Thursday 29 September 2011

Shopping in the USA!

I had such a blast last weekend shopping with the family. It was such a nice getaway! We had a ton of laughs, spent way too much money, and came home with some fabulous finds.


We left on Friday around noon from Goderich and headed straight to Sarnia to cross into the states. Aunt Dianne, Steph and I had a great visit while taking back roads to get to the border. Unfortunately it was raining, but we didn't let that get our spirits down. Once we got to Sarnia there was quite a wait to head over the bridge. 


We sat there for almost an hour, and then once we got to the other side they started to open more lanes and it went quite quickly. Aunt Val, Elise and Andrew drove down separately, and once we were at the bridge, they had just come up to the toll. Their wait time definitely wasn't as long as ours, because we met them at Hobby Lobby almost 20 minutes after we had arrived at the store. I guess once those lanes opened up it went super fast. Either that, or Andrew has a lead foot.


We spent a lot of time looking around Hobby Lobby including their incredible Christmas section. Stephanie was on the hunt for the ugliest ornament she could find for her office Christmas party this year. Surprisingly, she didn't get this one:




Talk about the ugliest thing you've ever seen! LOL She actually went with a crocodile wearing a tuxedo jacket and shoes on all 4 feet. Trust me, its pretty ugly as well. Andrew and Steph also found this awesome sign that I was soooo tempted to buy:




I just had to make Andrew pose with it. Now that's my kinda turkey! LOL


Our hotel was really nice as well. We stayed at the Springhill Suites, which is very much like the Staybridge Suites or Hampton Inns. The room was quite nice and trendy, and the beds were comfortable. Elise, Steph and I shared one room, while the other 3 took the room across from us. We stuck all of the snorers together.




We ordered a pizza for dinner, and then we headed over to Target to check it out. By the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 10 pm, so everyone headed to their rooms to hang out. Elise and I stayed up talking until around midnight while Steph was passed out. It was really great to spend sometime with her to find out how everything is going.


The next morning we got up early and got ready for a day of shopping! We first hit up TJ Maxx and Marshalls, as well as Burlington Coat Factory. It took us 3 hours to do just those 3 stores, with a few other stores in between. We decided to eat before we bought some more stuff, so we headed to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill. I decided to have a "half plate" of Nachos...




Yep, everything is bigger in the states! I didn't even put a dent in them, however, they were the best nachos I think I've ever had. They had real nacho cheese on them, as well as grated cheddar, and it was topped off with chilis and pulled pork! I was in heaven!


AI fter lunch we were ready to start shopping again and hit up every store we could. I found some clothes, some gifts and a few things for Marc. I got some great deals on the clothing especially and was really happy with my purchases. Great Lakes Crossings is the biggest outlet mall in Michigan, so the family wasn't kidding it was going to be an all day event! We didn't leave the mall until almost 8:30 pm.


Here is what all of our stuff looks like grouped together:




We went back to the hotel, and got some food from a cool little place called Culvers. They had amazing burgers and were insanely cheap. I decided to have a salad since I had eaten complete junk since we had got there, but even the garden salad was awesome. 


The next morning we headed to Kohls and DSW. I really enjoyed looking around Kohls, since I had never been to one, but I didn't find anything for me. I did find an awesome pair of shoes from DSW. Here is a link to the shoes:


http://www.dsw.com/shoe/moda+spana+paula+pump?prodId=231868&category=dsw12cat1290018


Definitely one of my favourite purchases from the trip!


We ate at TGIFridays for lunch, and I had an awesome chicken club sandwich with sweet potato fries. The Foerster clan decided after lunch they were going to head back to Canada, so we headed to Wal Mart, and Meijer for alcohol and a few odds and ends. Mostly I found some more makeup to add to my collection. :) I only bought stuff that I can't find in Canada, and it was drugstore brand, so I behaved. 




By the time we got through the border and back to Goderich, it was around 7:30 pm. All of us were completely exhausted, and ended up going to bed early after showing Uncle Dave all of our new stuff. I headed home early on Monday, after taking a peek at the house on the lake that Steph and Jamie are renting out. Such a beautiful spot, its too bad they won't be there permanently. I'll take some pictures of it when I go there for Thanksgiving.


It was definitely a busy, but fun filled trip, and I can not wait to go back. I would love to get Marc there this summer as a little vacation away, and now that I know its so easy to get to, it would definitely be worth it! 


xo

1 comment:

  1. Hey! looks like you had a fabulous trip. We'll definitely head over there this year since I have the whole summer off!!

    Those nachos look awesome! Its worth it to go just for those..lol

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