Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Grocery Store Confessions...

Tonight I was relaxing on the computer and warming something up for dinner when a distress call sounded! A friend was in quick need of a key baking ingredient. Now this friend provides many of us with lots and lots (and LOTS) of baked goods so the least I could do is run down the block and check my local grocery store for the item she needed.

Off I went for a super quick trip to the store. Going in, I had ONE goal...find the item, ask how much she needed, get out... I should have came back with a pile of groceries that looked exactly like this:

(Sidenote: I considered keeping this item disguised for this post in case it was for a surprise baked good...but then I remembered she tweeted that she needed it so its probably no big secret...and also my attempts at hiding it post pictures were not good haha)

As I was parking at the store, I realized that in the parking garage, I can park for free if I spend $8. Instant new goal... "I'm sure I need SOMETHING at the super market"... spend at least $8... well... I came home with all of this:

Yes, those are icing bags and tips in the back middle of this photo. The amount I spent wasn't too bad... but significantly more than $8... and generally more than I went in thinking. How did this happen you ask? Why don't I take you through a summed up version of my inner dialog during this shopping trip...

"Yay! They have what she needs!"... quick text to ask how much she needs... "Let me find something I need while she gets back to me... Ohhh icing bags! I've been wanting to try those for cupcake decorating! And awesome $4 with tips! PERFECT!" (If you have ever seen the movie Up the spotting of the icing bags was very much like SQUIRREL!)... 
"Oh shoot! I need an onion if I want to make more perogies!"... walks to produce and picks up 2 onions... walks back toward baking aisle via sauce/rice aisle... "Oh hey! I just found a recipe I want to try that calls for couscous! Ohhh curry couscous! I bet that is good!"... keeps walking toward sauces... "Awesome! The pesto mix I love is on sale!"... continues and passes the grocery spice collection... "Oh the cooking YouTube channel I have been watching calls for cayenne pepper all the time!"... looks down... "BAH! I totally forgot I am running out of salt!"... finally makes it back to baked goods and picks up original item... looks down at pile of items in arms (because there was no original need for a basket or cart)... "Oh geeze look what I did. I need to get out of here!"... shakes head and luckily manages to make it to checkout without further distraction.

This is not an unusual event. Recently, I made a "New Fiscal Year Resolution" to be more on top of my budget. I've been doing alright with it. I think my next resolution needs to be making a grocery list and sticking to it! Even if that means always having an ongoing list with me for times when I "need" to spend at least $8.

In my salt shaker did look like this:

Update: The salt shaker is now full and happy :-).


  1. Thank you for answering my Baking Bat Signal. I am eternally grateful! And I am out of pastry bags too. I should have had you pick some up for me since you were on a roll. :-)