Remember this '80s ad for Mini Babybel cheese?
I still sing the jingle to myself whenever I eat these little cheeses. I love unzipping the red wax, which I then warm in my hand and mould into shapes.
Anyway, enough nostalgia – time for NOW! which is when Mini Babybel cheese is on special at Woolworths. They're selling 2 bags of five cheeses for $6 (save $1.98) – that's 60c per cheese!
They're being sold as a lunchbox filler ("Refuel for school!") but honestly I just like 'em as a snack. On sale until 22 January.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Men's leather shoes at Big Dubs
I was in Big Dubs QV earlier, where back-to-school season is in full swing. I thought I'd check out some of the shoes I'd seen in the catalogue. I tried on the Bata Scouts as I can just squeak into the bottom end of men's shoe sizing. They weren't bad.
Anyway, I saw some other men's shoes on special that I either had missed or that weren't advertised.
These grey suede desert boots are half price at $20. They're leather, and the colour is a little warmer than these pics show. Here's a closer look.
But if you are not into the desert boot look and instead would like to project an Ivy League image at community-college prices, how about these leather boat shoes for $15?
I will never understand why boat shoes are cool now. When I was a teenager, they were the exclusive preserve of obnoxious private schoolboys in rugby shirts. But anyway.
Of course, you'd have to pick your pair carefully to make sure you didn't get one with munted stitching. Some ideas to make them more jaunty include replacing the laces with white or colourful ones (white would look quite fresh and crisp, IMHO), or colouring in the white stitching or the sole with brightly coloured permanent pen.
There were also some black canvas loafers by Mambo that had a sort of creeper-ish sole. They were $30, if you like that sort of look.
Anyway, I saw some other men's shoes on special that I either had missed or that weren't advertised.
These grey suede desert boots are half price at $20. They're leather, and the colour is a little warmer than these pics show. Here's a closer look.
But if you are not into the desert boot look and instead would like to project an Ivy League image at community-college prices, how about these leather boat shoes for $15?
I will never understand why boat shoes are cool now. When I was a teenager, they were the exclusive preserve of obnoxious private schoolboys in rugby shirts. But anyway.
Of course, you'd have to pick your pair carefully to make sure you didn't get one with munted stitching. Some ideas to make them more jaunty include replacing the laces with white or colourful ones (white would look quite fresh and crisp, IMHO), or colouring in the white stitching or the sole with brightly coloured permanent pen.
There were also some black canvas loafers by Mambo that had a sort of creeper-ish sole. They were $30, if you like that sort of look.
Sporty bargains at Aldi
This week Aldi is having a bit of a sport and fitness jag, with all sorts of sporting clothes and equipment on sale.
What caught my eye was that they're selling inflatable gym balls for $7.99. Also known as 'fit balls' or 'Swiss balls', these are the sort of balls you sit on at your desk instead of a chair, or that you hold or lie on to do various exercises.
They come in black, aqua, lime and pink, and in 55cm, 65cm, 75cm or 85cm, depending on your needs. They take a maximum user weight of 120kg.
If you're a bit WTF when it comes to gym balls, here's a list of 10 manly exercises recommended by AskMen, and 10 exercises recommended by Weight Watchers.
Also at Aldi, a waterproof mp3 player for $29.99. I was pretty excited about this as I have recently taken up swimming again. It's suitable for water sports and activities and is waterproof up to 3m. Considering my local pool is 1.9m at the deep end, I should be okay.
It's nothing fancy – it has a 4GB internal memory and its only functions are play, pause, reset, and volume up or down. It comes with a clip, armband, USB cable and earphones. It's available in blue or black.
The pictures show the player clipped to a lady's goggles and the earbuds tucked inside a swimming cap. Perhaps it is a little ridiculous to go to so much effort. One of the things I like about swimming is the quietness of the mind it instils. But you could also just use it as a small mp3 player to wear while exercising and not have to worry about damaging your 'good' mp3 player in rainy conditions.
What caught my eye was that they're selling inflatable gym balls for $7.99. Also known as 'fit balls' or 'Swiss balls', these are the sort of balls you sit on at your desk instead of a chair, or that you hold or lie on to do various exercises.
They come in black, aqua, lime and pink, and in 55cm, 65cm, 75cm or 85cm, depending on your needs. They take a maximum user weight of 120kg.
If you're a bit WTF when it comes to gym balls, here's a list of 10 manly exercises recommended by AskMen, and 10 exercises recommended by Weight Watchers.
Also at Aldi, a waterproof mp3 player for $29.99. I was pretty excited about this as I have recently taken up swimming again. It's suitable for water sports and activities and is waterproof up to 3m. Considering my local pool is 1.9m at the deep end, I should be okay.
It's nothing fancy – it has a 4GB internal memory and its only functions are play, pause, reset, and volume up or down. It comes with a clip, armband, USB cable and earphones. It's available in blue or black.
The pictures show the player clipped to a lady's goggles and the earbuds tucked inside a swimming cap. Perhaps it is a little ridiculous to go to so much effort. One of the things I like about swimming is the quietness of the mind it instils. But you could also just use it as a small mp3 player to wear while exercising and not have to worry about damaging your 'good' mp3 player in rainy conditions.
Esky buys, A-listed
Every summer I decide to buy an esky then demur, aghast by how expensive they are. But I guess they are an investment. My parents still use the coolers I recall from my childhood. They must be 30 or more years old by now.
But never fear; if you want to see numbers in action, there are some good bargains to be had on coolers right now. If you'd like a small, easy-to-carry esky to take to picnics and BBQs, at Ray's Outdoors the Frostbite 8L BBQ Cooler is $14.99 (save $15). By comparison, an Esky brand 10L cooler is $24.97 at Big Dubs.
Coles has a red-hot bargain at the moment – a 55L Willow Wheelie Cooler for $50 (save a monstrous $46.57). This is on sale until 22 January, but I wouldn't be surprised if they run out of stock.
But never fear; if you want to see numbers in action, there are some good bargains to be had on coolers right now. If you'd like a small, easy-to-carry esky to take to picnics and BBQs, at Ray's Outdoors the Frostbite 8L BBQ Cooler is $14.99 (save $15). By comparison, an Esky brand 10L cooler is $24.97 at Big Dubs.
If you'd like something bigger, head to Ray's Outdoors for a Frostbite 40L wheeled cooler for $59.99 (save $20), and a 70L wheeled cooler is $89.99 (save $30).
Compare this to a Willow 44L cooler at Big Dubs for $73.84, or a 65L Esky Ice King that's actually on special at Big Dubs right now for $118 (save $30).
Compare this to a Willow 44L cooler at Big Dubs for $73.84, or a 65L Esky Ice King that's actually on special at Big Dubs right now for $118 (save $30).
Coles has a red-hot bargain at the moment – a 55L Willow Wheelie Cooler for $50 (save a monstrous $46.57). This is on sale until 22 January, but I wouldn't be surprised if they run out of stock.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Schmeatherston chairs at Plush Furniture
To my chagrin, Grant Featherston's R160 Contour Chair has entered into the pantheon of Ripped-Off Design Classics, along with Noguchi coffee tables, Eames lounge chairs and Barcelona sofas.
The original chairs date from 1951-55 and are inspired by a bent tram ticket. Those sell for big bucks in the midcentury antiques market – even a busted frame can fetch four figures on eBay.
Most replicas cost $700-$1500. Matt Blatt charges $1395 for its version, which it claims is an exact replica of the original.
Anyway, so that's the context for me looking at the latest Plush furniture catalogue and seeing they're now doing Featherston ripoff "contour accent chairs" in baby-blue, red, taupe and chartreuse for just $499. That's by far the cheapest I've ever seen this style.
I don't know whether to feel pleased or annoyed. I'm pleannoyed.
The original chairs date from 1951-55 and are inspired by a bent tram ticket. Those sell for big bucks in the midcentury antiques market – even a busted frame can fetch four figures on eBay.
Most replicas cost $700-$1500. Matt Blatt charges $1395 for its version, which it claims is an exact replica of the original.
Anyway, so that's the context for me looking at the latest Plush furniture catalogue and seeing they're now doing Featherston ripoff "contour accent chairs" in baby-blue, red, taupe and chartreuse for just $499. That's by far the cheapest I've ever seen this style.
I don't know whether to feel pleased or annoyed. I'm pleannoyed.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tresemmé, très bon marché
My shampoo and conditioner of choice is Tresemmé, for no other reason than that the 900ml bottles are nice and big so I have to restock them less frequently.
Honestly, almost all shampoos have similar formulas (here's a quick rundown of what the various ingredients are and do), so there is no point believing the claims the manufacturers make for their particular products. If their use of sulfates bothers you, here's a good starting point for sulfate-free shampoos.
Anyway, I am used to spending about $8 a bottle (it's currently $10.74 at Woolworths), so I was pleasantly surprised to see it on sale at Foodworks for $4.99. That is officially a Nice Price.
Cheap skating for cheapskates
It's odd, but those little retro plastic skateboards must be back. When I was a kid in the '80s, they were deeply uncool and frowned-upon (you had to have a 'proper' deck with the sandpapery surface), but maybe things have changed.
At Kmart, 55cm Southern Star "retro cruiser" skateboards are $15. They seem to come in purple with blue wheels, red with green wheels or blue with red wheels.
Meanwhile at Big Dubs, Mambo skateboards in the same size and style are $20. They come in red, hot pink, orange and yellow, again with contrasting-coloured wheels. I guess you pay an extra $5 for the Mambo brand.
The style is apparently a ripoff of Penny, an Australian brand of plastic skateboards that's been around since 1983 and seems to have a fair bit of cachet in some skating circles.
Considering Penny boards cost upwards of $150, these are very cheap indeed.
At Kmart, 55cm Southern Star "retro cruiser" skateboards are $15. They seem to come in purple with blue wheels, red with green wheels or blue with red wheels.
Meanwhile at Big Dubs, Mambo skateboards in the same size and style are $20. They come in red, hot pink, orange and yellow, again with contrasting-coloured wheels. I guess you pay an extra $5 for the Mambo brand.
The style is apparently a ripoff of Penny, an Australian brand of plastic skateboards that's been around since 1983 and seems to have a fair bit of cachet in some skating circles.
Considering Penny boards cost upwards of $150, these are very cheap indeed.
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