Today Hestia and I went shopping with Brad’s mom, aunt, and cousin! We had a girl’s day out! While I was out shopping with them, Brad went to see a movie with his dad and brother. Family time rocks!
They picked me up in the morning, and we headed over to Ross first. Hestia has only been in that store once before, and she was very very good in there! We had a good time looking all around at stuff! Only Brad’s aunt and cousin found things in Ross, but they got some good deals.
Next we headed to TJ Maxx. I’m in that store a lot for dog training and testing, but very rarely do I actually get to look around at the things sold in the store and shop there! We had even more fun in TJ Maxx!
I had been looking for a new cross-body purse, and found a really nice one in TJ Maxx. I found two things I could eat in the food section– both were dried fruit that didn’t have any sugar added! But it was pretty expensive, so I didn’t get any. We have plenty of much cheaper and really tasty dates at home.
While we were in the store, Brad’s mom got a few pictures of me, Hestia, and cousin Tamara!
We also checked out the dog aisle, looking for some freeze dried treats. We didn’t find any, but Tamara found the CUTEST dog toy! It is a sloth with rainbow fur and a unicorn horn that squeaks! It is perfect for Ollie, so Tamara and Nancy bought it for him!
When it was time to check out, the lady in front of me in line turned around to leave and saw Hestia approaching. She stopped right there in front of the checkout counter and tried to have a conversation with me about Hestia! I reached around her to hand my purse to the cashier. Answered the lady’s questions as the cashier rung me up, and then had to reach around the lady to hand the cashier the money! The lady had no awareness of anybody but herself. That’s pretty common, though, when people see a dog apparently.
Hestia was really good in TJ Maxx! Normally when we go there she is very amped up because she’s expecting to see another SD team, so she isn’t very well behaved. But she was very very good today! I was really happy about that.
Next we went to lunch at Cracker Barrel which was really really tasty. I got my two favorite things there, Hashbrown Casserole and Fried Okra. Yummmmmm! And their biscuits were the winner of the meal, so so tasty!
We had a good time looking around in Cracker Barrel and I found some shirts I liked but unfortunately they weren’t on the sale rack.
Finally we ended up at Lidl which is a grocery store. I had only been in there once before, like two years ago when it first opened. I had forgotten it even existed as I never drive by that area. They had a lot of great stuff and low prices! I was very excited to see this, as it was cheaper than Publix but seemed to have a lot of good items. They don’t have quite as much stuff as Publix, but they will be in our regular rotation of grocery stores for sure.
Though I think on Monday we will try Harris Teeter as we are in need of frozen veggies and apparently they have the cheapest prices on frozen veggies in the area. So many stores to try out!
It was SUCH a fun outing! I really am so lucky to have Brad’s family nearby, they are my family, too. I love them all so much, and we all have a great time together. When I’m with them, I don’t feel like I joined their family halfway through my life, but like I’ve known them forever.
When we got home, I was exhausted! I waited until Brad got home to give Ollie his new toy and he LOVED it! I gave it to him and he was playing away when I realized Hestia was sitting there looking forlorn. So I got out another of her mouse toys (we got a multipack) and gave that to her. Both dogs had a great time playing, and I got several pictures.
Pictures of our outing and the toys below! I am a woman with long curly hair wearing purple guinea pig leggings and a grey top. Tamara is a woman with curly blond hair wearing a blue top. Hestia is a small white and black Japanese Chin wearing her galaxy service dog vest. Ollie is a large grey Standard Poodle in a very short haircut.
