Whole Foods

So when my husband asked if I wanted to move away from the land of my birth, and having my children's grandparents one mile away, one of my very first questions was, "Is there a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's and a Wild Oats?"

Had the answer been 'no' it would have been a total deal breaker. I am frugal to extremes. I almost never buy clothes or make up. I cut my hair once a year. I use the library instead of buying books and CDs. My kids wear second-hand clothes, and I keep our thermostat set so low that family members pack extra clothing when they come to visit us.

Food is not something I skimp on. I look for good deals there, too, but have no problems shelling out all sorts of money for locally raised meat and local veggies and eggs fresh from the farm. I'll take fresh and local over organic, but prefer all three.

I also appreciate that those stores tend to have some of the foods of home that I miss. After we'd been here a little less than a year, I popped into the closest grocery store because I was in the mood for rugelach. After wandering around for awhile, I realized that Ohioans don't generally know what rugelach is unless they're Jewish. For me, it was just a food I grew up with, something perennially at the grocery store and bakery. I can also find paneer and Irish butter. (Unrelated, but still two yummy favorites.)

Benjamin is turning 8 tomorrow. He decided that instead of a birthday cake, he wanted a bunch of different pastries from the bakery at Whole Foods. So, today I went and wandered the store while my kids were all in school. I felt like a little kid myself, practically slobbering on the glass as I tried to pick out a few yummies. I'll post a picture of my selections tomorrow with pictures of Benjamin's birthday, but here's a picture from Whole Foods to tide you over until then. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............