RESTAURANT GUIDE: 5 Great Restaurants in Orlando, FL

       I just got back from a recent long weekend trip to Orlando. This was the first time I've been in Orlando and haven't visited Disney World at all. I was pleasantly surprised not only by how much there is to do in the area that isn't related to Disney, but also by how many great local restaurant options there are in the Orlando area! I felt like such a foodie on this trip, as it was one great meal after another! While there were some meals that were amazing standouts more than others, we didn't have any truly bad meals on this trip. 

Indoor Activities I Love in Fall/Winter.

     This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TeaProudly #CollectiveBias #FallForBenefitsTea

Making Your Summer Adventures Happen with Popchips!

Today's blog post is sponsored by Babbleboxx.com on behalf of Popchips. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Southern Belle in Training! 

     

     Want to know two things I love that both happen to start with the letter "S"? Snacks and summer! I know I can't be alone in loving both of those. 😊In today's blog post I'm excited to share more about my new favorite summer snacks, Popchips and Nutter Puffs, and I'm also chatting a bit about how I try to make the most of my summers since being a full-time working adult, and still accomplish goals during summer months! Suns out. Snacks out.

FAMILY DINNER: My Dinner Club + How to Start One!

     I'm so excited to be sharing today's blog post, since it's about one of my very favorite things! In December, myself and three of my friends decided on a whim to start a weekly dinner club, which my friend Eden named Family Dinner. Since then, our little has expanded to six of us, and we meet faithfully most Wednesdays (and the occasional Thursday) to share dinner and fellowship together.

     For my Tuesday blog post series this month, I wanted to talk about different favorite things of mine! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get today's blog post up for Tuesday, since I had quite a busy weekend. So forgive me for getting this up a couple days late- I promise next week's post in this series will be up Tuesday as planned! 😉

TRAVEL GUIDE: The Best Restaurants & Nightlife in Charlotte, NC.

      Confession: I can't believe the first time I'm writing a post like this is TWO YEARS after I moved away from Charlotte! This is long overdue. I loved my years in Charlotte, and a big part of that was due to the incredible restaurants and fun nightlife there! I'm sharing all of my favorites in today's Travel Guide, as we continue with this month's Tuesday blog series (all about Charlotte).

TRAVEL GUIDE: Best Eats in Fredericksburg, VA.

     Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit and explore Fredericksburg, VA for a press trip! Fredericksburg is a quaint city in Northern Virginia that is very rich in history. It's also rich in many other things... good food and drinks being one of them! Today I'm sharing reviews of the restaurants and cafes that I got to dine at, and next week I'll be sharing a full Travel Guide for Fredericksburg. You'll notice that a lot of these restaurants have addresses on Caroline Street- that is the main downtown street in Fredericksburg, and it's full of great eatery options! (Also a fitting name since my friend Caroline accompanied me on this trip to assist with blog photography!)

Thank you to Visit Fredericksburg for hosting me and making some of the meals featured complimentary. Thank you for supporting the brands and organizations that partner with Southern Belle in Training!

     Eileen's Bakery and Cafe (1115 Caroline Street): If you know me, you know that I can never resist a trip to a local bakery. Blame it on the fact that my first job in high school was at a bakery in my hometown! Either way, there's just nothing that beats homemade baked goods. Eileen's Bakery and Cafe in Fredericksburg has a real hometown feel to it. The bakery is housed inside of a historic church, which was built in the 1800s! There were a variety of tasty breads and pastries to choose from for breakfast. I ordered a butter croissant with tea, and for something sweet I treated myself to a maple shortbread cookie. Caroline and I really enjoyed this spot for a casual breakfast!

     Benny Vitali's (722 Caroline Street): If you're looking for a tasty and quick bite to eat, be sure to stop by Benny Vitali's! They call themselves the home of the "Virginia Slice". Virginia Slices must translate to meaning the largest sizes of pizza ever. Caroline and I split a slice in half... it was so big that just eating half of it filled each of us up!

     Foode (900 Princess Anne Street): Foode was our favorite restaurant that we ate at in Fredericksburg! This is a farm-to-table restaurant with a pretty diverse menu. We ate there for lunch on Saturday. I loved the setting of the restaurant- it was light and airy inside and decorated with a fun modern flair. The food was also fantastic! I had the shaved steak sandwich, and Caroline ordered a Mediterranean chicken dish, which came with hummus, pita and olives. I really enjoyed my sandwich, but Caroline's dish was fantastic. I may or may not have stolen several bites!

     Kybecca (402 William Street): Kybecca was the fanciest restaurant that we dined at in Fredericksburg! Their website describes the restaurant as being a "rustic-chic eatery and bar." Similar to Foode, I loved the ambiance of the restaurant. They are ranked #10 on TripAdvisor for Fredericksburg area restaurants! They do have a full dinner menu but the prices were a bit on the high end ($20-$30), so Caroline and I opted to go for drinks and dessert instead. She had a glass of wine and I ordered the Autumn Sangria. It was one of the best sangrias that I've ever had! We also split a Local Artisanal Cheese Board, and the S'Mores dessert (Neither of which photographed well, but believe me that they were great!). I have never met a cheese board that I didn't like, and the Kybecca s'mores were a really fun gourmet take on a classic treat!

    Orofino (1006 Caroline Street): If you're craving really authentic Italian food, Orofino is the place you need to visit! This downtown restaurant features cuisine from many regions of Italy, and each month they have a special menu with dishes and drinks from a specific Italian region. The region of the month for December was Piedmont, and the cheese fondue that I ordered (pictured below) was from that special menu! Caroline and I both ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara for our main courses. It was so filling that I didn't even come close to finishing it! Thankfully I brought it back to Charlottesville and it was my lunch/dinner on Monday.

     Goolrick's Pharmacy (901 Caroline Street): I saved the coolest and most unique place for last! One of the coolest fun facts that I learned on this weekend trip was that Fredericksburg is home to the oldest continually operating soda fountain in the country! How cool is that? Goolrick's is an old school main street soda fountain and pharmacy. Grabbing a milkshake there was truly like a step back in time! My favorite type of milkshakes are chocolate malts, and the one at Goolrick's was wonderful. They also have a limited lunch menu with different sandwiches!

    It looked like there were many more great Fredericksburg restaurants in addition to the ones that Caroline and I visited. This is definitely a food town! The Visit Fredericksburg website has a whole section on dining that includes information about the places that I visited, and many others!


     Have you ever been to this part of Virginia? I'm looking forward to sharing my Travel Guide with information about the hotel we stayed at and activities that we did- that'll be on the blog next week.


     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese


   

My 10 Favorite Pinterest Recipes.

     I feel like trying a random recipe from Pinterest is the definition of the phrase "You win some, you lose some." You just never quite know what you're going to get with a Pinterest recipe! I've had some of the worst cooking and baking fails of my life from pins that looked enticing. So why do I keep using my recipe boards for so much of my cooking? Because for every fail, there's been a lot more recipe wins! I've found some of my favorite recipes of all time from pins. Pinterest is also really convenient! I have a large cookbook collection, but nothing beats pulling up a recipe on your phone.

     To save you the hassle of possibly trying a recipe that's no-good, I've rounded up 10 of my favorite Pinterest recipes, with direct links to each pin so you can save them for yourself! A bit about my cooking habits: I love rice based dishes (which you'll see evidenced here!), and I love spicy food. I'm trying to get better about eating more vegetables... but that's a work in progress. Many of these recipes below can be made meatless though! 

    1. Quick and Easy Black Bean and Rice Burritos - This is the Pinterest recipe that I make the most often! If you read my Midweek Ramblings posts where I give a "Recipe of the week," you've definitely heard me reference this a lot. These burritos are super easy to make and a very affordable (and tasty) vegetarian meal! I love making a cheesy burrito for dinner, and I add in hot sauce since I like spicy food. Then the next few days for lunch at work I bring the beans, corn and rice mixture to heat up!

    2. Light and Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup - A great winter soup! It's also just as good without the chicken if you want a vegetarian version. I add a lot of red pepper flakes to it since I like spice.

    3. Italian Herb Meatballs - BEST Italian meatballs ever. Seriously- I think they taste better than a lot of restaurant meatballs. This is my favorite thing to make when I have company for dinner! I accompany the meatballs with a homemade spicy Arrabiata sauce from a cookbook of mine and penne pasta.

    4. Italian Roasted Potatoes - I don't make these as often as some of the other recipes here, but they are delicious! A great side dish to make for a fancier dinner. FYI - the recipe does make a pretty large portion, so I recommend making this is you have company over.

    5. Salsa Verde Chicken Pasta - This is a fun and spicy take on mac n cheese! Personally I prefer this without chicken. 

    6. Korean Beef Rice Bowls - After the burrito recipe above, this is the Pinterest recipe that I make the most often! I was able to buy the Gochujang sauce that the recipe requests at my local grocery store in the ethnic food section.

    7. Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs - This is a totally different type of meatballs than the recipe above, but these are really good, and fairly easy to make!

    8. Garlic Honey Ginger Glazed Salmon - In all honesty, I find fish kind of intimidating to cook and most seafood recipes to be hard to make for just one person (since I live alone), but when I do make it I cook salmon using this recipe! It's very easy and absolutely delicious. 

    9. Banana Cinnamon Muffins - I make muffins regularly. Homemade tastes so much better than store bought, and they're so simple to make! In addition to being a tasty breakfast item, I love baking muffins for road trips or work snacks. Banana muffins are a great way to add some fruit to your day and these are my favorite banana muffins.

    10. Cinnamon Apple Muffins - When I don't make banana muffins, I love making apple muffins! Especially in this season with apples from a local orchard. This is another simple fruit muffin recipe.


     Now here's my request from you! If you enjoyed this blog post, would you leave me a comment below with a link or two to some of your favorite Pinterest recipes? I'm always looking for more to try, and we can keep this going!! I can write a future blog post in a few months after I've tried the ones y'all leave me. 😊



     God Bless,


     xoxo Annaliese
   

Fun & Easy Recipe: How I Made a Patriotic Tie-Dye Cake!

     To preface today's post, I realize I am posting a patriotic recipe at an interesting time of the summer! I meant to get this blog post up much closer to the 4th of July, but hey- better late than never right? I personally thing we should all enjoy showing our patriotic pride at all times of the year... July or not! 😉I also thought this recipe might make a tasty Labor Day Weekend treat- so you might want to save this recipe if you'll be entertaining that weekend. 

Grocery Store Wars: Harris Teeter.

     Let's head back to the grocery store! If you're new to my Grocery Store Wars posts, since moving to Virginia in March I've been trying to visit all of the different grocery store chains in Charlottesville, and figure out which one(s) best meets my grocery needs for my single, 20-something lifestyle. Grocery Store Wars picks back up again today on the blog- with a store that I'm very familiar with, Harris Teeter!

     Harris Teeter - Fast Facts



     *History and Locations: Founded in 1960 in North Carolina. Currently operating 230 grocery stores and 14 fuel centers in Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Headquarters located in Matthews, NC (suburb of Charlotte). Harris Teeter stores were acquired by Kroger in 2013, but they maintain their own store brands and headquarters.


     *Known for: Having practically a grocery monopoly in many areas of the Charlotte, NC metro area (no- really!).


     *Rewards program: Harris Teeter VIC (Very Important Customer) card program. There are regular VIC exclusive deals in all store departments.


     *My prior knowledge: Um... very familiar! Harris Teeter is the most popular grocery chain in Charlotte by a landslide. All of the stores around Charlotte have a totally different feel to them depending on the neighborhood. South Park Harris Teeter is HUGE, the Providence Road one is very swanky and is a two story store with a wine bar, the Park Road Shopping Center one is small and has a neighborhood grocery store feel, the Plaza Midwood one has a unique design and is known as the "Taj Ma-Teeter".... etc, and that's just a few of them that I remember! A lot of my college memories have to do with Harris Teeter. This was not my favorite grocery store when I was in college, but until Publix South End opened my junior year, I didn't have a lot of other options near my school!


      *Word on the street: Differing from Charlotte, in Charlottesville Harris Teeter doesn't seem to be as popular. Most people I have met shop at Wegman's, and those that don't are Kroger shoppers. Something very weird... this area has both Harris Teeter and Kroger, even though Kroger owns Harris Teeter! The Harris Teeter that I went to for taking photos for this blog post actually has a Kroger store at the other end of the shopping plaza... weird right?



     Harris Teeter - My Shopping Experience




     This is the only store for my Grocery Wars series that I didn't buy a full week's worth of groceries at for writing this post! I am very familiar with shopping at Harris Teeter from living in Charlotte for over four years, so I just went in to check out the Charlottesville one and take pictures for this post. But I did end up finding a few things, as you'll see! Back when I lived in Charlotte, I shopped at Harris Teeter mostly just for convenience. When I lived in South Charlotte for my last year there, I shopped more at Food Lion and Publix, since I was finally in a part of town that had other grocery options.


     Let's start as always with the produce department! The Harris Teeter I went to check out had a pretty large produce department, but I did notice that prices on some items (like fresh herbs and fruit) were a bit higher than I've been finding at other grocery stores. And of course a note on the cheese department- this Harris Teeter had a pretty nice cheese selection. Still not as big as the Wegman's one, but larger than some of the Krogers that I've shopped in here.

    This Harris Teeter was pretty large, and had long and roomy grocery aisles. I think that Harris Teeter stores are pretty easy to shop in, and things are generally organized well. (Some of the other grocery stores that I've visited for my Grocery Wars series have had me confused on where to find certain pantry items in the store!)

     One recommendation that I do have for you if you every shop at Harris Teeter- they have a line of their house brand ice creams called HT Traders that are delicious! And they happened to be on sale for VIC card holders the day I was there. Even though I lived in the home of Ben & Jerry's last year, I definitely missed these while in Vermont.

     This Harris Teeter had a pretty nice wine selection!! Not too surprising I guess since Charlottesville is such a big area for wines. I didn't get a picture of this, but this location also has a wine and beer bar in the store, similar to some of their Charlotte locations.

    While I do think Harris Teeter's prices are more expensive in general as far as grocery stores go, sometimes they do have really great specials for VIC card members. On the day I took the photos for this post, shredded cheese was on sale! I stocked up because this is something I use all the time when cooking (and just for eating- lol!).

     One thing that I am not crazy about is the bakery at Harris Teeter. I think that their cakes and other baked goods taste a bit artificial, and like you can tell they're from a grocery store bakery (if that makes sense). Maybe the bakery has had a huge revamp from when I lived in Charlotte... but I speaking from my years there that I'm not crazy about the Harris Teeter baked goods!


     Something that most Harris Teeters are great about (Charlottesville included) is having a great number of self checkout aisles. Most of the Vermont grocery stores didn't have self checkout (one literally got it right as I moved!), so it's nice to be near stores again that have this feature.

      Harris Teeter - Final Thoughts 



     If I was ever feeling sentimental for my college years and that season of life- Harris Teeter is probably the first place I would head! Grocery shopping there is so engrained with my memories from that time in life. However- for doing weekly groceries here in Charlottesville? This probably won't be my first or second choice. Although some of the weekly VIC card deals are pretty great, in general Harris Teeter's prices on most grocery items tend to be higher than other stores. There is so much variety with grocery stores in Charlottesville, so I have no need to make this my number one pick. I have found since moving that I prefer their parent company, Kroger, to Harris Teeter.



     Check out past Grocery Wars posts:

• Grocery Store Wars: Wegmans
• Grocery Store Wars: Kroger
• Grocery Store Wars: Giant

     No Midweek Ramblings post tomorrow in honor of July 4th, but I will talk to y'all on Thursday! Hoping that you enjoy your holiday.

      God Bless,

      xoxo Annaliese

   

Grocery Store Wars: Giant

     Welcome back to the third edition of Grocery Store Wars on the blog! If you've missed the first two posts, this is the series where I'm reviewing all of the grocery chains with locations in my new home city in Virginia. I've always had a passion for grocery shopping, and through sharing about this randomly on IG Stories one day a couple months ago I learned that a lot of y'all do as well! Hence the idea for Grocery Store Wars. Even if you don't have any of these chains where you live, maybe you're like me and love grocery shopping and still think it's cool to read about regional grocery stores in other parts of the country!! (Or if not and you think this blog post series is super weird- regularly schedule blog programming returns tomorrow. 😉)


     Today's grocery store: Giant! (P.S. The photo of me below was actually taken at home in Maine this weekend, at our local grocery chain, Hannaford! I realized when starting to write this post that I'd forgotten to take a photo of me with the Giant sign back in Charlottesville... so hopefully a grocery cart photo is fitting enough!)

     Giant - Fast Facts



     *History and Locations: Founded in 1936 in Washington, DC. Currently operating 150+ stores in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.


     *Known for: Their website highlights the fact they were one of the first grocery chains to use computerized scanners at checkout, and that they have a strong commitment to diversity in their hiring process. Giant was formerly merged and affiliated with Stop n Shop, a large New England grocery chain, between 2004-2011, and the two chains still share the same logo and some store brands, even though they're no longer part of the same parent company today.


     *Rewards program: Giant card program. (I don't shop here often so I actually haven't signed up for this yet.) Some locations have some sort of a fuel rewards program, however I don't think the location near me has it.


      *My prior knowledge: I had never heard of this grocery store prior to moving to Virginia. The one in Charlottesville is located in a neighborhood close to where I work and where my bible study meets, so I am frequently in that area. I was a bit confused at first when seeing Giant since they share the logo of Stop n Shop from New England, but then discovered while researching this post that they're no longer affiliated.


     *Word on the street: I have yet to meet anyone in Charlottesville who really likes shopping at the Giant that's here! It's convenient I suppose for the neighborhood it serves, but it's definitely not a grocery "destination." I've asked a couple of my DC friends where they grocery shop and they've told me they prefer Harris Teeter.



     Giant - My Shopping Experience 



     Like I said above, the times that I've shopped at Giant before were mainly out of convenience (when I'm out and about in the part of town it's in). The best way that I can describe my shopping experiences here is that this grocery store is "average." They have a decent selection of dry goods items at reasonable prices (baking aisle, cereals, pantry items, etc), a moderately sized frozen food section, and okay departments for other things. But nothing about the food at Giant stands out to me. The prices aren't bad, but the sales aren't especially great either. And the selections were definitely lacking in some departments.

    Here's the produce department in my local Giant! It actually had a nice mix of organic and non-organic produce, and the prices weren't too bad. As I've shared in the past Grocery Wars posts, I am trying to get better about eating more fresh produce in my diet, but this is still something I'm working on, so this still isn't my favorite department in the grocery store.



     It wouldn't be one of my grocery posts if I didn't highlight the cheese department! Giant's wasn't the biggest that I've seen in the Charlottesville grocery stores, but not the smallest either. (I haven't tried Giant's store brand cheeses since I don't shop there that often.)

   
      Their organic section of the store has it's own refrigerated and frozen department, and carried the same store brand that I was familiar with from Stop n Shop in New England! I did like the organic and natural department of the store- they carried some favorite products of mine (like a certain Annie's mac n cheese flavor) that I haven't been able to find at other chain grocery stores in Charlottesville.

     I did notice that Giant had a nice floral department! I usually buy flowers from Trader Joe's since I think you can't beat their prices, but it's nice to know this is an option too.

     One thing that was a major downside at Giant was the bakery. As a lover of sweet treats and freshly baked breads, I always appreciate a grocery store with a big bakery department. Every time that I've been to the Giant in Charlottesville, I've been shocked at the low selection in their bakery. And the few items they do have always seem old and stale looking. This is definitely not somewhere that I'd come to buy fresh bread or any type of bakery baked good.

     Giant - Final Thoughts 



     DC and parts of Maryland seem to be the home base for Giant stores. When I was in DC a couple months ago, I actually passed by some very large and fancy looking Giants. Charlottesville however is not the home for these. There's just not much about this specific store location that makes it stand out enough to me to make me continue doing most of my grocery shopping here! I will say that I thought the Charlottesville store had great customer service- and friendly associates are something I do always appreciate. But other than that, so far Giant is my least favorite Charlottesville grocery store.



     Check out past Grocery Store Wars posts:

• Grocery Store Wars: Wegmans
• Grocery Store Wars: Kroger

     Hoping that y'all enjoyed the long weekend! A new Midweek Ramblings post will be on the blog tomorrow for your Wednesday.

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese

Grocery Store Wars: Kroger.

     Welcome back to Southern Belle in Training's Grocery Store Wars! This is the new blog post series where I'm discovering all of the grocery store chains in my new home state- some that I've been previously familiar with, and some that totally new to me. Why am I doing this? Well, mainly because I love grocery shopping, and I'm always looking for new and creative types of content to write about on the blog. 😊I hope these posts will inspire you to check out more types of grocery stores in your city, and when you travel!


     I did a poll in my Instagram Stories last week about which grocery store chain to do next... I'm not doing a store featured in the poll this week! (Food Lion or Giant will be next, I promise!) Time to talk about the LARGEST grocery chain in the country, Kroger:

     Kroger - Fast Facts



     *History and Locations: Founded in 1883 in Cincinnati, OH. Currently operating over 2,800 stores (!!!) in 35 states under two dozen banner names. (Stores with Kroger name located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia)


     *Known for: Being the largest supermarket chain in the United States! And having a variety of different store options: in addition to regular Kroger grocery stores and banner grocery stores, they also operate some superstores and jewelry stores in other states. They also have an extensive gas rewards program.


     *Rewards program: Kroger Plus Card program. Signing up includes your access into their fuel perks gas program. Kroger Plus Card accepted at most Kroger banner stores, however Harris Teeter has their own rewards card program.


     *My prior knowledge: I first visited Kroger a few months ago- on my winter trips to Kentucky and Indiana! Before that, I'd never been before. In researching this post, I learned that both NC and SC have Kroger stores, however I never personally was in a part of either of these states that have Kroger. (The Charlotte area is dominated by Harris Teeter.) The Indiana Kroger that I went to this winter was one of their superstores- it was HUGE! It seemed like a cool grocery store so I was excited to learn Charlottesville had a few Krogers.


     *Word on the street: Friends that I have in other states where Kroger is very popular are VERY loyal to Kroger! I'd heard only good things about it in past years. In Charlottesville specifically, I haven't met too many people that shop here exclusively (a lot of Wegman's and Harris Teeter fans here in Cville), but I have met a couple people here that prefer Kroger.



     Kroger - My Shopping Experience 



     I had run into Kroger to pick up one or two items during the week a few times since moving here, but I actually did my full groceries for the week at Kroger only once- for writing this blog post! I've been into two out of the three Krogers in Charlottesville. I found both stores to be larger than they looked from the outside, and pretty well stocked. I was also impressed by the prices on everyday items that I purchase on most of my weekly grocery trips.


     Here's a look at the produce department! As I've shared... I'm trying to buy more and eat more fruits and vegetables each week, but this definitely isn't something that I eat a ton of right now (I have a picky eater diet much of the time), but I will say that I found the produce prices to be quite affordable from my limited knowledge of buying this. Cilantro bundles (this is an herb that I buy frequently for cooking) were just 50 cents the day that I shopped for this blog post- that's a pretty good deal! Super Walmart for example can have really cheap produce, but often it's not in the best shape. I'm happy to report that most items in the Kroger produce department seemed to be in great shape, and were affordable.

     Now let's talk about the cheese department- something that I of course find very crucial in a grocery store. Kroger's wasn't bad!! In one of the Charlottesville stores, it was located near the bakery and wine section. It wasn't as extensive as other cheese departments that I've seen, but they still had a nice variety of gourmet cheeses to choose from. Their lower cost cheese section (in the dairy department) wasn't bad either, and I purchased a couple bags of shredded cheeses for making quesadillas and pizzas at home this week.

     This Kroger had a well stocked wine aisle, and a neighboring aisle for beer. I noticed many of the wines were marked down and on special!

   

     The store itself was very clean, well lit, and well stocked!! And pretty big! The Charlottesville Kroger stores are just regular grocery stores, not superstores, but I was still pretty impressed. 

     I tried a few things from the Kroger store brand during my shopping trip- one favorite thing that I picked up was Kroger brand ice cream! It was delicious, and extremely affordable compared to the name brand ice creams. Kroger also had a decently sized section with a couple aisles and a freezer section for organic and natural foods, which was good to see!

     Kroger - Final Thoughts

     I really liked Kroger. I think this might become my regular "everyday" grocery store. I love the fact that they have such an extensive gas rewards program! I have a weird obsession with tracking down the lowest possible gas prices where I live, so if a grocery store offers some sort of a gas rewards program I'm much more likely to shop there! Anyways, I was impressed with Kroger's selection and prices. They don't offer as many speciality items or prepared items as Wegmans (or as fancy of a bakery), but I know that stores like Wegmans, or places like Whole Foods/Trader Joe's are there for those specific grocery needs when I have them! I also like the fact that Kroger is in so many states in the country- if I travel to other places that have them, I'll already be familiar with the store and their products! 

      Check out past Grocery Wars posts:

• Grocery Store Wars: Wegmans

     Do you have Kroger (or one of their banner stores) near where you live? Have you shopped here before? And last question: for the next Grocery Wars post: do you want to see Giant or Food Lion?? Last time I'll ask, I promise! 

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese 

     

Grocery Store Wars: Wegmans

     Time to start a new post series on the blog that is totally different from anything that I've ever tried before. Presenting: Southern Belle in Training's Grocery Store Wars! Here's how the inspiration for this whole thing started. Ever since I first moved away to college, I've become obsessed with grocery shopping. I guess I never disliked going with my mom or dad while growing up, but it definitely becomes a lot more fun when you're shopping for yourself and your eating habits only! I love checking out regional grocery store chains when I travel, and one thing that I've enjoyed about moving around the East Coast over the past few years has been discovering different grocery stores in the states I've lived in.


     About a month ago, I posted something on Instagram Stories about all of the different grocery stores that the Charlottesville area has, and my DMs blew up! I seriously couldn't believe it. A lot of you get just as excited to talk about grocery shopping and grocery stores as I do. (Yay for not being alone in that!) Anyways, this inspired me to try a totally different type of blog post series on the blog- this isn't fashion, beauty, or faith related (my usual post topics). Instead- we'll be talking about all things GROCERY STORES!


     I was originally going to call this series "Grocery Month," but I started to realize this might be more of an all-summer thing on the blog, so I'm calling it Grocery Store Wars instead. In each post, I'll visit a grocery chain (or maybe a local grocery store later on in the series!) that's located in Charlottesville, do my groceries as normal, and review the experience! I'll share general thoughts about the store, their prices, the atmosphere, and how I feel the store fits my needs as a single woman who lives alone/shops for food for one. I'm not going to be sharing recipes or too detailed grocery lists in these posts, but if this series is a hit than maybe I can branch off into posts on those topics later in the summer!


      Alright- let's get started on our first store: Wegmans!

     Wegmans - Fast Facts



     *History and Locations: Founded in 1915 in Rochester, New York. Currently operating 96 stores in six states (New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia). Not affiliated with other supermarket chains.


     *Known for: Being larger and carrying more inventory than most other supermarket chains (really- the company acknowledges this on their website as well!), having market cafes or restaurants located in the store, having a design that feels like a European open-air market


     *Rewards program: Shoppers Club Card program. Signing up includes a free copy of the Wegmans Menu recipe magazine.


      *My prior knowledge: I had heard of Wegmans before moving to Virginia, but I'd thought it was just something in the Pennsylvania area. I think the Charlottesville store is still just a year or two old!


     *Word on the street: I heard only the most POSITIVE things about Wegmans in Charlottesville before shopping there for myself. This store is regarded very highly, and some people that I've met here shop exclusively at Wegmans (good sign- I had high expectations!).



     Wegmans - My Shopping Experience



    I did groceries at Wegmans twice before writing this blog post. During my first trip, many things about the store impressed me! I took my mom with me on the second trip during her visit to Virginia, and she was able to point out some things to me about grocery shopping there that I hadn't picked up on during my first trip. So I think Wegmans has some pros and cons!


      First impressions- the Wegmans website is definitely right for one of their facts. This store is HUGE! There wasn't a Super Walmart near where I used to live in Vermont (just a regular Walmart, and it was kind small), and I'm pretty sure this Wegmans was bigger than the Williston, Vermont Walmart- ha! Let me just say that nothing gets me excited about grocery shopping more than setting food into a big, beautiful new grocery store. *chills*


   

     Wegmans has a fantastic produce department. Vegetables and fruits are still something that I'm making an effort to cook in more of my meals and eat more of (#DietOfAToddler), but shopping in this store made me feel more inspired to do that already! One thing that I took note of was the fact that there was a section of Asian produce and vegetables. I love to cook Thai and Indian dishes, so this was really cool to see!


      When my mom visited, she found Wegmans produce to be a bit expensive. My mom has a healthier diet and buys many more fruit and vegetables than I do, so I trusted her perspective on that. Final thoughts on Wegmans produce: I think it'd be a great store to find a specific fruit or veggie in (such as something from the Asian produce section), but for your general produce shopping, another grocery store in the area might be cheaper.

     One way you should judge a grocery store? By its CHEESE department. Wegmans scored a 12/10 in this. This picture only shows like half of the cheese department. This grocery store knows their cheeses and knows how to stock 'em! I found a wide array of all types of cheese, and a balance of local cheeses and some international favorites as well. Even a few from Vermont were in the mix! I will say that most of the cheeses that Wegmans carries in their department are on the expensive side- I am definitely one who doesn't mind splurging on cheese, however I saw a lot of price points that even seemed high for what I'll pay. But the selection is incredible. This would be a great grocery store to hit up for planning a cheese board for a party, or just treating yourself!

     Not sure if this picture of one of the frozen foods aisles truly does it justice, but Wegmans stores really are BIG! The aisles are so spacious, and they carry some really unique food items in every aisle that I don't find at most grocery stores. It truly is a SUPERmarket.

     This is just a sampling of the Asian foods aisle at Wegmans! Their selection of international foods is unbelievable! Not just Asian foods either... lots of Latin American foods and European items as well. I mentioned above that I love Asian cuisine and cooking it at home, so this selection made me really happy. I do know that Charlottesville has a few international grocery stores (which can sometimes be cheaper for buying these items), but Wegmans would be a great place to go if you're trying some international cuisine at home and need certain ingredients.

     Part of the reasons Wegmans stores are so big is the impressive wine department! Seriously... this picture shows just a fraction of it. I felt like I'd walked out of the main grocery store and into a Total Wine store! I wasn't previously a big wine drinker before moving to Virginia wine country, but I know that if I ever need to pick up a nice bottle or want to try something new, this is the store! They have every wine imaginable in a variety of price points, and the aisles are divided up by regions of the US and world. I loved the fact they sold so many regional Virginia wines!

     And one thing that I found very cool... in the checkout areas Wegmans has cookbooks and cooking magazines on display, instead of tabloids and the normal grocery store magazine layout!



     Wegmans - Final Thoughts



     There are many things that I REALLY loved about Wegmans: the sheer size of the store, the cheese and wine departments, the international food selection, and they also had a great bakery and assortment of prepared meal-ready items from different departments (as compared to other grocery stores). But at the same time, during the trip that I made with my mom, she pointed out to me that their prices on produce and many different pantry items (both name brand and store brand) were much higher than other grocery stores.


     My final thoughts on Wegmans: I will absolutely be continuing to shop here, although  not on a weekly basis (probably more like monthly). This will be my one of my first destinations for specialty grocery items, premade meal-ready items, really good cheese, and a few other things, but for larger grocery trips when I need to seriously stock my pantry, I probably won't come here.



     Hope that y'all enjoyed my very first Grocery Store Wars post!! Any feedback would be so appreciated as this series continues. I hope that even if you don't live near all of the stores that I'll be writing about, these posts might still inspire you to check out more grocery stores in your area and enjoy food shopping as much as possible!



     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese

What I Eat In a Week.

     I mention often on the blog that I love to cook and bake. Since moving to Vermont, I probably make 90% of my weekly meals at home from scratch, which has been a great money saver overall. However, cooking so often for just one person can be quite a challenge! Most recipes are designed with families in mind, so it's been quite a trial and error process to find meals that work for my solo lifestyle. (Trust me- if you have a big batch of even the most delicious recipe ever... anyone would be sick of eating leftovers of it by Day 7 straight in a row!)