AN ALDI PRIMER

To begin my little series on Aldi here is some background on the store. Primarily a grocery store, Aldi is a European company based in Germany. Aldi has been operating in Europe for some time, but is fairly new to the U.S. The same company owns Trader Joe's, and many in the U.S. are familiar with their wonderful (and thoughtful - no high fructose corn syrup!) assortment of foodstuffs. Aldi (like Trader Joe's) concentrates on food, and also sells cleaning products (laundry and dish detergent), paper products (plates, toilet tissue etc.) and personal items (shampoo, soap, body lotion, feminine hygiene etc.)but Aldi also has weekly specials that have run from slow cookers to men's work boots to 400 thread count sheets (at $35!!)in the 3 years I have been shopping there.
I am an informed consumer,a foodie, a label reader who eats well and I love this store. The prices are very low and this is not because of inferior product but the structure of the entire process. For example, at Aldi there is only one brand of saltine cracker. This is the Aldi brand and the crackers are of the highest quality (obviously outsourced from a major producer as Aldi is not a food manufacturer). Offering only the Aldi house brand means lower prices. I have done my grocery shopping almost exclusively at Aldi for years, have never been disappointed in the food and love the savings! Before Aldi I shopped at 2 markets that are considered very nice - and I don't miss them at all.
Be aware that you need a quarter to unlock a shopping cart, but you will be refunded when you return the cart to the corral. At Aldi you bag your own groceries($avings!) but here's my tip on that: grab a few banana boxes while shopping (they are sturdy and have handles built in) and keep them in the trunk of your vehicle. After checkout - which is super fast, they are timed on this - take your cart to your car and unload (no bags!) sorting as you go. When you get home it's sort of like an old movie: groceries delivered in a box AND the stuff is sorted for putting away. Go on try the fresh mozzarella, dark chocolate bars or the chibatta bread and tell me this is 'generic, inferior' food. I dare you.
Do not be afraid of Aldi.
Disclaimer: I am not employed by or paid by or anything by Aldi. I am just a foodie on a budget who is happy that they are in my heighborhood.
And now they have begun shelving their Lacura line of cosmetics - which I will review in this series.

Happy New Year

It's been ages! I didn't publish one whiny post. You're welcome:) And that was it for 2 months?

I know I said I'd take a blog break. Then I posted and said well maybe I'll post sometimes, it clears my head. And then...,.nothing. It's a curse being born on the cusp of Gemini/Moon Child.....I really do have 3 (or more) personalities/ways to think about things.

Anyway -

Writing, regularly, was one of the primary reasons I started blogging - something I do for me. I started and found a bit of a rhythm over time. Then it became a chain. I'd like to make it
meditative, responsive and regular - just like my workouts/playing music/and other things I
should be doing for me.


With work, 3 teenagers and all the rest of 'my' life draining my essence I sincerely need to claim more of my own turf.

I have posted a picture on my blog profile. My upcoming series will be a review of Aldi's cosmetic
line Lacura and I want to be able to show some photos to illustrate my reviews, so I'm experimenting with self portraiture a la La Bella Figura and Euro Chic. I don't think I'll really be able to show makeup/skin in enough detail by photographing myself in my bathroom, but this is one of the test shots.