Archive for the 'Shopping' Category
November 12th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping |
We have a new Home Depot coming to Guelph (the store apparently doesn’t open for at least a couple of weeks), and I have mixed feelings about it. I love wandering the aisles of Home Depot, because it gives me so many ideas of things I can do, and I get so curious about all the pieces and trinkets and dodads I see. On the other hand, it is Home Depot and Guelph till now has seemed to be such a nice quaint small big town. A few months after Home Depot opens, a Walmart will open just down the street. Thankfully, neither of these is all that close to our house (as to lend itself to the annoyance of terrible drivers so prevalent with Walmart), but still only 10 minutes away as to be convenient enough. There’s no doubt that I’d prefer Rona over Home Depot (though I’ve always had better success with Home Depot, I like Rona’s Canadianism). It may be tempting to support the Home Depot in Cambridge (still relatively convenient, but in a location most suited for big box stores) as much as possible. But for the big purchases (sheets of drywall and plywood, 2×4’s, decking materials, etc.), I’ll sucumb and buy from the local Home Depot.
June 30th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping, General |
Yeah! Fanfayr is this weekend! Can’t wait! It’s my Kingston tradition - school is out and then it’s Fanfayr. It is this huge artisan festival down by the water at Confederation Basin. We bought a great coffee table our first year there. The Elora Soap Shop from Paisley is always there as well - and he STILL gives us free stuff. We talked to him one summer about our trips to camp and he gave us some samples… Hmm… something to think about for this weekend.
There is this neat wood craft stuff where it is all put together without nails. I think we’ll have to get one piece this year as we always look and never buy…
Still can’t believe it’s the last day of June…
May 28th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping, General |
Okay, so maybe it’s not a thrilling adventure to go to the States, but it was still an adventure none the less. I headed off to Watertown this morning (about an hours drive from Kingston). I stopped for lunch at the Cracker Barrell! Yummm… I had this new turkey salad - I love their sourdough croutons… I think that’s the main reason I have salad when I go there. From there I headed to the ‘teacher store’. They just have neat things to look at. Umm… then to Michael’s, the mall, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and then the grocery store. I got some great deals at Bath and Body Works! I had a coupon for 15% off my entire order but in small print it said not valid with any other offer. They always have specials on at the store like buy 3 get one free. So I only took advantage of the soap deal which was buy 5 for $10. … and I picked up a new body wash and lotion without the buy 3 deal. BUT when I got to the cash I showed her my coupon to see if I could use it on my non-sale stuff…. and she said I can use it on all of it including the sale so I went and got the buy 3 get one free stuff as well! Score! Or so I thought… I had to pay duty at the border so there goes my savings! I haven’t had to pay duty in so long… I guess it was time. It is Memorial Day weekend in the States so I was worried it would be crowded…. but everything was deserted! The border was busy going to Canada when I crossed this morning but it was pretty good this afternoon. All in all, a great day! Oh Dan, I bought some of that Dr. Pepper with vanilla and cherry… we’ll see how it is. I also picked up some Diet Cherry Pepsi.
April 8th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping |
We’ve been going to Pioneer for some time, partially since it’s close to our house, but also because they recently got pay at the pump and we like their “Bonus Bucks” - we’ve probably made $30 in money we can spend on junk food. We could have gotten more from Air Miles at Shell or Canadian Tire money, but the convenience offsets it. Anyways, it was a little frustrating that the pay-at-the-pump receipt printing was inconsistent - 40% of the time it was busted so I had to go inside to get the receipt, which really defeats the purpose (and benefits) of pay-at-the-pump. So I wrote to Pioneer.ca and got a prompt response back that he would rectify it! And he’s even sending me a gift certificate for gas! Unfortunately that means that I’ll have to go in to pay at least one more time… but I think I can live with that. I’m a committed Pioneer, Gillette, Shoeless Joes, Licks, and Elastoplast customer. And I am a forever non-customer of the Brick, Edwards Ford, Frankie Pestos, and A1 Clothing (all in Kingston). Where do your loyalties, and anti-loyalties lie?
March 12th, 2005 -- Posted in School, Shopping, General |
Not much to report but since I am leaving for a week I thought I should write something. I finished up my third placement yesterday and start my final one after March Break! Eeeks! I only have six weeks of education left and then I am supposed to be a responsible adult or something! Yikes!
There is a beautiful ice fog out right now. I have never really heard of this until this winter but it has happened a few times… it is so beautiful and it just leaves a mist or frost on everything!
I am off to the World’s Largest Christmas store for some shopping and mental relaxation! Hope everyone has a great week!
February 24th, 2005 -- Posted in School, Shopping, General |
It was a day where I woke up feeling a little blue… I was dragging a little… But I got to placement on time. So, we are standing around chatting and the teacher says that she has made an executive decision… To send me, to represent her class…. at the SCHOLASTIC WAREHOUSE SALE…. tomorrow. I said “It’s not tomorrow, it’s right now!!!!”. So, off I went to pick up books for her, the EA, and umm… myself. I had the teacher’s cellphone to confer on a few things but then when I called, I remembered they were in gym class!! So I hung around, picked up more books, for a half hour until their gym class was back! Anyway, I was feeling blue that I wouldn’t be able to go since I was on placement and then after school I have a class… But there is still the HUGE warehouse sale in May… Hmm….
January 14th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping, General |
I have been waiting out the sales and managed to snag my Mary Englebreit calendar today for 75% off! Woohoo! Calendars are usually marked down a lot earlier than now and I wasn’t going to pay 50% off when I knew 75% was on the way!
January 10th, 2005 -- Posted in Shopping, General |
Don’t go to Staples the day classes are back in session either!
December 21st, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping, Christmas |
Well, this year I haven’t been as organized but I think I am ready for Christmas… now I just need to relax so I can enjoy it! I am going for a massage in a hour… so that will be a good start.
I have a lot of assignments due in January and I had good intentions of starting on those during the holidays but I think I just need to do nothing this holiday. I will let the stress hit in two weeks and start the process all over again! Luckily nothing is due the first week back. Phew!
I was up bright and early this morning and hit all of the stores that are open around 8. My Mom called at 8:30 and assumed I wasn’t out of bed yet (that was yesterday). It was nice to get out while there weren’t any crowds and leave the mall just as the mobs were arriving. I did pop into Wal-Mart mid day and YIKES!
Nothing much to report on but just wanted to let people know I’m still alive! Hopefully everyone is ready for Christmas. It has just started snowing here so hopefully it will be a white Christmas!
December 17th, 2004 -- Posted in School, Shopping, General |
It’s my last day of placement before Christmas holidays! WOOHOO! I only have my evaluation today… and a fun ‘holiday’ assembly. Yippee!
Oh, on a side note, I went to Old Navy last night and they have great sales on right now! I bought dress pants for half price and a great wool cardigan for half price. Yippe! I was debating whether I wanted one of their long down coats for $88.00….. hmm…
December 15th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
There have been some requests for my birthday/Christmas lists, so here’s what I’ve got so far:
KitchenAid mixer (with attachments), and mixer attachments/accessories too
A good food processor Edit: There are enough attachments for the KitchenAid mixer for most food processing tasks, except for simple blending. Thus, the next item:
A good blender - the Vita-Mix Kitchen Blender - Vita Prep seems to be recommended. I’d be looking for an all-purpose grinder, mixer, puree, and for smoothies and milkshakes (crushing ice) too. If I get around to researching (which is dangerous because the more I research the more I want), I’ll post updates on what I decide.
Aquarium & accessories
Garlic press (or the kind that you twist, similar to the cheese kind)
Gift-certificate to Chapters, Canadian Tire, Old Navy, Mountain Equip. Co-op, Lee Valley, Home Depot, etc.
Seeds for fun/funky/unique plants (especially perennials or indoors)
Birkenstocks (size 43 regular) with back strap, maybe navy, synthetic leather is probably pretty good
Mounted deer/moose head (with a nice rack - that is, antlers)
Binoculars have been on my list for a while - I’m not wanting one of the fold-up types, and I don’t want them to be too big or expensive
A home theatre including any or all of the following: upright or bookshelf (not the tiny ones) surround sound speakers + subwoofer and receiver (~ $600), projector (~ $2500). Edit: I did some shopping at Linden Audiotronic, and saw a phenomenal screen (only ~ $4000) to go with the projector, and a highly desireable sound system valued at probably $2500-$4000). I think this will be one of my first major self-purchase toys!
Lumber and/or old barnboard
Leather loveseat/couch at Kingston Clocks (it’s a couple thousand, but it will go so nice with my home theater, and I figure I may as well put it down in case someone loves me 
Automatic plant waterers (XC475, only $7.95 at Lee Valley)
December 19th updates:
Funnel set (Canadian Tire had them for 3 for $3)
Neoprene gloves for canoeing (on sale for $12, Gander Mountain had some for $5)
A mixing bowl set - with a steep concavity, metal is fine but something microwaveable would be great too
A nice pot & pan set +/- non-stick pans
1-2 person camping cookset and/or pot grabber
Pepper grinder (we have one but it doesn’t work, and it was cheap)
Medium sized Henkel knives
GPS
? Food dehydrator (a small one!)
Snorkeling flippers
Compost pails
Gravity Feed Watering Kit
Garden Border Watering Kit and Timer
Do you think I could put this under my worms to keep them warm while they’re in the garage?
Delux Watering Set 25′
Red Pepper Jelly
I’m a little picky, so a nice gesture is to include (or hang onto) the receipt - I will not judge, so don’t worry.
Last year the update occurred on September 25th, so I’m a little ahead of schedule this year (I was just noticing that I did pretty good last year!)
December 5th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
Inspired by neurotwitch’s kinko experience, and since Winners didn’t get back to me to find out what my concerns were (note: what’s with a company having a website but no way to contact them, except snail mail and a Mon-Fri 9-5 phone number?), I’ll upgrade my comments from direct and private to public:
I wish to make you aware of the recent experiences I had at Winners in Kingston, ON on Tuesday November 30th at ~ 4:30-5:00 p.m.
On the previous Saturday (Nov 27th around 2:00-4:00), I wished to purchase a pair of pants - they were size 36×30, priced at $34.99. Identical pants size 36×32 were priced at $29.99. When I asked the cashier about it, she said she’d give them to me for the lower price, as they looked identical to her as well. I was greatly impressed by her accommodation of my request, and her desire to put the customer first. Unfortunately, the pants did not fit so when I returned them, the cashier I approached was quite willing to help. She also impressed me with her manner and friendliness, though she was a bit confused regarding how to proceed as my request was unique and she had only worked there for 3 days. She called on someone else to help, who wasn’t sure how to proceed either. They called the manager, who arrived and, contrary to the manner of all other customer service personnel, was actually quite rude and argumentative. On top of this, her attire was inappropriate - showing excessive cleavage. She was clearly frustrated and irritated, and made myself and the cashiers aware of it. She said it was not right and she’d have to find the original pants. I helped her find them, but she insisted again that the original cashier should not have done what she did. I explained that I could’ve shown up without the receipt and received a $34.99 store credit instead, and in a very snarky tone, she responded - “Yeah, I know!”. It was fortunate that the “lower-ranking” and front-line staff conveyed a client-centered attitude, but quite unfortunate that the manager did not demonstrate this attitude to them, not to mention to the customer.
Thank you for a good company - offering valuable services with generally excellent employees.
Doug
November 30th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
Okay… it might not exactly be free… but if you buy Kraft products, you can send away for FREE Crayola stuff. You enter the code inside the product and it tells you what you win. Last year I think I entered all of my codes too late as I got a lot of the ‘free’ computer games you download. But this year I have received 2 packs of Window Writer markers, erasable pencil crayons and decoding markers. Yeah! Doug was a nice boy and bought me the cheese slices that had the giveaway on them! He’s so good to me.
November 27th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
Last night, some friends and I were at the mall and then decided to peak at the Christmas stuff just inside the door at Toys R Us. I was prepared to look at the stuff just at the front and then my friends wanted to go and explore the rest of the store. What a great place. I have been known to go there by myself but it was so much fun with friends. I think the highlight is the new Home Depot toys. They have a jack hammer, drill, grinder, chain saw… they all light up and make great sound effects.
October 31st, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping, Books |
Well, I logged into Chapters.ca today and low and behold, they sell used books now. They have revamped their website a little and it includes used books…. and iPods.
EDIT: Well, just looked up a used book… and Alibris is the seller. Interesting.
September 6th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
Okay - we just saw the best “What Not to Wear Episode”, and it was for a superstar: Megan Slankard. She’s this 20 year old rocker (reminds me of Avril Lavigne, but dare I say with more class) who had a “nouveux hippy” look redone into the most amazing gorgeous style. And the best part of the episode was how hard a time she was having, but how willing and trusting she was to go along. The second best aspect of the show was that there were a couple of things that she strongly believed in and she stuck up for herself, and it worked for her. So now I wanna get some of her music — “it’s too bad, you saw me naked…”
August 29th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
I found a great website today called Freecycle where people post things they want to get rid of. You are also able to post what you are looking for. It is a yahoo group thing and you are able to narrow it down by area, ie. Toronto. So, you can go to a garage sale from your computer!
July 31st, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
An Ottawa shopping trip is a great way to spend a rainy summer Saturday. We had our biggest ever shopping trip at MEC, and bought:
A 115L dry bag (it’s frickin’ huge!) which replaces one of our backpacks so now we have a dry big backpack, and a not so dry big backpack. I think we can fit everything now.
Pants for Jenn and I - we were using flannel pants or hospital scrubs, and those just aren’t outdoorsy enough
A long sleeved shirt for me (keep me warm on my upcoming solo camping trip - woo hoo!)
A compass (so I don’t get lost, or at least am perceived as even more imcompetent when I do)
A first aid kit (to assist me in my “adventures”)
Headlamp - it’s cute, and bright, and long lasting
Thermarest chair, so at least one of us will be comfortable at the campfire (ah, there are always logs and rocks for the other person aka me)
Fuel cannisters for the gourmet meals we’ll be preparing (like Easy Mac (aka KD), oatmeal, tea, and uh… well, that menu is what we’ve gotta work on over the next 2 weeks)
We wanted to buy a water filter but the one we selected was sold out, so we’ll try to buy it from Peak Experience and if they don’t have it we’ll see if MEC can ship in time, and if not then we’ll have to pop by the Toronto store… and if they don’t have it, well,… I guess we’d settle for another type.
Then we bought pastries at a downtown bakery (I almost bought some pate - you shoulda seen the selection!) and had dinner at a pub. Usually when we go to Ottawa we arrive late, dash around, and head home ASAP, but this time we planned it out a little more and took our time - 12 hrs. It was nice. I wonder if someday I’ll end up working in Ottawa.
July 26th, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
Well, I bought a new pair of running shoes but I don’t think they work for me… and I think I have used them too much to return them. Argh. Hate that.
July 2nd, 2004 -- Posted in Shopping |
I made a spontaneous purchase, and in so doing, made a discovery about Kingston. I bought a Tilley. I figured that I’ll be spending alot of time in the outdoors while canoeing, hiking, camping, reading and gardening - and I may as well get the most out of the lifetime warranty while I’m young (and will own it for 50+ years). These hats are phenomenal. Yeah, they’re like 5 times the price of similar hats, but they’re way better, and you get a lifetime of exchanges when they wear out. So cool - and Canadian - as Canadian as hockey, canoeing, and talking about the weather.
And in so doing, we discovered Dover’s Men’s Wear. This is a store which has always carried the impression of being one of those snooty men’s fancy stores (Jenn even said that to Darren, the manager!). I had been in there before but the older salesmen always eyed you as if you were going to walk off with something, and their clothing seemed too fancy and unpractical (and too expensive). The first girl (ah, it’s nice to see a girl in a menswear shop - you can actually trust that your bride will concur with their opinion) was cheerful and funny and easy-going. She then referred us to “the expert” (Darren) and he was similar in a helpful and cheerful but not overbearing way. Now, you should know that all bets were on me to look around and walk out with a brief “well, I’ll think about it” - but something magnetic inspired me to heck with it - just go for it. Part of that was that I really wanted a nice hat, and part was the exceptional sales (the perfect balance). After the purchase he even asked what we thought he could do to improve the image of the store. Amazing!
We whine about bad service enough that it’s our joyful obligation and wish to highlight the good ones out there - and Dover’s Men’s Wear gets that recommendation!
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