Grocery heavyweights Walmart vs. Aldi: A comparison

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I'm late blogging this week.  It's been so busy around here.  I wanted to tell you about last weekend though.  We decided to try something a little different and do our monthly grocery shopping at two places instead of our usual one Walmart stop. I'm sure a lot of people do this regularly already, but we have a brand new Aldi's in our town and we wanted to know, would there be a big difference in price? I have never been to Aldi before, so, I will tell you our results! We did a price-by-price comparison so I'll go through some main staple items that was on our shopping list and compare the two.
Battle of the grocery heavyweights (ding-ding)!
In this corner...the place I frequently refer to as the 7th circle of hell...WALMART!

http://chrisglass.com/album/2009/06/25/no-counter-intelligence/

  miami.cbslocal.com

And in this corner...the land of the unknown(for me that is)..ALDI!



Aldi's was pleasant enough once I got past the 25 cents to get your cart thing.  I thought it was stupid until my husband pointed out they don't have to pay people to take carts in and out.  Hmmm.  Brilliant!  So let's see it pays off for them...

        

Looks like it's a knockout for ALDI!  All of those little things really added up. If this were your weekly grocery bill, and you saved the approximate $10 per week, this could be a $40 per month savings.  I don't know about you but I could find something else to do with that:)  Keep in mind this is only a fraction of our grocery list.  We spent $114.00 at Aldi.  That means the savings could even be broader...$40, $50, $60! a month maybe.  We can't get EVERYTHING we need at Aldi and that is the problem.  Do you really want to go to two places???  In the same day...um...no.  But, each still does have pros and cons.

WALMART PRO'S   = 
Everything you need in one place (that's a big one!), some things are still less expensive, they provide bags!, bank, pharmacy, electronics.  The big reason we need Walmart...DIAPERS!    Aldi's does not have our diapers.                                    

WALMART CON'S =
Their produce NEVER looks as good as the above photo!  Ever!  At least at our local store.  It's a shoddy selection for sure.  The crowds.  Ugh!  If you have to go on a Saturday.  Yikes.  If you eat Gluten Free like I do...they have a terrible GF selection and their standard brands aren't labeled as well as Aldi's canned goods.  Be prepared to do a lot of reading. 

ALDI PRO'S =
Good cheap produce.  Not as much selection, but it looks like more quality than quantity.  I eat Gluten Free and the Aldi''s canned goods are almost all labeled GF.  YAY!.  At the right time of day, it seems to be pretty clean and quiet.  That's a change from Walmart.  Good prices too.

ALDI CON'S =
Bringing your own bags and bagging your own stuff.  What a pain!  I mean, you do bag your own stuff at Walmart, but at least they help bag a little and put it back in the cart and not shove you over to a side wall where you have to spend time re-arranging everything.  Walmart does save a step there.  It lacks selection...that's a big con actually!  Our location also had 1 checker...IN THE WHOLE STORE!  Good thing there wasn't a crowd.

Well...I would say each has there fair share of cons, but overall...I was happy about the price savings and also to find a spot where I can get good produce and not pay the astronomical prices at our local HyVee.  Although, if you do eat Gluten Free...HyVee is THE place to be!!  Hands down. 
http://www.hy-vee.com/
They have a whole foods/organic and GF section of the store with an on-staff dietician no less that will help you with all of your "gluten-y" questions.  Plus, everything on the regular shelves have a GF by the label if it is gluten free.  Boy is that handy!  And the selection, oh the beautiful selection!  Bring your pocketbook baby;)

Kudos to Aldi's though on price and cleanliness and may you bask in their sunny windows while saving a buck or two.  Not a bad little Saturday after all:)

http://www.internationalsupermarketnews.com/news/1108

Happy shopping!!
-Jess xo

Loving Lattice

Hello everyone!  Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's day yesterday.  Being a new blogger, I have learned, so far, that the more I think about design, houses, blogging, whatever...I start finding more and more out about myself and the things I really love.  I wanted to share something that I've really been loving lately.  Lattice work.  Some may say trellis, I say lattice.  I'm seeing it everywhere!  It's really chic right now I know, I know, lattice is not a surprise, but it has always been a design that struck my fancy.  What I am finding out about myself is that, I just love good clean classics.  Who doesn't?!  But I never veer to far from those kinds of things.  You know, things like subway tile, aviator sunglasses, jeans, chesterfield sofas, hair in a bun, yadda, yadda.  If my hair was long enough I would whip it up in a bun and plop on a chesterfield with a good classic book right now.  My point is, I know it's overly trendy right now...sure.  But I think current trends are new growth of old roots. I'd love to use this design in the new basement family room.  Remember the $30 relic that's going down there (below) ?

I want to keep it clean and simple with a solid color fabric but jazz it up with pillows for the back.  Or maybe just all pillows in place of the current orange wedges altogether.
Like these?...

eclectic living room design
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/103552/list/Trellis---Trellis


I have always loved Chippendale, so I just want a little, more cost effective, piece for that in my own environment to appreciate.
Bask in the glory of Chinese Chippendale...



http://1001rulesforcollectingantiques.tumblr.com/


Lattice of the past...

Source: tonight-we-are-young.tumblr.com via Twentytwo on Pinterest

Lattice of the present...

Source: google.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

I may end up using a rug instead of the pillows, but either way, when I'm over the trend, I can change it guilt free because I didn't do the whole sofa in it.

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Janis on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: wickedcloth.es via Asia on Pinterest

Source: recipe.com via Kristin on Pinterest

If only I were young enough to pull of that shirt!  How cool.  I'll keep you posted on how it turns out, but until then...
Long Live Lattice!

Jess

The Cat House

 We are going to be gutting our upstairs soon, YAY! I call it the "attic", but it's really a half story that the previous owners had made into two bedrooms.  I hope to make into one large beautiful master suite some day, but for now it could become kiddie space, but who knows...when you live in a bunglaow you take any space you can get your hands on, and in this house, you either go up, or go down.  We intend to do both actually:)  The contractor starts in April and I need to get everything out of there and re-organized down in the basement that I have been trying to transform into a man cave/family room at the same time.  Ugh!  It is hectic around here!  Since you 've seen my other posts about how much crap I drag in here...then you can imagine how much treking up and down these steps I'm doing.  Whatever...I need the workout.  It's been a big week and I was kind of at a loss of what I wanted to blog about this week.  However...in all this sorting and so on and so forth...I've realized my penchant for loving cats has turned into a collection that over time spread it's "whiskers" on all three floors! Somebody stop me, there's kitty everywhere I look and I didn't even see it coming.  Check this out!  A kitty frame on the window sill in the kitchen...
That is my handsome nephew Jeramie by the way

Here are two of the three pictures hanging on the kitchen walls...
PS- I don't even really care for these prints, but some how they got "grandfathered in" and are still hanging on the walls, but I hate my kitchen enough that I don't really care.  That's another project.

Andy Warhol - sorry it's foggy

Ok...Here is the top of my dresser in our bedroom.  I'm sure Noah adores looking and these little creatures all over the house (sarcasm).  I just pick them up in my travels or friend's give them as gifts.

They even multiply when the light changes!...haha

Who's that little guy peeking out over the sofa in the living room?  He beckons from Pier One many moons ago...my son Evan probably moved him there because I really don't know where he was sitting.

And in the bath room upstairs...A lovely plaque I picked up in Sicily.  Originally meant to go outside and hang on the new shed.  How's that shed going you ask?...um...no comment.  Until it's finished though, this stays in the bath room:)  Foogy pic again so I just did it in B&W.  I'm having camera issues.  But...

You get the idea.
A book shelf in the basement...

On top of an old bookcase in my son's room... he's from Spain.
The cat that is.

Well there you have it!  That is what I have learned about myself this week.  I love cats!  It's not that I even really love them that much in person, but...maybe it's their carefree, I don't give a s*#t attitudes, that I appreciate!  Sure they love you, but they don't have to love you.  At least I think that's the relationship I have with my two outdoor cats.  I think I need them (they keep mice away) more than they need me.  Take a look around.  Do you have any weird collections that you just love and you're not sure why?  Or, do you pick up little things here and there and they happen to have similarities that you like the characteristics of maybe more than the object itself?  Just a thought...

Have a great day!!

Jess xo

Architecture of Independence Iowa..the drive-by version

Hello everyone!  Last week was a sad one as we lost our dear Uncle Bud who was from, my in-laws hometown of, Oelwein, Iowa.  We don't get there very often, but when we do it's always nice to see what else beautiful Northern Iowa has to offer.  Just South of Oelwein is the quaint little town of Independence, Iowa.  Going through again made me sit up (in the car:) and take notice to some of the beautiful homes along the main drag of this once bustling town.  Though the hubby wouldn't stop the car (hmmph)...here are some of my best "fly by" shots of a town worth stopping and checking out if you're galivanting around Northern Iowa.  WARNING...it's colder up there!  I know this because I wore no socks (which my M-I-L made sure to discuss. haha:) and as you can see, there is snow on the ground.  C'mon, who hasn't sacrificed for fashion!  Anywhoooo, check out the old train depot.  Once upon a time, this depot would have been jam packed with travelers walking and waiting...waiting and walking in 1891...

Did I ever mention how much a I love vintage suitcases (I need to find some more), these look so cool on display.  Also note the intricate architectural detail of the pillars. 
What a grand period in time.

Look out for the train!  Whoooo.   Whoooo.  (um, that was a whistle.)

A little cruise through bustling downtown Independence...

Here's a monster beauty along the main drag.  Absolutely crisp, beautiful paint job. 
Somebody loves their home!  Who wouldn't, look at it!

With an extra little cottage/carriage house in the back.  Amazing.

Here's another gem.  My fav!  The paint that once covered the original brick is all chippy and falling off, but that's what I love about this.  Some Italianate details prevalent in the arch windows, pillars and corbels.  Awesomeness. Period.

 

Then a little Gothic styling.  Pointed peaks with leaded glass and high peaks in the roof.  These pristine paint jobs put my shabby little bungalow to shame.  I will be posting pics of that soon by the way.  BIG project coming up so stay tuned!

Well there is a little snippet of lovely Independence I thought I'd share. What a melting pot of architectural styles.

Have great day and happy first day of February!

-Jess

Look what the cat dragged in!....again...

So it's my latest purchase from a local re-sale shop for the new "family room/man cave" in the basement.  Not quite sure what to do with it yet, but what can I say...it speaks to me!  Good lines, clean, sturdy, classic design and the very best part...$30.00.  I know right?!

I kind of like the caned?/weaved? side panels, but I don't care for the fabric.  Though I dig a touch of orange, for me, it's overkill. 

All the cushion wedges are removable so it could an open bench.  It's big!  It's the size of a twin mattress so wouldn't it be cool in an open concept living area?....ahem, which I do not have. Haha.

All of the cushion wedges are zippered covers so if I could make new ones in a different fabric, I image it to turn out something like this.  I'm sure I'll get right on that (wink wink).

It's been moved into the basement and kid tested.  Evan used it as a trampoline for about an hour so it's a keeper.  Let me know what you think???  Have to? or Has Been:(

Source: gusmodern.com via Jordan on Pinterest

Our Basement Bathroom Renovation and Some Clever Vanity Ideas

With our one tiny bathroom upstairs, we decided to add a bathroom in the basement a few years ago.  We worked on it so slooooooowly.  I'm talking, we are just finishing it!  But, as my husband says, "I'm only one man", and even better, he's free!  But, besides adding some minor detail trim work...oh yes!...and a door, which is very important (I'll explain that in another post)...we are done.  I'm kind of glad it's taken so long, because I have trouble picking things out on the fly.  I think sometimes good design kind of happens organically over time spent searching for just the right thing.  I wonder what this bathroom would have been if we could have completed it all in one shot?  Or, if we hadn't done a "budget" version since, after all, I had to keep reminding myself that this is just a basement that will only be "semi-finished".  Because I didn't have the $900 it would have taken to do a wall to wall vanity area with the countertop (that's not even including sinks and faucets), we stalled the project. 
Finally, in a local antique store I spotted a rustic old plank table that had a greeny, glazey, cool crackley finish on it.  It caught my eye right away and was around $200 or $250, I can't remember which, but the set-up of it was perfect!!  It even had a flat back to go against the wall and an apron on the front to hide the sink bowls below.  Noah cut the sink holes and dropped two basic white sinks in the top ($136.00 total for those and the faucets too) and I think it came out great! 

I love the table's coloring with the black slate floors.  Please ignore that we have no baseboards!

By the way, I settled on this floor.  I knew it would be slate, but I wanted the same Rustic/California Gold (I think that's what it was called:/) slate that is in the entrance of Coldwater Creek clothing stores.  I had to jump through hoops of fire with Coldwater Creek to get the color name, but when it priced out at $6.00/sf, I chose this box store black slate that was on sale for about $2.00/sf.  That's cheap for slate and I liked the blue-green colors in it for the "boys bath". 
Even though I originally wanted something different, I know I can get other things to work just as well and accomplish a similar look, and oddly, I kind of find some excitement in the challenge of doing that!

I just need to add, I thought I might be 102 before Noah finished tiling that shower with EVERY piece of 3x6 white subway tile, but he did it and it looks great:)  He's my hero!  This was his first tile project.  He has done a few "assistant" gigs with my brother-in-law and decided to take a crack at it alone here.  Sink or swim! Subway tile is cost effective, classic, Very Bungalow! and never goes out of style.  By the way, we had the floor pan for the shower prefessionally poured.  When you don't feel confident on something as important as that, I think it's best to splurge for quality and re-assurance.  It was either $150 or $200....I knew a guy;) 

Looking at bathroom pictures over the years, and loving our own little make-shift vanity has made me take notice to the really clever vanity ideas out there that could be super cost effective.  This old sewing base I thought was sooooooo clever!!  I probably would have wanted to do something like this (using two of them) if I hadn't already found the table.

Source: designsponge.com via jane on Pinterest

With storage too!

This bicycle is an A-MAZ-ING idea too!  What a cool way to use something that might be sentimental, or if you were a biker or something.

Source: curbly.com via Kayci on Pinterest

Again with the white subway tile...you just can't go wrong!
















Even an old dresser would have been cool if I could have found one large enough to visually fill up the 8' wall.  The farm table we ended up with is 6', so we centered it with 12" on each side.  I think this dresser/sink vanity is really beautiful and slightly modified for an opening at the bottom which looks good.  I need a way to thoughtfully accessorize like this... ugh!...me and my dumb empty baskets!  I WILL put something in them.  As usual...waiting, waiting.

Source: houzz.com via Jade on Pinterest

Hope you like the pics and thanks for reading!  Now to actually finish this bathroom, again...a door would be nice!
Have a great day!

A William Morris Inspired Quest for Vintage.

While reading the latest issue of Old House Journal a few weeks ago, I ran across a quote by a pillar of the Arts and Crafts movement Mr. William Morris, he says, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful".  Thank you WM for the great advice! 
I love this quote because I firmly believe every word of it.  Nothing against "box store" decorating...sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?:) But it's such a better feeling to be surrounded by decor you love and cherish, and it's been somewhere and has a life of it's own...(sigh) like anything vintage.   I had a yearning for a great vintage find so I decided to re-visit some of my fav stores in the lovely city of Des Moines, Iowa last weekend.
First stop...West End Salvage.  Great place in an old warehouse downtown with a coffee shop inside.  Tons of cool stuff.  Nothing I wanted to afford that day, but if you need something specific, he's probably got it.  http://www.westendsalvage.com/

Straight from an Arts and Crafts bungalow, the traditional bookcases with pillars.

Second stop...Atomic Gargage in the Valley Junction area of Des Moines.  Love their vintage clothes!
http://www.valleyjunction.com/

What about this sweet Mommy and baby matching ensemble???  My friend Michelle spotted these relics right away.  I wonder if Evan would wear this with me...

Atomic Garage (above) is all clothes (my other passion), but they have a sister store across the street http://aokayantiques.com/index.htm  that has incredible antiques, vintage decor, and the upstairs hosts an inspiring collection of some of the best retro era pieces of furniture. 

Yes, I do believe it's the Eames 670 chair with ottoman...bow your heads...

So great!  I didn't buy anything but clothes.  I know, right!?  I'm frugal, what can I say... 
I bought a fun green printy shirt for spring, a sweet petal pink chiffon nightgown, and I regretfully did not buy this, but a sexy 70's black one piece pantsuit that I'm still kind of kicking myself over...I may end up calling for that later.   Here's the shirt.  My friend and I decided it'd be cute with some white linen pants for summer maybe.

Here's the nighty..at least that's what I will be wearing it for.

Here's also a leopard vintage 1950's handbag I scored from a previous trip several years ago, but I still love it so much that I have to show you all.  What a find!

So there it is!  My vintage search in a nutshell.  I'm just finding little bits at a time, whether it's clothes or decor, and that's ok because I don't really have space just to get "stuff".  I just buy what I love or find useful like ol' William Morris suggested.  A special thanks to my friend and best shopping buddy Michelle for chauffering me all over town too.  Love ya!