, in fact, buy t-shirts based on their catchy slogans and not their color.

So, to set the record straight, this sign could have said a great many things that would not have mattered to me.  What mattered to me were the colors they chose, the effect of kitsch and the contrast of color.

Also, I grabbed jalapeño plants, sweet peppers, yellow squash and green squash plants for my garden!

It doesn't look like much right now, but I'll bet we'll have some awesome little peppers and veggies by the time summer is in full swing.

I found these bright flower prints and put them on the yellow walls in my bedroom. They're so sunny and happy!

And I found these prints and used them to make a succulent grid on the big, open space in my kitchen!

My point is that the 99 Cent store is full of awesome stuff and with a little imagination you can save a bundle while making fun, quirky decorations for my home!

Super Shopper

I know that this is an uncomfortably fuzzy picture, but if you focus in on the middle of the page you'll see "Your Savings 112.87."

This morning, I ran to the grocery store to restock our empty pantry.  Jay doesn't cook and Twitter provides all of his meals, so  I left the cabinets empty and returned to find them empty.  While the girls and I were away on vacation I can not find evidence that my husband ate anything here at all.  You'd think that he might have bought an oven roaster chicken or there'd be some remnants of take out burritos from last weekend, but nope.  Nothing.

Normally I break my shopping trip up into several different stops based on price and quality, but I usually do my shopping while the girls are at school and technically they are still on spring break and therefor are home today.  There are two things in the world that my children hate:  1.) spending more than 20 minutes in the car and 2.) long trips to the grocery store.  My children are lovely little people with whom I wholeheartedly enjoy spending the bulk of my time, but they transform into demanding, complaining, fighting, tantrumming, begging monsters in both of these situations and it makes for a truly horrible shopping experience.  Given that I am exhausted and jet lagged, impatient and grouchy today, I thought better of my normal grocery shopping routine and decided to just do the whole list at my local Safeway.  I don't mind going to Safeway, though it's not ever my first choice.  The money I spend there goes toward our escript commitment at the school, so it has its benefits.  On the other hand, it can be a little bit pricey in my opinion, so I set out with the intention of buying only what was on sale.

Now I am always a pretty good grocery shopper, but THIS savings was my best effort yet.  Normally, after a big shop I've saved anywhere between $40 and $80, but I really outdid myself today.  Here's to eating well!