Ok, so it wasn’t a romantic anniversary – we all knew that wasn’t in the cards for me. We did have a nice day together, and went shopping in the states with our youngest daughter. We decided to make that our Anniversary “thing” because we needed to buy Freon for the van (which hubby fixed on Sunday) which you can’t purchase here in Canada. Had a nice lunch at TGI Friday’s, and made it home in time to pick up the Teen and go see “UP”, which is really an awesome movie. We cried, we laughed, we left smiling.

Back to shopping though… Slim pickin’s down there (in the US) lately. A lot of junk, and the prices are getting worse than they are here. I’m all about deals – love shopping and love getting a good deal even more. It’s the Garagesaler in me, and being used to shopping wholesale. I’m spoiled, thats what it is! Anyway, it was hardly worth going considering what we brought back. The only reason to shop south of the border is to get things “cheap”. Well, 2 reasons really – sometimes you’ll find something “different” that you won’t find in Canada. Otherwise it’s pretty pointless, and our money is better spent in Canada, where it can aid our own merchants. We didn’t leave too much of it down there this time.

We used to shop in Target a lot – but we didn’t even bother going there this time. A lot of crap, and their prices have been steadily rising for the past couple of years. Same with Burlington Coat Factory, which I really find depressing. The purses were UGLEEEEEEE, the shoes were ridiculous, unless you appreciate stilettos that make you look like a hooker. The clothes were “meh”, and over priced. The only clothes I bought this time were at K-Mart, of all places! I bought a black satin over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder, and a cute PJ set for the Teen.

I bought a few things in Tops grocery-wise. They have different spices than we do here, and a better selection of some baking items. Sometimes you can find really great deals. I make a point of signing up for all the points/discount loyalty cards at places I go to in the states. This time when we went through Tops, I ended up saving about $15 off the total bill, just because of the loyalty card discounts. Nice! I also got a good deal on some books at Borders – again my loyalty card paid off. We get hosed on book prices up here – although I generally buy my books at Costco if I can find them there first.

Confession: I love shopping at Big Lots. True, most of them are holes – filthy, low brow, and full of absolute crap. BUT there are the odd gems that you’ll find, plus the aisles of dry goods  that make it worthwhile wandering through (just bring your hand sanitizer with you). You’ll find excellent bargains on all sorts of things, from kids’ snacks to ethnic foods. Always worth a pass through.

Where else did we go… I guess that was it! My heart just wasn’t it in after we went all that way to get to the Burlington Coat Factory, and walked out with nothing. Talk about a mood killer!

So, happy anniversary to my wonderful hubby; the solid, loving man that I can always count on. 18 years has gone by in the blink of an eye! Your arms are where I consider myself home.