Work has already annoyed me today, so I'm glad to take a little break and submit this post.
I haven't made many things lately - mostly I've been planning glorious things and working hard on my son's new and improved t-shirt quilt. So in the interest of posting something today, I'd like to share one amazing purchase from my local grocery store (complete with a lesson learned!), and follow that up with some pretty awesome stuff I picked up on my list visit to the Goodwill.
First of all...
The other day my man and I went for an early morning breakfast date, then hit the grocery store for an edible re-up. We've both been hankering for roast lately, so after picking up a few essentials, we wandered over to the meat section to see what we could see.
Oh boy, did we see roasts of all shapes, sizes, and types! It was glorious. But sadly, all were roughly in the range of "way too expensive for today's budget."
Until...until!
A particularly succulent looking pork butt roast caught my eye. It was fatty (as pork butt tends to be) but it was hefty and well-colored and overall every bit as good as the others. But this one was different.
There it sat, among a sea of $14-$15 roasts, at a measly $4.38. At first I was confused as I looked at it. Were my eyes deceiving me? Was this roast in fact much smaller than the others? The tag read 1.93 lbs. Maybe I was wrong. I hefted it. It was definitely not 2 pounds.
It still didn't entirely register with me. I called out "Hey, look at this one! We can afford this." My man took it from me and examined it. Confusion flashed across his face as well.
It hit us both at the same time. We looked at each other, eyes wide. We looked around to make sure nobody was looking. We put it in our basket and casually strode away.
The next challenge was making it through the cash register. We held our breath as the cashier scanned it. She didn't give it a second look. We walked out of the store flush with victory.
And so ends another phenomenal adventure of the middle-class suburban couple. We literally celebrated. We are dorks.
Neither of us can tell to this moment why this pork butt was mis-labeled. Perhaps it was an error made by a new employee. Maybe our local HEB occasionally marks things lower than they should be to keep people coming back to look for more treasures. We don't know. All we know is...we just got at least 7 lbs. of meat at a 2-lb. price.
The lesson is, always look at all the meat. You never know when someone else's mistake means your success.
(Some may consider this immoral. I did call the store afterwards, a tiny hint of guilt gnawing at me. I spoke to the manager of the meat department, told him they may have made a mistake. He laughed. He thanked me for my honesty. Then he told me to enjoy my roast. Conscience officially cleared.)
Now, on to the good stuff!
Took another trip to Goodwill last weekend (I'd go somewhere else but it's the only place near me and it happens to be right next to my pharmacy). This time I gave myself a $10 budget. I scored three awesome - well, awesome to me anyway - pieces for only 8.50!
First is this belt. It's a basic, simple belt. But it fits and it goes with just about everything in my wardrobe. And at $1.50, what more could I ask for?
Goes on jeans, goes over dresses, looks great around a cardigan. I know, it's basic...but sometimes basic is good. Ack, don't tell anyone I said that... ;)
Next up we have two gigantic sweaters. I actually got three, the two below and a third wine-colored one but my fellow meat-victor took ownership of it fairly immediately.
This huge charcoal number is maybe my favorite thing. It's so soft and comfy! I can't wait to make it into something else:
I've actually been wearing this at night when it gets cold, and my kids have gone gaga over it. When I told them they shouldn't get used to it, because I'm gonna cut it to pieces, they actually got a little upset. They said I look "SO CUTE" in this giant, tent-like sweater. It gave me pause...maybe I shouldn't turn this into something else? But nah, it is going to look a zillion times better when I'm done. They are just gonna have to trust me. :)
This green ribbed sweater is a lovely color and will probably just need to be taken in and trimmed up a little:
I could see it remaining a pullover but with some embellishments...some reverse appliqué perhaps, or braided edging, or...or...or...
...
Sorry, my brain experienced a creativity feedback loop for a minute there. I'm okay now.
As usual, $10 at the thrift store is just what the doctor ordered. I have a feeling I'm going to have a really fun weekend.
Ta!
XOXO
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