Car 54 Where Are You? on Amazon Prime

I stumbled across it when I was looking to save a few shows to our Amazon Prime video watchlist. Car 54 Where Are You? was a show we watched when I was a kid. The theme song reverberates in my head and is as familiar to me as it was then. I still know the words. And I remember Toody and Muldoon in our living room. We oftentimes would lay on the floor with pillows under our heads in front of my parents. My dad had his own leather chair and the best view. He LOVED television and always had the latest set he could find. We would be able to get a color tv if my brother, sister and I came home with all A’s and B’s. I think he would have gotten that color set anyway. So it was with a great feeling of nostalgia that we watched the show last night. It was very clever and funny and I laughed out loud a few times. Even the commercials were interesting to watch. We used both Prell Shampoo and Tide Detergent - the power of marketing. Fred Gwynn became a favorite of ours on the Munsters, but also as the judge in My Cousin Vinny. I think I am my father’s daughter - the best television and watching fun shows in the evening with my husband. We still use Tide detergent. (Photos were taken off our TV screen)

Whole Foods Three Blocks Away

Everyone in the neighborhood was waiting for the big day. Whole Foods was finally going to open in the Yards. We weren’t able to make the grand opening morning, but walked over the following Sunday to pick up something for supper. The place was PACKED. And you see a lot of Whole Foods shopping bags coming in our building. After all, it is located hardly three blocks from here - just on the other side of the overpass. So this morning we decided to stop in and pick up a couple of items - peppers, cheese, bread, and a cooked chicken for dinner. The place was empty at that time of the day. So we checked out the aisles to see what was available. I don’t see it as our “go to” grocery store because it doesn’t have a lot of the more familiar brands we prefer. But it is very convenient for a couple of items kind of thing and Amazon Prime might get us a bit of a discount. Everything looked good and maybe we just need to get more familiar with it. They do have a breakfast bar which may come in handy after the morning walk. But the timing must be right to avoid the morning/lunch change up. When we moved to DC twelve years ago none of this existed. From our house to the Nationals Stadium the neighborhood has been completely transformed. Being able to walk to groceries, restaurants, dentist, doctor, haircut, etc is really nice - if you can stand all the inconvenience and noise of an urban environment. 

Whole Foods in Alexandria

We have been waiting impatiently for the new Whole Foods store to open up in our neighborhood. It will be about two blocks away from us near the Navy Yard/ Yards Park. We usually don’t go to Whole Foods for groceries. But since we became Amazon Prime members it made sense to give it a try. We went to the store in Alexandria after lunch today. We were there about ten years ago to buy a head of cabbage and never went back. But now we have an incentive. The store in our neighborhood will be ten years newer, so I’m sure it will be ten times nicer. Whole Foods has a lot of brands we aren’t familiar with and we generally don’t care for organic or gluten free foodstuffs. We were more interested to see the fruit, the bread, and the cheese. I think the fruit and cheese were great - especially since they had our favorite P’tit basque. We haven’t bought flowers for awhile hoping our garden would substitute. But that hasn’t happened this year so we got a nice bunch. The olive bar was fine but the bread didn’t win us over. I can see this might be a good place to pick up things in between our regular shopping at Harris Teeter or Safeway. But perhaps the new store will have more appeal. I like the idea of getting discounts on groceries, and the cherries we picked up were a real deal. Let’s hope they taste as good as they look! At the register you scan for additional savings using the iPhone app. If we like it enough we may one day buy a cart to drag around and haul the goods. I found the perfect one on Amazon of course. 

Amazon Prime Deals for Staple Products

We had a Costco membership for the last year or two. But we found ourselves going there only a couple of times, and getting things we may not have needed. The quantities are huge for just two people, and the brands are limited. That’s one of the reasons we decided to go with Amazon Prime. A new Whole Foods store is opening soon just two blocks away, we love the videos, appreciate the short shipping time, took advantage of the cloud photo option, and frankly we use Amazon for a lot of other stuff. So after going grocery shopping these last couple of weekends, I’ve been keeping track of household things that we could order on Amazon. Aside from the bulk order of Charmin toilet paper at a significantly reduced cost, we ordered Brita water filters, dial body wash, Reynolds wrap, sensodyne toothpaste, Gillette razor blades, low dose and regular Bayer aspirin, fish oil capsules, secret deodorant, and calcium tablets using coupons on several things. So our strategy for future grocery shopping is to buy fruit and perishable items at Whole Foods after on our morning walk when the need arises; stock up on wine at the Total Wine store using the coupons they are always sending to us; and buy non perishable items and household staples through Amazon. We have never used the two hour delivery option for anything as we really don’t have a need for it, but it’s nice to know it’s available. It makes us wonder if we really need a car? That’s a whole other discussion. I just know we aren’t quite there - yet. 

Charmin Ultrasoft Cushiony Touch Family Mega Roll TP

We used to have a membership for Costco but let it expire because we usually don’t need bulk orders, and like more product selection. And we aren’t in to massive warehouse shopping. But since we started the free trial of Amazon Prime, things have changed. While in the grocery store we started checking price points for all kinds of things. It was clear that Prime had some real deals. That, along with a new Whole Foods store opening soon just two blocks away from us, sealed the membership. So last weekend I went through the “staple” items we use. One of the biggest bargains was Charmin ultra cushiony soft toilet paper. But rather than select “one” of the items, I inadvertently selected “two.” That meant we would be getting six packages with eight mega rolls in each - a whopping 48 rolls. I suppose I could have changed the order, but figured we would eventually use it all anyway. Luckily at checkout there is an option to select a plain Amazon box rather than a product label box. When that shipment arrived it was HUGE! So we unpacked it and luckily I found enough space for it all in our tiny condo - high on the shelves in our closet and on a rack behind my clothes. I guess next time I need to pay a little more attention to the amount I select. So we won’t be needing TP for quite some time. And that’s fine with my husband. He hates carrying that stuff around from the store to the car and from the the car to the house. I just did him a big favor. 

Amazon Prime, Coupons, Video, Shipping

I’ve been an Amazon customer since 2000. One of the first things I bought on the site was a digital camera that used floppy disks. But only until recently did we decide to get Amazon Prime. We certainly use it often enough to benefit from free shipping. But it wasn’t until Apple TV allowed Amazon to have an app on it that it made even more sense. My husband said the subscription was worth it just to watch Billy Bob Thornton on Goliath. And having a soon to open Whole Foods store two blocks from where we live made it even a better idea. But it wasn’t until we were grocery shopping this weekend that it really made sense - especially for bulk items. We used to go to Costco, but it was overwhelming and you were somewhat tied to particular brands. So I went on line and stumbled upon coupons, and dash buttons, and pretty good discounts on frequently used items. I don’t think we will ever buy them in the grocery store again. And we won’t have to lug it all from the car to the house that only has street parking. And, even though you get free shipping, you can opt for regular shipping and earn $5 coupons back  - which essentially was how things had always been shipped anyway. For some items, who cares when they arrive? And if you have a favorite charity, you can shop on Amazon Smile. The trick is to use the app to shop and then check out on Amazon Smile on your browser. I’m sure the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation appreciates it. I probably won’t use most of the freebies Amazon Prime has to offer, although the clothes option sounded intriguing. Who knows what the next feature will be? All I know is it makes things a lot easier for so many people in ways we have yet to imagine. 

Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath, and Amazon Prime

My husband loves Billy Bob Thornton. It all started with Slingblade all the way through to Fargo on FX. So when we recently saw an add for a second season of Goliath on Amazon, I knew he would want to see it. I’m not sure how I escaped season one! But since we don’t have Amazon Prime Video, we were out of luck. So I started researching - again - the benefits of having Prime. Over a year ago we got a new LG TV and added Apple TV. Since then I have learned the ropes of using Apple TV and have added Acorn TV because we love all things British. And I recall that Apple TV would never have an Amazon App back then. But things have changed. So I figured out I could now get Amazon Prime on our Apple TV. So, having the shows through that, along with expedited free shipping, and a Whole Foods store opening two blocks away this summer, we decided an Amazon Prime subscription was worth the cost. You should have seen the look on his face when I told my husband his show was now available to watch. So all this week season one of Goliath was the program of choice every night until last night when it concluded. Now we have season two to begin watching. But I need to mix that up with a little Midsomer Murder, British Baking Show, and Endeavor. The trouble is I need to figure out if Acorn TV is even needed anymore because Prime seems to have a lot of what is available on Acorn. Then there’s Xfinity Comcast programming that we aren’t sure we can do without yet. It’s getting very confusing! The options are unlimited. But you are also paying for it in one way or another. But for now, my husband is very happy. So it’s all worth it.