A Whirlwind of a Weekend

Oof. It was an action-packed weekend. Saturday started with a program at the Museum - an art conservator talking about the process of conserving artwork and projects he's done. It was well attended and very interesting. I was glued to his presentation. Then it was off to the Buckley Fair. Luke was not a happy camper that day. Overwhelmed by people wanting to poke at him and coo at how big he's gotten. But some down time in the money room calmed him down and he even fell asleep on the way home after a jaunt to Trader Joes. I *heart* TJs. I love that their products are of high quality, but lower price. I love that they give samples. I love that they sell bananas by the piece instead of the pound so Mr. Bear can nibble on one while we shop. In fact, that's the first thing he asks for when we get there.

Sunday was equally as chaotic - I actually RAN with Luke. In a non-jogging stroller. A regular old umbrella stroller. Needless to say it wasn't easy, but I was proud I did it. (Do I get extra credit for running with him??) Then we hit the grocery store to pick up some provisions and went home. I cooked breakfast for all AND dinner for later. (Mmmmm....meatloaf) Since Tommy had some writing to do, Luke and escaped to a shopping center that had a TJ Maxx, a Toys R Us, a Dollar General and a Petco. So we shopped, shopped, shopped and visited the fish. I even got a good chunk of Christmas shopping done, so I felt productive. :)

WalMart - Friend or Foe?

I have a confession. I heart WalMart. In a time where gas is topping $4 a gallon and coffee can go for $3 a cup, I'll take bargains where I can get them. I've even been shopping there more than my favorite store in the world, Target. I don't get why Target isn't as vilified as WalMart - should I not like WalMart as much as I do?

Not for nothing, but the staff at the ones I go to are almost always helpful and friendly. The stores are clean. The aisles are wide enough to get down with a cart. And the prices are seriously unbeatable. This is not to say I purchase everything at WalMart, but I do as much as I can there and save quite a bit of the green stuff. I bought a 4-cup coffee maker for $10. And it's a nice little stainless steel version that looks classy on the kitchen counter. I buy cute little separates there that I can wear to work - shirts for $10, dresses for $15-$20. Seriously. I mean, I love love love the Isaac Mizrahi line at Target, but $40 dresses are a little out of the family budget right now.

So what's the deal? Is WalMart a good thing? A bad thing? I know that one of the arguments is that they shut out the little mom and pop stores, but honestly, here on Long Island, there were few and far between those to begin with. And with gas rising, one-stop-shopping really makes a whole lot more sense.

Un-Fairway

Fairway is one of those places where I always think, "I should go there more often." And I schlep there (this time with Luke) and then discover why I don't. Because it's in an area where the people are notorious for being insufferably rude. And they were. They'd stop right in front of me, or push right in front of me. Or look at me like I was a huge inconvenience when I stopped to look at something. Seriously. Rude. AND....the prices were either wonderfully affordable, or insanely overpriced.

But I did have some nice moments in there that resulted in some luxury-type purchases. The coffee guy there was wonderful, pleasant and listened to what I liked and didn't like in coffee. He steered me to a coffee from Panama that I bought a half pound of to test out. He ground it for me and asked what kind of machine I had - I said, "One of those horrible drip machines." He laughed and said "I drink about 10 cups a day, you want to know what kind of coffee maker I use?" Thinking he's going to point the way to coffee nirvana, I nodded eagerly. He held this up:
I was stymied! I have one of them at home! I can't wait to try my new custom-picked coffee in the one-cupper with his no-fail formula (2 full tablespoons of coffee + 6 oz. filtered water = good coffee).

And the cheese counter. Oh man. I could have looked for days. AND they had samples! So I bought some delicious smoked mozzerella that we had on ham sandwiches today and I picked up some Dutch Parrano (which Fairway states is a hip cheese that is a cross between a Gouda and a Parmesan) that I plan to use to make myself a little cheese and cracker snack plate later.

I also bought some halvah which is such a yummy treat that I occasionally let myself be tempted by. My Egyptian brother-in-law says that in Egypt that treated it like peanut butter and slathered it on toast. How crazy delicious does that sound?

So, all in all......not so great. The insane crowds were not worth the little gems I discovered. If I find I can't live without coffee from Panama and cheese from Holland, I'll have to go off-hours.

Or just brace myself to be insufferably rude back.