Published on TheOdysseyOnline
A quick trip to Trader Joe’s one crisp fall Sunday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina may have changed my life forever. Before this trip, I had been to a Trader Joe's only once when I was younger and my mother had to drag me away from the chocolate candies in the check-out line. This time, while I still found myself drawn to the candy that tries to pass itself as healthy, I was also intrigued by pretty much everything else in the store. Not to mention, the whole store was fall-themed. That’s right, there were baskets of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes, warm and decorative fall leaves, and pumpkin spice everything. From the moment I stepped into this Trader Joe’s, I knew that I had been truly missing out. I instantly fell in love with the cozy autumn environment of the store and its cheap and healthy fall flavors.
Let me set the scene. When I first walked in, I was greeted by wooden baskets holding pumpkins and assorted baby gourds. If you know me, you know that I love gourds, and these particularly gourd-geous mini gourds, stacked in colorful piles, were only .75 cents each.
Behind the pumpkins was an entire shelf decorated with classic warm-colored leaves and stocked full of fall-flavored items. Pumpkin spice coffee, caramel apple granola, gluten-free pumpkin pancake mix, and apple cider jam were just a few of the autumn-associated products prominent on the shelf.
As I continued deeper into the store, I came upon the sample section. This was no ordinary sample station, unmanned and covered by a flimsy plastic dome. It was a kitchen. This sample-station-kitchen was topped off with a chef in a Halloween-themed apron crafting each sample. I got to try carrot cake, apple cider, fresh cheese and apples and organic coffee, all of which were for sale in the neighboring section of the store.
Not only have I never seen so many fall decorations and fall foods, but I have also never seen such low prices. The basket I carried with everything I wanted to buy was weighing down my arm by the time I made it to the checkout, yet my total was only $60, which would have been $100 or more at my usual grocery store. Not to mention, the employees were extremely talkative and friendly, even giving me free Halloween stickers.
You know what it's like to step into the mall in December and feel like you've transported into a winter wonderland? I had a similar experience walking into Trader Joe's. Only, this was no winter wonderland. I was walking in autumn Eden.