Monday, January 16, 2012

Road Trip



It all started like this......

Genn  (over at Life in the Hass House) is always bragging blogging about her good finds at Trader Joe's.  Interesting food, good prices, great recipes, this and that and whatever.  The other day when I was reading her blog, I had had it!  Those people out west have everything!  I decided to google the nearest Trader Joe's.  I was up for the Road Trip.  We would probably have to stay in a hotel and make a weekend out of it.  Hopefully Brady wouldn't have to miss any school.  But, if he did, I supposse we could try and make it educational, maybe have him write a report about driving out west and visiting Trader Joes family. (Telling his teacher our son missed school to go to a grocery store might make us look like crazy people...we'll say we went to visit family.)

I googled Trader Joe's.  Eric printed directions.  And we were off!



This is a fake smile...Brady wasn't too thrilled about our road trip.







I was so excited when we pulled into the parking lot and I saw Trader Joe's!




Off we go!





What a neat store!  There were all kinds of samples to taste...I think we bought everything we tried!




It doesn't look like it in the picture above...but Trader Joe's was crazy busy. 
Brady was unusually good in the store and interested in looking at all the different things.
I think he knew how much I was looking forward to our little trip...and he knew better than
to ruin it for me!



I had a little snack on our way to find somewhere for lunch.
All that shopping made me hungry!




We had lunch at California Kitchen Pizza.  We've never been there before and I figured it was
appropriate for our road trip.
And, even though my pizza looks really good...none of us really cared for the pizza's we orderd.  I had mushroom, Eric had
BLT, and Brady had cheese. 
I guess we won't need to go back there again!




After lunch we ventured over to a little store called Ikea!
Have you ever heard of it?  Just kidding!
Can you believe I have never been there before?! 
 Wow!  What a huge store!  It was crazy busy too....
didn't buy anything except for ice cream cones on our way out.




It was a long day...we headed home to put our groceries away.

Here's some of the good stuff we came home with!



Brady picked fruit....that kid can could eat fruit all day long!
The black raspberries are so good!




I got a few different kinds of pizza dough that I'm anxious to try.
I also got this amazing cheese that we sampled and had to get.
Last night I drizzled olive oil over broccoli, baked it, and then topped it with this cheese.
I think I could live on just that forever.



I bought this because it was voted one of shopper's favorites of 2011 on TJ's website.



Other good stuff!



Trader Joe's really is all it's cracked up to be.  I loved it...and can't wait to go back.
All that jealousy and envy I was feeling towards the lucky people on the west coast....
turns out I have my own Trader Joe's 29 miles from my house!
Can you believe it?!  All this time and I never knew!





28 comments:

Nicolle said...

GIRL, I can't believe you had a TJs that close to your house, and you never knew. I have been on their website a hundred times looking at their locations. Why do you think I planned a 600 mile one way trip to Santa Fe, NM last summer?! TJs was the #1 reason. :) You got a lot of goodies. I have heard that the chicken is really good. I will hopefully be trying it soon when ours opens in Ft. Worth. I'm so glad you went. :) Ikea is fun too. I've never eaten at CPK....

jen said...

TJ's is a luxury we have very close to home, and one that, alas, I cannot seem to enjoy. I've tried many times. My sister-in-law swears by it, but I just don't get the hoopla. Sorry.
Now IKEA--that's a philosophy I can get behind. And how you left there without even a 99-cent toilet scrubber? I'm impressed with your restraint.

CPK--too bad you didn't try the pear/gorgonzola arugula pizza. It is so delish!

Susan R said...

If there was a Trader Joes even within a little road trip distance of me, I would make the trip.
The funny thing is, Trader Joes was just becomming a big hit when we left San Diego. Only a few people knew about them or shopped there and now it's such a huge hit. I swear we are always just missing the boat.
We did get an IKEA recently (a year ago). It's a fun place to eat lunch and it's massive. I really like some of their furniture, but a lot of it just seems blah to me.
Looks like you got a bunch of great items at TJs. I'll just have to stick to Whole Foods until Colorado gets hip enough to open a Trader Joes now.

Kris said...

Woo-Hoo!!! Glad you loved it. Gennifer might be in trouble otherwise!!! Now you will need to plan a monthly trip!!

Stacy said...

Trader Joe's is a sister-store to Aldi's. You might be able to get some of the same stuff there. Just sayin'

Megan said...

How fun is that day? Nicolle tells me that we will be getting a TJ's here in Fort Worth this spring...can't wait!

yaya said...

We have a Trader Joe's in Columbus and maybe up north..not sure. But there's one near my Mom's in Chicago and we all love it. Here's some TR trivia..it's owned by the old dudes who own Aldis grocery store (they're German)..and there are no Aldis out west of the Mississippi..so to have a TR out west is really weird. Anyway, I'm more jealous of the IKEA store. We have one near Cincinnati I think...or Mich. I wish we had one much closer..sob! Sounds like a fun road trip and your weather looked much nicer than ours!

KM said...

I think you are psychic! Just this afternoon I was whining to my Aunt that we don't have a Trader Joes or a Whole Foods here and how all of my blog friends have one and I am envious!
I just googled the nearest one and it is 92 miles! Boo!

Holly said...

I just read in Nicolle's comment that we are getting one here?!?! WOWSERS!! I will have to get in on that!!

I have never been to Ikea either, so I envy your entire day!

Stef said...

I have been to Trader Joes...I live out west. I go there once in a while, but I have to buy too much stuff....Trader Joe doesn't have everything I need.
Ikea...I get lost in that store. But the drawers that we bought for our kids have lasted! I would go there again...if we had one closer...
Road trip!

Karina said...

So funny. I can't believe you made a TJ road trip. I guess I have forgotten my PA roots and just ake the TJ and whole Foods And the Arian markets and bento stores for granted. You got a few of our favorites. Fun trip.

Genn said...

Oh I am SO glad you loved it!! You cracked me up with this post... those people on the west coast have everything. lol! Now you have it too!!!
Those caramels you were snacking on in the car looked might tasty. I've never seen those before. But like I said, I find new things every time I go.
That mandarin chicken. One of our family faves!!! I always keep our freezer stocked. I like to serve it with a bag of TJ's organic brown rice (its frozen and you just snip the corner of the package and micro for 3 minutes!) Then I throw the rice on to the baking sheet when the chicken is done, and steam some broccoli real quick. EASY dinner and my girls love it.

Brady is a trooper. If only he was a little younger, I might try to hook him up with Hannah when she is older. ;)

Dana @ Bungalow'56 said...

I've heard Trader Joe's mentioned so often on blogs. We have nothing like it here in Canada. Now our IKEA is five hours away, and it is a favourite destination.
That is my kind of road trip.
Glad you had fun.
Dana

sloan said...

I'd drive thru sleet and snow and driving rain just to get to a Trader Joe's!! Sadly, they closed the little TJ's 10 minutes from my house a couple of years ago (when a huge Whole Foods moved in next door - I don't really love WF though b/c it's SO $$) ... so now TJ's is somewhat of a road trip for me too - 25 minutes - I try to go once/week or at least every 2 weeks ... such a great day when I go, everyone is so excited!! The fresh fruit, the longboard chips, the mandarin orange chicken, the coconut shrimp, the chocolate covered treats ... mmmmm ....

Nicolle said...

Oh, and Suzette sent me those pomegranate seeds, and I loved them.

Barb said...

Only 29 miles away! That made me laugh out loud! I'm so glad you finally got to meet Joe. He is so awesome. :) I go almost weekly to stock up on fruit (we are hooked on their pineapple). We love the mandarin chicken in our house, also - we serve it with the frozen veggie rice. Yum.

I can't wait to hear about further TJ adventures.

Unknown said...

29 miles? Oh, I am seriously jealous.

I have a mad crush on Trader Joe's. It's only an 11-hour drive for me now. (boo)

Did you like the mandarin chicken? Their Unburied Treasure is way better than Pirate's Booty. Their pineapple salsa is great. Peanut butter, dried mangoes, honey pretzels, asian salad dressing, pound plus dark chocolate bars. Ok, I'll stop now.

Val said...

All of a sudden....I"M STARVING!!!!

Erin Deegan said...

Those chocolates are the greatest! I live about 5 football fields from a Trader Joe's. It was such a plus when we purchased our new home! My favorite place... although I love Ikea too :)

Jen said...

Super fun road trip! Totally worth 20+ miles maybe once per month! Enjoy your goodies!

Jenny said...

I love TJ too. The one here in Cincy is about a half hour from my house too so I only go a few times a year, just for fun. I love Whole Foods too. OMG, I could live there. Ikea is really close to me but I hardly ever go. Isn't that weird? I love it but I just don't find myself going. Glad you guys had a fun day.

Gabe said...

Look at all the comments you got when you talk about something everyone can relate too. . .food!

I'm a Trader Joes wannabe too. Although, I think with my size family and how much my kids eat, it would not be cost effective, what do you think? Is it worth a 40 plus mile drive for me and my crew?

And IKEA with no purchases. . .seriously how did you do it? LOVE IKEA!

Kim said...

WHoohooo! We love those longboard chips, string cheese and the plain/WW pizza doughs. Good finds! I'll have to try that orange chicken now.

Love your pictures! Your TJ's looks exactly the same as ours. :)

And now I'm jealous that you have an IKEA so close to you. That's one place I'd love to have easier access to.

CB said...

OK had to laugh about your comment that out west they have everything.
I live out west and we do not have a Trader Joe's within a 1000 miles of us (probably because we live out in the boonies). I have never been to one. Ha Ha.
One of these days I might have to take a road trip too (wink!).

Jill said...

O.k. now I need to google this because if it's close to you, it's close to me! Who knew!? Have you been to Wegmans yet? Another great store. :-) Looks like you found some great deals! I love IKEA!!
Have a great day!

Blessings,
Jill

Anonymous said...

Hi I'm Genny's (Genn @Life in The Hass House) sister Erika :)

I just saw your blog linked from Barb's email.

TJ's, Sprouts & Whole Foods are sooo awesome. What a drive but looks like you got some great finds!

:)

Heather said...

Thanks for your sweet comment today on my blog. I'm your newest follower!

I loooove TJ's and go weekly if not more. 29 miles? That is so close. You can totally go more often now that you know it's there! We also love their Orange Chicken. Try their breads. Delish! Chocolate covered pretzels...mouth watering! Pineapple salsa...yuuuummmm! I could go on and on!

So sad that CPK did you wrong though. Try their pasta if you ever go again. It's reaaaallllly good!

twinkietotmom said...

We don't have a Trader Joes, but so many people talk about it! I wish we had one from the looks of all that yummy food!

 
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