The First Day of Summer

Today is the first day of summer!  We decided to do our shopping today and it turned out to be a fun and exciting trip.  Everyone was very kind and that sure does help when you have so many stores to go to in one afternoon and you still have to get back in time to cook some grub.

First we went to +BevMo! We got some +Jagermeister USA to go with a German themed meal.  Check out my We Must Eat and Drink Blog for more details.  My husband wants to B.B.Q. so I thought I would get some +Maker's Mark Bourbon to marinate the meat in, which I have never done, though I have had Bourbon Tri-tip before and it was delicious.  The cashier's were helpful.

Our next stop was +Trader Joe's.  I do love Trader Joe's.  I wish I could do all of my shopping there ALL of the time.  I usually buy my Stevia there and my apple cider vinegar.  I like to look around too, because they usually have new seasonal items.

After that, we had to stop by +Petco to get mealworms for our bearded dragon.  Everyone was nice there too.  We decided to get some waxworms, as well, as a special treat.  For more on our bearded dragon see my "What's It All About" blog "Adventures in Babysitting - The Dragonslayer Edition".

We headed on over to +Sprouts Farmers Market next.  I hadn't been in a LONG, LONG time and it was just a-bustling and a-happy place.  The worker's were beyond helpful, one was singing and it just made me want to dance!  The cashier was AWESOME.  They have these new coupon books and she pulled one out and showed us where the coupons were for the items we were buying.  We saved some money!!!  Yay!  I love it.  We told her that we would most definitely be back.

Yummy Fresh Fruits

After packing everything in the car and in the ice chest we drove over to +Cost Plus World Market.  The girl in there, they said she was new, was the sweetest, cutest thing ever.  She was so helpful.  She noticed that we bought some +Marmite.  She said her boyfriend is from Australia and he eats +Vegemite.  We thought that was so totally cool, since I am SO into Aussies.  +Curtis Stone, +Mc Leod's Daughters, +Matt Passmore of +The Glades. So, we ended up buying more stuff than we intended, and I really wish we would have gotten the +Vegemite instead of the Marmite.  Oh well, next time. +Katjes salted licorice fishies are fantastic, by the way.

Delicious salted Licorice

 We made a special trip to Sadhna's Indian Groceries, which was next on the list.  We were looking for fresh curry leaves and we were so happy that they had them.  They also had many, many other things that we really didn't need at the moment, but hey, we gotta start cooking up some more Indian recipes, right?  We also found Compounded Asafoetida which has the most heavenly smell, to me anyway.  I guess most people think that is smells bad and even call it Devil's Dung.  Go figure.  I love it.  To me it smells savory and spicy and satisfying.  Okay?

Steaks, Brats, Hamburgers and Linguica for the B.B.Q.

Next was +Sam's Club  where we bought tons of meat for the B.B.Q.  +Johnsonville Brats, Steaks, Hamburger Patties, Linguica (never had them before, but they look delicious).  And then we were done!  We made it home and started cooking up a storm.  Great German themed food.  I can't wait!  I AM pretty hungry after all that!

Buns Buns and More Buns with Relish, Pickles, Ketchup and Mustard