Big Save

So. If you are ever in Garden Grove, enjoying a sea salt coffee at 85C, you must allow yourself some time to peruse the merchandise of Big Save. Of course, a web search brought up the "correct" spelling of Big Sav. 

You might think this is very much like a 99 Cent Store, and it sort of is. But it also has aquarium supplies and exotic fish. Who would know?  Other reasons to peruse the store for your entertainment:

First of all, how can you not be interested in a way to Save Big (or Sav Big)?

Second of all, you can get a very special parking spot.

Thirdly, you can get playing cards, kitchen supplies, hairnets, fishing supplies and sewing aids all right next to each other.

Hancock Fabrics

With Party City in Upland gone, it seems that a Hancock Fabrics will open in its space near Michaels. I always find it interesting that stores selling similar types of items are close to each other. 

Daughter Date

Today was a shopping date with daughter C. Once in awhile we look at each other and say, "we need to go shopping!" For us, that means Ontario Mills. Today we realized that we are getting this down to a science. First we head to Coffee Klatch in Ontario which opens up before the mall. Then we know the secret route to the mall from there and can find the entrance closest to the Gap. After I'm done with the Gap and C needs to continue, I head off to the Banana Republic factory store and we meet up when we are finished.

Next we have to decide whether we want to go to Victoria Gardens, but whether or not we go there, we must stop for lunch. Usually it's Gandolfo's, but today I had a hankering for a hamburger, and I had not yet been to Five Guys, so that's where we ended up. I have to say, it was a delicious burger, and I was glad I took the advice to get the small one (regular-person-sized) with everything. Also, a small fries is good for two people.

A plus was that there was a Target in the same center, so we didn't have to maneuver through the parking lot to get to the Target at the Colonies in Upland to pick up just a few small necessities.

Danskos

During the REI Fall Sale, I was casually browsing through the shoe section, and I found these Dansko sandals. As soon as I slipped them on my feet, I feel in love. They are probably the most comfortable pair of shoes / sandals I have ever owned.

I have been teaching in them all week, and my feet are extremely happy. Plus, I am two inches taller!

I heard about Danskos from my daughter, and since then, I have found out that people who are on their feet every day (like nurses) choose this brand.

And no, I have no connection to this company.

MCC Thrift Store

While out and about this weekend, we thought we'd try out the MCC Thrift Store in Rancho Cucamonga. I do like a good thrift store, and although this one is small, we found three paperbacks that we are actually willing to read! Some thrift stores have plenty of books, none of which spark my interest. Not only that, we paid $1 total for the books.

This thrift store is in a large strip mall and a little bit hard to find, but we obviously found it with a little driving through the parking lot.

I liked these various thimbles sitting on the checkout counter.

Apparently they get lots of donations. The square footage of the store is not great, so I'm sure they have to sort through their goods carefully.

Adventures in Major Appliances

Our washing machine broke this weekend. It wouldn't spin, and the problem was not the belt. After tipping it over and pulling it apart, H decided that it was the clutch and the part alone would cost $300. We bought the machine in 1998, so I guess it had a good life.

Poor old machine can't be revived

I asked my friends on Facebook what machine they have that they like, and it seemed that half the people hated front-loaders and half loved them. That wasn't helpful. I looked online. That was equally confusing. Then I found out that there are these new hybrid machines that are high efficiency, but are also top-loaders. Again, these kind of machines got either very high or very low reviews.

I finally decided that we should look at the Whirlpool Cabrio, and we looked at Lowe's and Howard's. The guy at Lowe's was fairly helpful, but when we walked into Howard's, it didn't appear that anyone wanted to sell us anything. They pointed us towards the hybrid washers and left us alone. We went away for a bit and then decided that the price at Lowe's and the particular model were the best bet, so that's where we went.

Here is where Lowe's failed at this point (even though we ended up buying the washer there):

• No one came to help us for 20 minutes. As we walked out, someone finally came by.
• They did not tell us that we could get rebates from the Electric and Gas companies (we saw a little sign on the washers at Howard's). This amounts to $135. Major fail.
• They said they would call that night to schedule the next-day delivery. They did not.
• They did not call the next morning. I called them and got quite a runaround on the phone.
• They finally said, "Oh, they'll deliver between 6-8 p.m." But they might be early.



New machine ready to be installed

• They delivered at 3:00. Good thing I was home.

So, I've read the novel that came with it and seem to have successfully washed two loads of laundry. It requires special detergent (HE - High Efficiency) and a college degree to load the clothes and push the right buttons, but I think I've got it.

Time will tell if I will be in the love it or hate it camp, but I do like the idea that it uses less than half of the water than my last washer, and it spins pretty fast so the clothes take less time to dry. This little video demonstrates the strange sounds it makes in the wash cycle.

Etsy Shopping

I've known about Etsy (the website where you can buy handcrafted items) for a while now. My cousin has an Etsy shop called Prairie Path Wool where she sells items made from upcycled wool. Right now she has some adorable chickens in her shop. 

I finally got an Etsy account because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for in the stores. This week I have gotten the my first two items - a barrette and a business card holder. I like the fact that I am buying directly from a small business owner. I also like the items since they are distinctive.

Day 4 - Clutter Cleanse: Speaking of shopping online, recently I bought a small glockenspiel to use at school and it came with a whole bag full of Kindermusik books (used worksheets included!), and I'm pretty sure I won't be using those in class, so those will first be offered to my Music Together teacher friend, or they may just end up in the Goodwill donation pile.

The irony of buying and then getting rid of stuff in this post is not lost on me. However, the item I'm offloading today is many times larger than than these two small items....

Signals

It's the season for catalogs, and a few weeks ago I received the Signals catalog, the public television store. I haven't gotten this or Wireless (NPR) for a few years, so I was happy to peruse the offerings. I really enjoy the funny sayings on the various shirts, mugs and whatnot, and I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorites here.

Enjoy!

Earth without Art is just "Eh"
Who says nothing is impossible? I've been doing nothing all day!
I'm not short. I'm fun size!
Yes, it's true. I'm not on Facebook.
Libraries are my candy store.
E = Fb - The Musical Theory of Relativity
The library. It's like taking your brain to the gym.
I dream of a society where a chicken can cross the road without its motives questioned.
Sarcasm is the mind's natural defense against stupidity.
I have a degree in Philosophy. Why do you want fries with that?
Irony. The opposite of wrinkly.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
There. Their. They're not the same.
The Hokey Pokey Clinic: A place to turn yourself around.

Packaging

When I swapped my music room with H's study in the summer, it did not occur to me that the two little wall sconces would not be adequate light for reading music when it was dark outside. On days when I teach my private students, it is now dark for the 4:30 lesson, and that sent me right to the internet to see what kind of floor lamps would be good.

I found a great lamp for cheap at Target and found that it was only available online, so I ordered it. It came right away, but it took me a good 15 minutes to free it from the styrofoam packaging, and then I needed to take the vacuum to a 3-foot radius around the box to catch all the free-floating bits.

Here is what the packaging looked like mid-unpacking.

Here is the finished product (which now does have lightbulbs).

Charity Thrift Store

In case you have not seen or heard, the Staples store at Foothill and Towne has moved to LaVerne. In it's place is the Charity Thrift Store. Since I love a good treasure hunt, I am a fan of thrift stores. I often don't end up with anything, but I sure like to look.

This new store may need a little while to get its inventory up to speed, although it seems to have plenty to get going. I will return to it in a month or two to see if the donations have increased.

A little shopping

This morning Hal and I made our first real visit to a flooring shop to look at vinyl for the kitchen. We found a local store (Tony's Carpets), and on Tuesday, Tony will be coming by to look at our kitchen and give us his bid. Finally, after 10 years of a new kitchen, it's time to replace the old floor!

At home we did some online shopping, and I have discovered a great secret. Whenever you go to checkout, and there is a space to put a "coupon code" or "promo code," and you don't know any code, just google coupon code and the name of the store, and you will probably come up with some coupons. When I bought the new Roman Shades for Claire's room from JC Penney, I found an online coupon for 10% off. Today when I bought pants for Hal at Kohl's, I found a coupon for $10 off. I have to credit the Today Show with pointing this out.