(Not so) cheap thrills.

This morning's shopping trip to Malmö included a stop at Gray's American Store. Behold! A store full of some of the products Americans love best, at extremely high prices (though not so high that I was unwilling to splurge).

You can choose from a wide selection of sugary, processed, and plain-old-American food products, including Bisquick, Aunt Jemima's syrup, Goldfish, Tabasco sauce, Captain Crunch, Pop Tarts, canned pumpkin, condensed milk, chocolate chips, Arm and Hammer baking soda, cranberry sauce, tortilla chips, and so many other tantalizingly appealing things.

My purchases:

A box of Annie's Mac n Cheese: 38 kronor ($5.85)

A bottle of McCormick Vanilla extract: 52 kronor ($8.00)

A box of Betty Crocker brownie mix: 60 kronor ($10.50)

Yikes. In my defense, these were well worth the splurge. Vanilla extract does not exist in Swedish grocery stores (I have looked! I have asked!) and Annie's just sounded darn good. The brownie mix cost was split three ways -- between me and two friends -- along with a large can of refried beans, both of which we will be cooking up next week for shared dinner of burritos and dessert.

I was a bit embarrassed about how sentimental we became over bottles of Snapple, packages of Goldfish, and Reese's Peanut Butter cups, but just seeing the products reminded me of how much I love my home. Sweden is great... but I really do love America the best.

Linnea