An 'Aldi' but Goodie!

When I was a kid, we were a family on a very tight budget, so my parents shopped at Aldi.  What I remember about Aldi is hot dogs, potato chips, white bread, giant bags of potatoes, carnation powder milk and orange soda.  

Aldi is a deep discount grocery chain, with mostly off-brand items and a label of their own.  They don’t spend money on much floor space, signage or advertising, so their overhead is low.

I haven’t really been to an Aldi since, until recently.  There isn’t one located near us, so I stopped in  one while on an errand. To my surprise, it’s not exactly the same Aldi I remember as a kid. Even a grocery snob could love the Aldi of today.  Organic items, whole grain items and even some name brand items for great prices. They’ve got a new label called Fit N Active that’s comparable to Kashi, NutriGrain and other well known brands, for less than half the price.

Here’s what I snagged for $25 (all the cash I had in my pocket): 

Box of whole grain rotini
Box of whole wheat penne
Box of whole wheat spaghetti
A fresh pineapple
A can of 100% natural pineapple
100 calorie packs roasted almonds
Box of organic green tea
Box of whole wheat crackers
Box of whole grain fruit bars
2 avocados
100% pure organic pomegranate plum juice
100% pure can of frozen cranberry juice
Yogurt covered raisins
2 bottles of wine. $2.99 bottle of wine??! Say what??  Yes, it’s called Winking Owl. I did buy it because I loved the lable. It’s pretty tasty and already has good reviews online. A fun surprise. 

I could hardly believe it. Only $25 for all of this? This would have cost me at least $45-$50 at Hen House, Hyvee or Price Chopper. Wowzah.

After some research, I discovered Aldi is originally a European discount grocery store chain. They have stores in Spain,  France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and of course several hundred in the United States. If you see one, check it out…oh, & bring your own bags.

Great Vintage Books at Your Local Thrift Store!

If you know me, you know I'm a thrift store junkie when it comes to books. This is why I go. I find fantastic books like the ones I found recently during a 10 minute perusal of a local thrift shop. The illustrations and stories are superb, circa 1960's - hardback, great condition. Our favorite right now is 'The Mitten', which is a classic winter tale.

It seems many children's books today lack the charm and thoughtful illustrations that older books have, bummer! Perhaps mass production/duplication is to blame?

There is so much character, history and artful illustration to be found in the old, hardback books.  You could even take the pictures and frame them to create unique art for a nursery, children's room or as a gift.

You can find 'vintage' book resellers that will charge $15  or more + shipping for books like this. I got them for 50 cents each and now they're our cherished family heirloom books!

Check out your local thrift shop, you will be surprised at what you can find.