Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
My Week in Review
Happy Sunday! I hope the week was kind to you. We did a little desk decorating/trick or treating thing at work. It was fun and festive, though I felt it was a bit early. I don't really eat candy, but I did enjoy a few pieces. All the participating teams went for the good stuff.
I had scheduled Friday off a long time ago for my 6 month dental visit. All went well, though my when I told my hygienist that I switched to a natural toothpaste, she did not mince words. Her exact words were that dental work is expensive, get the paste with fluoride. She did suggest some without the foaming agents. I was not happy with the natural stuff anyhow, so it wasn't a hard sell.
I also took care of rolling over my CD that matured at the bank. The rates were terrible. The highest was for a 3 month, so maybe the rates will be better in a few months. Finally got my car in for service too. They really try to up-sell you at the dealership. My car was in for its 18-month service and had less than 3,000 miles. They were trying to sell me $300 worth of engine oils and whatnot. I declined and all my car needed was an oil change. I am glad I finally got all that taken care of.
I got to visit the new supermarket as well. It's called Sprouts and was a new chain for me. I liked it. They had a beautiful veggies and fruit, and a great selection of organic and "clean" products. It's significantly smaller than where I normally shop, and I kind of liked that part. My township had a LOT of supermarkets. We have Wegmans, Shoprite, Pathmark, Lidl, Aldi's, and a Trader Joe's is set to open soon. Crazy. I live really close to all of them, so a lot of options for me. Plus, Target and Walmart both have supermarket sections too.
Speaking of Target, I happened to drop by after the market to see if they had my milk, and their new collaboration with Woolrich was out. I want you to understand that Target opens at 8 am. I walked in at 8.20 am, and the one item I liked was only available in large and extra large. When I got home, I tried to order online, but they wouldn't allow it because of "low stock". I was instructed to go to the store. I just wanted a sweater with sheep on it. My daughter had tried to place an order, had the sweater in her cart, but was too slow and lost it. I know they are trying to thwart resellers, but they tend to keep everyone else from getting the items and NOT the resellers. It was disappointing.
On the Blog
- Monday: Reviews - The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake, Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon
- Tuesday: TTT- For the Love of Austen
- Wednesday: CWW- Such a Bad Influence, Branded
- Thursday: Reviews - Everything's Coming Up Rosie, The Austen Affair
- Friday: Captivating Characters - Nonna Bruna
- Saturday: Sloth Goes Places - Nebraska
Let's Discuss
- The Orangutan Library suggests that if you like this, try that
- Shannon celebrates 12 years of blogging - AMAZING!
- Heather contemplates reading or watching first
Stacking the Shelves
I have had that Watson book on my wishlist and saw it drop to free. I could not resist one-clicking. I will probably download the new Shaffer book as well. I like her books.
Purchased/Free
- Since We've No Place to Go by Kate Watson
Invites
- Motor City Love Song by Lisa Peers
- The Book Witch by Meg Schaffer
Read Last Week
I am happy to say, there were no DNFs this week. It was a rather good actually. Loved the new Webber and Bowen books. These are authors I always enjoy. Webber never fails to deliver a touching, feel-good story with a touch of magic. I can depend on Bowen to write a great sports romance, and this being second chance made it perfect for me. I was surprised but happy that there was no explicit sex. Maybe it's because this was put out by big press instead of her. I was never really into reading the explicit scenes, but I am even less interested now. To each their own, but I can tell you that my lowest rated books this week had more sex than story.
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- I'll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss - ★★★★ 1/2
- The Library of Lost Doll Houses by Elise Hooper - ★★★★
- The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber - ★★★★★
- Thrown for a Loop by Sarina Bowen - ★★★★★
- Branded by Jaci Burton - ★★★
Audiobooks
- Training the Heart by Paisley Hope - ★★★ 1/2
Currently Reading
- Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
- Sweet Pea Summer by Alys Murray
To Be Read
- The Honeycrisp Orchard Inn by Valeria Bowman
- An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister
- And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens
- All He Wants for Christmas by Jill Shalvis
Let us know in the comments!
That's always a struggle when I go service my car too! Also our supermarket are much smaller than yours in Europe. The first time I went to one in the US I felt so lost!
ReplyDeleteWe had so HUGE markets. I really like the smaller one. I thought the selection was decent too. No compromise. I can stop by the other market for things I couldn't get if I had the motivation.
DeleteMy husband has been trying lots of different natural toothpastes and I told him it was a terrible idea. He is trying the more natural deodorants too. He has terrible teeth issues so I know the natural toothpaste isn't a good idea for him. He hasnt been to a dentist in 10 years. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteThe one I picked up is pretty good and has fluoride. Natural deodorant is tough. My sister swears by Lume, I like Curie, but have read good things about Schmidt's which I may try. I couple it with a charcoal detox soap (just for underarms).
DeleteThe office mini-celebration was nice, though very early. And congrats on not letting the dealership suck money out of you LOL. Wow, that's a lot of supermarkets! The only ones I'm familiar with are Lidl and Aldi, but only by word of mouth - they don't have a branch in my town. We only have local (Italian) ones here. So, did you manage to grab that sheep in the end?
ReplyDeleteI missed out on the sheep sweater - very sad, but that's how all the Target collaborations are.
DeleteWe have Sprouts here too but they are a lot more expensive than the regular grocery store I go to. We just got an Aldi and their prices are great! I hate going in to get things done on a car. They always try to upsale you. it's nuts.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I buy expensive items because I didn't notice a huge difference in what I buy.
DeleteWe have Sprouts and Trader Joe’s out here but not the other options. Love Trader Joe’s but they’re 35 minutes away so we stock up when we go. Bummer about Target. I usually sign up for an email to notify me when a sold out item comes back in stock and I usually end up getting it. Have a great wee!
ReplyDeleteAll these markets are under 10 mins from me. I could walk to TJs. I don't think they get restock on the collabs. They are limited. Ho-hum, saved me from buying another sweater that I didn't really need. Just wanted.
DeleteI think we maybe went to a Sprouts in Maryland one time? I can't quite remember. Was it expensive? We do like to shop around a bit but don't necessarily have time to visit every single store every week.
ReplyDeleteSome people think it's expensive because it's all organic, but that's what I have been buying. For me, it's about the same. My mom will go to all the stores, but I will not.
DeleteTrick-Or-Treating at work is something I'd love. I hope you're having a good week!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun, and I got a Baby Ruth too. I could only have been improved had someone brought in Almond Joys
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