Whole Foods

That title right there pretty much sums up my weekend.  Well.   Sorta. 

We stopped by Target while we were out (after going to Ben Franklin Crafts and drooling over all the yarn-y goodness) (well, I drooled while the others waited patiently for me to stop drooling).  I wanted to get some diaper ointment for Evie (she has a rather persistant rash on her legs, where the diapers sit) and we wanted to bum around and look at stuff.  

My love for Target is amazing to me.  In fact, I dare say that the more I shop at Target, the less I like Walmart.  And the more I shop at Walmart, the more I like Target.   See how they’re connected there?  I’m convinced that Target needs to open a Super Target here in Reno.   I heard somewhere that one of the only companies that is doing well in this awful economy is Walmart because so many people are having to shop there.  It stands to reason then, doesn’t it, that Target could make good money by expanding their empire?  After all, Walmart Supercenters do better than regular Walmarts.  So wouldn’t Super Targets do better than regular Targets?  

I know I, for one, would shop at Super Target RELIGIOUSLY.  I love everything there.  Our Target, while not Super, is Great (as in it’s a Target “Greatland”) and has a limited selection of groceries.  And there just about hasn’t been a time that we’ve stopped in there that we haven’t been majorly tempted by some of the loveliness that is the Market Pantry and Archer Farms brands.  Kile is especially partial to their roasted almonds.  

So it was that Saturday night we wandered through the aisles of Target, gazing fondly at the wonderful, wonderful products on the shelves.  There was so much that we wanted to take home with us.  It’s the same every time we shop there.  There just isn’t enough money in the world.  That store is a friggin’ miracle.  So… Target?  Would you consider giving us a Super?  PLEASE?  I beg you.  I need a Super Target.  

After that stop, we had to go by Whole Foods.  It’s in the neighborhood and Kile has a major Whole Foods addiction.  And for the last several months, I’ve been salivating all over the goodies behind the bakery counter.  In particular, the cupcakes.  They are always themed appropriately for the season and look so good.  I told Kile that I’d like to have one of those cupcakes instead of a birthday cake this year.  Well, since my birthday is Friday and Kile didn’t think he’d have a chance to get down to Whole Foods again before my birthday, he suggested we get the cupcakes on Saturday night.  

Like I was going to argue with THAT!

See that?  It’s a Christmas wreath!  AWESOME. 

Happy (Early) Birthday to me!!! 

Harry was disappointed that the ornament cupcake he picked out wasn’t chocolate like mine so we switched.  Because, truth be told, I actually kinda prefer white cake.  Shh!  Don’t tell chocolate!

Would you look at all that FROSTING??  Interestingly enough, it wasn’t so sore-toothed sweet as a lot of buttercream frosting tends to be.  Very rich, yes, and very yummy.  And the cake was TO DIE FOR.  But as you can see, I had to cut it in half and eat the rest the next night because it was SO MUCH. 

Some of you may think I’m silly for getting so excited over a cupcake but BELIEVE ME, I have a major thing for cupcakes and I’ve been wanting one of these for SO LONG.  I’ve earned the right to wax a little poetic.  

YUM. 

I’ve kind of dropped the “Grace in Small Things” ball, haven’t I?  I guess it’s too much to assume I could remember to do this EVERY day for a full 365 days.  Maybe it’ll be more like “four times a week or so”.  That sounds more reasonable, right?

1. Robert Pattinson.  I know I’ve mentioned him before.  But I’m watching “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” on ABC Family and it just has to be said again.  The man is a god. 
2. Target.  Shopping there brings me such joy.  I just wish they’d open a Super Target out here. 
3. Knitting.  I’m getting better every day and I’m very excited to make my family some things they can use and enjoy. 
4. 1/2 price slushies at Sonic from 2 to 4pm.  God bless Sonic.  
5. Cupcakes at Whole Foods (photos to follow tomorrow).  I got one in honor of my birthday (which is Friday) yesterday and ZO. M. G.  So good.  

So despite my husband declaring that it is a store inhabited by snobby old bitches, we found ourselves at Whole Foods for the third weekend in a row.  And, I gotta say, I pretty much love it there.  I love the produce department where you can sample sweet, tangy oranges, crisp grapes and juicy pineapple to your hearts content, the pungant cheese department where they have more cheese than I’ve ever seen in one place in my life, the abundant selection of wine, the extensive selection of meats in the meat department, the tantalizing treats in the bakery along with the fabulous selection of bread… I could go on and on and on.

But holy jeebus, it’s expensive.

We picked up a package of diapers for Liam (we don’t have quite enough cloth diapers for him to wear them full time), a bag more of the same apples we got and loved last week and a bag of oranges for $20.  GULP.  Still.  It’s a beautiful store and I wouldn’t mind very much if I could just set up a tent and LIVE THERE.

It’s different from Wild Oats (which is what we had before) and Trader Joes (which still exists in town, as far as I know).  We always felt out of place sohpping at either of those stores.  Like perhaps we weren’t a part of the “club” and would be outed as total frauds.  And those stores just didn’t feel quite as accessible.  The aisles were crowded and unorganized, the store at large was pretty small and the selection was wee.  Not so with Whole Foods.  No, Whole Foods is a mecca of consumerism.  And they even have a fireplace and some couches up front for if you need to sit down and take a load off for a few.  Now that’s a concept I can get behind!

As we were driving home, we realized our shopping can neatly divided into one of four categories.  The vast majority of our shopping is done on the supah-cheap at Walmart.  Then there’s the bulk and other budget-related shopping which is done at Sam’s Club.  We go to Whole Foods for our fancy-schmancy stuff.  When there’s an ingredient that we’re unlikely to find elsewhere or when we really want to get quality, that’s where to go.  And then we have our mid-week Emergency Shopping that is done at the Smith’s that is just five minutes down the road.  It is neither cheap like Walmart so it’s out for our majority shopping and the quality isn’t that fantastic so it’s not a fancy store by any means.  But it is close and that’s something neither Whole Foods or Walmart can boast.

And wow.  Yes, I just toally did an entire blog post about grocery stores.  It’s a slow weekend around here, what can I say?

Normally, I might look at yesterday’s stats and see that I had the lowest pageviews in the last thirty days and worry and fret about it until I had myself worked into such a froth that I would have certainly felt like the end was nigh and been too discouraged to even crack open my laptop today.

Good thing I’m not like that anymore.

Nope, I’ve learned not to let that stuff sweat me anymore.  I’ve learned that the summer is a notoriously slow time on the Interwebz and people have things to do, places to go and beer to drink.  I’ve also learned that weekends are pretty “off” times in the blogosphere as most of us are busy with our own families.  Which is why I post the You Need to Read links list on the weekends in the first place.  It gives me a relatively “easy” post to put up each Saturday and there’s a “no pressure, read at your leisure” quality to it that lets people go about their weekends but also get a good dose of bloggy goodness too.

I know some people who chose to monitize their blogs get very concerned about stats.  I keep track of them, for sure, because I’m interested to see where people are visiting from (link-wise), what they’re reading, etc and so forth.  But I don’t let those stats rule me.  I can’t.  I’d go crazy.

So instead, I chose to sit back, relax, go about my Sunday business with my family and post as usual.  The stats will take care of themselves.

In other news:  We stopped by Whole Foods today and found these apples which freaked us out so much we had to get a couple.  They were kinda yellowish-pink.  A very strange color and called “Pink Pearl“.  Come to find out?  They are THE AWESOME.  God Bless you, Whole Foods.  First you had a lovely chunk of Pecorino in stock for us to have with our pasta tonight and now these fabulous little apples.  I could just kiss you, if you weren’t just a store.