Conversation Starters (update)

Last week I happened to stop by Trader Joe’s for groceries and as I was checking out at the register, I made an impulse purchase of some micro-totes that were on display nearby. The thought was that these cute totes with regular size shopping bag inside (two bags in one!) would make nice inexpensive, yet practical, gifts. My Trader Joe’s limited customer purchases to 1 of each color: red, green and blue.

You can get a sense of the micro-tote scale above (3 held in one hand) and below (on kitchen counter next to Kleenex box).

When I got home I unzipped the micro-tote and pulled out the shopping bag which matched the color of the outer bag. Nice design there!

I texted my niece who was visiting from Hawaii and asked if they planned to shop at Trader Joe’s while in Anaheim. I mentioned the cute micro-totes that I had just purchased. She replied that yes they were stopping by a store in the city of Orange that morning. It turned out there was a line at that store with people waiting to purchase the micro-totes. The bags sold out before my niece could get any to bring back to Hawaii as souvenirs.

I mentioned that I would check at my local Trader Joe’s the next day to see if I could get them a set. Arriving at the store a little before it opened meant waiting just a couple minutes outside in the rain. The purchase was easy and I managed to fit in a short 10 minute walk to and from Trader Joe’s so a double win!

My friend Christine calls me the “bag lady” because I did a similar thing in April procuring Trader Joe’s mini-tote bags in Easter pastels.