Aldi vs. Wal-Mart

Recently, Jesse and I have been trying to think of ways we can cut back on what we spend. Here is what we have been doing so far:
1) Cut off Netflix
2) Take packed lunches to work instead of going out to eat
3) Only eat out one time a week ( I still refuse to cook after church on Sundays)
4) Turn the air condition up to 80 while we are gone during the day
5) Cut coupons for groceries

This last one has been a challenge. I have to be really careful what coupons I use because half of the time it is stuff I would not usually buy, so in the end I spend more! I mean come on, do I really need to try that new type of ice cream that is 10 cents off its regular price? I don't think so.

So I started looking into other options and that's when someone suggested I shop at Aldi.
I was curious so I checked it out. First of all they provide almost all of the same groceries you would find at any small grocery store but at lower prices.

If you plan on going, there are a few things you might want to know:
1) Take a quarter. You need a quarter to get a shopping cart, but you get it back when you are finished with it. Sounds crazy, I know, but part of them offering lower prices is by cutting back on staff. The customers are in charge of maintaining the carts rather than having a cart boy.

2) Bring your own shopping sacks (they can be from Wal-Mart). You have to bag your own groceries and believe me its not that bad. This is another way they can offer their customers lower food prices.

3) They almost always carry off-brand stuff.

The best part, other then the lower prices, is that there is hardly ever a crowd! I hate the crowds at Wal-Mart, I always feel rushed and frustrated and end up forgetting things on my list. Am I the only one that feels that way about Wal-Mart?

Anyway, here is what I have started doing even though it is a bit more time consuming. I first go to Aldi with my grocery list and get what I can there. Since they are small, they don't always carry everything on my list. Then I go to Wal-Mart and get the rest. This last time, I decided to do some research. Listed below are the foods I bought at Aldi and their prices versus what I found at Wal-Mart (Great Value or any off-brand):

Grocery Item	Aldi’s	Wal-Mart
Strawberries	$ 0.99	$1.88
Whole Carrots	$ 0.99	$1.48
Bag of Salad	$ 1.99	$2.38
5 lb sack of potatoes	$ 1.99	$2.97
Tortillas	$ 0.99	$1.38
Loaf of Bread	$ 0.99	$1.78
Rotini pasta	$ 0.78	$2.08
Eggs	$ 0.99	$1.18
½ gallon of Milk	$ 1.77	$1.98
TOTAL	$11.48	$17.11

These are just a few comparisons. You can make the decision if you think its worth it.

Check out their website: www.aldifoods.com. They have a one week food shopping challenge and a meal planner that I think are cool.

I am still looking for ways to cut down on costs so if anyone has any ideas that don't include cutting off the air condition completely, let me know!

-Heather

Happy Blog: Furniture

Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts...

First let me say, that right now I would really like to complain, but my husband sweetly reminded me that I was "one of the happiest people he knows and I should not complain on my blog and make myself seem like an unhappy person." So sweet, and sometimes completely not true, but I do like to think of myself as a happy person for the most part.

So I have completely rewritten my blog to not sound as complaining as it was.

Anyway, our bedroom furniture is here! To those of you who don't know the whole story you may think I am crazy and that this is nothing to get excited about, but it has been quite the ordeal. We ordered our furniture back at the end of April, we were told it would be here at the end of May and it arrived the end of July! So I have had to think happy thoughts about our furniture for a long time.

Here it is:


Now, I know the newest thing is to not have matchy furniture, but I guess I am not creative enough to pull together things that don't match and yet still go together.

In the end, Jesse and I love our new furniture and we are very happy to have settled into our completed bedroom.

-Heather

Happy One Year Anniversary!

This time last year Jesse and I were doing this.....
We made it through our first year of marriage and I can honestly say it has been one of the best years of my life. Here is to many, many more!

-Heather

Canada Eh? Part 3

Yes this is the third post on this subject!

Our Keepsake Pictures from each (new) state on this trip.

Mississippi- No idea where we were, we just crossed over the border to get our picture.

Kentucky- Nothing like cows for a back drop!

Ohio-In the corn fields.

West Virgina- In a small town called Wheeling.
Pennsylvania-In front of Lake Erie.

New York-At the Horseshoe Falls.

Ontario, Canada- At the family reunion.
Michigan- We wanted a picture of old cars for this state but the graffiti had to do.

Indiana- Again, no clue where we are at.

OK, I am finally done posting about this trip on my blog, enjoy!
A special thanks goes out to Jesse's parents for taking all of these photos...it was much better than using my car as a stand.

-Heather

Canada Eh? Part 2

Our Journey

Like I said in part one of this, we made five major stops along our journey: 1) Buffalo, NY; 2) Niagara Falls, NY; 3) Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada; 4) Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Canada; 5) Campbellville, Ontario Canada.

Buffalo, NY/Niagara Falls, NY
This is the birth place of Jesse, although their family left when he was about two years old so he does not remember much about it. We explored downtown a bit and ate at a famous BBQ wing restaurant, which is where Buffalo wings originated. I am not a wing person, but I couldn't let Jesse pass up eating wings in Buffalo, NY! Next we went to Niagara Falls. It was beautiful. I could have stared at the waterfall all day. Since it was evening, there was not much of a crowd and we got to see the falls lit up at night which was cool. We then drove by Jesse's old house and then went and stayed the night with some friends of Mike and Kim's.

At the Horseshoe Falls.
The American Falls.

Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada
We spent Friday morning at Niagara Falls on the Canada side, and I must say that it is a lot prettier from the Canadian side then the American side. We took a tour called Journey Under the Falls. We got to go underneath the Falls and got close to the base of the it. It was very neat because you could hear the roaring of the Falls. You got somewhat wet, but not too bad. Again, I could have watched the waterfall for hours.

I bet the people in that boat got SOAKED!Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Canada
We went from the Falls to a town called Niagara-on-the-Lake (Lake Ontario that is). The one word I would use for this place is "quaint." The flowers there were beautiful and very plentiful! We spent the afternoon there shopping and walking around the town.
Campbellville, Ontario Canada
Last stop....Campbellville! Time to meet and greet lots of my new family. Some of the family from Canada came to our wedding so it was good to see faces I recognized, but it was also great to meet the rest of the Ellis family.

There was a lot of this over the weekend.
Jesse's grandparents. This is his Grandmama's side of the family.

Serious golfers.

Three generations.

At this point we are half way home!

-Heather

p.s. I have no idea why half of my writing is centered and not the other half, so excuse the inconsistency.

Canada Eh? Part 1

Jesse and I have hit the road again and this time it was a VERY long road we traveled. Last Tuesday evening we headed to Nashville where we would hop in the car with Jesse's parents and travel our way to Campbellville, Ontario for a family reunion! Since this was a vacation, we took a longer route going to Canada in order for us to do some site seeing.

Travel Route- Going to Canada:
Staring point- Oklahoma
Arkansas
Mississippi
Tennessee
Kentucky
Ohio
West Virgina
Pennsylvania
New York
Canada

Travel Route- Going Home:
Starting point- Canada
Michigan
Ohio
Indiana
Kentucky
Tennessee
Missouri
Oklahoma

Total hours in the car: Approx 50 hours

On this journey we went to seven new states together as a married couple and one new country! The map below show all of the states we have been to in blue, somehow Wisconsin sneaked by us.

We made little stops along the way so Jesse and I could take our pictures in each state (Our keepsake of the trip), but some of our bigger stops were in Buffalo New York, Niagara Falls (both NY and Canada sides), Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada and of course the family reunion in Campbellville, Ontario.

More details to come on each stop.

Oh and if you did not know, Canadians say "Eh" almost after everything they talk about. They like to put things into question form. I don't know what I was expecting about how they spoke, but to me it did not sound that much different than from the way I speak. There were a few words though that I do not think many Americans say.
Examples:
We say: Bathroom/Restroom
They say: Washroom
We say: Baseball Field
They say: Ball Diamond
We say: Baseball glove
They say: Ball glove

Oh and they also think 70-80 degree weather is hot and I thought it was wonderful!

Job Update

I have completed my first week of work and it went great. I love my new job! I mean I still have a lot to learn, but I am just excited that I get to learn. This job is going to teach me great things and I cannot wait to jump into the events even if it does mean working on a Saturday here and there (yuck).

My office, well technically it is a small conference room, but for now it is all mine. My desk is on the left. I also use the conference table when I need to spread something out.

My desk! Small, but it's all I need.

One of my window views. This room has three large windows in it so I get great lighting and views (even if the views are of parking garages). The big building in the background is the building Jesse will move into soon.

Another great thing about this job is location, location, location! We get our own parking garage and I get my own spot, so no more hail dents in the car. Even better, it is super close to where Jesse works, we even got to eat our lunches together some this week. AND it is right across the street from the gym I go to (will go to...more often hopefully).

-Heather