Op Shop Adventures - Bentleigh

Centre Road, Bentleigh, where all the op shopping action is. This past Saturday we went adventuring to 5 op shops, 2 of which were in Centre Road (there are actually several along the same strip, but I've been to a couple of them before). The day was shaping up to be beautiful, weather wise, I just felt like everything was going to turn out awesomely.

So first up was...

Sacred Heat Mission

271 Centre Road Bentleigh

9557 0895

Mon - Sun 10am - 5pm

We were greeted first by baskets and suitcases waiting at the front door, all in wonderful condition, some filled with toys and others with linen for sale. 

Upon walking in the door there are so many things to look at, from books, to costumes, to linen and jewellery. 

Books for miles! Everything was so well organised, no rummaging through books, it was nice and easy to have a look at all the book spines and work out what we wanted. Justin ended up with a couple of books from here, no idea what they were, but he was happy!

  

In the centre of the store they have a couple of large storage racks full of glassware and crockery. I bought 4 large drinking glasses, and 2 nice little spotty mugs for work, at $1 each for the glasses, and $2 for the mugs. The glasses were a hit, so I think I might head back next weekend and buy a couple more.

 

I just loved how the store recycled everything to decorate the store, or organise and store their products. Above left is the way they organise ladies intimates, and on the right is the change rooms, which look like giant glass doors, covered by coffee bags! All in all, we left with 2 mugs, 4 glasses, 2 winter scarves, new shoes for Justin, a couple of books and a checkered jacket too. Everything was really well priced, and the staff were wonderful!

We left with smiles on our faces, and hope in our hearts! Off to Vinnies!

394 Centre Road, Bentleigh VIC 3204

(03) 9557 1002

Mon - Sun 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The store display that can be seen from the street was full of goodies when we went, but I completely forgot to take a photo, so here is the front table instead! A bit jumbled, but still full of fun things to look at. 

The store was reasonably busy which was nice to see, and it looked like there was a new volunteer working that day who was still learning the ropes. We wandered a little, having a look at all of the clothes on display, which were plentiful, but we didn't find much for us. I did however find an amazingly soft grey woollen scarf, so I had to have that (one can never have too many scarves).

 

The store had a great stock of winter coats, both natural and man made fibres at great prices ($8?!?!?) and fashion handbags of all sizes and styles. The handbags were a little hard to look through just because of how they were stored, but if you really  wanted to, you could work it out.

 

As is tradition at most Vinnies stores, they also had the 'Vintage' rack for $20 a pop. Some interesting designs I must say, none of them appealing to me though. They also had some great shoes for sale, sadly, none of them to fit my flippers. I was surprised however at their rather large selection of larger sizes. Look at all that gloriness! (That's a word, right?)

When we were paying for our goods, the lady at the register was so lovely! She was training, so it took her an extra minute or two to work everything out, but we chatted while she worked, and her boss was teaching her at the same time. It was so nice to see older people working and learning new things! 

Granted we didn't find much here, it was still a lovely store to visit.

We didn't find all of the op shops on Centre road, so will be heading out again in a couple of weeks to find the rest.

Love,

J xx

Market vs Supermarket - Cheap Meats

I've spoken before about striving to live on a budget. Now normally, I can get away with grocery shopping up to about once a month, and just buying fresh fruit and vegies every couple of weeks. I've been trying to find a cheaper way to buy my meat, rather than from the supermarket, and I have trouble getting to the butcher due to my availability.

So recently I came across Tasman Meats, probably not a new thing to some of you, but cheaper for me than where I normally buy my meat. Here's a bit of a run down about Tasman Meats:

"Tasman Market Fresh Meats is a large format butcher with over thirty years experience in providing a personalised shopping experience to Victorians. We have 16 stores conveniently located across metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong, Shepparton and Traralgon.

As a company, we pride ourselves on the freshness, quality, range and value for money that our products provide. Our meat is 100% Australian grown and is mainly sourced from the lush pastures of Victoria. All meat is delivered fresh daily to our stores where it is prepared and packed on site.

We carry a full range of quality yearling beef, choice cuts of lamb, a full range of pork, chicken and other poultry lines as well as game and veal. We also sell bulk meat including full cryovac pieces.

If you are planning a function or a barbecue be sure to visit any one of our stores, where we will be able to assist you with your requirements. We can make product recommendations as well as cater for special orders.

All of our stores offer complimentary services such as marinating, slicing, cutting and trimming to your requirements.

Tasman Market Fresh Meats carries a wide selection of complementary grocery, frozen and deli products and a range of Italian products that we have exclusively imported."

I thought, while I'm out I'll do some price checking, so see if it really was worth it. During my grocery shops I go to Aldi, Coles and Safeway, depending on who has what on Special and where I am at the time. Here is my price comparison:

Product	Tasman Meats	Aldi	Coles	Safeway
Diced Lamb	$18.99 per kilo	-        -    -	$20.00 per kilo	$21.99 per kilo
Chicken Thigh Fillets	$11.99 per kilo	$8.99 per kilo	$13.00 per kilo	$14.00 per kilo
Pork Mince	$7.99 per kilo	$9.98 per kilo	$11.00 per kilo	$10.99 per kilo
Regular Beef Mince	$3.99 per kilo	$5.99 per kilo	$7.00 per kilo	$7.56 per kilo
Chicken Breast Fillets	$8.99 per kilo	$8.99 per kilo	$14.00 per kilo	$14.00 per kilo

So clearly I couldn't find diced lamb at Aldi, I'm not even sure if they stock it. All of the prices are based on my location in the South East Suburbs of Melbourne. I've highlighted the cheapest price in red to make it easier to read. I've tried to work out why at Tasman meats the chicken thigh fillets are more expensive, I think it's because I only bought a pack of six. If I had seen & bought the pack of 12, it would have been a little cheaper. Not as good as Aldi, but you win some you lose some.

Now, I know you're all wondering what the quality is like, well, let me tell you, Tasman trumps the competition! I actually watched them cut up the meat and package it there, then put it out on display. The mince meat has no preservatives, so they last 24 hrs and need to be either cooked or frozen for later use. The chicken products are plump and fresh, with a natural chicken smell (nothing gross here!), and the red meat is all beautiful red meat colours, even out from under the lights.

If you guys know of somewhere cheaper that has great quality meat, let me know, I'm always on the hunt for bargains!

Much love,

J xx

Not So Lazy Saturday

Hello my lovelies!

I've been quite busy the last few weeks, and finally have a chance to share things with you guys!

So anyway, last Saturday I had a great day out, and it all started out in a car park in Glen Waverley... At a Car Boot Sale!

I saw the massive yellow banner in front of the Salvation Army church on my travels the night before, and thought to myself, this could be a bit of fun. I woke up nice and early, 8am for your info, which on a Saturday morning is early, and off I went. 

The place was already packed when I arrived, so I had to park down the road and walk up to the actual sale. There were people everywhere! Mums, dads, kids, dogs, it was amazing to see how many people could fit into that small carpark. 

The stalls were selling all sorts of things, such as:
 - baby clothes
 - ladies clothes
 - kids toys
 - potted plants
 - electronic goods
 - books and comics
 - knick knacks

They had a sausage sizzle (of course), and everyone there was so nice!
I can home with a small haul of things, and only spent $40, which I was pretty impressed with. I bought, 12 Mr Men books, 20 Little Golden Books, a couple of random kids books, I also bought 8 Spiderman comics for Justin, and a few things for my friend Georgia's daughter including an awesome Fairy book in mint condition (for $1!!!), a super cute denim overalls dress, a super cute pink adjustable hat, and a bag full of kids hair accessories.

 

They hold the sales once a month in the warmer months of the year, and I was thinking of holding my own stall. We have so many 'things' at home that we just don't need or use, and someone else may love them more than we do. It only costs $10 for the stall, so even if I only break even, at least I will have less useless things at home!

I'm hoping I can drag a couple of friends down with me, and make a day out of it. 

What sort of things would you guys buy at a car boot sale? Do you have any tips for me? 
Leave them in a comment down below!

Much love,

Jayde xx