Trader Joe's and New Treasures

 The first Trader Joe's in the area recently opened up so we decided to check it out. We always stop in when we are in California--it's a good place to pick up snack food, and hey, we just like hanging out in grocery stores!

In addition to a couple of wine purchases I found plenty of goodies. The trail mixes are always good and there is a huge selection. The Rasin Rosemary crackers are really good, but the standout were  the Kettle Corn Cookies. Who would have thought? I selected them because they sounded so different, but have to say they are really good and will be on the re-buy list.  There were a couple of frozen desserts that looked good, but we weren't going straight home, so those will have  to wait for another visit. Can you tell where my focus is? I go for the fun stuff, but in my defense, there were some tomatoes and ravioli in the shopping cart (my husband added the tomatoes, I won't take credit).

 We've been to a couple of auctions recently and I've found some wonderful treasures. Not so sure where I'm going to put them, but I'll juggle things around a bit till they fit.

 This is a sewing box. The wood and finish are in great shape and the fringe on the inside is even intact. It may be the nicest one I've seen lately.

 I've had a hard time winning the bid on old crockery, but I did get these. They aren't as old as some I've had my eye on, but I like them and plan to fill them will stitchery pillows or rag balls and stuff like that.

The Beatrix Potter figurines were just cute!  I don't have a collection of them but these 3 caught my eye.

This little guy called to me and kept giving me the eye from the table while they auctioned stuff from all around him. He's a cast iron bank and will be happy hanging out with my cast iron doorstops. Who could say no to that face? I was afraid I was going to end up in a bidding war for him, but fortunately it wasn't a metal dog crowd.

I have a "thing" for old suitcases. They don't come up that often and I'm never the only one interested, but I got these. They are in really good condition and don't smell bad (that's an issue and another story). The large trunk we are going to use as a coffee table, replacing the old sled we were using. It is even a shade of red that looks good with the furniture, something I didn't even think of when we spotted them.

Did you notice there weren't any little benches? There were several, a couple I liked, and my husband kept pointing them out to me--but, I'm not sure how many little stools I really need, plus the one I liked best was bundled with a wash tub I didn't want (probably because I think I have one in the garage already), and it went higher than I wanted.

Well, I think we are done here for now. It's time to sew the binding down on a  fall pumpkin wall hanging and start something new. Maybe some pillows for those bowls.

See you soon!