Adventures in Shopping: Menu Planning Stuff!

Welcome to my newest feature. Well, actually it's really an old idea reimagined. In the past I've written some posts pertaining to shopping, such as product reviews, money saving tips, etc. And over the Christmas holidays I got this idea to combine these posts under the umbrella of "Adventures in Shopping." In addition to the things listed above, these posts will also include deals that I find. Sometimes I may share something that I got a good deal on (at the thrift store perhaps). Other times it may be a deal at a chain retail store or online that you guys may be able to take advantage of as well. Or it could just be anything that I think might be interesting or helpful to you guys.

I'm going to try to do this once a month. I've got so many different ideas it's hard to schedule everything. For instance, I'd like to do my Sweet Thursday feature once a month too, and then there are just so many other topics to cover in relation to the home plus seasonal topics. I like to get in as many "special features" as I can, but at the same time, I don't like to have a rigid schedule....so I'm conflicted a bit on this. We'll just see what develops.

Anway, for the first Adventures in Shopping post I wanted to share these cute menu planning items that I found a week or two ago. I was at Wal-mart taking advantage of the after Christmas sale when I found them. Perhaps you guys can find them at your local store.

The first item is a notepad, and the second is a flat marker board. Both of these items were $1 each. Great Deal! I guess if you have one, you don't really need the other, but for a dollar, I couldn't pass them up. I had to have both.

The notepad is very cute and colorful. And it has 3 lines for each day of the week. There's also a magnet on the bag so that you can place it on the back of the refrigerator. In addition to using this notepad to write your menu down, I thought it would be good to have one for shopping list purposes. While planning your menu, you could use the notepad to write down extra ingredients that you need at the store. Just a thought.

Or here's another idea. You could use the notepad to write down several menus at a time. Just have one big meal planning sesssion, and then each week, just go to the next page. Your menu will be there, and all you'll have to do is check your inventory and go to the store.

And then there's the board. I love---LOVE this! I thought this was just the cutest! It also has a magnet on the back so you can post your menu on the fridge. And it comes with a dry erase marker, with a little eraser on the end of it and a magnet on the back so that you can place it on the fridge next to your menu board.

All in all, I thought these were excellent deals! Maybe you guys can find them too. I did look online at walmart.com, amazon, and a couple of other places, but I didn't see any notepad or marker boards for meal planning. I guess if all else fails you could make your own!

**Update: I forget to mention that I found these in the lawn & garden (seasonal) section. They were on a four-sided cardboard display, like you might in between two aisles, or out in the middle by itself. It's like the kind where you might see greeting cards, shipping supplies, or calendars. Or you may find them with stationary/school supplies.**

While looking on Amazon I did manage to find this Betty Crocker Cooking Calendar. It's got menu ideas, recipes, and stuff. It's a reprint of an old book I believe, and it looks pretty neat and very retro. I looked at the "preview" of it, and it looks just like an old Betty Crocker cookbook that my mom gave me. I may actually buy this one myself, so itt may be worth your time.

Please tell me what you think of this feature idea. I hope you like it!

(A link to this post, along with tons of other great ideas can be found at WFMW sponsored by Rocks in my Dryer.)


-Jerri