Shopping

I spent this morning getting some rather necessary items for the upcoming school term.

I started out at Target and got 150 sheets of college-ruled paper, an 80 page college-ruled notebook and a folder for $1.54. Then I went to Big Lots and got a heavy vinyl shower-curtain liner for $5 to use as a dropcloth for when I paint. I was about to drive to this Portuguese store I found online when I remembered that I needed shoes I could walk to campus in.

So I drove about ten feet away to a Payless Shoe Source (I did look at Target but they didn't have anything nice) and I found three really nice pairs of shoes. One was silver for $9, one was bronze for $12 and one was bronze for $17. I definitely chose the silver ones, but spent nearly an hour trying to decide which pair of bronze ones I was going to buy - I loved the expensive pair more, but the cheaper pair was really more sensible, so I ended up buying them. I'm going to wear them a few hours a day to slowly break them in, and hopefully avoid blisters.

After I got the shoes I finally drove to the Portuguese store. It was fairly easy to find, but there was a ton of traffic on the highway. It's a pretty small store, but the first thing I saw when I walked in was bottles and bottles of Casal Garcia! It's $8 a bottle, so it's definitely special occasion wine, but it's good to know that I can get it. I also found cans of Sumol ($25 for 24 cans) and best of all...drumroll please...Super Bock beer!!



We can't get it in Florida, so I sucked it up and decided to buy it. At $7 for a 6-pack, it's cheaper than any of the other decent beers I can get here, so it's totally a good investment for a special-occasion beer.

They also have chorizo and smoked linguisa, so I have a supply for when Thanksgiving rolls around. It also occurred to me that just making stuffing every once in awhile and having a week's worth of meals in the fridge might be a good idea. Especially during exam weeks...just a thought! I also saw bags of bacalhau and wheels of cheese, so it's definitely a "special treat" store.

And, on Fridays and Saturdays they have fresh pasteis de bacalhau for $1.25 each. That's not too expensive, definitely something to think about.

I'm trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight that I can have a beer with. Probably roast chicken and potato again. I feel so sorry for those people who subsist off of Ramen and mac n cheese.