Which is better? Whole Foods or Trader Joes?

Posted on by

So, we all know I’m a Trader Joe’s fan. I like Whole Foods, but I just like Trader Joe’s better. Now if Trader Joe’s would put a store in Robinson, I would be the first one in that store. No seriously. I would probably take the day off from work.

I was talking with my sister-in-law last weekend about the Whole Foods vs Trader Joes debate this weekend and then I got an article in my email the Monday after. It was a sign that I needed to write this post. It didn’t hurt that I had to talk Dan out of buying some pre processed sauce with all kinds of crap in it that I couldn’t pronounce when we were at Target this weekend. He was not happy with me. 

“C”lue-My favorite part of the whole article? “Trader Joe’s claims the following for all products under the “Trader Joe’s” brand name (which is a large percentage of food sold there): “The finest quality, natural ingredients.” NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, NO MSG, NO added Trans Fats.” Are they all healthy for you? No, but they are a heck of a lot better. I didn’t promise I would only eat fruits and veggies this year, just promised I would eat things that are better for me.

“L”ink-Want to read the full article? Check it out here.  I have mentioned the app fooducate before. It rocks. Again I don’t use it for every single thing, but when I’m looking for a better juice/yogurt/bread it’s the first place I check.

“T”houghts- I had to talk Dan out of buying some pre processed sauce with all kinds of crap in it that I couldn’t pronounce when we were at Target this weekend. He was not happy with me.  I don’t have time to read every single label out there, but I try when I can. And let’s be honest. There are some labels I don’t want to read. For example…I love me some Smarties candies. I don’t want to know what is in there. They are just good.

How to save money on your Disney trip…

Posted on by

So, I have been getting a lot of questions lately about how I save money on a trip to Disney. So here are some of my best “practices”. If you have specific questions on your trip, I’m not a travel agent, but always willing to talk Disney and give my opinion if I can! We plan on taking M as much as we can. Not always for a full week, so that is a big money saver. I’m okay with going down there for a long weekend. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad to leave on a shorter trip but if it gets us there more often, I’m good with it.

“C”lue- My biggest one is to go off peak season and the Fall is our favorite time. They usually do some dates with the “free dining plan”, and that is another money saver. If you are going to be down there for some of the days that qualify, you can split your trip up and get the free dining for part of it. Their Halloween event at the Magic Kingdom is phenomenal and it’s Food and Wine festival at Epcot. I know that the older kiddos are in school, and my mom (a retired teacher) will kill me for this, but take them out of school if you can.

“L”ink- The Chase Disney card. This website gives you both options. The pay one will sometimes “pay” for itself within a few months, but you need to look at both options to see which one will work better for you and your family. You can rack up “Disney Dollars” and those can be used to pay for your trip and/or things onsite. The one with an annual fee you can use towards flights as well.

“T”hought- It’s always a debate for us on whether to stay at the Value resorts and upgrade to the dining plan with one sit down meal and one quick service meal (YES! You can do that and just pay the difference!) or to just stay at a Moderate Resort and get the dining plan we want. My best advice on this one? Ask the people at 1-407-W-Disney or your favorite travel agent. They will price out both plans for you. I never try to do it myself on the web. They can do it quicker and somehow always get me better pricing than I see anyway.

Hope this helps and honestly, I’m always open for a Disney talk if anyone has other suggestions or questions!

Another fun (but quiet) activity for the kiddos!

Posted on by

Time for another giveaway for the kiddos!  Click here to enter!

Feltabulous Creations sent me one of their fishing pond play mat roll-ups to review and to give one away!

I love quiet activities for M because she is ALWAYS on the go. This worked great for when we were eating out and waiting for our food to come. It’s nice and compact and fits easily in her bag. It’s great to practice M’s fine motor skills and can practice her counting and colors while “catching” the fish.

We had it with us last week while out for Dan’s birthday dinner.  It was awesome!  Kept her busy the whole time while we were waiting for the food and so I didn’t have to give her “snacks” before the meal came.  She was then still hungry when it came time to eat and I actually got to eat a warm meal!  What is better than that!?! I’m looking forward to having it for on the plane when we head to Florida later this month!

Feltabulous Creations has some other great products too. Check out their Etsy site here.  I LOVE the crayon and marker wallet, and of course the Disney treasure box book.

Feltabulous Creations is offering a 10% off anything over $16.00 until 8/10 friends of The CLT Diaries only!

Use this coupon code on Etsy:  10POFF16D

You must use capital letters!

You can also follow Feltabulous Creations on Twitter @Feltabulous

10555552_702594543163300_2026513803_o10567346_702594709829950_835380295_n

*I was reimbursed in product for this review.  The review of this product is my own opinion.