Category Archives: shopping

I’m on a boat!

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Enroute to the big smoke!

Merrily we drive to Van, after being THE LAST CAR ON THE FERRY.

This weekend, Adam and I are going to Vancouver for a romantical getaway. I know: “Get a room, guys,” right? We’ll stay at Adam’s brother, Brendan’s, place, which is in False Creek. I don’t know why I’m telling you that, since you very well may have no idea where that is. But it’s lovely and while we stay there (Adam lived with Bren during his 8 months of co-op terms in Van), I like to pretend we live in this fabulous downtown-ish condo and are all metropolitan and stylish. Hey, it works for me.

Needless to say, picking outfits is of great importance for such a jaunt, since LET ME TELL YOU, there is a great void in the middle of the Georgia Strait, into which all style is absorbed before passengers alight upon Vancouver Island. I’m not being snotty, since I live on the island and love it there, but seriously, you guys: Something happens between Schwartz Bay and Tsawwassen and it’s not fashionable. I mean, I have left Victoria feeling like I’m lookin’ pretty put together, and by the time I reach Vancouver, I feel like I’m a clamdigger gone far, far astray.

It probably has something to do with the shopping. Vancouver has way better shopping. Don’t even get me started on Seattle (oh, I love you, Nordstrom Rack). Since Adam began his coaching training south of the 49th Parallel, I’ve become much more stylish (in my humble opinion). The options and prices are just SO much better. Victoria has some awesome indie shops and labels, but the prices are pretty much out of my grasp.

To be fair, though, I think a lot of my style metamorphosis has come about thanks to Pinterest. I’ve always had great ideas of what I’d like to do, but without the pieces, it’s hard to put it into action. I like to peruse the ensembles and see what works for me and what I might be able to do. I’ve learned that I can play with accessories (something I think I’ve really shied away from in the past), which really helps to refresh my pieces and enables a much more creative use of my wardrobe. And yes, my wardrobe is plentiful. I’ve got a good idea of what I like and I take exceptionally good care of my clothes. Clothes and fashion bring me a lot of joy, which sounds lame and materialistic, but really, it’s just a way I like to express my creativity (along with every other thing I do all day long—I’m an artist at heart. Always was.).

And then there’s my shoes. My affection for footwear is really enough fodder for an entire blog, or at least it’s own post, so I won’t say much in this one, but suffice it to say that my mother’s been calling me Imelda Marcos for as long as I can remember. I like shoes, and I like good ones, at that. Really, I like good quality everything. I’m not a brand junkie, but I know what I like, and when that coincides with a quality item, I’m sold (over and over again). I think that’s the topic of another post.

So, where was I going with this massive digression? Oh yes, to Vancouver. Where there is shopping (though I have not a lot of money and am aware of my impending trip to Seattle next weekend…). Adam still owes me a birthday present and we decided we’d shop for it together (that’s a two-fer for me!)… I’ll let you know how it turns out!

What do you like to spend your money on? Are clothes and fashion as a form of personal expression important to your identity? If not, what is?

Seattle Day Deux

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Day DOO! Hahaha. Oh, I am tired. My feets are swollen. I think I may have walked to northern California today. It’s quite possible.

Today was a good day. Seriously, you guys, the weather was ridiculously lovely. I even had a shop girl tell me upon my entry to the store that I had overdressed for the day. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Don’t make light of a person who is bearing shopping bags, with their coat on their arm and who is just a little bit sweaty. Big mistake. Big. Huge. Well, actually, not really, since I still bought stuff from that store, but still. STILL.

Anywho, I done good today. I got me some RIDICULOUS shoes, which shall receive a post of their very own. Just you wait (you really haven’t got much choice in the matter). I also got some less ridiculous shoes, but I’m still excited about them (I DO love shoes). No jeans, because I officially ran out of jean-trying motivation whilst eyeing up a pair of white jeans and wondering how long I’d wear them before sitting on wet paint or spilling POM juice on ‘em. I figure 23 minutes, tops.

I went to Forever 21, too. I’ve heard a lot about this place. I can tell you I will NEVER go back there. That’s just not my idea of fun shopping. It’s a HUGE store, in a HUGE mess. I can’t handle that kind of thrift-store vibe. I get angry and annoyed and all like, “WHY CAN’T ANYONE TELL ME WHERE ANYTHING IS IN HERE?”

I also feel bad about buying extremely cheap crap that I figure will fall apart possibly before I leave the house the first time I wear it. I bought a couple of tops, because I figured I’d been in there too long and would never get that time back ever, so I’d better have something to show for it. Here are some of the highlights of my internal dialogue:

“This is what’s wrong with the world and now I’m being part of the problem.”

“Bay, it’s a sunk cost. You know this. Get out and spend your money elsewhere.”

“No, I do NOT wish to rehang my discarded items.”

I mean, really: I did my time in retail, which included putting away and folding/hanging discards. I no longer wish to do this and they really can’t afford my hourly rate.

I also felt very Canadian. Especially when the dude at Nordstrom Rack (an employee, no less! Harrumph!) backed up onto MY foot, without apologizing AND despite my polite “oh—watch out!” and then I apologized. Good grief. And I heard a lot of “uh huhs”. Adam is onto something there…

I also got my bangs trimmed, which was great. Because I then could actually see. It turns out the reason I couldn’t find a restaurant was because I literally couldn’t SEE them. And I bought 3 chocolates to eat first thing in the morning! And was propositioned by a table of sailors. You know, as you do.

Hey, so I shopped here, at Abe_bie &:

Why wear pants when you can just hold them?

Interestingly, when I took a picture with the flash on, this is what happened:

Could it be? Is this guy luminescent?

It’s official: I think Abercrombie & Fitch uses vampires for models. Because they glimmer in the light.

 

Zombie apocalypse: Are you ready? Also, I’m in Seattle.

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The reason I ask is because, apparently, Mother Russia is working on zombie guns. Not guns that will effectively deal with the undead, mind you, but guns that turn you  into one. Because that’s what we’ve been missing ’til now. What the world needs now is not love; it is mindless, people-eating drones. Clearly. Don’t worry, though; if you’re worried about how to cope in the event of such a disaster, the CDC has you covered. Seriously, you guys, the stuff that is legit in this world is pretty sad. And yet, no unicorns. Sigh.

What I find interesting about this is that there are people starving in this world (despite there being more than enough food for everyone), but money goes into the creation of this garbage. People with no place to call home, no bed to rest their head at night. Children living in terrible conditions, facing even worse times ahead if they’re lucky enough to grow up. But Russia is making zombie guns. Humanity’s priorities are a mess. <<shakes head sadly>> Who’s gonna make the anti-zombie gun? You know, the one that shoots love and puppy kisses?

Speaking of zombies, today was Sakura-con here in Seattle, which is an anime convention. This means a lot of people were wandering around in fairly uninspired costumes, including zombies, vampires and various characters of unrecognizable renown. We did see a pretty darned realistic and accurate Daenerys from Game of Thrones, dragon included. Well done, pretty blond girl, well done.

Adam and I wandered around today and shopped it up. I didn’t get much—a few tops— but I got lots of ideas and tried on EVERY PAIR OF JEANS IN THE WORLD. Okay, it was 5 pairs. But still. STILL. Pulling skinny jeans on and off  is frustrating and causes my undies to bunch up/down/all around. TMI? Too bad. I don’t know about you, but I find the buying of new jeans to be one of the most tiresome and annoying tasks in the world. My fingers are blue from pulling up all the newly dyed indigo. I’m always worried I’ll forget to put a pair on when I go out for another size, and there I’ll be, in my knickers, in the middle of a store. This didn’t happen today, thankfully.

I have some missions for tomorrow. One of which is the finding of Cadbury Mini Eggs. Because Easter is in T-minus 2 and we got nuthin’. I’m mildly concerned that they don’t sell them here, which makes me sad for the US, but mostly for me. I KNEW we should’ve bought that mamma-jamma bag at Costco, Adam!

Pioneer Square. This is Adam's picture because I didn't take too many today.