A Lot About Nothing

When I orignally heard about this news about the IKEA having a store at the corner of King and Church I was wondering how they were going to establish an IKEA store in the middle of Toronto’s design district.  I mean, treking to any IKEA location in the GTA, such as the one in Vaughan or on Leslie Street is a circus in itself… finding a good parking spot and manouvering through the aisles can be quite the experience.

Turns out it’s not going to be a full IKEA store, but only a showroom that will feature a selection of new products from their 2009 catalogue.

In celebration of the launch of the 2009 Catalogue we are opening a showroom at 143 King Street East. The showroom will feature a selection of our new products that will be found in the new Catalogue. The showroom will be open July 31 – August 3, 2008.

That seems like an awful lot of work for only four days.  Then again, it IS IKEA.  Oh, well… looks like $2 breakfasts and $1 pasta will have to stay in the boonies.

I loooove kitchen gadgets.  That’s why I make it a mission to visit Kitchen Stuff Plus’ sidewalk sales at least once a year.  If you’re looking for new dinnerware, glassware, bathroom accessories, kitchen utensils, candles, photo frames, or any other houseware, make sure to stop by the Orfus Rd. outlet location of Kitchen Stuff Plus.  You’re guaranteed to get a great deal on something (even if you don’t need it ).  The sale starts today at 10am and finishes at 3pm.  Here’s the link with more info.

I knew activating my credit card was going to get me into trouble. I ended up spending $150 at Athletes World today in downtown Toronto. To some people it may not seem like much, especially since most athletic shoes are around that price range. I got 8 articles of clothing for that price and I’m glad that I stopped by the shopping mall on the way home from work.

The Athletes World location in Eaton Centre is having a 50% off the lowest ticketed price promotion, due to a lease expiry. If you’re going to head down there for bargains, make sure you go to the location at the Queen subway stop (near the food court with the Druxy’s, Harvey’s and KFC), because the other Athletes World location on the north end of the mall isn’t having the same sale.

As for my purchases, I picked up two pairs of New Balance shoes (one for me and one for my sis). The regular price of these shoes were $139.99 each… They were marked for $79.99 and I got them for $39.99 after the discount! Also picked up a nice pair of green Adidas cuffed cargo pants (reg. price was $69.99) for $20, which was actually cheaper than the lowest ticketed price of $49.99 after the 50% off. I got some cool gold-stripe Reebok sweat pants for $20 (reg. $54.99), three sport tanks and a T-shirt for $5 each (reg. 14.99), and a small bottle of sport cleaner for $4 to keep my shoes and gym bag fresh-looking! According to my receipt I saved a whopping $335!

I also picked up a pair of sandals, but when I got home I noticed that they weren’t in the bag. I would’ve been pissed had I not looked at the receipt–the cashier forgot to add it to my purchase. I don’t blame her though… the place was a mess and crowded with people (the line-up at the cash wasn’t bad though). But the counters near the cash were full of merchandise, so it could’ve easily got misplaced. I guess that’s the good thing about having big feet sometimes: not a lot of people wear your size. I’ll probably head back there tomorrow, since there was quite a few number of those particular sandals left. I might also pick up a hoodie.

Note that all purchases are final sale, so no exchanges or refunds. Great deals if you look for them, but try to get there early to avoid the mess and the crowds. I heard that locations in Scarborough Town Centre and Markville might be having similar sales, so call your local to verify.

It’s a darn good thing I decided to make a stop at Fairview Mall last night. As I was on my way to Athletes World to look for some new cross-trainers, I stopped when I noticed some huge 2 for $10 sale signs in the Costa Blanca window. Of course I had to go in, since I didn’t spend any money on clothing on Boxing Day here in Canada. I’m sure glad I did!

They had a decent selection of items, especially the dress pants (nice pinstriped ones) which were about $39.95 regular price. I picked up a bunch for me and my sister for $5 each. They also had dressy tops (reg. price $24.95-$34.95), sweaters, and skirts that were all discounted to $5 each (if you buy 2 for $10).

Costa Blanca had some nice waist skirts and shoes for $10 each, and some jewelry 3 for $10. Still had some regular priced apparel as well. The cashier said that they have a lot more stock to get rid of, and the sale has been going on for just over a week now.

I got about 5 dress pants, a skirt and 4 tops (including a hot, black corset-type one) for $50! There was a decent selection of sizes available… I mainly saw sizes 4-10 in pants and a variety of S-XL for the tops. The store is located on the lower level near Sears. So if you’re in the Toronto area and need to refill your closet, hurry!

This has got to be my most “productive” shopping trip to the U.S. yet! I haven’t been shopping in Downtown Buffalo in about a year (I usually opt for tax tree Pennsylvania), but I didn’t want to drive too far this past Saturday. This time I followed my own advice and didn’t forget my shopping list at home. I planned out all my stops ahead of time (Walden Galleria area) and visited the store’s websites beforehand to check out all the sales.

JCPenny has a great After-Christmas Sale going on: 70% off all gold jewelery. I wish I had a few extra bucks with me or I would’ve bought a pair of white gold hoop earrings on sale for $150 (from $500). I picked up a nice white gold cross pendant with a cubic zirconia for $90 ( reg. price $299.99). Burlington Coat Factory (one of my favourite stores to shop at in the U.S.) had some great deals as well. Scored this amazing Kathy Van Zeeland handbag for $44 (reg. price $89). Best of all I finally found the medium-length wool winter coat I’ve been looking for all season. Guess how much? $49.99! Spending 45 minutes browsing through the wide array of coats on all those racks in Burlington Coat Factory was worth it! It fits me so well, and I copped a scarf for $2.99 to match. On the way out my eye caught this gold-coloured fitted jacket for $15.99 so I snatched that up along with an adorable baby outfit for my mommy-to-be friend of mine . My sister got this cool, reversible JLo winter jacket for $79.99.Border’s Bookstore is another favourite of mine. Got myself a large photo album and a beautiful Bible for $3.00. Payless Shoesource (the only store which carries my size) was good to me this time around. I finally found the pair of black pointy-toe pumps I’ve been looking for for ages! Only $16.99! Steve and Barry’s had everything in the store going for $8.98 (2 for $15), so I picked up two cute t-shirts. Marshall’s had some good deals on clearance clothing. I got several long sleeve T’s and sweaters for under $30.00.  Bath & Body Works had great deals.  Got a bunch of lotions, creams, body sprays and soaps, all for under $25.  They smell soooo good!

So as my brother, sister and I were driving back into Canada I urged them to organize all their receipts, total them up and keep them handy. As I reached customs the female CBSA officer asked me the usual questions: Where we were from in Canada, where we were during the day, how much we spent and what we purchased. We told the truth and were waived through (she didn’t even ask for our I.D.). We didn’t have to pay any taxes or duties on our purchases. We had left Toronto around 8am and got back home by 6pm.

So almost $300 later, I think my trip to the U.S. this time around was definitely worth it!