If you can't get excited about grocery stores you might not want to read this post. However, before you make up your mind, let me provide you with some teasers about Newflower Market:
- They use both sides of the receipt paper to print your receipt.
- They give you 10 cents off for every reusable bag you bring.
- This week I got a 5 lb bag of potatoes on sale for .99 cents.
Now, if none of those three things did anything for your excitement level, please proceed to your next blog (I suggest this one).
Newflower Market is brand new to Austin. I saw a little story about it on the news and was instantly intrigued. I'm always interested in buying locally grown food, but I hate spending more money on something that I can get for generic prices at a large chain. Lately, Zach and I have been spending beaucoup money at HEB, more than we have ever spent on groceries before. So when I went to the Newflower website and saw their motto: "Better-than-supermarket quality at better-than-supermarket prices" I decided to go check it out.
Oh. god. I am only sorry for my readers that don't live in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, or Texas. There are similarities between it and other stores. It's sort of like Trader Joes, but their sales are more drool-worthy. The original owners of Wild Oats organic grocery chain (now owned by the unstoppable Whole Foods) opened these up and they are promising 50 stores 5 years from now. The company's farmer's market format is based on Henry's Market in California which makes it a little less glitzy than a Whole Foods and you feel more like you're just going to a grocery store, not a food museum.
More drool-worthy sales:
broccoli: 47 cents/lb
whole raw almonds: 2.99/lb
hummus: 3.26/lb
hot house tomatoes: I got two big tomaters for 41 cents
extra lean ground beef: 1.99/lb
What it comes down to is that I got a week's worth of groceries for $26. Zach and I have lately been spending over three times that at HEB. Oh and what sealed it: my current fav cheap red wine: Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon was on sale for only $4.99 a bottle. It took a lot of strength not to buy a case.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Rachel Recommends: The Library
This post is going to be the first in a "Rachel Recommends" series that will promote free activities as opposed to spending lots of money for fun (although if you are going to spend money, I recommend Coraline in 3D). This first post will whet your free whistle with an activity that you can find in any city near you: the library. My readers familiar with the Columbia Public Library are already fans of this mecca of sharing, but to those of you that don't know: you can get movies at the library. Good movies. I remember as a kid it seemed that all libraries had were educational films about the railroad and former presidents, but in Columbia, MO I discovered that there are some hip alternatives to checking out videos on James Monroe. In Columbia, not only was their music selection vast, but they had a DVD selection to make any movie bum quiver. You could find cult TV shows like Freaks and Geeks and The Office (the BBC version ) or fab documentaries (oh god the 7Up series). At the Austin Public Library I have gobbled up even more surprising finds: dvds that have no educational or cult value at all. There are a lot of movies and shows that I've wanted to see over the years, but I wasn't optimistic enough about them to invest money in obtaining them. The library has solved this problem for me and because of this Zach and I have spent zero money on movie rentals since we've moved here. For example, my trip to the library today produced: a season of Garfield and Friends (unlike Columbia, in Austin you can check out an entire season and it only counts as one item), The Aristocrats, Jesus is Magic, and George Romero's Diary of the Dead. All of these were free. All of them are mine for 7 days (unless I want to renew, which I can one time).
So please love the library. It is in your best interest. I know I do. And so does she.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
And now I wanna be your dog
For about a month now Zach and I have been dog owners. This means that:
1) I have taken approximately 20 pictures of the dog. (Only half of which are objectively cute)
2) There is dog hair present in every room on every floor.
3) I have discovered what a pleasant place Austin is for dogs.
First of all, there is this: http://www.austinspetdirectory.com/ (thanks Dana). There are over a dozen dog parks and seven dog bakeries. We've only hit up one dog park but we go there every weekend. It has a nice ratio of dogs to water/trees.
I've never been a dog owner before. My family always preferred the low-maintenance cat lifestyle. Whiskers, Maya, Squeakers, and Luna were/are all fabulous representatives of the cat species. I have NOT and will never denounce cats. I think sometimes people like to section themselves off into being either a dog or cat person. But comparing the two animals isn't fair. Though they are both common pets, they are completely different beings. I like that most cats aren't as destructive as dogs. I like that they can sleep comfortably next to you and rarely smell bad. I like that I can take a dog outdoors to run and play. I like that if I raise my voice to a high-pitched squeal a dog will instantly get excited, even though it has no idea what is about to happen.
Anyway, meet Anna:
She's about 11 months old and appears to be some sort of retriever mix. Zach's mom rescued her back in October from the side of a road in Arkansas. Her and her sister were only 6 pounds and covered with mange. Zach's mom did all of the hard work in raising her and nursing her back to health. Now she's a happy 30 lb. city dog (the pictures tend to make her look large, but actually she only comes up to our knees). She loves to eat bones and tear apart her toys like all dogs, but due to her tough life as a puppy she's not quite familiar with playing. She won't do tug of war (if we try to grab something from her she surrenders it immediately) and when we throw something she just looks at it. Also, she's an affection addict. If you're petting her, expect to be there for a while. If you stop she will promptly put her paw on your leg/arm and look at you sadly. Only when she's decided she's had enough will she leave your side.
So yes, now I'm rambling about my dog. It's happened to me. I'm one of those people. But it is important to note that:
1) I have not, nor plan to buy any clothes for my dog.
2) You will not receive emails, cards, or letters with Anna's name signed to the bottom.
3) If you call me you will not have to talk to Anna and I will not make Anna say hello.
1) I have taken approximately 20 pictures of the dog. (Only half of which are objectively cute)
2) There is dog hair present in every room on every floor.
3) I have discovered what a pleasant place Austin is for dogs.
First of all, there is this: http://www.austinspetdirectory.com/ (thanks Dana). There are over a dozen dog parks and seven dog bakeries. We've only hit up one dog park but we go there every weekend. It has a nice ratio of dogs to water/trees.
I've never been a dog owner before. My family always preferred the low-maintenance cat lifestyle. Whiskers, Maya, Squeakers, and Luna were/are all fabulous representatives of the cat species. I have NOT and will never denounce cats. I think sometimes people like to section themselves off into being either a dog or cat person. But comparing the two animals isn't fair. Though they are both common pets, they are completely different beings. I like that most cats aren't as destructive as dogs. I like that they can sleep comfortably next to you and rarely smell bad. I like that I can take a dog outdoors to run and play. I like that if I raise my voice to a high-pitched squeal a dog will instantly get excited, even though it has no idea what is about to happen.
Anyway, meet Anna:
She's about 11 months old and appears to be some sort of retriever mix. Zach's mom rescued her back in October from the side of a road in Arkansas. Her and her sister were only 6 pounds and covered with mange. Zach's mom did all of the hard work in raising her and nursing her back to health. Now she's a happy 30 lb. city dog (the pictures tend to make her look large, but actually she only comes up to our knees). She loves to eat bones and tear apart her toys like all dogs, but due to her tough life as a puppy she's not quite familiar with playing. She won't do tug of war (if we try to grab something from her she surrenders it immediately) and when we throw something she just looks at it. Also, she's an affection addict. If you're petting her, expect to be there for a while. If you stop she will promptly put her paw on your leg/arm and look at you sadly. Only when she's decided she's had enough will she leave your side.So yes, now I'm rambling about my dog. It's happened to me. I'm one of those people. But it is important to note that:
1) I have not, nor plan to buy any clothes for my dog.
2) You will not receive emails, cards, or letters with Anna's name signed to the bottom.
3) If you call me you will not have to talk to Anna and I will not make Anna say hello.
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