Tag Archives: Shopping

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Do You Enjoy Shopping? Why or Why Not?

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Generally, no, I do not enjoy shopping because of how consumeristic and expensive it can be.

Closeup of eco-friendly mesh bags. Two are black, two are white, and one is yellow. They are all arranged in a circle against a white background. I replace clothing and shoes as they wear out or no longer fit me, but I find it wasteful to replace perfectly good stuff just because an advertisement says that a certain pattern or colour is no longer in fashion this year. (This is not a criticism of anyone who loves fashion, only of an industry that often strongly encourages people to purchase things they may not need or even want a few months from now).

Due to planned obsolescence and how many items are not being constructed in ways that makes repairing them easy or even possible in some cases, it can be harder to do this with stuff like electronics or small appliances, but I do still try to get as much use out of them as I can.

I used to like visiting the grocery store and occasionally the local chocolate shops before inflation increased the price of  everything so terribly.

It was once relaxing for me to pick out the freshest produce I could find and browse new dairy-free products so long as I went at a quiet part of the day. There was nothing like the thrill of finding a new vegan cheese, dark chocolate bar, or less common fruit or vegetable to try that was only a few dollars but might become a new favourite of mine.

Chocolate shops always smell so good that I used to go there just to sniff around and see if there was any new vegan chocolate for me to buy.

With prices for everything rising and my budget having less wiggle room, I do not find as much joy in these things as I used to….unless I happen to stumble across a fantastic sale or something which does happen every so often.

The only shopping-adjacent thing I enjoy these days is browsing the new section of my local library or the new additions page on their website.

I love the thrill of seeing books by favourite authors pop up in these places and either realizing I can borrow them immediately or that the waitlist for them is beautifully short.

This isn’t even to mention all of the other stuff libraries offer: concerts, authors giving talks, discussion panels, book clubs, job hunting advice, movies, festivals, events, and more.

Thank goodness for libraries, I say!

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: 10 Gifts for People Who Love Minimalism

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Last week I had trouble commenting on some of the WWBC participants whose sites are hosted on Blogger. I will try to comment on your posts again this week! Here’s hoping that issue was solved.

So what do you buy for someone who already has everything they need and isn’t interested in collecting more gadgets? I’m writing this post from the perspective of someone who fits this description. While I’m always appreciative of the gifts people give to me, the truth of the matter is that there aren’t too many physical possessions out there that I need but haven’t already acquired somehow.

Here’s a list of things you could buy, make, or otherwise give to folks like me depending on their tastes. I mostly stuck to food-based stock photos to illustrate my point because apparently there isn’t a lot of demand out there for stock photos about slippery emotions like compliments. Ha!

1. Baked Goods

I’m an average baker, but I certainly wouldn’t know how to make anything that looks like it was made by a professional. It’s always a thrill when someone surprises me with some nicely decorated cupcakes or other treats.

2. Tickets to Artsy Stuff

To give an expensive example, the Hamilton musical is coming to Toronto next year. The tickets for it are far too rich for my tastes, but this would be the sort of thing I’d squeal over if I had a fabulously wealthy fairy godparent.

On a much more economical note, I’d also be thrilled with a general admission ticket to a museum, art gallery, comedy set, concert, or other similar event. I love the feeling of seeing or hearing things that I don’t normally experience in my daily life.

3. A Massage

My parents bought me a one-hour full body massage once or twice when I was in college. It was the nicest thing they could have given me. There’s nothing like the relief of having tense, sore muscles gently relaxed after all of those long months of studying.

It could be a massage from someone I’m really close to or a gift certificate for a professional masseuse. Either one is wonderful in my opinion.

4. Stories, Photos, and Memories

Obviously, this one depends on how well you know the person, but I love it when the older generations in my family pass down new information they’ve discovered about our ancestors or pieces of their childhoods that they haven’t shared yet. There are relatives who died before I was born that I feel like I’ve met because of how much of their lives has been recorded in our oral histories.

It’s also cool when friends randomly share an old photo or funny story from our past.

5. A Personalized Book Recommendation

It always makes me happy when someone tailors their recommendations. That’s not an easy thing to do, but it sure is lovely to receive.

Assorted chocolate and fruit pralines6. Vegan Chocolates

I’m always on the lookout for new types of vegan chocolates or pralines, especially if they’re flavoured with mint, fruit, nuts, or other mix-ins.

7. Herbal Tea

Is it possible to have too much herbal tea or even tea in general? I doubt it.

8. Random, Genuine Compliments

Being surprised with something someone honestly appreciates about you almost feels like the emotional version of a massage. They both make me feel incredibly happy and appreciated.

In order to make this more gift-like, the compliments could be compiled in an email or written on little scraps of paper and put into a fancy jar. Yes, I somehow came up with a physical item that I couldn’t eat but would still enjoy owning. I’d probably use it to store chocolate and other treats in after I’d savoured all of the compliments.

9. Shopping Advice and Support

Fashion isn’t one of those things I spend much time thinking about, but I do admire people who know how to put together an eye-catching wardrobe. It would be super cool to spend a day going through my clothes and shopping with someone who genuinely enjoyed putting nice outfits together.

10. Stargazing

I love astronomy.

This past autumn, I had the chance to do a little stargazing at a local university. The event was put on by faculty and students there, so we got to hear some interesting facts about the stuff we were looking at.

I would be so excited to do this occasionally with someone who was really knowledgable on this topic.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question. The image below is the list of upcoming prompts for this blog hop.

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