this week's shopping

Hello everyone
On Saturday, we shopped for groceries at a big military commissary and then got produce at Aldi.  We are pretty stocked up on groceries for the month of February but I still had a few things on my list.
I had a free afternoon this week so I decided to do some errands.  My parents and daughters said they needed a few things at the stores I was going to and I was happy to help them

So here is all the stuff I bought in my 3 hour shopping spree-

first stop was Sprouts - it is a grocery store kind of like Whole Foods but much more reasonable priced. 
The bulk trail mixes were 25% off and I got the peanut chocolate one for our home and the M&M kind for my daughter.  I also bought bulk English walnuts,  for snacking and adding to salad and oatmeal. 

The next store was Joann, a big fabric and craft store. 
I needed a new daily medicine box and this one was just sitting on an endcap all by itself.  So I guess it was just meant to be for me.  I never expected to buy a pill box at Joann.
My mom asked for hand soap and these were on clearance for 75 cents. 
2 spools of gray thread that I was out of,  I often hem suit pants for my son and seems to mostly wear gray which is why I was out. 

This big set of ornaments for the children to paint was 85% off.  I know our older grands will enjoy doing these

I also wanted to get some fleece remnants.  I bought 2 others a month ago and couldn't believe how much they discount them at checkout. 

can you read the price tags?  they range from $11-$15 the labels say

but at checkout,  they all ended up about $3. 
With the 2 pieces of fleece I bought earlier,  I have enough to make 3 double sided fleece blankets.  I hope to do them soon!

Next was TJMaxx.  I am a fan of Rae Dunn pottery.  It is low priced at TJMaxx, Homegoods and Marshalls but my town only has a TJMaxx. Rae Dunn has become so popular,  it is hard to find at any store.  I went in there just to treasure hunt.  I usually come out empty handed but this week,  I found and bought these 2 sweet heart plates.  They were $4.99 each

Next was Walmart-
we needed a new laundry basket for our closet.  This shape fits in there just right and I splurged 3 dollars extra to get one with wheels and a pull handle.  I think I will like it better than the old kind that is carried,   we will see!

My mom asked for these and she even had a coupon for them.  She uses one when she does Sudoku puzzles. 

Next and last was Dollar Tree.  Everything at Dollar Tree costs $1 and a few things cost less.  They have a good bit of junk but they also have a lot of quality products. 
I bought 2 jugs of laundry bleach that I use on our towels and whites. 

every month, I stock up on quarts of this shelf stable milk.  It tastes just like fresh milk and is a good choice for us as we don't always use a whole gallon of milk before it sours.(  Jane, of Thrift and Hope,  if we were neighbors, I could share that less than perfect milk with you to feed all your adopted kitties,  but since we are far apart,  I'll keep buying these quarts. )
I also bought some 4 packs of GoGoSqueez yogurt.  it is also shelf stable and so much cheaper than the pouches at regular stores.  Some of my grands love it  but some don't. 

These ball guns are lots of fun.  The gun shoots a foam ball on a short elastic string.  My grands always disconnect the string so the ball will shoot farther.  I got these 2 to take to my parents.  They have a long hall that the grands can shoot the balls down. 
I saw the grapefruit handsoap and got it for my mom too. 

4 bags of little candy bars - because we have grands and because we like candy. 

these containers are another repeat buy- they are sturdy and a really good size,  one box will hold about 9 regular size muffins or several dozen cookies.  3 of these went to my daughter. 

this is a snack I like - Crunchy Rice Rolls- they are lightly sweetened,  38 calories a roll and I like to munch on them when I just want a snack but don't really need a snack.  They are a pretty good size, close to the size of toilet paper tube- but that's a weird thing to compare food to
They are made in Korea. 

And that wraps up my 3 hour shopping adventure.  The weather was so nice so all the walking was pleasant. 

I don't remember the last time I spent 3 hours shopping like this and it was fun and I certainly found everything on my list.  But I probably won't do it again for at least another month or more. 

Cooking like my Grandma

Caution - if typos bother you, then just pass on this post.  I'm doing it on an iPad and the app has a mind of its own but I can't go to our desktop right now and I'd rather just post, flaws and all, instead of wait until I have the opportunity to do it differently.

below is my version of a meal that I enjoyed so many times in the past, cooked by both my Grandma and my mom.  It's round steak, lightly floured and pan fried with mashed potatoes and gravy and homemade buns.  My grandma served fried steak for breakfast with biscuits and gravy most every morning.  I am well aware nutritionist would be aghast at this but Grandma lived to 99 and Grandpa lived to 89.  They also ate homemade pie everyday 😄

No pie for us,  And that plate of steak fed my husband and I as well as my parents 3 meals.  

It was so good too! 

We've also had bkackeyed peas cooked in the crockpot and banana muffinins baked in a stoneware muffin pan.

I baked double batches of sandwich buns twice 

And a double recipe of raisin bread once.  

I used my grandparents recipe and let my Zojirushi bread machine do all the mixing- it's not much work this way, and just requires some tending to and shaping, then I bake the buns in a regular oven. 

They all get sliced and stored in bags in the freezer until we need them.  

I share some with my parents and whoever is eating with us.  

CVS shopping for this week and last week- I'm sorry I don't have breakdowns and the receipt photos but I can tell you I spent very little and got back plenty in CVS extracarebucks for the next shopping trip. 

We had the pleasure of spending lots of time with our grandchildren over the last week. 

Below is a professional photo of almost 5 year old Andie and her 6 month old brother, RJ.  They have a 1 year old sister, Charlie, but she didn't want to be in this picture.  

And here are all 8 of our precious grands- and it is obviously not a professional photo,  but we love it too.  

I am doing this post on my iPad and the text keeps jumping around so I apologize if it is formatted in a weird way.
But it's just a blog post -


This afternoon. I had some time to myself and spent 3 hours shopping.  I hardly ever shop this long but the weather was beautiful and I really enjoyed it.
I hope to post tomorrow and show you all my purchases.  It's quite an assortment.