Yesterday I was feeling nostalgic for weekends in Charlottesville when J and I would spend an hour or so at Barnes & Noble happily perusing the shelves (him) and nicely laid out selections on tables (me). I'd always come home with 2-4 books, determined to read them voraciously, and a guilty chocolate chip cookie or 2 (seriously, best choc chip cookies I've ever had, and that's saying something). Anyway, inevitably we'd get home and decide we needed to watch a movie or tv show and the books would sit until a nice summer or spring day when I would insist on lounging by the pool (of the apartment complex at which we did not live).
This nostalgia began because I'd been sitting on my new porch swing reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and wondered if Helen Fielding had written anything since that awful Olivia Joules crap. Google landed me on this semi-interesting article about chick lit which then led me to searching this Sarah Dunn person which then led to me feverishly clicking on "add to cart" on Amazon.
Some of my items ended up in the "Save for Later" bin, but I did come away with these four titles (2 at full price - but free shipping, and two at ridiculously low prices like $3 and $4):
The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristafano
Prozac Nation - Elizabeth Wurtzel
The Big Love: A Novel - Sarah Dunn
Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played - Jon Wortheim (About the match which ignited my undying love for Rafa. Shut up, Megan.)
After these purchases I made my way to the kitchen (for the purpose of doing dishes) where I realized that a large number of my drinking glasses have vanished. Sure, Masala and I have broken a few, but I didn't realize the damage was this drastic. Now, if all glasses are dirty and in the dishwasher, there are none to drink out of! This situation, of course, had to be rectified.
I had to bring in the big guns: Mom. She loves this stuff, so I called her and gave her a project. A few hours later several emails subject line "glasses" were delivered to my inbox and thus began the hunt for drinking glasses. Somehow, I ended up purchasing a few of these recycled glass storage jars which I fell in love with. I mean, I've been needing some containers like this for awhile now for all the stuff I've started buying from the bulk bins at the organic grocer: lentils, couscous, quinoa - not to mention regular ole flour and sugar necessities.
All of this is well and good, but the !!MOST EXCITING PART!! about all this research was finding this gem of an online retailer: Greenfeet. They sell recycled and organic home products and purchase carbon offsets for all of their shipping. Very, very cool. So naturally, I had to buy something from them. Ta-dah! My new drinking glasses:
Also, Mom sent me the Southern Living catalog, as she does not quite understand my aesthetic, but was trying to be helpful. Surprise, surprise to me - some of the stuff in there is fab. And not cheap. But I do want the Tribeca Tumblers on pages 6/7...maybe another time.
As if this wasn't enough, I thought Masala should get in on the action, too. Sure, he'd gotten two new squeaky/ball toys when I bought his food, but those were just cheap little things. This hot weather has me so hot I'm already sweating behind my knees...inside...in freaking MAY. I can only imagine how he feels. During winter I came across some "cooling" beds and made a mental note for the summertime. Today felt like just the day to try to find one of them. Lucky Little M will soon be sleeping coolly in his very own Snuggly Sleeper (did not pay price on that webpage):
Who needs real life friends and/or local retail outlets when you have internet shopping? Best part is, next week or two I'm going to get all kinds of goodies delivered to my door as little surprises that I completely forgot about amidst whatever shitty day I'm having. Hurray! Is retail therapy on dual levels! Am genius. (Am also broke until June)
8 comments:
Hooray for purchasing! And online shopping! And fun packages delivered to your doorstep!
Let me know what you think of Prozac Nation. It's been sitting on my shelf for maybe 2 years now (a library sale purchase), and I'm never sure if I'm in the mood to read it...
Will be checking out the green site. And that dog bed! Looks much more comfortable than the beat up floor pillows Bender and Bailey have.
Also, I find Southern Living strangely addictive. Mainly their articles on place catch my eye. And that damn dream house in Asheville I am trying every day to win, they are the sponsors of that contest. My mom passes them along to me too, and it's something I never thought I would enjoy, yet...
The only thing Helen Fielding has done since Olivia Joules is more Bridget columns ('05 and '06), which were fun, but ultimately, er... unsatisfying.
I did my due diligence this week as well, spending waaaay more on clothing for the kids than reasonable, but I am still eager to start receiving some packages on my doorstep this week. I live vicariously, ok?!
OMG THANK YOU Sandra for linking those Bridget columns! I know what I'll be doing at work when I'm not in court....
Good for you, Nikkers! I'm a little excited about all of those packages and they aren't even for me! :)
Those glasses are so cool! I can hear your ice clinking around in it now, since oddly enough that is something that I totally remember about living with you. The ice water in a glass. How strange am I?!
PS: You absolutely need to visit www.betterworldbooks.com They are a pro-literacy for the poor site and they offer carbon offsets too! I have ordered several things from them (thanks to Pen's suggestion) and have been happy. They have a lot of library books that have been taken out of circulation which are great for cheap books for the girls. They also offer new books, but I'm not too sure how their prices compare. Good stuff!
very interesting, megan...i have never known niki to take ice with the eighty-two glasses of water she imbibes each day.
who was this ice queen you knew before i met her? what other quirks lay buried 'neath the remains of her checkered past.
I hardly know what to do with all these comments - so exciting!
Pen - I'll let you know about Prozac Nation, although I can totally see it sitting on myself for two years unread as well. Hmm. We'll see how it goes. I read a couple of lines when I found a copy in a used bookstore a month or so ago - was too marked up to purchase, but it made enough of an impression that I remembered it. Also don't feel as bad about liking SL now that you have fessed up as well :)
Andi - Happy Packages! Nothing I love more than spending more than a "reasonable" amount on clothes. In fact, am fantasizing about it right. this. instant.
Meggers - Can't wait to buy books from betterworldbooks! Already checked it out. Find it completely that odd you remember ice in my glass instead of all the cheesy poofs & Arby's Roast Beef I ate :) Hey Anonymous, did you catch those two skeletons??
And it's true. I hardly ever use ice anymore (but I promise to try with my new glasses, Megs!). It happened around 2000 when I studied in England. Fridge was too small for ice and was forced to make do. Now I don't even think of it (and get pissed when there is too much at a restaurant b/c they have to refill it 7000 times).
Yay, shopping! Today I made a contribution to the economy myself. . . now that I have a job, I figured it made perfect sense to go shopping for cute new clothes for the new job. And shoes, of course.
Post a Comment