I know I promised to tell you about the ice cream cake we bought for the Superbowl Party.
But to do that I have to to first tell you about my very first trip to Aldi here in Georgia.
Aldi is a small store/large supermarket chain and I was vaguely familiar with the stores from my life in the Midwest.
PhilBillPaul read a sale flyer a few days before Superbowl and pointed out that they had the Carvel football cake we all love so much on sale for $8.99. That is some mad savings and it was totally worth the drive to pick up this cake. That was at least HALF PRICE if not cheaper!!
I decided to ask Wizzy to join me as I like to spend quality one-on-one time with the lovely children whenever possible.
As I drove home to pick up Wizzy, I thought I should call my cousin Sally in Indiana.
I know she has her Aldi bargain shopping down to a fine art and I wanted to know what items she loves and if there were any items she didn’t like.
I was so glad I called her because she gave me a few good tips and reminded me to bring my own shopping bags. I knew that you had to bag your own groceries but I had no idea you had to bring your own bags.
I picked up Wizzy and 4 reusable shopping bags and we headed out for our mother/daughter shopping excursion.
Now some of you may already know this but as an Aldi newbie, we were startled to find that all the shopping carts were locked together.
Since Wizzy works at another more “upscale” grocery store here in town, she found this very amusing.
Thank goodness for the kindness of a stranger who came up to the carts as we were trying to figure out why they were all locked up and she announced with a southern twang:
“Oh, you need a quarter!”
To which we both replied:
“Huh?”
She then graciously told us that we needed to use the quarter in a slot on the cart lock and we’d get our quarter back when we returned the cart.
“Huh?”
Then we fought over who got to put the quarter in the slot to release the cart.
Hey, thanks for the heads-up on this cart system, Sally.
Super fun Friday night, I’m telling you! That’s the kind of mom I am.
Wizzy was a little stressed by all the unrecognizable store brands. I reassured her that while the food was cheap inexpensive, it wasn’t EXPIRED.
I was made painfully aware that my children are a bit of “brand name snobs” and I needed to bring each of them to Aldi in the coming weeks so they can all experience “incredible value every day.”
Roger Leroy loved the cart story and pointed out that it was a smart move so that employees don’t have to go get carts in the parking lot – can you tell what she does in between being a cashier and a bagger at the “upscale” store?
Wizzy also noted that the Aldi cashier got to sit on a stool which she thought would be way better than her grueling shift where she has to actually
stand up and wait on customers.
Meanwhile, we scored THE CAKE for $8.99 along with some other great bargains.
Imagine our distress when we put THE CAKE in the fridge at the beginning of the party and The Grunter’s girlfriend noticed it was made with
PEANUT BUTTER ice cream.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Have you heard anything recently about a little peanut butter recall?
Wait Wizzy…the food they sell isn’t expired…but it might be recalled?!
Mild hysterics began. Guests arrived.
Scary Baby announced to all the guests:
“We have Salmonella Cake for dessert.”
Yum.
Funny kid.
The Grunter googled to make sure no Carvel cakes had been recalled. What did we do before Google? Whew, the cake wasn’t on the list.
The darling twins wouldn’t eat it. Girlfriend said she would. We all watched to see if she got sick. She didn’t.
Guests said they wouldn’t hold it against us. We did have them sign waivers.
Everyone is FINE.
The End.
Have you ever been to Aldi? Any other tips to share for all of us newbies who love a bargain…and need bargains this year more than ever!?
One year ago..
I don’t care who you are, this is just funny. And the funniest part to me is you taking pictures at a grocery store! Who else would have thought of doing this? I’d really like to know. And did you take these pictures with a camera or just maybe a camera phone?
I have to admit I’ve not been to Aldi yet even though we have one here in Snellville. Guess I need to go over and give it a try. I’d have to bypass several other groceries though and I have to admit I’m into convenience. I shop the closest store usually and I’m not much of a bargain shopper either. I know I need to be in this economy but it just hasn’t come home yet, you know?
Thanks for all the pictures and the story. I’m really glad to hear the cake wasn’t on “the List” and you could eat it AND no one got sick. I have another friend that raves about carvel cakes. Guess I need to try one.. maybe I’ll swing by Aldi this afternoon.
Call me crazy, but I just hate being treated poorly by the places where I shop, and in my mind having to put a quarter into the slot to use a cart is being treated poorly. Being required to bring your own bags is being treated poorly. Having to GOOGLE your food choices for safety is being treated poorly. I hate it when a person has to check my receipt to be certain that I’m not walking out with any extra items, especially knowing that 80% of the loss that a store suffers is actually due to employee theft or clerical error. It turns the highly enjoyable feminine act of shopping (even if we’re just talking groceries here) into a DMV experience. Who wouldn’t pay a few extra bucks to avoid the DMV altogether? I have a GA friend whose husband travels and her family is elsewhere. When her three preschoolers came down with chickenpox, hubby was on the road, and the icebox was empty, she called her local “upscale market,” explaining her dilemna. They took her order over the phone, gathered and bagged the groceries, and met her curbside with her order. Aldi would not have done that. WalMart/Sam’s/Costco would not have done that. Yes, she paid more, but she sure got more, too. Instead of looking for cheap, our family is actually looking for better. Instead of 3 lbs. of 80/20 ground beef, we’re going with 1 lb. of London broil. You may have less of it to eat, but the eating sure is better.
@melinda: First, I have to come clean on the pictures. Wizzy and I discussed how bummed we were to not have my camera in my purse on our fun shopping trip. So PhilBillPaul did drive back over there with me while we were running some errands to snap the cart pictures. That’s what happens when you have a blog (I think).
Definitely give Aldi a try and let me know what you think. Be sure to take a kid or two with you. I always like to grab those “teachable moments” and introduce them to a life skill…like where they may be shopping when they move out!!
@julieann: What’s london broil? LOL Okay, I’m kidding but in addition to not eating vegetables, we don’t eat much red meat unless you consider 80/20 ground beef “red meat.” PhilBillPaul and I have pretty basic and plain food tastes and we don’t really consider ourselves fine diners. I’ll take a perfect cheeseburger over a fancy meal any day.
Which leads me to my comment *rebuttal* on the feminine act of shopping…I’m actually going to save that for another post – maybe will even happen this week. Suffice to say one of my personal vices is bargain shopping!!
The quarter carts are still making me giggle and it is a BARGAIN because you get your quarter back…it’s just a deposit and keeps the parking lot free of carts that sometimes roll into the Mercedes and leave a dent!! Bringing your own bags is not poor service – it’s actually the new eco-friendly marketing wave and it seems Aldi was way ahead of everyone on this.
Even if you bought gourmet peanut butter at the “upscale grocery” you probably should google it to check the recall list. Come on, don’t hate on Aldi…give them a try and maybe you can save enough to buy london broil and filet mignon!!!
I absolutely agree with you on good service…which I appreciate no matter where I spend my money. More later on bargain shopping, I promise. Who knows, maybe we can debate
cheapinexpensive vs. better and find out you can actually have both?!P.S. For my teens and their friends, what’s an icebox? ROFL
Ok, I was raised in Indiana on Aldi food. My dad (not a total female thing to go shopping) would go every month and stock up on canned goods and staple items. I have been to the Aldi here in Georgia but just recently revisited the store. I’ve been please so far with my choices. Didn’t like the frozen breakfast sausage. I’ve bought milk, fresh broccoli, green,red, and yellow peppers, pork chops, frozen veggies, bagels, fresh pineapple, cheese and more. The prices out weigh the “name brand”. Very please, especially with the fresh produce. A few tips, I lock my purse in the trunk of the car and only take in my debit card. I have a bad habit of walking away from my cart with my purse in it. By the way, I do that at upscale markets also. Another tip, find a friend who also likes shopping at Aldi, and pass the quarter back and forth to one another. When you do, share your bargains with each other. Think of it as an adventure and smile all the way home!!
@Lisa: Thanks for hot tip on breakfast sausage. That cart/purse tip is always a good reminder and I know I’ve been guilty of it myself. I’ve tried to give that job to PhilBillPaul to be my purse/cart guard but he’s not very good at it!
But…what if someone breaks into your trunk while you’re inside shopping? Hmmmmmm