The Jedi Master at Trader Joe's

Today, inspired by Poor Girl Eats Well, Madison and I took a trip to Trader Joe's. I have been to TJs a few times before- long enough to grab a few bottles of wine and get a feel for the granola-loving atmosphere, which appeals to me. It never occurred to me, however, to buy groceries there, since the nearest Tjs are an hour away.

After reading the PGEW posts about Trader Joe's, I decided to give it a try. After all, we routinely drove to Eugene to go to Costco before Costco came to Albany. I decided to go to Eugene rather than Portland because I just like Eugene better.

Our first stop was the Eugene Goodwill, where housewares are crazy cheap. I got a fondue set for $4.00 and a nice big salad spinner for $3. I really needed that salad spinner.

Then, we got to Tarder Joe's, which is in a retail center with Old Navy, Borders, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. In we went.
It sure was crowded in there, with people who were in a hurry and knew what they wanted. I on the other hand, had nothing but time and a desire to look at everything. The price labels are kinda hard to find, they are on the shelf either above or below the item, and maybe a little to the left or right. They are hand written, and sometimes have interesting tidbits like, "Delicious in salads!" I guess everyone else had already read these.
I found a couple loaves of bread- not cheap, but seemingly free of chemicals. I noticed they had a great selection of single-serve salads, so I bought one for lunch. Madison got a little tray of California Rolls.
We skipped over much of the fresh fruit and vegetables. PGEW had mentioned that the selection is small and the vegetables come pre-bunched. I really like the produce I get locally, so I already had my mind made up not to spend a lot of time or money on fresh produce.

The freezer aisles, however, were awesome. I found the shrimp for $5.99, and I picked up a couple frozen lunches and some pizza thingies. While we were in the frozen food, a little girl came up to Madison and practically shoved her half-eaten fruit leather in her face, smiling. "Have you found Yoda yet?" she asked.
Madison looked at her like you would look at any kid who asked if you had found Yoda yet.
The girl's mom saw that we thought her kid was nuts, so she let us in on a TJs secret. There is a Yoda doll hidden in the store, and if kids find it, they get a free piece of fruit leather from the sample guy. The little girl pointed to Yoda, tucked in behind the Aisle 6 sign. Madison thanked her and went to claim her bounty.

We ended up spending about a hundred dollars, and the value will be determined by how much we like what we bought. I got a lot of new things to try, like gnocchi, which I have always wanted to try, but never had. We had it for dinner tonight and the gnocchi itself was okay, the three cheese marinara sauce I put on it was gnucky.
I bought canned Aloe Vera to try. To eat, like fruit! We shall see.
I bought a bottle of Charles Shaw Australian Chardonnay, and I wish I had bought a lot more. It is really really good. Worth the drive.