$2.50 Stuff in the $1 Spot?

We've heard a bit of static (won't go as far as to say complaints, more like displeased notices) about the new-ish 2/$5 items in the "$1 Spot"! Now, by virtue of the name of this section, you'd THINK that everything would cost $1. But a few months ago Target began adding things for $2.50. It seems to be a trend among dollar stores ... with even those with the word "dollar" in their name selling $2, $5, even $10 things. But we expect better expectation-setting from our friends at Target. The thing is...when you're walking toward the $1 spot you may get all excited to see a mini-globe bank or small sake set, only to be disappointed when you see the $2.50 tag. Not that these items aren't worth that cost, and not that $2.50 isn't still an unbelievably good price for these things--it's still a tiny letdown that you could do without. It seems Target's trying to help us out by grouping the $2.50 items onto one "wall" of the section. Hopefully they can stick to that to help keep our $1 expectations in line.

For those fans of Emergen-C out there...

The Targeteria wrote about the addition of Emergen-C to the shelves about 3 months ago...but just this week we were excited to see that our favorite vitamin supplement/faux-fizzy beverage has been moved to the checkout area end-cap displays! Along with "Airborne" (which we don't like nearly as much). In this season of airplane travel & illness, it's good to see Target's making it easy for us to find.



Just a quick note on the new Emergen-C lozenges: they're gross! Unless you're into the sensation/flavor of burning dirt in your mouth. Some say you can get past this initial phase, then they're really quite good...but we can't get past the hot dirt.

Archer Farms boxed meals!

When you think of dry boxed meals, you're probably thinking of the San Francisco treat...but some of Target's Archer Farms' brand boxed meals are actually a treat no matter where you are.

OUR FAVORITES:

• Quinoa with dried fruits (mix in some shredded chicken or cubed tofu for a complete meal)
• Pasta w/ sundried tomatoes & cream sauce

only online for the holidays

we're super-excited about some of the online-only offerings this holiday season!
you can ride around in your very own bumper-car (if you happen to only weigh 55 lbs). you can be up to 220 lbs and still enjoy the more jetson's-like option in this plasma car that runs on gravity & centrifugal force...
and speaking of gravity, a friend of the targeteria pointed us to this upside down tree on the target site. we pondered for awhile over how it might work, but after checking it out a little more closely, it seems that it stands on the floor, it doesn't even hang from the ceiling...which is a little disappointing...
the "laser tree" (why?) is sort of tim burtonesque. it comes in three different colors, all in 2 different sizes, but, we're sorry, they seem to be out of chartruese.

shipping's free on a lot of decor and toys the week, so that's quite pleasant.

we're baaaaaaack, and it's time for the Holidays!

it's been quite awhile with all the excitement of October and Halloween!
i'm very excited about the chinese cut paper aesthetic being brought to us by Studio Tord Boontje
i guess since these lovely designs feature so many deer, one decided to visit his kin at Target. check out the surveillance camera video on CNN.

we'll have lots more holiday reviews and info for you very very soon!

contributor's corner II

here's a whole new spot at the top for your target-related rants

halloween "activities"

sorry, the targeteria management went to boston for the weekend, so there's not much new to report...but we DID find this new section of the halloween website with activity ideas. they're not very difficult and you could probably do the crafts/pumpkins on your own without patterns, but the graphics are nice and it's a cool bit of info to include on the site.

...and look at all the halloween STUFF!

Since the stores can't seem to get their stuff out fast enough, you can preview it on the web, AND find a bunch of things that probably won't be in your store!

Here are some things that caught our eye:

They're really going over the top with this Edwardian Butler
We'll need to see this witch portrait working in the store before we decide if we like it. There's also a pirate and a butler portrait. I have a feeling these are made by a company I used to work for...
They can't get skeleton with a hat in the store fast enough for us to buy him. Maybe they'll let us go through the boxes in the back.
...and Target's giving us halloween recipes now! Hm, chocolate gremlins take exactly 48 m&m's to make...

halloween web site is UP!

it's here, and it's fantabulous!

these graphics are even more dia day los muertos than we thought!
notice how the stars spin and the skeletons bounce around the "festival of fright". nice attention to detail, nice! does anyone know who did the halloween graphics this year?

the kone

found this recently on the red hot shop (target.com): the kone handheld cordless vac
it claims to be in stores in black and tan, so i'll be checking that out this weekend, along with the long-awaited halloween revue!

halloween is coming...eventually

went to check out two targets this eve, with hope of finding halloween completely installed, but alas...

west mifflin target has, at least, graphics already in place. there's a fantastic "boolevard" sign that spans a few aisles, candy carts made of cardboard with fantabulous skull-patterned wheels, and batty chandeliers that look very dimensional, even tho they're really just an x of cardboard. this decorative signage all employs holographic foil details that make them APPEAR to be electrical, when really they're just reflecting light. there are other signs around the store for "festival of fright". the graphics have a mexican/dias de los muertos/papel picado meets carnival meets colonial american patterns kind of vibe. so far it gets an A-, but we've only seen the tip of the iceberg...

men's halloween tshirts include a day of the dead selection, and a sublime/subtle smattering of skulls. the women's tshirts don't fare as well, with the best option being "sweet & sinister candy shop". men's halloween garb also includes spooky boxers (abbott & costello meet frankenstein?) and women might want to consider knit slippers with skull or "devilicious" tattoo appliques. the problem is that all of the women's garb's a little too cutesy. the skull appliques on those slippers -- they have glittery heart eye sockets.

bags of candy corn offer a chance to scratch & win $500 instantly on the enclosed gift card. seems that other halloween treats are going to offer this same opportunity. it's a cool promotion, esp since corn sales have probably been down. just a note on the corn itself: it's very rich-tasting for candy corn, and boasts being "made with real honey" on the front of the bag.

can't imagine they'd let the 3-day weekend go by without stocking tthe many, empty, halloween-awaiting shelves...so we'll check back soon. not that we want the target staff to be be-labored on labor day, but we want halloween!

EXCITING NEWS...

when we visited the mothership yesterday, we found several cleared isles with some very nice black & orange signs stating very simply: "coming soon, halloween". with any luck, this will be ready to go by the weekend! targeteria can't wait to review the whole thing...and if the sign graphics and women's t-shirt tags (the first halloween items to arrive last week) are any indication...things are looking good! it's looking like a return to classic neo-victorian halloween graphics of target-a-few-years-ago. stay tuned for reviews and PIX!

the italian soda revue!

several weeks ago now, a friend asked for a review of archer farms flavored water. she was considering a mass purchase of it, since it was on sale. i'd had it before, but didn't really have an impression...one way or the other. this prompted me to check out this section next time i was in the store. apparently the flavored STILL water had been put on clearance to make for a fancy new line of italian SODAs! the targeteria management has since tasted most all of these new flavors, and here's the skivvy...

blueberry & pomegranate: definitely the strongest of the flavors. it's fairly tart but good tasting, problem is it tastes fake...even tho it's all natural flavorings.
peach & pear: mellower than it's blueberry & pomegranate counterpart, this one suffers the same fake-tasting fate. it's a little flowery/perfumy for our taste.
blood orange: judged #1 best flavor by targeteria! this is mellow and nice with an unusual fruit flavor! get yourself some!
lemon: this flavor is super pleasant and a close 2nd to blood-orange in targeteria's mind. it's just not as good as, say, san pelegrino limonada (also sold at target, in glass-bottle 6-packs).

there's one other flavor...orange/mango?...that's yet to be tried. will follow-up with that one soon.

we also found the revised line of salsas from archer farms. so far we've only tried the tropical fruit salsa. taste is good, chunks of fruit are big, and the jar's very hefty! a very worthwhile purchase, altho not as good as, say, paul newman's pineapple salsa (not available at you-know-where).

next up on the review block is the new line of cooking/simmer sauces from archer farms, look for it soon!

contributor's corner

Here's a spot for all of you to chronicle your best TARGET tips and finds....just comment on this post!

independent studies & mass transit rollin into fall

at the moment, not a whole lot is on clearance at our favorite store, because the fall stuff is on it's way in! here at the targeteria, we're already eager to review the halloween stuff!

one very interesting line of new home decor is apparently called "mass transit". the standout items are the city bus bookends (they're quite heavy & substantial in person) and the chrome memo board. check out the "flasks"...hmmmm. is this meth lab chic? they're very nice, come in 3 sizes, & we'll probably pick up a few.


also had a great find on a clearance rack that turned out not to be on sale, but we still bought 2. they're stork embroidery scissors! i'd provide a pic if my camera hadn't suffered a canoing mishap over the weekend. i'll show them to you as soon as it dries out. (finally got a pic out there on 9/12/06) they're very old-looking, and will do well in the martha-inspired sewing kits in jars that some lucky giftees will be getting this xmas.

the graphics/packaging/signage for the back-to-college line -- "independent studies" -- are worth a look! the logo's got unicorns & lightening bolts, and the backgrounds on signs and packages is dark brown paneling with gloss-varnish whatsits. bedsheet sets are currently on sale for $20, they come in great colors, and come in queen-size (do lots of college kids have queen beds?)

and finally this week, here's a shout out for the red hot shop. if you've never visited this online-only trove of the truly tendy, you're really missing out! the product descriptions are witty & wry. we love em! it's a shame that the its link on the target homepage is having SUCH clickability problems (wow, that's only on firefox!), so check it out from here instead. this week it's got cool tees with profits going to design education! woohoo!

emergen-C!!!

How exciting, TARGET's now carrying Emergen-C -- the fizzy miracle elixer that helps keep you from getting sick and gives you a little energy boost to boot. (Check it out here -- could someone please get them some new graphics? Even tho they seemingly just got new graphics...) Find the full-size boxes in the vitamin aisle, and a fancy 2-env sample pack in the travel-size-things section.

grand opening of the targeteria

we can't all afford to live the domino lifestyle at domino prices. so if you can't swing that $3,200 teak stool for your bathroom, but a reasonable facsimile would do very nicely, then the targeteria is the place for you!

by "popular demand" (ok, maybe 3 people, but they suggested it strongly), i'll be checking in each week with the latest and greatest gems to be found at TARGET -- home of good design for everyday people (with an occassional cameo by TJMaxx or anywhere something fabulous can be found at a bargain price).

all prices mentioned are, of course, at my local TARGET (near pittsburgh, PA, USA), and i'm sure they don't apply to all TARGET's everywhere. since merchandise varies from store to store, day to day, there are no guarantees, but here are some ideas.

today's best TARGET finds:

thomas o-brian floor cushions: now just $12.98 each, these cushy textured vinyl beauties started out at $49.99. just the right fit for under my nesting coffee table, and will nicely serve as a tuffett while i laptop.

$1 section half-price sale: summer items priced to go. suggestions include a rubber camping mallet, folding camping shovel, 6-compartment spice "jars" (they're plastic, look for tops in lime green and orange), square scrapbooks with ribbon closure, and 3 floating starfish candles. that's all for just $.50 a piece.


magnetic frames: small, shapely magnetic "frames" are stuck to a metal board that also has a magnet-on-back for fridge-hanging, the 3-photo and 5-photo versions are both just $1.48 now.


throw pillows: many are on clearance. look for a shiny lime green one with copper zig-zag stripes, it's just $2.98.

women's underthings: crazy clearance with seemingly half the dept at 30% or more off.

method candles: these aren't on sale, but you may be able to find a nice coupon. the apple & vanilla scent is worth full-price.

in the garden section: if you're very lucky, you might still be able to find the giant metal ant. well worth it, if you can get it.


looking ahead toward FALL...
for the best season of the year, TARGET's offering a line of sweater purses with pom-poms in an array of fall colors including dark red and yellow ochre. also check out the giant change-purse bag by isaac mizrahi -- in 2 colors, sienna & black. there are some pointy dark-red shoes with potential, but they seem to be a little wide, definitely try on before buying.