Happy Valentines to you too So well put

Amen! Jan. You are a treasure!!

True dat!Amen!
Thank you Jan ,for always articulating so superbly!
Heart felt greetings to you!

What is a jpeg?

Oh boy! It’s a widely used digital format for pictures and images. That’s simple explanation.

Thanks👌

I enjoyed reading it until you mentioned the dark chocolate, my mouth started watering & took a trip to our See’s Candy store ( I live in Ca ). There goes my New Year’s resolution to cutback on sugar, oh well.

^^

I went to Trader Joes! Got sucked into the sweet "beyond" of the super great big loaf Pane Tuscan bread, for which I was there!

Cocoa truffles......a "One Pounder Plus Dark Chocolate bar for the sister, raspberry muffins 6 pak I invaded in the car, on the way to the GYM?! and thin crispy ginger cookies, 9= 100 cals as if that matters after the bread and other stuff?

Do not enter a grocery....hungry!!

PS. If you have a Trader Joe? I have given up all other bread, and TJ is not my all the time grocery. I buy those Tuscan Pane and freeze,, get the sister one who does same. It toasts beautifully, it is dirt cheap for the loaf size ( 3. 49.) and pleasantly huge) . The sister and I freaked this am...we were both down to 6 slices in our freezers. Must maintain never out position! I feel a super thin slice ham sandwich calling me.....: )

The other thing on TJ? They hire extremely well. Everyone is cheerful, polite, always thank you and they are a step above our infamous local in that regard.

Ifyou gotta do it…TraderJoes is one of the best ones..their sweets are somehow the least harmful…and the most satisfying in small portions

Amen to TJ's and super kind and helpful employees.

Here in the desert it is only blocks away!… at home in the mountains it is hours away☹️….so I quickly learned to freeze in small portions at home…!

Keep your fingers out of my chocolate! AND Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovers of good design, functional appliances, great lighting, and life-giving gardens (and anything else important I left out) on Houzz!

Love this, Jan! Happy V-Day!💗 Just now had one of my fave chocolates from See’s…Bordeaux. Didn’t have to choose since the entire box has only them!🥰

I totally agree regarding TJ’s hiring well…simple the BEST!!!👍🏻

A bit late to the Valentine's Day party here on Houzz, but hope everyone had a great day. My sister came by with homemade Linzer hearts, oh my, so incredibly wonderful!

And yes to Trader Joe's employees--they are just SO nice and friendly!

Take a bite of a See's chocolate and put the uneaten part back in the box if you don't like the filling? Use a knife and cut it in two for cryin' out loud.

@Jan Moyer … where I live you can walk to TJ’s within 10mins. I’m there everyday, we have 3 in our town but our neighborhood one is the best in the world! Never crowded,, it’s in a former supermarket, yes, I buy chocolate there, I’ll havevto try the bread you recommended. My all time favorite chocloate, bar none, is See’s. We’ve been gifted higher priced but none I like as much.

@tracefloyd …. Someone I know buys a two pound box, takes out the ones he likes & gives the rest to his daughter and SIL. I hate it when people take a bite out & put it back!

Luckily, I’ve eaten enough to know which ones I like just by sight.

LOL!!! Does he repackage?^^ I mean...what about the "gaposis hole" divots in the box?

Aside from the delightful chocolate veers? I notice ( yet again this am ) the continual drum beat of " I refuse to use my head." It is in the design of these pages with no clear instructions. It is epidemic in a younger generation who has not a ruler in the house, as there is one on your phone. Everything is in/on your phone, the mysteries of life on earth, are on your phone.....except they are not. The phone is not really your brain, it is a tool FOR your brain,( at least until recently) but when it is used in that way, amazing things happen.

Power of reasoning such as how do I know what fits?! Do we need to add a laser tape measure to the I phone?! Why not also make the screen capable of frying an egg to perfection! Just add heat!

God gave you a brain and It is actually fun to use it. Fun to challenge it with what. makes. sense.? When you need the "lets' ask Grok, chat GPT, Google" .....or Houzz, garbage in can be garbage out.

When you are stumped, when you do ask Houzz? Ask....what might I need to show and tell Houzz to get good answers? If I think.....just for a minute? If nothing at all comes to mind, I am putting the blame on the Dept of Education. : ) Bring back Home EC. The non glamorous, low tech, Home Ec.

Don't ask what set me back to this : )

“…we have 3 in our town…”

We have 3 very close by and #4 just opened. SoCal is pretty full of TJ’s. Years ago the only TJ’s in the country was the original one here in Pasadena. Quite a success story!👍🏻 I‘m a huge fan with many stories of amazing customer service. One of my faves was my elderly stepdad once was there and realized at the checkout he’d left his wallet at home. They sent him on his way with all his groceries. Next day my mom went back to pay and they wouldn’t let her.🥰

@chloebud …. Ha! you just reminded me, I used to shop at the original in Pasadena when I was a kid. Thanks for jogging my memory. I also remember shopping at a very small one on Garfield in Alhambra.

Jan, it's frightening how little people want to use their brains. And AI is going to make it worse. The brain is going to be a vestigial organ similar to the appendix.

This is a super interesting podcast on the history of trader joes - he started as a wine merchant, love that they do everything differently from everyone else in the industry (no loyalty card, no data collection, no big brands, no socials, no delivery..) and are super successful - discipline is underrated imo https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/trader-joes

^^

"Think Different" is a great mantra for them. Honestly ...I don't use a lot of frozen, other than the winter months for fast veggies, but I can lose a lot of time browsing TJ frozen! It is vast selection! Saturday I was staring at Tempura Shrimp..."mmmmm havent had shrimp in ages...."

I love their stuffed grape leaves, always order those on Amazon .

Weirdly, even the shoppers? The highly annoying type in their Lulu Lemons nicking your heel and fanny in hurry hurry aren't there, seems overwrought brats needing a nap also m.i.a.!

A pleasure, all the way around. 😊

Happy Valentines Day to all you Houzzers!