Five years ago if you would have told me my husband would grow a beard, own a pair of hiking shoes {because apparently guys don’t wear sneakers here} and be looking for a reason to go grocery shopping…. I would have thought you were nuts.
But these days, he buys his own man products {just beard balm and deodorant but still, MANGO BUTTER!!!} pretty much does all the grocery shopping {although ALDI is MINE!} and is pitching in and making half {or more} of the meals these days. It’s sort of wild. He drives a tractor, he hauls wood, takes Lucy for walks, gets the mail, has time to watche sports on the telly {he signed up for HULU!} and I don’t know, in just a matter of a four months, he has done a total 180 and turned into this totally NORMAL guy.
The transformation from working 70-80 hours a week for the past 25 years, to working half that {and now from home!} has been fascinating to watch unfold. Stress, has left the building. And I LOVE IT. I feel like after all this time, I finally have the guy I fell in love with back. It’s awesome. He’s happier, I’m happier and we are looking forward to the next chapter on this crazy ride. Which I have a feeling, will involve a lot of snow. 😉
Market Basket $33.12
If you live in the Northeast and have a store that you think can top Market Basket, please let me know because my husband is obsessed with this store. Every time he returns from Market Basket I get a run down of how the place was packed, how he wants to try something from the deli counter {but there is always a line} and the prices, and cleanliness and yada yada yada. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool but still, it makes we wonder if we are missing anything. Also, variety is the spice of life, right?
This past week I tagged along and shortly after walking in the door I head a man say get the carriage to his wife… not get the shopping cart…. but get the carriage. And it made me smile.
Also, bulk candy. Remember that?
And honor boxes. I wonder how many little old ladies put a nickle in their coat so they can grab a Tootsie Roll to enjoy while they shop?
Have you ever bought peeled hard boiled eggs before? 6 for $1.99 is not a bad price for convenience food really, but the fact that the peeled hard boiled eggs would possibly be sitting on a refrigerated shelf in a grocery store for 60+ days kind of grosses me out for some reason. Maybe I’m weird. Maybe I’m the only person who would notice something like that.
ALDI $30.34
PSA: The spectacular Christmas cheese, cracker and chocolate selection everyone has been talking about on the blog this year HAS NOT arrived at ALDI yet.
But I did find something new to try.
Vanilla. It’s expensive everywhere.
Sugarbush Cheese and Maple Farm in Woodstock, Vermont $33.50
Cheese glorious cheeeeeeeeeeeese! We ended up buying 4 different varieties of cheeses from Sugarbush and I can’t wait to peel back the wax coating and dive into them in just a few days once I’m finished working my way through the Valley Food Storage 1 Month Food Gluten Free Value Food Storage Kit is over on the 31st {just in time for Halloween!} 🙂
I already have my day planned:
- Breakfast: Lemon Tart or other delicious pastry from La Maison Navarre
- Lunch – Almond filled croissant and a London Fog from Lil’s Cafe
- Dinner – The biggest platter of pickety bits on the planet
Have a great Monday everyone,
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $96.96
Total Spent in October $218.57 <– Stocked up on cheese {because cheese is life}
Total Spent in September $180.97
Total Spent in August $259.90 <– $30 on salami splurge
Total Spent in July $276.56 < – $38 Spent on Amish meat and cheese
Total Spent in June $206.47 <- Attempting once a month grocery shopping
Total Spent in May on Groceries $216.50 <- Included a stock up trip to King Arthur Flour
Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 <- Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Susan says
Ha, my friends and I joke about how much we talk about Market Basket! If you go to some of the busier ones (Salem, MA or Lynn, MA), it’s bananas, but the selection and care is so good. Plus, they’ve got nearly every register open with a bagger, so even though it’s usually pretty crowded, it’s still efficient. Except that deli line. Ugh, I refuse to wait for that anymore. I like Aldi’s and Trader Joe’s, too, but MB will always be my go-to.
Just wait for the first big Nor’Easter or big holiday. You will not believe how crazy MB will get. Checkout lines will snake to the back of the store and you won’t be able to get a carriage( yes, carriage, ;)).
Jenny says
Yes, my husband’s beard has its own fancy products and its own brush. Very manly 😉
Melinda W says
Most eggs in the store are already a month old by the time they get there, or so I’ve read multiple times online. I’ve gotten the boiled eggs before when life was crazy and I needed something quick to eat, but then things slowed down and I got chickens and quail. Fresh eggs are so much better, and boiled quail eggs are awesome, easy, and super cute to make deviled eggs with. 🙂
Teresa says
That price on vanilla is not that bad. Our Costco here (outside Portland, Oregon) for a quart is $39.99 exactly the same price as the one you saw. I was going to make my own vanilla but the cost of the beans is prohibitive. Sometimes you just have to bit the bullet and pay for what you need/want. The pre-boiled eggs…ewww.
Janet says
Mavis, I am so very happy for you and the HH. I’m happy that stress is gone and you feel like you’ve gotten your man back. What wondrous adventures await you both! Thanks for showing just how great marriage can really be. We certainly need more of that in the world!
Mim says
So good that New England and the change in work life has been so positively transformational for your husband. Isn’t physical labor wonderful for giving you a true sense of accomplishment? In so many jobs, you leave the office or the computer feeling like there is as much work left undone as there was when you started the day. And many times, if you try to think of a truly tangible accomplishment, you can’t. It’s all so nebulous. But splitting a pile of logs, stacking a cord of wood, even mowing the lawn or plowing the driveway (not to mention building a chicken coop) — there are things you can stand back and look at with real satisfaction. And when you dive into a hearty dinner and then to an early bed, you feel like you’ve earned it.
Good for him and good for you! Looks like the second half of your married life will be a wonderful adventure.
LaToya says
Did you notice on those eggs it says ALLERGENS: EGGS?
Like they have to say if you are allergic to EGGS, there are EGGS in the hard-boiled EGGS.
Gave me a chuckle …
Mavis Butterfield says
Seriously, the packaging police are nuts these days.
Melinda W says
I tend to get snarky when I have to help cater in meals for work, and always put a “Caution: nuts may contain nuts” on any bowls of nuts. 😉
LaToya says
LOL!
Charla Echlin says
Quick question for you. Does your grocery budget include your meals out each month? Just curious to how much you spend total on foos each month.
Thanks Mavis. I’ve been following you for over 6 years now, I sometimes am overwhelmed by all you accomplish in a day, you have been blessed with many wonderful skills. I appreciate all of your tips!!
Charla says
Food, not foos!!
Mavis Butterfield says
We budget about $150 a month for date days now. If we eat out, it comes from that money, if we bring it home {like the cheese from Sugarbush} it comes out of our grocery money.
Susan says
Forget the vanilla. Has anyone priced pine nuts lately? I thought I’d get some to put in my broccoli salad (turns out lucky for me I had some leftover in the fridge) but suffered extreme sticker shock. $17.99 at Ralph’s for a little bag of like 4 oz. Nevermind!
Kari says
I’m so happy for you and your HH. I’m counting down the days (or few years, actually) until I get my husband back. You give me hope of good things to come. Thanks for the encouragement!
He surprised me and took today off after returning from a week of hunting, and is currently putting some sort of mystery bird in the crockpot for dinner. I think I could get really used to this. I’m not sure about the beard though! 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
At first, he kept asking like every 10 days for me to cut his hair…. I like the beard though, it’s something different. 🙂
Helen in Meridian says
Beware. My dh came with a beard and 45 years later I have yet to see his whole face. Love hims just the way he is. I do have to groom him when he starts looking like one of the 10 most wanted, tho.
Pauline in Upstate NY says
Hey, Mavis — If you live anywhere near one, take a look at Wegmans; they are consistently either #1 or #2 on the favorite regional grocery store polls (the other being Publix, to give credit where it is also well-deserved!). Wegmans’ prices are pretty good, their produce is excellent, their store brand products are really good, and they just plain *shine* in customer service. I tend to use a mix of my local Wegmans, Aldi, and local farmers, plus a quarterly trip to Costco (a 65 mile drive each way!)
Regina martin says
Yep, I was just scrolling down to say Wegmans! Love it!
Regina martin says
Yep, Wegmans for me!
Kara says
I second that. I love Wegmans!
Emily Decker says
I third Wegmans, though I don’t have a Market Basket to compare to. My three go-to stores are Aldi, Wegmans and the farmers market.
Marybeth says
I would keep several nickels in my pocket for the MaryJanes. I love them and they are hard to fins. HB eggs that sit for 60 would freak me out. You are not the only one.
Lissa says
Adore those windmill cookies. Eat one, eat the package. How are your kids doing these days? Has your son been out to visit yet? Fascinating how marriage changes and especially wonderful when it’s for the good.
DebbieB says
I love to visit coffee shops and cafes and thanks to you, my new favorite drink is a London Fog. I like it with almond milk. I probably never would have tried one if I hadn’t read your blog and how much you like them!
MEM says
We live in a suburb West of Boston and have a very popular Market Basket (MB). People come from at least five surrounding communities in order to shop there. My husband loves MB and since he does all of the shopping (while I work full-time outside the home) he gets to choose where to shop. He pretty much sticks to MB and Costco. I went to Aldi once and hated it – poorly lit, grubby, half the freezers weren’t working, the produce was past its sell-by date, most of the food was highly processed, only one cashier. No thanks. I asked my husband about MB’s Deli queue. He said the trick is to get a number and start shopping. Check periodically to see if your number is getting near. He rarely waits more than a few minutes using this technique. He shops there several times a week. We do like Wegman’s but its not convenient – only if we happen to be shopping at the Burlington Mall. I have never liked Stop and Shop and the prices at Shaw’s and Star Market are higher than MB.
Grace says
What’s gross about purchasing hard-boiled eggs is not knowing who peeled them. Balls of germs!
Sue says
I see the boiled eggs in prepared containers and no I don’t buy. It’s just wrong, takes only a few minutes to boil your own and know they are fresh.
Just love opening your mail everyday, it’s one big adventure and I love it.
CTBaraingMom says
We’ve been using the ALDI vanilla with no problems. Sure homemade is better but too expensive at the moment.
Great choices of fancy cheese!!