Target is coming to Canada....big whoop.

I am sure every Canadian shopper now knows about Target buying Zellers with plans to open 100 Targets across Canada by 2013.

Big deal.

Yes.

I said it.

Whoop-dee-doo.

On the surface this sounds very exciting!  No more cross border trips to get the items we want but are denied...for 50-70% off, no less!  Right?!  Right?!????

Wrong.

Walmart is in Canada too....and they didn't bring with them all those things we see advertised but cant buy here.  Nor did they bring the US prices with them.  Let's not even get into the difference in customer service.  You know that bi*chy women who works in the Tim's drive-thru?  Yeah, she will be applying for a job at Target.  And no doubt the same level of misery we see at Walmart will install itself at Target in Canada soon enough.  Just about every cross border shopper I know says the same thing...they go to the US because of the customer service as well as selection and prices so it isnt just me - many are fed up with how we are treated in stores on this side of the 49th parallel.

So while I would love to be jumping up and down squealing with the rest of you, I am just too realistic and jaded to take part.  Dont get me wrong...I love Target!  I have written more than one post about my shopping trips and what I love to buy there that we cant get here, but, I have seen this before and know how it will go. 

For my American friends who are wondering what the big deal is...the Canadian dollar has been hovering around parity with the US dollar for a few years now.  This would mean something that costs 1.00 in the US should cost 1.00 here but it doesnt.  We are still paying a lot more for the exact same things because the Canadian government puts so many taxes and tariffs on items coming into the country.  A great example is books, if you look at the back of any book you will see the US and Canadian prices - very few stores in Canada will honour the US price.  When I was pregnant and shopping for baby gear I priced the items I wanted on the Target website and realised everything was double the price here but our dollar was at par.  So I got in my car and bought it all in the US.  At Target.  Where a store employee took my list, gathered everything I was looking for, helped me to the cash desk and out to my car.  That kind of customer service is unheard of here. 

Living in Canada is great - we are usually unarmed, get free health care, have low unemployment and managed to avoid the latest financial crisis for which we owe Stephen Harper a 'thank you' at the very least but along with all of that comes a certain apathy about service.  My goodness if one more shop clerk whines to me about consumerism I think I will lose it!

I may be one of the few Canadians who really loves Americans.  Gosh y'all know how to throw a party and have a sale!  You smile and have manners and call me ma'am even though I dont think I qualify yet for ma'am.  You take pride in your work...even the Target cashiers make customers feel valued - I am afraid we wont get that kind of feeling from our Canadian Target cashiers.

So, is it exciting to think Target will be coming here?  Yes.  I am sure the stores will be cleaner, brighter and bigger.  But that's about it.



Have a fabulous day!

Cross Border Shopping

I am often asked what I buy when I cross the border for the day so I decided to take photos and share what is on my cross border list!  I normally only buy things I know I can't get in Canada or are at a much lower price.  With the dollar being so close to par it is easy to get some great deals!  I remember when I was pregnant we went to Target to pick up all the baby gear and everything cost us half what it would here! 

I live close to a quiet border crossing and tend to see the same guards over and over - one American guard always laughs and tells us we are crazy to drive 2 hours to shop!  He obviously doesnt understand women at all!  We always tell him it's our moms day out and we had to get far enough way that no one could call us back to find their pants or Cheerios or anything silly like that!

A lot of people are afraid of what will happen when they come back with all of their stuff but there is nothing to fear - the customs officers just want you to pay your bills and be on your merry way!  I arrive at the customs booth with my passport and reciepts in hand and know exactly how much I spent.  I am polite and cheerful with the officer and make it clear I am there to pay my bill, not trying to get out of it. 

The guard will give us a yellow ticket with instructions to park...but I tell them I know the drill!  Once inside the customs building it's always a good idea to remember the guards are human beings and deserve respect and kindness.  You wouldn't believe the number of times a guard has deleted a section of my bill after some friendly banter and a smile.  I dont recommend crossing at Niagara Falls...the guards out here have told me that's the worst place to work and cross.

Canadians have to pay tax on certain items...some guards will ask for the details of every item on your receipt...others will scan it and estimate.  Either way, be prepared to answer questions.  Most items are not subject to duty fees contrary to popular myth but just about everything is subject to Federal and Provincial taxes.  Even with the 13% we pay in Ontario I still save a lot of money!

Snowman shaped marshmallows.  Nuff said.

Minty chocolate - my favourite!

Ibuprofen PM - for those nights I just cant sleep!

Vitamin C powders - we do have these in Canada but they are 26.00 a box in most places.  In Target they start at 6.00 and go up to 9.00 depending on the flavour.  I bought 6 boxes...saved approximately 120.00 right there and got to spend the day with a friend I adore and rarely get to see!

Zinc lozenges - I am obviously terrified of getting sick!

Archer Farms fruit and yoghurt bars. 

I keep these in my purse, car, desk!

I had High Heeled Life bring these back for me once!

Flavoured coffee! 

Yes we have coffee in Canada but not pumpkin coffee!

Would you believe these are made in Toronto but not sold in Canada?

We have about 4 flavours of Coffee-Mate in Canada. 

I cant resist the huge assortment I can get in the US!

Have I mentioned I live 45kms from the closest Sbux?

We have Goldfish but not the assortment in the US stores.

The little cartons went into the Little Prince's stocking!

We have very little in the way of nut selection

(keep your filthy mind in check) and this is the perfect combination!

Fiber!  In a gummy!  Who knew!?

VitD and Calcium in a gummy - I am quite facinated with these!

A girl's second best friend!

Fiber, vitamins, bio-flavinoids and anti-oxidents. 

The keys to nice skin, hair and staying youthful!

The Suburban Prince actually shook me awake at 6am to ask me to remember to get the chips he likes!

Luna Bars!  Oh my...deeeeelish!  We have a few flavours in Canada but certainly not chocolate peppermint stick, chocolate raspberry or blueberry bliss!  I cleaned off the shelves.  I eat these as a healthy snack on the run or when I am craving a chocolate bar.

I had no idea Luna bars come in protein too!

  

I use loose power over my foundation to set it and recently I noticed every brand seems to be switching to mineral makeup.  I havn't been able to find loose powder anywhere that isnt mineral so I got online and found a couple of brands available in Target. 

So there you have it!  Of course this doesnt include the clothes, boots, Dreft (not available in Canada) and Christmas presents I bought for the Princes but it is a good example of what I will stock up on when I spend a day stateside!

Have a fabulous day!

Weekend Shopping Fun!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

My favourite radio station has (as of this morning) gone all Christmas 24/7! You can listen to them online here if you need some holiday music to get you in the mood to decorate! I will be tuning in all day since I need to get the Christmas tree up and decorated this week and I am just not feeling Christmassy just yet! I will put a link to the live stream on my side bar!

My trip to Watertown was a success! The drive took longer than normal because it was a weekend and the dollar is very good right now so the border was busy with cars packed full of Canadian women on a mission!

As soon as we got to the shopping centre I went to the store I knew had Vera Bradley bags and picked up this bowler bag for myself! I wanted this style but they didn't have any pink ones so I went with the blue and brown since it will go with most of my wardrobe. I love this bag! It opens really wide and has lots of pockets! It will be perfect for going into the city as it is big enough to hold everything I need to take with me like a book, knitting, snacks for the train etc!

Have you tried these?! YUM! I love (LOVE) mint and chocolate together so I had to buy a few bags of these! They are very good but they don't have a crisp shell so that took me by surprise!

Sticking with my love of chocolate and mint I picked up a few bags of these miniatures...they are very yummy too! Did you really think I was going to make it through Target without a stop in the chocolate aisle? Yes I did buy 2 more bags of Dove dark chocolates...you know, just in case the world comes to an end or something! I also picked up 15 bags of candy for our Christmas party favours - mini KitKats, tootsie rolls, Dove peppermint, Rolos and Life Savers all in Christmas colours! I will post photos of our favours when I have them made. I am so excited to have the favours decided and ready to put together - every year we have to come up with some way to outdo ourselves! This year they will be all candy we cant get in Canada! Ok, we can get most of them but Canadians simply don't tackle the holidays the way Americans do so we have KitKats but not Christmas KitKats!

I got lots of clothes for the holidays and some presents for the Little Prince. The Suburban Prince is hard to shop for but I did find him a nice RL shirt and a sweater vest for him. We went to Khols but the clothes were just so-so that day but all of the Autumn decor was on sale and I got a great blanket, towels and a pumpkin soap pump! They are all packed away until next Autumn so I will take photos of them when I decorate next year.





The next stop was the mall where we bought out Bath & Body Works. Even though we can go into Toronto and shop there (BBW is very very new to Canada) we were there and figured we would just get what we wanted while it was all on sale! Have you seen the new Fireside candles and other scented items? I adore this scent!

When we were in Target I picked up a candle make by Nature's Wick. I bought Bonfire Nights scent and it is so nice! I burned it all day yesterday and it threw the scent really well! Throwing the scent is the very technical term for a candle's ability to actually scent the room after it has been lit. We have all come across those candles that smell great until you light them and then they don't scent the room! The Nature's Wick candles smell very nice while burning! The wick is made of wood and crackles while it burns! I couldn't find a photo online of these candles but they are in the candle section at Target. There are a number of candle companies selling wood wick candles online as well.

This week I will be busy getting the house decorated for the holidays as well as lunch with a friend, planning a girls night for Christmas and trying to figure out what to get my parents and in-laws for Christmas - even though we have told them we don't want anything for Christmas they seem to be insisting we exchange gifts. I think that means we wont be getting any gifts but are still expected to get them gifts! What do you buy someone who says they don't want anything for the house or anything that will take up any space? It often comes down to exchanging cash which I think is a bit silly. I have already been called a Grinch for cancelling Christmas by my dad - funny how he is the hardest one to shop for! I will need to stick to my guns on this one - we don't need anything and our parents don't need anything either so it would be so nice to just have a relaxing Christmas and a nice meal all together!


Have a fabulous day!