The Trek

Since we are on a theme of boring blog posts, here is a good one: the weekend chores. For me, the main one is shopping, as in grocery. I am not a big shopper and the thing with the grocery shopping, it has to be done every week, or else we run out of milk. At certain times, the local stores just don't do and I have to make the trek to Greenville. The main stores I go to are Costco and Trader Joe's. These treks were started with my neighborhood commune. We would all go together, sometimes with kids, sometimes without. Now, I have to go by myself. :( It was Juliet, actually Juliet's mom who had the Costco card and first introduced me to the store. Really, I can't remember why I agreed to go that first time, but it turned out to be a good thing and I am now a proud Costco member.

The thing with Costco, you may think that by buying in bulk you save money. That might be true, but I don't think that is why I save money. By buying in bulk at Costco I end up saving money because I don't have to go to WalMart and Target. Here are my Top Five Costco finds:



1. Real Maple Syrup. I buy two of these at a time. You simply can't find it for a better price anywhere. I think it is $8 a bottle.

2. Nuts. The ones I get are almonds and pecans. Being Semi-Vegan, we go through a lot of nuts. Costco is a great place to get a lot of them for a pretty good price. I also can get dates there for my Kerri bars.

3. Finish Tabs. I think this is discussed in other blogs, but we run the dishwasher a lot. Like everyday. Sometimes two times a day. Sometimes less, but not often. I like the tabs because the way that my detergent holder is on my dishwasher. The last box I got was like 200 of them for $15. Last for more than 6 months!

4. Oats. This is actually one of those things that may actually be too big. It is a lot of oats. However, inasmuch I make and eat homemade granola every morning, it is good to have a super big box.

5. My skin care products, mainly oil of olay and cetaphil. I had been using the target brand, but this is bigger for the same price. Again, don't have to go to Target.

After Costco, I drive down the street to Trader Joe's. I was not impressed with TJ the first time I went there. I just didn't get it. But now, there are several staples that make the trip there necessary. Here are my Trader Joe's top five:



1. Olive Oil. Good quality olive oil. Low price. 'Nuff said.

2. Raw Cashews. TJ's is the only place I can find raw cashews. In my semi-vegan diet, I use raw cashews to make "cream" sauces. Delish.

3. Organic Cereals. File me with all those other crazy mom's who only allow their kids to eat organic cereals because it makes them feel better. I know it is probably not any better, but Andy does love the low sugar/whole grain puffins. Again, they are cheap here.

4. Salsa, tortillas, chips. I have given up buying these at the regular grocery store. Simply not good. I'll buy a bunch at TJ's and am usually a lot happier with him. They have a great roasted salsa, blue tortilla chips, and handmade toritillas.

5. Veggie broth. Good broth. Low sodium. 'Nuff said.

**Bonus. TJ's used to be the only place you could find organic yogurt for kids that was fruit flavored. As opposed to Dora's cotton candy flavored. However, you can now find organic yogurt at Ingles.

Am I forgetting something????



Yikes, I am...the wine! I do like their "three buck chuck" and they also have one of my favorites Vihno Verde for cheap. YUM!

What are you favorite Costco/Trader Joe's finds?