On why I enjoy taking my toddler to Trader Joes...

Oh I hear you...enjoyment, toddler and grocery store are not words many people would put together, and I would have to agree for the most part but then there is our Trader Joes.

Before we moved to California, my experiences with the grocery store had extended only to mad dashes around Target with Finley strapped into his infant car seat balancing precariously on the cart and trying to time it all just so carefully around his next feed or nap. Suffice to say we ordered in and ate out...a lot.

When we moved into the house here, my first question as a mother and wife was "where is the nearest supermarket?" as a single girl this question would have naturally been "where is the nearest Urban Outfitters?"

We didn't have a Trader Joes in Florida, and so my visiting this store was a true revelation. You see, i am a very visual person which I think gives clarity to my Anthropologie fascination.

Traders gets me on all points, its super colorful, the flowers don't cost more that our monthly car payment and the food is awesome. I also am totally obsessed with their packaging of products. I purchased cat biscuits last week, we do not even own a cat but the box was so awesome,i said to myself "i could put a frame around that!"

But the biggest thing for me is that our store is a super kid friendly place. Grocery shopping with a child in tow can be a mildly stressful event, one that i used to put off until all i had to feed my child was cereal but here i find it so different, Finley is nearly always greeted by the same guy as we go in, given a banana and a line of stickers which tend to be promptly peeled and stuck on my cardigan. They also know him by name and I am smiled at and recognised - that makes me feel special. We do tend to get there as soon as they open, so maybe everyone has just had their morning coffee and are ready to roll but i do truly believe that they count their customers, nearly everyone is always chatting at check out lines and asking about new products...maybe its just our store, if it is then you must come and visit.

So really as I conclude this very short ode to Trader Joes, I would like to thank them for making this mama feel special and paying attention to my boy so i can have a quick shot of coffee.

On our return from Trader Joes, Finley promptly found comfort sitting in his play bin.