A Lot About Nothing

Okay, perhaps I’m not that precise, but I did fix a clock today! I’m so proud of myself. Today was the Kitchen Stuff Plus Outlet on Orfus Road had one of their summer sidewalk sales. I got up bright and early (well at least for me) at 9am, but by the time I got there around 10:30 the place was swarmed with frantic customers eager to find a good deal.

I managed to score a stainless steel wall clock and a Chef’n salt grinder for $5; a large collapsible storage box, two awesome non-skid mixing bowls with lids, a white/stainless steel toothbrush holder, an OXO soap squirting dish sponge for $10; a pig-shaped scrubby holder with a scrubby for $2; and a slim sliding fine grater and a stainless steel kitchen utensil holder together for $5. Not a bad deal if I do say so myself. Especially considering that those utensil holders are usually $10-20, and the OXO kitchen gadgets run between $5-20 each.

Of course when I got home I realized that there was a piece missing from the grater: the little thingie that mandolin slicers usually have to push down the food. No biggie, I still got an cool grater that comes with a storage container. The worst was realizing that the wall clock I purchased didn’t work. When I put the battery in the second had was moving, but on the same second and not revolving around the clock! I’m thinking great… now what I’m I going to do with two broken clocks (including the one I had before to replace this one with). So I mustered up the courage and patience and took the whole thing apart.  I mean it worked when I bought my travel mug from the last Kitchen Stuff Plus sidewalk sale (the screw in the lid just needed to be tightened in order to get the open/close mechanism to work), so I thought why not?

Now I had no idea what I was doing. Sure I broke a couple of the plastic latches when I was trying to figure out how to get the darn clock open so I can take a look at the gears, but that’s what tape’s for! After pulling out the gears, resetting them, looking at the power source, five times, I gave up. I figured I’d put a battery in and check to see if by some great force that it would start working properly… and it did! It’s now hanging on my living room wall tick-tocking away.

Ironically, when I put batteries back into my old clock which stopped working, it started working again…

Here’s some sad news for all of you Canadian online shoppers: If you haven’t already noticed HBC has shut down their online shopping. That’s right, no more ecommerce sites for Zellers, The Bay and Home Outfitters as of today. It’s news to me that just a few short weeks ago Canadian Tire also got rid of their online ordering.

I guess it makes sense if online shoppers mainly use the store website as a research or product comparison tool, then when they decide to purchase they get it directly from the store instead of ordering online to prevent high shipping charges for large items. The web stores weren’t doing as well as the companies have hoped. Add to the fact that HBC has announced a “restructuring” of the company, over 1000 positions have been eliminated in Canada.

An ecommerce strategy will be developed in the near future in terms of a relaunch of all HBC’s banners.

Not that I purchased a lot of items from either company online… but it’s always nice to shop from the comfort of your own home (and even know that your product will be there for you if you want to pick it up in store).

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!