Zappos.com. This website is a gift sent from the female gods to the rarest of my gender who detest shopping (and even worse – taking our children shoe shopping). Free shipping both ways. Easy returns no questions asked. Incredibly fast delivery (literally 1-2 days and the shoes are sitting on your doorstep). Actually, the only downside to Zappos that I have discovered so far (of course please tell me if the company is known for having a terrible carbon footprint or harming animals in any way to dispense this glorious service. That will certainly (may) dissuade me from using them), is that there selection is almost too big and I have a difficult time narrowing down my choices. According to my mother, however, that just means I need to order all of the shoes I like and return the ones I don’t (“Free shipping, Lucy! Get as many as you want.”). I can almost feel Will’s heart drop into his stomach as his thoughts drift to “please do not take shopping advice from your mother.” Not to mention the fact that I do get a bit queasy charging hundreds of dollars on my credit card at a time. But otherwise, Zappos has saved my sanity many, many times.
Our new Big Ben clock from LL Bean. We already had 3 of these clocks that I purchased years ago. Will (aka, snooze button addict) started using one for his alarm clock so that he would not be tempted to fall back asleep—no snooze buttons. Fast forward to 18+ months later to a time when George is obsessed with clocks and has the brute strength of a young King Kong and you get a broken Big Ben clock. Thankfully, LL Bean still sells these great timepieces, but they’ve changed the design slightly (bigger numbers, sleeker look) – I actually like it better. It now sits a safe distance from George’s reach with only one minor flaw – they’ve added a snooze button. So, Will is back to using his college digital alarm clock and I am back to ensuring he is actually waking up when the alarm sounds.
Once Upon A Child. First I should confess I don’t actually buy many things for my children. They have very doting grandparents, aunts, uncles and other friends and family who adorn them with clothes, toys, books and just general wonderfulness. But on the rare occasion that I need to get them clothes or baby/kid accessories, I always go to Once Upon a Child first—a consignment store for gently used (and from what I can tell often have never been used) children’s things that are very inexpensive and always in-stock. Plus, I like to think of it as another (albeit small) way of shopping green by reusing these tiny little clothes. After all, most children grow out of those adorable outfits after about four wearings (unless you count Frances’s 3 purple dresses all of which have holes in them from her overuse – poor girl).
My Ugg slippers. Yes, I know; they are so very “Hollywood.” Or at least they were 8 years ago and now they are so very “last season” I’m certain. But I am in love with them and have been since Will bought them for me many, many Christmases ago. And in truth, this shabby pair is probably the third or fourth I have owned since the initial purchase because I wear them every evening and every morning. I wear them to do my Pilates stretches when I first wake up (that glorious 30 or so minutes before anyone else is awake). I wear them to get the mail, to put the trashcan away at the end of the day and sometimes even to walk the dogs. And I wear. Them. Out.
My new Kindle! Thanks to so many positive reviews of this little contraption, I took the big leap and bought one. I suppose my week-long deliberation doesn’t come close to a monumental life changing decision, but I did feel much better knowing that so many readers I respect were already happily using one. Isn’t that silly? In a way it seems I am still self-conscious about certain actions in my life and in some way (virtual this time) need “approval” from friends and family before diving in.
Just looking at this picture makes me want to go and read; and when is that a bad thing?
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment