My Shopping Adventure

 Hi Everyone,

  Yesterday my friend Carol and I went to the new H.E.B. we have here. It is one of our biggest grocery stores, but this my friends is a Mega Grocery Store... Very cool and lots of fun. We spent over 4 hours in here... We did not make it all the way thru the store. Mainly because I had to stop and look and snap pictures. Carol told everyone that I was a "Tourist" lol.. Guess that I was as I toured half of the store...

 This part of the store front is pretty cool. The green, yellow and blue glass is actually a water fall. The water rains down the sheets of glass. Behind the glass is a bar and grill of sorts. More of that in a minute.

 This is me.... Had I known this place was this fancy I would have dressed up!!!! But what a beautiful day for the middle of January. See on jacket, coat or sweater. We topped out at 69 degrees yesterday. We are making up for it today. It is cold and windy but yesterday was perfect.

 This is the Cafe Bar and Grill behind the glass....

 This was really neat. Food and Sports tv. It was fairly quiet when we got there but boy did it liven up when we were ready to leave with live music and lights and lots of people.

 Texas is known for it's beer among other things! Here in Austin we frequent some of the places that cater to the local Brewery's. H.E.B. even has stations offering free beer samples. I watched and listened but moved on as I was trying to take it all in.

 Another stop for drinks and sandwiches! You can help yourself or have someone to help you. Your choice.

 You cannot miss this even if you tried... The sweet smell of flowers just naturally makes you gravitate to see what all this floral center has to offer... I didn't get to see all of this either but here are some beautiful photos of what I did get to see.

 These orchids are just beautiful..... The green one really caught my eye!

 More flowers and of course so many more that I did not have time to look at....

 I fell in love with the Bamboo as well...

 Another little Nook and Cranny...

 This was one of my favorites in the store. The country look I suppose or perhaps that it is the sign that said Mom's Kitchen along with the one below it that said Family. I took several minutes looking here because it made me think of my mother and how much she would have loved looking at everything here.

 On to the next stop.... The Awesome Desserts.... I am so sorry that I did not take more pictures of this awesome spot. It was totally impossible to get shots of it all but the ones that I did get are awesome. I hope that you can see them but next time I go I am aiming for some close ups because these cakes and desserts are just beautiful.

 The bright bars that you see is the reflection of the florescent lights.

 Sushi Anyone? I stayed far far away but did take this picture for you. You can order at the front there and eat it there or take it home. (So I Was Told).

Bakery.... not the same place as the desserts.... Oh I forgot to include another picture from the desssert bar... The little parfait cups are actually real chocolate... They are really darling. I want to get some for my grandkids to have.

 Aren't they darling? This is in front of the Dessert section... Now off to the bakery.

 Another place that would be basically impossible to see everything in a short time. Any kind of bread that you want.... Here it is... I bought a loaf of Rye that is very tasty....

 Cheese anyone? Well same here as the bakery.. any kind you would like...

 Just a small shot taken here. I did not realize at the time that around the corner more cheese is offered! I bought a sampler....

Specialty Items and so many I cannot think of everything. However my friend Carol was seriously having a hard time choosing between the Artichoke Hearts and the Rasberry Jalapeno Jelly!  

This is the honey section.... All of these honey's are from Texas! Local growers and it makes my heart do proud to think that we also are working to keep our Locals working as well.

Rather a lot of honey here!

 This is some Rice Vinegar. This Isle was actually rather crowded. There were so many specialty items here ranging from the vinegar to the oils...
 There are some pictures that I just did not take or I would still be there, but the Coffee and Tea section is awesome. The Nuts is amazing...  cannot even begin to describe it. There are big bins that you can bag your own nuts, from Pecans and Walnuts to a few that I have never heard of.  Need those pecans chopped... not a problem, they have a chopper!
 Same with the coffee.... specialty coffees and grinders! I bought another Texas Pecan. It is my favorite. Jonathan gave me some for Christmas this year. It is my special treat on occassion!

 How about a little Wine to go with that Cheese.... Seven different wines... Tasted them all. This young lady was a sweet heart. She told us a little of the history of the wine, the age, then proceeded to give us samples... The one she is holding was my favorite. I did not buy it tho.

 This Gentleman is a kind soul... He was very patient with me as I tasted and went back in forth with these two wines...

 This wine is awesome.... It is a new wine. Only 5 months old for the store. I do forget the details of this wine.... I was buzzing pretty good by then!

In the end, this is the one that I chose. It is a splurge for me. Only because I had a 50% coupon to go along with it. And the Winner Is:

The next part of my adventure is an awesome cooking section. Here was food tasting that offered breads, wines, cheeses, as well as olives and bits of salads... Oh this was really right up my alley! I wasn't even hungry when I got home. A day out that offered food and drink all under the same roof lol....

 This is really bigger than it looks. What you cannot see is what is behind me... and yes another wine tasting event!

They were replenishing the breads when I took this picture. My friend Carol looking at the bread and oil and debating if she wanted to give it a try, In the meantime I waited for the other breads to arrive and I chose a dark bread that was really nice.

Olives and Mushrooms offered in several different ways. A serve yourself bar.

And this is what it looked like when I wobbled out lol... I took pictures of the live band but you cannot see them from this picture. The ones that I did take did not come out well. The music was great and upbeat. Didn't stay too long as it was dark and we had planned to be home long before we actually did arrive.

 It was a great adventure. Who knew that grocery shopping could be so much fun! So until my next adventure where I plan to see what is on the other side of the store, this is all that I have to share for today. I do have tons more pictures, but these are the most relevant. I hope that you enjoyed going along with me for the day.
 Until Monday, Have a great day and remember to always be kind! BB