Well, I got a new phone
I went to Market Mall this afternoon to pick up my snazzy new phone: an iPhone 13 mini! I originally wanted an iPhone 12 mini because I wanted that beautiful lavender color, but I got the (PRODUCT)RED color of the 13 mini and I’m digging it.
I can’t take a picture of it because the only thing I own that takes pictures is my new phone, haha, so have a pic from the Apple website:
Yay!
Florida Man, Florida Man
Remember catalogs?
Like, catalogs you’d get in the mail and were (possibly) subscribed to?
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like that’s not really a thing anymore, or at least is not as big of a thing as it used to be.
We used to get a TON of catalogs in the mail when I was growing up. Especially my dad, because he was on the mailing lists for so many weird-ass things. I LOVED looking through them and wishing I could buy half the stuff in them, haha.
Here are a few I remember:
Pottery Barn Kids always had the COOLEST furniture and stuff.
(The irony of this being the blurriest image)
I LOVED this one. So many random things.
The memories, man. The memories.
Want some good running (or just general exercise) clothes?
Try baleaf!
I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned them on here, but they make really high-quality clothes that are quite inexpensive. I have a pair of these fleece-lined leggings for running in the cold and they fit PERFECTLY. Not too loose, not too tight, and they have a back pocket that fits my iPod nicely.
I also have a fleece-lined long sleeve thingy I run in when it’s REALLY cold, but I don’t see that on their site anymore.
Anyway.
New Coating
So because I’m the supreme procrastinator, I hadn’t yet gotten a new coat after my orange one died in…April?
But now it’s starting to get colder and I’ll need one soon, so I finally went out and got this guy:
I feel bad that it’s down-filled, but all of the other options of that thickness also had fur on the collar/hood, so of the options, it was the best one.
Shoutout to Fitly
I’m pretty sure I’ve posted about these before, but if you are into running and want a fantastic running pack, give Fitly a try.
Their minimalist pack is SO light and comfortable. I wear this in the fall/winter/spring (when I don’t need to take water with me) and I seriously forget I’m wearing it.
Their hydro running pack is what I wear in the summer when it’s hot enough that I want to bring water just in case. Compared to a lot of the other water-carrying running packs I see people wear, this one is super low profile and doesn’t bounce around much (and probably wouldn’t bounce at all on anyone who’s even a little bit larger/taller than me. I’m so short I have to have everything on the tightest setting and it’s still a bit big, haha).
I’ve only seen one other person with a Fitly up here, which is shocking, ‘cause they’re SO GOOD.
Get one!
(I’m not getting paid by them, I promise.)
Hey Moscow Nerds:
Do y’all remember Hastings? The store that sold books, games, movies, and miscellaneous other stuff and was in that weird little back building of the mall behind Macy’s?
I miss Hastings.
Back when I would go to the mall every Saturday with my dad, he’d give me $20 and set me free for an hour or so to get whatever I wanted to get. I’d usually end up at Hastings at some point during the hour, and while I rarely bought anything apart from used books (CDs were like $16.99 and that was a huge chunk of the $20), I always loved to look around at everything.
It’s too bad they died. Hastings was fun.
Palouse Mall needs more fun shops.
I must be super stressed out
‘Cause all I want to do is BUY THINGS
It’s a problem.
Price TAG YOU’RE IT
This is a super interesting and informative list. I’m sure we’ve all been aware of some of these strategies, but probably never considered a few of them.
Purch
HERE’S CRAP I WANT TO BUY
I DON’T EVEN CARE ANYMORE
James Webb Space Telescope earrings
Another thermal case for another one of my electronics
Sir +
Bro, you can buy surplus shit from the CITY OF CALGARY?
This is in the “Court Seizures” section, OH MY GOD
Hahahaha, where the hell does half of this stuff come from? A whole subsection is titled “Helicopter Parts.”
Like…what?
WHERE DID THE KAYAK COME FROM
Edit: IT’S A SIGNED KENNY G SAXOPHONE WHY IN THE HELL IS THIS IN A SURPLUS SALE IN CALGARY???
I love this so much.
Kazoom!
Have friends? Or family? Or both?
Are they hard to buy for?
Try this site. Take a quizzy quiz and see recommended gifts.
Woo.
The Cost
I love the strong negative correlation between my will to live and the amount of money I spend. It certainly explains why I’ve bought thousands of dollars of stuff this year.
Like, we’re kidding ourselves if we’re going to have much of a future beyond 10 years from now.
So buy the goddamn $600 headphones who gives a SHIT
SENN
I think that if I were ever to be rich, the one luxury I would allow myself to have is the luxury of expensive headphones.
Like…I’d like to think that I’d be very generous with my money in terms of donating it, giving it to my family/friends who need it, saving it for the future, etc.
But obscenely expensive headphones? That might be something I’d go for.
Hell, I’d like to just listen to one or two songs on these things and then just give them back, I don’t even care.
Nice
If I…
Ever went swimming
Ever was comfortable partially naked in front of my husband
Ever wanted anyone to willingly look at me
I would get a dress or swimsuit or lingerie thingy here.
They’re very pretty.
Vitaly!
Do you want some cool jewelry that’s made from 100% recycled stainless steel? Check out vitalydesign.com!
They make super cool rings, chains, pendants, and bracelets. I’ve gotten some cool things from them and will probably get more.
Check it:
Machina (this can be worn anywhere on the ear because it screws on!)
Edit: got some chains, too!
USAY2K
Not being able to go back to the US for more than a year has made me realize just how much stuff I still get from there. Mostly it’s stuff that I can’t find up here (like my particular brand of deodorant or the ONLY lip balm that seems to work for me), but a good amount of it is stuff that is WAY cheaper in the States. Examples:
- Sunscreen
- Vitamins
- Razors
- Shampoo
- The pens I use when I lecture (though I guess I haven’t been using these since we’ve been online anway)
- Clothes (like even the basic stuff like socks and bras)
- Earrings
That’s just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head.
And it’s too terrifying to go into a Walmart or a Superstore right now, so everything has to be bought at Safeway, which is SUPER expensive.
Yay. I hate this freaking pandemic.
Bought Bits
So the year’s not quite over yet and I’m sure I’ll be making one or two more nonsense purchases before the end of next month because pandemic panic shopping is a thing and I hate that I’m that type of person though I’m trying to be better, BUT I think I can safely list my top three purchases of the year. They are as follows:
1. The treadmill
Definitely the most expensive thing I’ve bought in a while (apart from the new rocking chair), but totally worth it. It already made my life better on those days during the summer where I would have been walking in torrential downpours or on those days in the past few months where it’s been -15 with snow. I can still get my walk without having to dread horrible weather. This will also make me less dependent on Anytime Fitness once it opens back up, though I still might have to go there for early morning treadmilling if I ever need to do so. I suspect treadmilling at 4 AM would be too loud for my husband and the downstairs neighbors.
2. The Kindle
OH MY GOD this thing has made those 4-hour indoor treadmill walks so much more bearable. And it’s gotten me back into reading, which is fantastic. I’ve read around 17 books since I’ve gotten it, which is more than I’ve read in like the past five years (tragic). Also, like I mentioned in a previous blog, there are Kindle versions of a good amount of books on my list that I haven’t been able to find in libraries. So that’s a plus, too!
3. The Wacom tablet
This is definitely a work purchase rather than a personal purchase, but it has made online lecturing so much easier than it would have been if I had to do everything on my laptop. Yes, my laptop can fold over and act like a tablet to write on, but recording my 50-minute lectures for the winter semester made the laptop really hot; I can’t imagine how bad it would have gotten for the 2-hour lectures (back to back, so I guess four hours total) in the summer. Plus, it’s super smooth and snazzy and I could use him for digital art if I ever got into that sort of thing.
Woo!
LEG
WHAT UP DUDES
Want some funky socks/hosiery/rave clothes? Check out Leg Avenue!
I’ve gotten socks from them before, but never directly from their site (usually through Sock Dreams). But they’ve got a lot of other stuff too.
Favorites:
Coating
So like every other article of clothing that I use for walking, my winter coat is really falling apart. It still does its job, but the pockets have big holes in them, the armpits have big holes in them, it’s scuffed up a bit in the back from when I got hit by that van earlier this year, and the coloring is all messed up from tons and tons of sun exposure (winters in Calgary are, typically, nice and sunny, which helps a little bit with how FREAKING COLD they get).
Thus, I spent a bit of time today looking up winter coats.
And they are EXPENSIVE.
At least the super-cold-rated ones are.
I probably shouldn’t be surprised at this, but 1) I never even had a good winter coat before getting the orange one I have now, and 2) I found that one at a Goodwill in Spokane for like $5, so I had no real reference point for prices.
I like the Canada Goose coats because they have an actual rating scale for cold appropriateness.
I could probably get away with a TEI3, but I’d prefer to get a TEI4 because when it’s that cold, a four-hour walk out in, say, -13, really tanks my body temp. A TEI5 would, of course, be great for when it’s SUPER SUPER cold, but there aren’t too many of those days (luckily) and I do have my treadmill that I can use on such days instead of going outside to die in the snow.
Also, a coat rated for below -22 would likely be way too hot in like 0 degree weather, and I’d like a coat that can handle a good range of temps.
Also also, it’s really my hands that get super cold on those really cold walks, so what I really need to do is find some nice warm gloves (or mittens, in case I want to throw hand warmers into them).
MITTEN ONLINE SHOPPING COMMENCE!!!
Sorry, my ear is too cool to hear you
Dudes, check out this super cool ear piece:
I got it from Otis Jaxson Jewelry on Etsy. There are so many cool pieces on their page. If you like funky, unique earrings, ear pieces, necklaces, bracelets, and rings, check them out!
PANTS PANTS PANTS
SO.
I think I mentioned this website on here a while ago and said that I was hesitant to try a pair of these pants (despite all the color options and how soft they looked) because I knew they would be too long for me.
However, since that time, it looks like they’ve added more size options. Specifically, they’ve added “petite” and “short petite” lengths, which make these pants something that I figured I’d like to try.
So I did. And they’re great!
They’re super soft and comfortable and the “petite” is a good length for me. I got few in the boot cut style, ‘cause that’s as close to a bell bottom shape as I can get and I love that shape.
So if you want some comfy colorful pants, give these a try!
Oh shit I bought a treadmill
Oh shit oh shit oh shit
Most people’s response to possible stay-at-home orders: oh no, groceries/oh no, friends/oh no, malls
My response: THIS VIRUS SHALL NOT TAKE AWAY MY WALKING MILEAGE SO HELP ME GOD
So I bought this guy. Not sure exactly when he’ll get here, but hopefully before they shut everything completely down.
Yes, I mainly bought him in case we get quarantined. But he’ll also be useful for days where it’s pouring rain in the spring/summer/fall and days where it’s too cold to even make it the two miles to Anytime Fitness without getting frostbite.
So yeah.
Eigenblogger 