Tag Archives: shopping

Hair And Groceries (or Being Out And About When Masks Aren’t Required)

Posted on June 22, 2021 | Comments Off on Hair And Groceries (or Being Out And About When Masks Aren’t Required)

I wrote last week about how I was nervous about going out and doing things now that things have reopened and masks were no longer required for people who are vaccinated. I would probably feel differently if I knew that the people without masks were really people who were vaccinated, but since they aren’t currently requiring proof I can’t know that for sure. I do know that a lot of people in LA have been vaccinated and we are having lower case rates than many places around the country. But there are still cases every day and it is slightly increasing right now. This is nothing like the surges in the past and I don’t know if the new cases could be all unvaccinated people. So I have to continue to believe that things really are getting better, even if they aren’t completely better yet.

I wasn’t sure how soon I’d be going out and doing errands and other things now that things are reopened. I really thought it might take a week or so to feel ok. But it turns out that it happened over the weekend when I had a few things to do on Sunday.

First, I got my hair done on Sunday. This isn’t the first time I’ve had my hair done since the shutdown nor is it the first time I was in a hair salon since. I went to my friend Erin’s salon toward the end of last year to have her do my hair. When I went then, we both knew that we had to be careful. We were both in KN95 masks and there weren’t any other people in the salon. But besides that time, I either dyed my hair at home or I went to Erin’s house to have her do it. And originally, I thought I was going to go to her house to have my hair done, but she’s at a new salon now and wasn’t able to have me come to her place. But we picked a day and time when there weren’t a lot of other people with appointments.

It is weird to figure out if it’s ok to not wear a mask or not. I know that I am pretty safe since I am vaccinated, but I also don’t want to make a dumb decision. But with Erin, we are at Orangetheory together without masks, so I wasn’t as worried about being around her. I did keep my mask on for some of my appointment and had it off for other parts of it. I will say, being without a mask in public does seem really odd to me. It’s weird how quickly this has become a part of what feels normal, especially when it did take me some time to be comfortable with it.

I’m glad I got my hair done and I’m glad I’m back to a somewhat regular routine with it. I haven’t started back with other parts of my beauty and self-care routine that I don’t do at home, but I know that will come eventually. I think getting used to things one at a time is going to be key for me and my anxiety.

Since I was already out and about, I decided to go to the grocery store too. I know that I can still get groceries delivered and I do plan on continuing that for a while for some things, but I’m trying to get back to being not as isolated all the time. Plus, I wanted to go to Trader Joe’s and I can’t get things delivered from there (and some things are only found at Trader Joe’s). I knew that whatever the policy was there, I was going to wear my mask. The store isn’t that big and people can be close together. And for me, it was important to feel ok with being there and that required wearing a mask.

There was a sign in front saying their policy was that vaccinated people had the option to be without a mask but if you were unvaccinated you were required to wear one. And just like everywhere else, this was on the honor policy. But I will say almost everyone inside was wearing a mask. It was pretty crowded since I was there on a Sunday afternoon, and I think I only saw 3 or 4 people without masks. Nobody was making wearing a mask a big deal and it seemed like we all knew that it was just as normal of a thing to do as wearing shoes. Seeing that a majority of the people there were wearing masks made me feel much better about going out for groceries and not letting my anxiety or fear stop me and only use delivery services.

It will really be baby steps back to my normal life unless a miracle happens and there are no more cases anywhere. I don’t think that will happen and it will hopefully slowly be getting better until things are like they used to be. And if there are better treatment options for COVID so getting it would be more like getting a cold or the regular flu, then that will help too. But knowing how dangerous it can be and how bad the long-term symptoms can affect someone makes me feel like I have to be careful to stay safe.

But I’m glad that I didn’t continue to let fear or anxiety stop me and I started to rejoin the world again. It’s been a long 15 months and I am ready to see what else in my old life I can regain and enjoy again.

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Default ThumbnailAlmost Deja Vu (or Not My Usual Hair Appointment) Default ThumbnailCoconut Oil Hair Mask (or Trying A Simple DIY Beauty Trick) Default ThumbnailSome Of The New Normal (or I’ll Need To Get Used To This) Default ThumbnailAt Home Hair (or I Haven’t Done This Since I Was A Teenager) Default ThumbnailThoughts About The Reopening (or Feeling Safe And Scared At Once) Default ThumbnailGetting A New Look (or Two Attempts To Dye My Hair)

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Even More Redecorating (or One Planned Change and One Due To Being A Klutz)

Posted on June 10, 2021 | Comments Off on Even More Redecorating (or One Planned Change and One Due To Being A Klutz)

I have done a lot of redecorating around my house recently. There have been a few reasons why, but boredom has been a big one. But I think I finally have some of the boredom feeling out now that I’m able to go out and do things again. But that hasn’t brought me to the end of my redecorating in my house.

But there are also other reasons why I changed things up in my house. Sometimes they are planned and I just needed to be motivated to do it. And right now, my planned change is with my home gym setup. I’ve been so grateful to have all the workout equipment I was able to get for my house while Orangetheory was shut down. But now, I’m not using it anymore. I know I could add more workout days to my week if I wanted to, but I’m feeling good about working out 4 days a week right now. But I am not getting rid of what I have. One day in the future, when I own my own place, I would love to have a little home gym setup. But for now, there is no reason for me to have everything in my living room where it has been set up since I created my little gym.

I’m torn between just getting a giant storage container and putting it in my garage or getting a cuter decorative storage piece (like a storage bench) and putting it where my home gym setup is right now. I’m looking at some options and taking my time since there is no rush for me to do this. I don’t need the little space my gym takes up now for anything else. So I’d rather spend the time looking for something I like.

And then there are reasons I redecorate that are not planned and feel a bit more rushed. The other day, I was walking next to my bed and my hip went out. This is a normal occurrence for me and I don’t always fall down. But this time, I did fall and somehow managed to trip on my comforter while also holding onto it. And when I got up off the ground, I discovered that the seams of my comforter had split. I’m still impressed that I was klutzy enough to make this happen because it almost doesn’t make sense. But it did and now I need to get a new comforter or bedspread for my bed.

I’m planning on throwing out the ripped one this week when it’s trash day, and I’m lucky that it is summertime because I don’t need to get a replacement right away. But I am trying to find something soon because I don’t like the look of just having a sheet on my bed. So I’ve been looking online at a few different places to hopefully find something I like. But I also don’t want to buy something just to have it. It’s weird because this does feel rushed, but also I want to take my time.

Sometimes redecorating is fun and carefree and sometimes it is stressful. And I seem to be experiencing one of each right now. But I also know that this isn’t a life or death decision and it’s going to be fine no matter what. So I’m trying to have fun with this when I can.

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Online Jeans Shopping (or Accepting I’ve Gained Weight)

Posted on March 31, 2021 | Comments Off on Online Jeans Shopping (or Accepting I’ve Gained Weight)

First, I want to say that I’m doing much better than I was earlier this week. I’m still dealing with some pain and nausea, but it’s at the level that I’m used to and was expecting to have. Whatever affected me on Monday had to be something else. I don’t know if it was food poisoning or a stomach bug, but whatever it was I think it’s out of my system. I’m glad to be back at a normal level of nausea because I know how to be productive while dealing with that and I have things I can use to make life easier.

Ok, now on to the point of this post.

I think a lot of people have gained weight over the past year. So many of us had a huge change when things shut down. Some people had to get used to the idea of working from home. Fortunately, I was already used to that. But I did have to get used to not having my regular workouts as well as dealing with new issues with food. I hate having a ton of food in my house at one time, and that’s what I had to do in order to limit how often I got groceries. At the beginning of the pandemic, things were a bit worse for me, but now I am doing grocery delivery a bit more often so I don’t always have a house full of food. And like so many people, I have used food as a coping mechanism over the past year.

I’m not proud that I used food that way, especially because it was a big step backward in getting toward recovery from my eating disorder. But that’s the reality of the situation. And between comfort eating, lower effort workouts, and a general lack of activity; I have put on weight over the past year. I know it could have been much worse, so I am happy that it wasn’t completely out of control. But it’s still frustrating and annoying.

I’m lucky that even with weight gain, the clothes that I’ve been wearing lately still fit me. But most of the clothes I’ve been wearing have been things like leggings and workout pants, so there is a lot of stretch in those and they work when my weight goes up and down. And while I’m fine living in leggings for the most part even when we aren’t in a pandemic, that’s not all I want to wear. I want to feel cute and fashionable. When I’ve had pandemic-safe dates (mainly going to a park and walking or something else outdoors), I don’t want to have to only wear leggings. And right now, other pants I own just aren’t fitting me.

I do have cute dresses and skirts that fit and I’m trying to be more ok with wearing those out and about, but the weight gain has also caused a hit in my confidence and I’m not feeling the same way I used to in dresses and skirts. So even though I didn’t want to spend money because I want to believe I will be fitting in my regular clothes again soon, I had to do some shopping for new jeans so I would have some options to wear.

Jeans are already difficult to shop for in normal times. And that’s when you can go to a store and try them on. Online shopping for jeans (unless they are a reorder of something I already own) is even harder. So I had to suck it up with spending a bit more so I could order different sizes and styles from different places. I only ordered places that had free shipping and easy returns, because I know I will be returning most of what I ordered. But I need to find some jeans that make me happy and feel confident in how I look right now.

And I’m aware that there is a chance I will be back in my other jeans in a few weeks or a month, but I can’t use that as an excuse to not have some options for now. In the past, I have kept so many of my skinny clothes in the hopes I’d be back in them soon. But they are just reminders of where I’m not at the moment. And by not having any jeans that fit me and seeing the ones that don’t fit hanging in my closet, it almost makes me feel like I don’t deserve to wear jeans until I lose weight. And I don’t want to have that mindset. I deserve to feel cute no matter my size and weight. I don’t only have to wear clothes with a lot of stretch to fit me.

Hopefully, at least one pair of what I ordered online will fit me and be the perfect jeans for how I look right now. I want to get back a little confidence and feel like my clothes fit me and look good. I am still going to wear comfortable leggings when I’m just staying home by myself, but I want to have some options for going out since that’s going to be happening more and more in the not too distant future.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Rut In My Life (or Time For Some Shopping) Default ThumbnailBusting Out Of My Comfort Zone (or I Bought Skinny Jeans) Default ThumbnailThe Most Impossible Shopping (or Thank Goodness For Online Stores!) Default ThumbnailLunch And Shopping (or Proof My Work Is Paying Off) Default ThumbnailNo Shopping September (or At Least No Online Shopping) Default ThumbnailThrowaway Clothes (or Why I Hate Shopping Sometimes)

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Having Fun Doing Gift Shopping (or Keeping Secret Santa To My Budget)

Posted on December 11, 2020 | Comments Off on Having Fun Doing Gift Shopping (or Keeping Secret Santa To My Budget)

For the past few years, I’ve participated in different Secret Santa exchanges. Sometimes they are with big groups where I have no clue who I’m getting to buy gifts for and who is getting them for me. And sometimes they are smaller groups where I do know everyone and it’s just fun to get to shop for someone that I normally wouldn’t shop for. I love doing these and if I had the money I would participate in more of them. But I do have to be mindful of how much I spend so I do limit the ones I do.

This year, I’m doing 2 Secret Santa groups. One is through Reddit and one is through a Facebook group. With Reddit, I would be shocked if I matched with someone I knew, but I guess it could happen since I have friends who use the site. But I don’t think I’ve ever given a gift to someone I know on there or have gotten a gift from someone I know. But for the Facebook group, even though I don’t know the people in real life, we are a close-knit group online and I feel like I know the people in there.

I love buying gifts and figuring out the perfect thing to get someone. It is a little easier when I’m buying a gift for someone in my family because I know them well. But fortunately, the Secret Santa groups have us fill out forms that say what we like. So I have an idea of what to get someone and sometimes I find a really perfect thing.

I remember one year I found a book about the science of cooking for someone who said they wanted to cook but also wanted to understand the chemistry behind different cooking methods. Another year, someone said they liked cute things that looked like food and I found a set of erasers that were shaped like cookies. Both of those times, I heard back from the person I gave them to and they thanked me for getting them something they love. That’s an amazing feeling! And it’s not about how much I spend or what exactly I get them, it’s about finding the perfect thing even if it’s not something that is expensive.

I’ve completed the shopping for one of my exchanges so far and I’m hoping to do the shopping for the other this weekend. Both exchanges have a limit of about $30. I have gone over that before if I find something really perfect. The exchange this year that I found the things for already was like that. I didn’t want to just get one thing, I found 3 that I think will be perfect. But the 3 things together went about $5 over budget. But it’s worth it to me. I will hopefully find out soon what they think about the gifts.

I know that I should be saving money and not spending when I don’t have to, but doing Secret Santa exchanges are more than just about gifts to me. They make me happy. They bring a lot of joy to me and that’s something I know I need. And I need that especially this year. There haven’t been a lot of joyful things, so I want to take advantage of it any time I can. And of course, I’m excited to get presents too and I can’t wait to see what I end up getting. But for me, it’s so much more aobut being able to shop for others than it is for getting stuff back.

I’ve also made small donations to friends who are collecting for present shopping for families who need help. I didn’t feel like I could take on a family on my own, but joining together with friends will allow us to do something nice for a family in need to make sure they have a nice holiday season.

Hopefully, everyone I get presents for enjoys them. I know I’ve been enjoying shopping for them. And maybe this will make this month a little bit better for everyone involved. That’s all we can hope for right now. This is the year to spread joy however you can, and Secret Santa exhanges are the perfect way for me to do it.

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Shopping More To Shop Less (or Finding Ways To Be Less Wasteful)

Posted on October 28, 2020 | Comments Off on Shopping More To Shop Less (or Finding Ways To Be Less Wasteful)

I’ve always tried to be aware of how much trash I create. I’m nowhere near what those zero-waste people do, but I try to recycle when I can and not just throw away stuff that could be reused or donated. I know that it’s really easy just to put something in the trash and it seems to go away. But that’s not what really happens and it’s possible to create a lot of trash every day.

I think since the pandemic started, my trash seemed to be more and more. I think part of that was due to things being packaged differently or how we couldn’t use reusable bags at the grocery store. I know some of my friends said they had more trash because they were home more, but I don’t really have that excuse. I just was using more stuff that was disposable that I usually didn’t. And it was starting to feel a bit much and I knew that I needed to do something about it.

There are some things right now that I use that have to stay disposable. For example, I do rely a lot on grocery deliveries so I can avoid the store, and there’s no way to get paper bags instead of plastic. And because cleaning products are limited in stores, the disinfecting cleaner I use happens to be wipes right now instead of spray. And there are a few tasks I do that I use rubber gloves for, and my dishwashing gloves are too thick so I use the blue one time use ones.

But there are also a lot of things that I have been using disposable things for that I’ve realized I can find better options for. And these options are better for multiple reasons. First, they are better because they don’t create trash. But they also are better for me because if I find things that can be reused, that means I don’t have to go to the store to find more. And even though many reusable things cost more when purchasing them, the cost per use is much lower because you don’t have to keep replacing them.

I’ve slowly been adding more and more reusable things to my life. Some of these things are things I did years ago, such as using reusable cotton rounds that I wash each week instead of the throwaway cotton ones when using toner or makeup remover. I do wish I had gotten them in black instead of white because they are looking dingy, but they still work as well even though they aren’t looking super bright white.

But more recently, I’ve been trying to limit the paper products I use each day. Part of this was because it was harder to find things like paper napkins or paper towels. But I have known I needed to change this habit for a long time. So I guess the pandemic was just the catalyst for change for me. I have invested in things like cloth napkins and microfiber cloths.

I’ll admit, I’m not so great about using the cloth napkins for now, but I also have a lot of paper ones left, so I can take my time with the transition. I think part of the hesitation is how to clean them if they get super dirty. I don’t have my own washer and drying and it’s expensive to do a load. So I can’t just do a load of napkins. But I bet I could do something like doing a little handwash for the dirty ones before putting them in the laundry with my clothes.

For the microfiber cloths, I’ve been better at using those as replacements for paper towels when I clean. There are a few things I clean that I use sponges for and still use those sponges. But there are so many things I have used paper towels for and they just get thrown out. I know I’ve wasted a lot when I probably didn’t need to. For washing those, I shook them out after cleaning to get any bigger things off of them like crumbs from my kitchen counter. Then I put them in a mesh laundry bag before putting them in my laundry because I read online that would help if there was a lot of dirt left on them. It seemed to work pretty well with washing.

And the most recent thing I got as a reusable thing was mopping pads. I have a Swiffer mop that works perfectly for cleaning my house. And those mops use disposable pads that are designed to help scrub the floors and absorb extra cleaning solution. I’ve been using those disposable pads since I got the mop, but I’ve never really loved them. I don’t know why I didn’t look into alternatives until this month, but I finally decided to do some searching to see if there was something better to use. I wasn’t necessarily looking for something reusable, I just wanted something better than the branded pads. But when I did my search, everything kept coming back to reusable pads and these were the highest recommended ones.

I’ve used it once so far, and I feel like it cleaned my floors a lot better than the disposable pads ever did. And just like with the microfiber towels, I put it in a mesh laundry bag before putting it into the laundry. And it came out clean and my clothes didn’t seem to be dirty from being washed with them.

I know that starting to use more reusable and eco-friendly products has to be a natural progression. There are a lot of things that I have wanted to use but couldn’t get into. I have beeswax wrap to use instead of plastic wrap, but I haven’t loved it just yet. Maybe something will change, but for now, I just find other alternatives to plastic wrap that I like more. I also still use store-bought cleaning solutions. I know I can make my own, but again, I’m just not into using the ones I have tried that I made. But I do try to buy the largest size product and I can always decant it into a container that’s easier to handle.

I have been spending a bit of extra money in order to get these reusable products and I know that it’s a privileged place to be able to do that. Not everyone can spend more upfront right now. And I also know that for some people, there are other reasons why they have to use disposable products over reusable ones. I’m not perfect and I don’t expect anyone else to do exactly what I do or be perfect. But I’m trying and I think that’s the best I can ask of myself or anyone else. The small changes I have been able to make have benefitted me and I hope that I can continue to make these changes as I find things that work for me.

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I Guess This Is The Risk With Getting So Many Deliveries (or Thank Goodness For Good Customer Service)

Posted on September 18, 2020 | Comments Off on I Guess This Is The Risk With Getting So Many Deliveries (or Thank Goodness For Good Customer Service)

Almost everything I need these days is being delivered to me. I rarely go to a store to get things. I get clothing delivered, random stuff for my house delivered, essential stuff delivered, and groceries delivered. I don’t love how much I’m relying on delivery services right now, but that’s how life is these days. I try to limit how often I get deliveries or to make sure I do things together (like using Amazon Delivery Day to get all my Amazon stuff on the same day, even if that means I don’t get them as quickly).

I used to do plenty of delivery stuff before. I mean I love Amazon Prime and how easy it is to get stuff (I’m trying to make sure I only get things I need and that I can’t get at other places for similar prices). And shopping online for clothes is so much better than going to stores. A lot of stores only include plus sizes online, so I don’t even have the opportunity to shop in the store.

And for all the deliveries I’ve gotten over the years, I’ve been very lucky with not having things stolen. I think I’ve only had a package stolen once or twice in my life. This is partially due to me always being home so I grab things off of my doorstep as soon as they arrive. But even when I didn’t work at home, things weren’t stolen as often as they were for some of my friends. Perhaps the location of my front door helps because most people wouldn’t walk up my driveway to look at each house.

Most deliveries will tell you what day to expect them to arrive and it’s a mystery what time it will be dropped off. But not grocery deliveries. I typically am given a 2-hour window to expect them. And you get a tracking link so you can watch the truck as it’s driving to you. That way, if you have things that need to be refrigerated or frozen, you can get the bags right away and the food won’t go bad. There has been a time or two that the tracking link didn’t make it to me, but the delivery person has always rung the doorbell so I know that they arrived. Plus, I get an alert on my Ring that someone is at my door.

I was supposed to have groceries delivered on Wednesday. I knew the 2-hour window they were supposed to arrive and I knew I would be at home (not like I can really go anywhere else). It was almost the end of the delivery window and I still hadn’t gotten the tracking information. I checked in front and behind my house and didn’t see groceries anywhere. So I contacted the customer service to see what was going on.

According to them, my groceries had been delivered right at the beginning of the delivery window. There was a photo showing them near my house, but I never got a notification that there was anyone at my door or that the groceries arrived. And I guess someone took them from my door before I checked about 90 minutes after the delivery.

Nothing I ordered was that urgent or essential. It was a few ingredients I needed for something I wanted to make this weekend, some snacks, and some sparkling water. Nothing fancy. Nothing I would think someone would want to steal. But I guess someone was either desperate for groceries or didn’t look in the bags before they stole them because they were gone.

The customer service person I was speaking to was really working with me to figure out what happened. She described the picture of the delivery (I was unable to see it), and it was very obviously my house from the description she gave. But there was no reason why I didn’t get a tracking link so I could watch the delivery progress and it was clear that I didn’t have my groceries.

I said I would be fine with either a refund or redelivery. I felt bad asking for them because I feel like it was partially my fault I didn’t know my groceries had been delivered. But then again, I had no way to know. Fortunately, it was really simple to get them redelivered and I did get my groceries yesterday. I made sure to be sitting by my door during the delivery window so that I didn’t miss them arriving.

I know I’m lucky that this is a very rare occurrence for me and it was resolved quickly and easily. I’m privileged that I haven’t had things stolen from the front door that I really needed. I couldn’t imagine if this was a prescription delivery or if I actually needed the food that night. It sucks that people do this, but I’m glad that it’s not that often.

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Sharing Some Resources (or Working On Being Anti-Racist)

Posted on June 4, 2020 | Comments Off on Sharing Some Resources (or Working On Being Anti-Racist)

As I shared the other day, I am coming to terms with how I have never been anti-racist. It’s a very different mindset from what I have had my entire life, but I know that I need to change and I am so grateful that I have friends who have shared some good resources to work on this. One friend also shared that if you haven’t been anti-racist, you likely have had a bit of racism in you. I hated that idea, but the more I thought about it the more that I know it is true.

I don’t make an effort to only give my money to white-run business or to white authors, but that is what I have done if I look at my past. So many books that I love are about white characters. There are a few that are about black characters but often I don’t know that until I’m already partway through the book. If a character isn’t described by their skin color, I default to thinking they are white. And for brands, I usually don’t know who runs a company or pay attention to that. But I now know that black-run businesses don’t get the same opportunities as white-run businesses do so I might not have the chance to buy from them unless I make a little effort. I never was trying to avoid black-run businesses, I just didn’t know that because of many different factors I wasn’t being presented with the chance to buy from them.

Fortunately, during Blackout Tuesday there were so many lists going around with different resources for anyone to look at. There were books about racism or how to become anti-racist. There were lists of black-run beauty companies that many of us hadn’t heard of. There were movies, tv shows, and podcasts that discuss these issues that maybe hadn’t gotten the same publicity that other media had. There are hundreds of lists out there and the ones I am going to share are only a few. I recommend doing a search or looking on social media for more because there are so many out there.

The one thing I saw the most over the past few days was this link to a google doc of anti-racism resources. This has lists of books, videos, podcasts, articles, movies, and tv shows to look at to work on becoming anti-racist. There is also a section for resources of media to help raise anti-racist children. There is also a list of organizations to look at and their social media links so you can follow them on there. Plus they link to more lists of anti-racism resources.

This list from Medium has sections of what to read, listen to, watch, and follow on social media. There is also a section for kids and teens.

If you are going to be buying any books (either from these lists or books in general), this google doc has a list of black-run bookstores. They are listed by state and it includes if they are open for shopping, only doing curbside pickup right now, or only shipping. But there are so many stores you can buy from and I believe the ones that can ship books can ship them anywhere in the country.

Some people may think of black-run beauty businesses as companies that make products specifically for black people. That is not true. Just like how white-run beauty companies don’t just make things for white people (although you might be able to argue that they do, but that’s a very different story). Here are two different lists of companies to look at and you might find a new favorite product! I understand that maybe right now you don’t have money to buy any new products, but you can still look and take notes on what you’d like to buy when you have the money.

And if you want to do a search for black-run businesses in general, I found a few lists that do just that. Here is a list from New York Magazine. Here is the directory for Black Wall Street. And this is the link to Support Black Owned. Again, I know this doesn’t cover all the lists or all the types of businesses, but it is a start.

I’ve also seen lists of black-run restaurants and coffee shops, but I haven’t found a good list that I could share on here that covers more than just Los Angeles. Please do a search online for the lists for your area. Many of them are doing delivery and takeout or curbside delivery, so you can order from them even if restaurants are not open yet for your city.

Some people who believe the response to Black Lives Matter is to say all lives matter might argue that white businesses should get promoted too. But that’s all I’ve done in thousands of posts. I didn’t have to go out of my way to say they were white-run businesses. Unfortunately, that is the default. I am trying to use my voice and my blog to give some opportunity to a large group of businesses that I have not given that same chance to. Yes, people will still shop at white-run businesses and read white authors. I bet that most money will still go to those. But I want to make a conscious effort to not do that with all my money. I want to increase my awareness of businesses that I have not been shopping from in the past and make sure that I don’t fall back into that trap. I know right now everyone is hyper-aware of this issue and will be making efforts. I want to make sure that this change is permanent and not just because it’s such a big issue right now. And I hope that you all will increase your awareness, work on becoming anti-racist, and support more diverse businesses, authors, artists, and creators.

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Default ThumbnailWorking On My Reading List (or Thankful Again For The Library) Default ThumbnailStill Taking Action When Overwhelmed (or We Cannot Stop) Default ThumbnailBlack Lives Matter (or Working On Being A Better Ally) Default ThumbnailFeeling Weird About Blogging Other Stuff (or Posting Silly Posts Just Feels Wrong) Default ThumbnailWorking On Money Priorities (or What’s Worth The Splurge) Default ThumbnailCutting Back (or Unsubscribing Both Virtual And Actual Things)

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Posted in Beauty, Food, Shopping, Tough Stuff

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Doing A Lot Of Shopping (or Just Trying To Have Some Variety In My Life)

Posted on May 26, 2020 | Comments Off on Doing A Lot Of Shopping (or Just Trying To Have Some Variety In My Life)

I’ve been doing a lot of shopping and organizing lately. I’m glad that I am finally doing this since there have been so many things that I have been putting off that I needed to do. I want my house to be the most efficient and amazing place for me. And there are things that I set up when I moved into my house that I just never changed. But it’s been a good thing to change them up and get my house to a place that I had been wanting to get it to for a while.

This is so important because my house is so small and I don’t have unlimited space to do what I want. Most things in my house need to be able to be moved if necessary or to be functional for more than one thing. I don’t want to have a ton of furniture that I have to work around all the time. Obviously, there are some things that don’t move, but for the most part I am able to shift things around if I need to.

But besides buying things to organize my house, I’ve been buying things to change up the look of my house too. I haven’t gotten as many of these, but I have been finding new decorative things I want to add. Some of this is because in my organization (especially around my desk), I’ve been taking a lot of things down and either getting rid of them if I don’t need them or moving them into different places. I could keep all my decorative stuff the way they are, nothing is horrible. But I just felt like I needed a change and went for it.

I haven’t gotten the new decorative things since I ordered them online and there are lots of shipping delays, but it has gotten me really excited. I just can’t wait until I am able to put things up and maybe I’ll move even more things around.

I wasn’t thinking too much about why I felt so compelled to redecorate my house. At first, I thought it might be because I have had so many things in my house for 10 years and I was ready for a change. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this might be due to quarantine. I don’t really leave my house for anything right now. I don’t go to the grocery store that often (I usually get it delivered but maybe go to the store once a month). I don’t go out anywhere. I am working on finding some good socially distant social events, but I haven’t planned any yet. I am just inside my house and looking at the same walls all day.

I think my urge to redecorate had a lot to do with that. I was craving a change and changing the decorations inside is something I can do and not have to leave my house. Maybe this will trick my brain into thinking I have gone somewhere different. Maybe it will just take some of the monotonous feelings of being home away. I still think that I will be antsy to get out and back to normal life, but hopefully this takes a little bit of the edge off. And even if it doesn’t, I’m excited for a change in my house. Everything that I have changed up has made things feel a bit more serene and less cluttered. And I have changed other things around my house to fit with those new things which changes it up even more. Even if it doesn’t, everything I bought does make me excited about them so I don’t need them to do more for me than that.

Whenever people can finally be out and social again, my house is going to look like an entirely new place. I’ve joked to people that they won’t recognize it when they come over. But even if nobody noticed or cared, I am still so happy about the changes I’ve been making. And I hope the new things coming soon will just continue to make me feel that way. But I do hope that I have a break of changing things up that require purchasing after this. As great as it’s been for my mental state, I know that I am spending money that I should probably be saving. But I’m not worried about that right now.

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Default ThumbnailFinding Little Things To Make Me Happy (or Shopping And Text Groups) Default ThumbnailBuilding Upon My Monthly Challenge (or Continuing To Work On Shopping) Default ThumbnailLunch And Shopping (or Proof My Work Is Paying Off) Default ThumbnailAnother Rut In My Life (or Time For Some Shopping) Default ThumbnailNo Shopping September (or At Least No Online Shopping) Default ThumbnailBrunch and Shopping (or Helping A Friend Make Some Upgrades)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping

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Finding Little Things To Make Me Happy (or Shopping And Text Groups)

Posted on November 8, 2019 | Comments Off on Finding Little Things To Make Me Happy (or Shopping And Text Groups)

I have been in a bit of a down mood lately. To me, this is obvious in the posts that I have been writing. But it took me a while to be in a place where I want to work out of the funk. I know that this is probably due to a few different factors, some of which I have no power over and can’t control. And just fixing the ones I’m in control of (such as getting enough sleep) hasn’t been enough to make me feel better. I’ve had more depressive episodes before, so I knew this wasn’t anything serious. But I still don’t enjoy being in a down mood for an extended period of time.

I finally was ready to work on fixing this over the past few days. It’s not easy to get yourself out of a bad mood, but I wanted to work on it where I could. Like I said before, getting enough sleep has been a big fix I’ve been needing to work on. I still am struggling a bit with falling asleep when I should, but at least now I’m getting to bed at a more appropriate time and not staying up doing other things until very late. But since this wasn’t enough of an improvement, I’ve been working on finding other things that I know make me very happy.

Fortunately, it’s the time of year for me to do some gift shopping for my family. I bring Hanukkah presents for my family to Thanksgiving, so I only have a few weeks left to do my shopping. But because I’m a bit crazy, I had gift ideas as soon as I had bought their gifts last year. A few gifts have changed since then, but I’ve been having so much fun doing some shopping and trying to figure out the perfect gifts to get for everyone. I’m also bringing birthday presents for my parents to Thanksgiving to give them those early since I had ideas for those as well.

If I had unlimited money, I would spend so much buying presents for other people. I get so much joy out of finding the perfect gift and seeing how happy it makes someone. I do have to be careful with how much money I spend on presents, but I will always find a way to get presents for my family. I don’t have to get them expensive things if they are creative. And I seem to be good at finding unique and creative gifts. I have all the presents picked out now for my family, and I’m already so excited to give them what I got and see how much they like them. (sorry dad, if you are reading this and were hoping to get some hints of what I got you)

And while I haven’t been feeling particularly social while I’ve been down, I do still crave being social a bit. Going out isn’t always the best option when I’m in a mood, but texting can still keep me from feeling isolated. And I’ve really been enjoying different group texts that I’m a part of as well as texting with my friends individually.

One of my text groups is with my friends from Orangetheory. We have always been a bit silly in that group so that is appreciated no matter if I’m in a good mood or bad mood. We will share random GIFs and memes and joke around about the workouts. We aren’t always in the same class together (and one friend in the group doesn’t live in LA anymore), but it is nice to have workout friends to chat with even if we aren’t in class. I’ve got another texting group with other Orangetheory friends, but those aren’t as active as the main one I’m in.

I also started a text group for women in the online dating FB group I’m a part of. I created it for safety because not everyone has a friend that they can use as an online dating safety buddy as I do. The text group is for us to share the information of who we are meeting and where just as a safety measure. And we check back into the group when the date is done and we are safe. I don’t love that we have to be so cautious, but it’s necessary and I’m glad we have a safe space with no judgment. I am glad I’ve always had a friend that I can use for this and not worry about what she thinks, but I’m even more glad now that I’ve created a space for others to use when they didn’t have someone. That group is very new so we haven’t had a lot of texting yet, but we have been sharing a bit of silly stuff as well. But what makes me happy about it is that I was able to start a group like that and feel like I have done something that would benefit others.

I can still feel a bit of my down mood lingering, but I’m so glad it’s starting to lift.  I have to stay aware because if I don’t keep working on it I know that things might go back to being down again. Knowing that I have some ongoing things that are making me feel better helps, but I’m going to keep working on finding more things that will bring me joy and make things feel more normal for me again.

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Default ThumbnailSpreading Some Holiday Cheer (or Finding Cheaper Ways To Make People Smile) Default ThumbnailBuilding Upon My Monthly Challenge (or Continuing To Work On Shopping) Default ThumbnailGift Shopping (or For Me, It’s That Time of the Year) Default ThumbnailIt’s Almost Gift Giving Time! (or Excited To Finally Give A Present) Default ThumbnailA Happy Hour Celebration (or Looking Forward To Another Wedding) Default ThumbnailDriving Around For No Reason (or Finding Places That Make Me Happy)

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Posted in Dating, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Tough Stuff

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Another Rut In My Life (or Time For Some Shopping)

Posted on June 26, 2019 | Comments Off on Another Rut In My Life (or Time For Some Shopping)

I’ve written about being in ruts before on here. I’ve been in ruts with my work life, my social life, my food, and lots of other things. I think being in ruts is part of why time seems to go by so quickly. When it’s tough to tell the difference from one day to the next, you don’t realize how many days go by. But this time, it’s about a different type of rut that I don’t know if I’ve thought about before. But first, a little backstory.

I’ve had a ton of different jobs in my life. Some of them have been random and sporadic and some have been really serious jobs. I would say that overall my jobs are more casual than office jobs, but I’ve had some jobs that were more serious than most. And with all my jobs, there have been different dress codes and standards I had to meet. I’ve had jobs that have had a required uniform. I’ve had jobs that have such a strict dress code that I had to wear pantyhose or tights if I wore a skirt. And I’ve had jobs that have zero dress code and I can wear whatever I want.

Before my current job that allows me to work from home, the last few jobs I had were pretty casual dress. I could wear jeans and t-shirts and be ok. Sometimes I would dress a little nicer, but there were no requirements I had to meet. I usually tried to stick with more comfortable clothing since I was stuck at a desk for so many hours and I didn’t want to be uncomfortable and squirming around when I should have my focus on work. I usually rotated the same few outfits from week to week since I didn’t care what I looked like. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone and I just had to wear clothes that were appropriate.

Now, I work from home and there is zero dress code or standards. I do get dressed out of my PJs to work, but I’m usually in something that I probably wouldn’t wear in public. Most of the time, I’m wearing some form of yoga pants and a tank top or bralette. If I have something I have to go to after work, I’ll wear the outfit I need to wear for that thing. But more often than not, I don’t have much after work and I don’t care at all about what I wear.

Because of my lack of caring about my clothes, I don’t really wear much of what I have in my closet. Obviously, there are some things I have that wouldn’t be worn at work no matter what. But even my casual clothes aren’t being worn that much. I don’t care to wear them and when I have to find something to wear it has become a bit of a struggle. I haven’t done much clothing shopping lately outside of workout clothes so I’m not very inspired by what I do have in my closet. I also have to deal with severe weight fluctuations that make my clothes tough to wear sometimes. For example, right before my period started I went up 15 pounds overnight. I know that is not real weight I gained, but it makes a lot of my clothes not comfortable or ill-fitting.

I don’t believe I need to wear anything fancy for the time I’m working. Most likely, I will keep my usual work uniform of casual clothes because I do want to be comfortable while working. But I want to have a closet that excites me and makes me want to have places to wear things. I want to look into my closet and so happy I have amazing things to wear. So I’ve been slowly doing some clothing reevaluation.

I don’t want to buy a lot of things because I don’t have the need or the money. But I do want to have fun things and new things to enjoy during the summer. Since I’m not looking for serious pieces or things that I need to last a lifetime, I can look at cheaper clothes that might not last for years. There are a bunch of stores that I like that sell clothing that fits what I’m looking for. I’m also looking at buying things off of Amazon since there are lots of clothing options in my size on there and it seems to be affordable even if they are kind of like throwaway clothes. Again, I don’t need to be creating a wardrobe that lasts for years. I just need some new things to make me feel like I have fun things to wear right now.

I don’t know if buying new clothes will inspire me to go out and do more things, but at least I know that if I find pieces I love that I will be more confident when I’m out and about. Right now, I do feel sloppy a lot because I don’t have clothing that makes me feel put together. I don’t have to dress as I did for my fanciest office job, but I do want to feel cute and stylish. And I know I’m not getting that out of the clothes I have right now.

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping

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