Talk about a fun review!!

I rarely get to do a bunch of shopping. Mostly because of the fact that I limit myself to two shopping trips a month other than the necessities as a college girl's budget no matter if she is 30 is much smaller than she would like. So when I was given the mission of buying $25 worth of goodies at TJ Maxx and Marshalls I gladly accepted the challenge. Mind you with the cost of things today I sort of shook my head at the $25 gift cards. I was secretly thinking hmm I guess I'll go get two new shirts but on the way there I realized why not take advantage of the fact that the boys were home alone and I had these brilliant little gift cards with a review as my excuses to really spend some time and shop for something fabulous with my $25 at each store.

Lucky for me my TJ Maxx and Marshalls are within a few miles of each other so doing my little shopping trip was pretty simple. I have to admit the last time I stepped foot in TJ Maxx was on a visit to my parents in Hawaii and for some reason any time I visit my mom I end up coming home with more than I left with. On this particular trip planning for the reality of that I brought a second empty suitcase but I ended up needing a third suitcase last minute.. and TJ Maxx just happened to be the closest store to my mom's house and I came home with quite possibly my favorite piece of luggage of all time, a bright blue rolling suitcase that in the almost 8 years it has served me its always been easy to spot when claiming my luggage at the airport.

So my first stop was TJ Maxx.. I browsed the clothes, looked at the baby clothes, and then I hit the motherload. Our TJ Maxx has a huge home section and when I got a look at the selection I decided what I really needed was new home items. So after walking up and down each isle I have to say what I came home with was quite amazing.

TJ Maxx:

2 Over sized Bath Towels - striped blue/brown - retail price $19.00 each paid $7.99 each
and quite possibly my favorite pan ever
1 Le Creusant Non Stick skillet in Caribbean (the color of the set I'm working on!) actually this skillet is something I have never seen before, its not part of their cast iron collection its a traditional nostick skillet and the color matches my cast iron pieces perfectly! $14.99!!!!

So ok I spent a little over my $25 but it was well worth it as the skillet alone I would have happily paid $25 or much more for!

Marshalls:

1 Beautiful Striped Blue Beach Towel - $9.99 (nice plush towel!)
1 Le Creusant Cobalt Blue Cast Iron Grilling Pan - $14.99 (can you believe that?! That's easily a $109 pan!)

I brought the Grilling Pan home the same night and made some very delicious hamburgers in the oven. The lid from my Le Creusant square baking dish's lid fit my new grilling skillet perfectly so once the burgers were going I just put the lid on to prevent oil from popping out and they came out perfectly! I've actually used it almost every night this week as I used it for cooking fish twice this week as well already!

So needless to say at both TJ Maxx and Marshalls I got every item I bought at almost three times less than their retail price. I have an obsession with cast iron cookware but its SOO expensive. I totally forgot that both places carry overstocks and slightly irregular pieces and though the selection is different every time you go if you keep looking your bound to find the piece your looking for. I actually saw several pieces of the Caribbean collection and if I could I would have brought them all home with me.

Next shopping day I am going back to check out both my TJ Maxx and Marshalls to look for more pieces of my cookware set as well I'm on the lookout for a really great bedspread as well and I saw quite a few options at both stores. Go check out both the TJ Maxx and Marshalls website to find one or both near you!

Thanks TJ Maxx and Marshalls I'll be thinking about both stores while I'm cooking for a long long time.