The Shopping Adventures of Carynn and Nana Shanna

As mentioned in one of my previous postings, one of the things I was looking forward to was sharing my favorite shopping venues with Carynn. Thanks to Michael's (Papa's) willingness to Ty-sit we were able to do just that, and often too! Here's my/our favorite spots:

Deseret Industries Thrift Store
Michael and I discovered the DI (as locals call it) last year and have furnished our home here with some of our finds. Our first visit this year all four of us went. I discovered some great things for the house. Helpful hint-ALWAYS go to the Outside Yard first! That's where I've always found the best "stuff!" I did this visit too. Michael/Papa exhibited/exhibits a huge amount of forbearance while I/we are in DI. Carynn found some great books and toys for Ty. I found some items to use in decorating AND organizing the house and filling some of those bare corners. My other favorite areas at DI are the aisles that house baskets, plants and decorative items. Michael likes the clothing area as he's been able to find some great long sleeved shirts-so good for running/walking. DI-a fun time was had by all.

Carynn and I made return trips (note the plural) to Deseret Industries. We found some plants to use in the bedroom/spare room/outside. Another thing I like about DI is at least twice while I've been there when others have noticed what I had in my shopping cart (How can you not notice a five foot tall ficus, right?) they've pointed out other things to me that they thought I might be interested in. That's how I got the great plant that is now residing outside by one of the rockers.

The week that Carynn/Jamie and Ty left and Michael was gone for a funeral, I did a solo DI run. Bargains galore! I'll share more about the masterpiece I found/created in another posting.

PS. I don't always buy at DI, I often donate too! There's a "rule" that says for everything that you buy and bring into your home something else needs to be removed from it, that way you'll cut down/eliminate junk and keep a balance. I don't always follow that "rule" but I try to keep it in mind. I have picked things up at DI carried them around in the shopping cart, counted the cost (not just in money, but space, etc.) and put them back. I'm disciplined, really; or most of the time. :)

Grandma Tobler's Bakery
I told Carynn about the yummy cinnamon rolls, etc. at Grandma Tobler's. We slowed down to park and I read the sign that said they'd moved. We were disappointed, but determined that we'd check out the new location. We went into Aunts and Uncles (or is it Uncles and Aunts?) instead. We did find Grandma Tobler's later. Delicious!

Aunts and Uncles
I don't know that I made it into Aunts and Uncles last year, but Carynn and I did this year. It had home decorating items and it's in this great old home (at least a hundred years old-probably closer to 120 is my guess). Many of the items are new "old" things. It's priced comparable to what you'd find in town. We enjoyed it and I'll be back.

Way Cool Dirt Cheap
I "discovered" WCDC last year. I purchased a great pot to put in one of my DI finds (a tree). I enjoyed acquainting Carynn with the store. She decided that their name is a misnomer as while the items are way cool, we didn't particularly find them dirt cheap. One of my favorite things to do there (other stores too) is to play "Guess the Price." Let's just say we always guessed low even when we tried to guess high.

We had an adventure when we came out of WCDC. The Yukon wouldn't start. As we'd had no hints that we were going to have trouble with it (nothing on the trip down or even at our previous stop) we were quite surprised. While the prices at Way Cool Dirt Cheap aren't we can attest that the staff there is Way Nice Very Helpful. One of the staff spotted us looking at the car, she brought out jumper cables. Another staff member pulled his car over, attached the cables and started the car. He also recommended (in his opinion) the best place to go to get a battery (Checker's) and also shared the information that they'd install it for free. Michael called at that time (he must have been in psychic mode) and we told him what was going on. As we only have the one vehicle here and Ty was still asleep, he was only able to give moral support. The nice guy at WCDC also advised us to make Checker's our next stop because as soon as we turned off the ignition we'd be staying wherever we stopped until the new battery was put in. I will be writing a nice thank you note to the WCDC people.

Checker's Auto Parts
I'm more "into" hardware stores and home improvement centers (a legacy from my father I think), but approached Checker's confidently (the only way to get things done really) while Carynn kept the car running just in case they turned out to be not so helpful. They seemed to be understaffed and busy, but when I got the sales associate's attention and stated my/our case he was happy to help. I had already consulted Michael regarding the battery-we opted for midrange price-wise. So when Jack, the Checker's guy, answered all the questions correctly I popped outside, signaled to Carynn to stop the engine and within 20 minutes or so we were able to continue on our way.

I've already mentioned Home Depot, but did I mention the way cool dirt cheap lamps I found there? Originally priced at $66 and $88 dollars I got them for $23 and $28! Woo hoo! Heaven, I'm in heaven (picture me singing that song slightly out of tune but gleefully). After the completion of Paintapalooza they reside in the master bedroom and living room.

Pier 1
Carynn and I have a "tradition" of visiting Pier 1's after Christmas sale. Though it was a little late (after January 1) we still found some bargains we couldn't resist. Some will go in my "to be given as gifts" stash. Others we started using right away.

Tai Pan Trading
One of my Utah friends introduced me to Tai Pan last year. Carynn had a taste of Tai Pan Trading on our way back from stopping at another friend's house that lived out that way. (This friend had transported some items from our WA home to UT when they moved down at Thanksgiving as we knew we would not have room to bring those items ourselves.) Ty was with us our first visit to Tai Pan. He was a happy shopper and did quite well as we meandered. We determined to do a return trip sans Ty another time; which we did.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
They hadn't made up our favorite kind of caramel apples, so we "made do" with some chocolate....Oh, the sacrifices one makes...

The Outlet Stores
Carynn found some gorgeous boots at one store, I found a white dress shirt for Michael and a purse for me at another.

Michael's Craft Store
Another "old" friend. I enjoyed their Christmas clearance.

Dollar Tree
What is it about Dollar Tree? I'm not quite sure, but for me it's a place of possibilities all for a dollar or less. There are multiple Dollar Tree's here and I've sampled nearly all of them. It's another old friend.

Krumpet's
Any store that has their sales associates greet you with a golden token so you can get your Krumpet candy (colored m & m's), and have a chance at $5 off of your purchase (if you get the right color of m & m) is going to be a place that I can enjoy. No $5 off m & m when I placed my coin in the slot of the huge vending machine (not for Carynn either), but I did find 90% (that's no typo) off of this cute Christmas tree in a pot. Carynn liked the store a lot too. We were only able to stop that one time during her visit, but I'll be back!

We also visited the "usual suspects"-Walmart, you know the store you love to hate; Target, I found a cute bathing suit for water aerobics (Thanks Carynn for your help) and of course the grocery store.

While I wouldn't call myself an Olympic-quality shopper (in honor of the Winter Olympics that will begin shortly), I think I do fairly well. Lest you think that I spent tons of money doing all of this shopping (Michael may think so), I didn't. I think, overall, I shopped with a great deal of restraint. :)

You can call it "retail therapy" if you like. I won't deny that it brought a certain amount of pleasure. No, it was more than that, it was fun! Thanks Carynn for being my shopping buddy! Ty, when you came with us, you were a trooper! Michael, thanks for understanding.

NS