Target - and a Trader Joe's Update

I just returned from a very interesting trip to Target. I love Target, I have for many years. They gave my community several million dollars, how can you not LOVE that?

It seems they are re-doing their image a bit. I walked by the jewelry section and had a strange flash back from years ago. In a K-Mart. It really cheapened the look of their costume jewelry and I was quite frankly shocked.

Accessories ARE the new black, they are absolutely HUGE this season and the will be HUGE again in the season that is almost here. Dear sweet magical Target, how I love thee - why have you foresaken your accessories?

They have also changed the look of their Target Brands. They went from nice primary colours to a more muted pallette and the packaging is more clear with the product more visible and it has arrows instead of the traditional bullseye logo. I am not certain but I think the reasoning behind this is to save on the cost of ink on their packaging - just a guess. And while I am at it I would like to highly recommend Target brand toilet paper - good stuff!

While I was at Target I wanted to look through the DVDs for "The Holiday". It came out in 2006 and for some reason I just love it. It reminds me of "Love Actually" but I like the ending more. And low and behold Target came through: Target has the DVD of "The Holiday" for $3.98!
It's on sale now, I have no idea when the sale ends but let me reccommend that too!

I also have an update on the Portland, Maine Trader Joe's:
1. Yes, it is really happening!
2. Yes, it should be here by the end of 2009 [think December]
3. The location IS where Wild Oats used to be.
Let's all celebrate!
<3

A little Trader Joe's Review

I took a lovely trip to Boston a few days ago and stopped by a new Trader Joe's. On my way home a dear friend of mine who I knew in DC called me [she now lives in Chicago] and I promised her I would review some of my purchases at Trader Joe's.

Another recent purchase of mine was Organic Ramen from our local Hannaford. I don't happen to be a Vegetarian, but I am trying to incorporate more Vegan ingredients in my diet and the organic ramen noodles happen to be Vegan. They cost more than regular ramen and they taste a lot better. The noodles are of a better quality as well.

I tried 3 differnt kinds:

Miso Soup with Tofu: a little bland, just ok
Seaweed: also a little bland, lots of seaweed and just ok
Vegetable [I think it was Roast Vegetable] these were absolutely delicious and I would buy them again in a second!

At Trader Joe's I had even more luck. All of my perchases happen to be Vegan. It's my kick lately and I am noticing some positive effects on my health, I am not acutally a vegan but I think anything that you can do to improve your health is a good thing and I love to try new foods. I have also lost weight so I can't complain.

My Trader Joe's purchases [that I have tried thus far]:

Frozen Foods:
Vegetable Bird's Nest: delicious! A bit like an onion ring with tempura batter and other vegetables. The dipping sauce is good too.

Small Peas: wonderful! I ignored the package directions and defrosted them slowly in the microwave and ate them while they were still cold and they were heavenly. I added them in a vegan fettuchini alfredo and they were perfection.

Wild Blueberries [we call these Huckleberries in the South]: Really really excellent. My favourite breakfast is to warm them up in the microwave, add a little agave nectar and viola! Reminds me of blueberry pancakes. SO good!

Shelled Edamame: delicious!

Packaged Foods:
Brown Rice Pasta: Ziti and Spirals - both are wonderful. I am not a huge fan of reheating the pasta so I just make what I need for that meal [I do the same thing with Quinoa].

Organic Blue Corn Torilla Chips: good! A little salty and a little dry, but very tasty.

Roasted Plantain Chips: these surprised me a bit, I am used to plantains as a sweet dish so I found them to be a little salty and a bit of an odd choice for a savery snack.

Sesame Sticks: Yummy!

Organic Rice Milk: Cheap and tasty!

Fridge stuff:
Trader Joe's Orginal Hummas: A little bland - I love it with LOTS of garlic and LOTS of Lemon but it was good.

All the fresh fruits and veggies I got there were great. The organic carrots I got were perfect with the hummus. I added the sliced portabella mushrooms to my pasta and it was amazing.

I am also a big fan of the Blu sparkling waters: orginal, lime and lemon.

Hope you enjoyed my "foodie" review of Trader Joe goodness. I got a bunch of othet things I might write about later. Happy Shopping!

More Trader Joe's Buzz

Just a little update on the Trader Joe's in Portland Buzz:
http://avecfashion.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-love-trader-joes.html

Yesterday I stopped by the Whole Foods in Portland and mentioned to the cashier that I had heard Trader Joe's was coming to Portland Maine and she said that she had heard the same thing, and the buzz was all around the store. So even the competition knows, pretty cool.

So it looks like Trader Joe's really is coming to Portland Maine!