Money well spent!

Good afternoon faithful readers and friends! So far I'm keeping my promise of blogging more often. Right now I'm blogging and watching The Next Food Network Star. Now Penny and Chris have gone and the gang just moved to New York. Who will go this week?

I swear on Sundays I could stay glued to Food Network ALL DAY! Top Chef Just Desserts, Chopped, Grill it, Next Food Network Star, Food Network Challenge.....

You know I've been shopping for some shoes.....Not Fall shoes but summer shoes, let's face it the deals are too good to pass up!

You remember these.....

30$ at Clark's (originally 90$)

Last week I got these.....

Mock Birkenstocks from Joe Fresh.

Regular 30$ clearance price 10$! Woohoo!!!

And last but not least my super girly sandals....

The heel is a short pink wedge and they are so comfortable!

Regular price 50$ sale price 20$. Another super deal!

I love being thrifty! So for 60$ I got 3 pairs of shoes

SWEET!

Hope you sunday afternoon is sunny and lazy!

Thrusday Deliciousness

Last thursday we decided to stay downtown and shop/windowshop and get a bite to eat.

We stopped at a couple of small independant shoe stores. Let me tell you the experience was quite refreshing and thrifty! I found a pair of oh so girly sandals with a big pink flower on top for 20$. These would've sold for 50$ or 60$ at chain stores....I'll do a special post on the shoes soon.

But shopping makes me hungry! So we ahead to one of our faves Chinatown restaurant: Mon Shing on de La Gauchetiere street. This one definitely qualifies as an old fashion dive the decor is ugly, dingy and border line dirty but the food is cheap, tasty and plentiful!

                                               Beef Chow Mein. Just after we started digging in.

Chow Mein? What Chow Mein? LOL It was delicious!

Before we had enjoyed a delicious shrinp wonton soup. The damage with taxes? 13$ for 2. Now that is my kind of meal! They even brought some fortune cookies and orange sections as a refreshing dessert.

 This place is really popular at lunch time. It is packed with office workers. The downside? The service is often indifferent even obnoxious but I feel it's part of the Chinatown experience.

Now at work we used to have a cafeteria....It was very affordable but not that profitable so they closed it down. They opened a Presse Café which is like a cheap Starbucks, the food is ok but for a luch you can't spend less than 9$ which is quite expensive in my book.

Over the last few months I  found a couple of places that have great eats and are easy on my wallet.

The Clafoutis is one. This is a downtown staple that has been opened for at least 20 years. It is soooo popular that if you want to buy lunch there you have to arrive around 10:30 AM, yes siree bob! Other wise you spend most of your lunch break waiting!

This is the sashimi salad. It is like a deconsructed sushi roll and it is FABULOUS. Party in your mouth fabulous! It was generous with tempura,avocado, great salmon

fresh veggies and a wafu vinaigrette to die for! It was the perfect friday lunch :)

I hope to post again tomorrow and show you my new shoes and part of tonight's supper!

Have a great night! 

Stuff I brought back...

Thanks for all the comments on the last post. It was so fun eating @ the Maine Diner. It would definitely be one of my regular spots if I lived in the area. I would try everything on the menu, even the New England boiled dinner, which you probably all know is boiled corned beef, boiled cabbage,boiled potatoes,boiled carrots....Sorry if I made you eat pig out, ditch your diet or fantasize too much about fried food....Believe it or not here @ casa de Vonlipi it is diet time too, well not really diet but changing the way we eat time and I'm proud to report I lost the Maine weight in record time!

Before the Maine escapade I was on a really strict low fat low card diet and I was hungry and angry all the time, the cats were startying to look mighty tasty! Now we are on the GI diet (glycemic index) and we eat all the time and just good for us food, so we'll see.

I'm sure you're wondering if I made purchases in Maine...besides the big bowl in the snow.

Of course I bought interesting things in Maine....

Not the cat! The Crazy Daisy casserole! I didn't have that size and I didn't have any casserole with the small flowers, 3 $ @ Cliff's in Scarborough. Boubou is garding it with his life, good Boubou.

I alway try to have some kind of linen on top of my stove to protect it from spatter. I found this vintagey looking tea towels at Crate and Barrel in Kittery, half price so both for 5$.

Don't they look good with my vintage Tupperware spoon rest from the Sally Ann? That was .99cents and I already started to melt it (accidentaly of course).

Here's Bob glancing at the Autumn Harvest glass canister I found @ Cliff's too....It was 5$ and I was glad to fork it because I'd never seen one in person!

Here it is in all its vintage glory, I will probably put peanuts in it.

I did buy other cool stuff that I was too lazy to capture, but will probably do so in the next few days....

Now about outlet shopping. It was really exotic to go to Kittery for me. I don't really shop retail since I don't work and when I do it's mostly stuff for the house or cheap clothes (like Joe Fresh). I realised I didn't want to go to Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein (their clothes don't usually fit me), I had no use for Le Creuset (yes they have an outlet) and I don't have kids....So I settled on 3 stores:

Crate and Barrel, now I love seeing all these housewares. Piles of votives,pyramids of glasses,barrels of linens. That store makes me weak in the knees

Yankee Candles, I love seeing all those colors...., the jars all in neat rows, the smells! Speaking of smells...I'm often overwhelmed when I go there and I usually reach for my inhaler! LOL

I don't see the use in the BIG jars (how big can  a candle be!). I bought one once and I got sick of it and threw it away....But I usually dig in their bargain bins and bring home a small jar @ 50%off. I understand that for a lot of my american readers a Yankee Candle is something familiar and everyday, but here in Québec very few store sell them and they are crazy expensive!

Bass Shoes, I was always in love with their shoes as a teenager...Top siders, penny loafers,clogs....

In the last few years I got 2 pairs of penny loafers (yes I have pennies and nickels in my shoes) and I love them. This year I wanted some winter boots because mine are taking water and let's face it they stink.

Well I found quite the deals!  

This one is dark purple! Perfect for shovelling snow!

This one is a bit dressier and is water repellant.

I got both pairs for 80$ a saving of 210.00$. Now my feet will be warm and dry and un-stinky (for the time being!)

So that's it for today! Stay warm and keep thrifting! :)