Window Shopping

I recently went online and went quarantine window shopping. Despite me on the road to live and thus, deal, with less – less appointments, less people, less stuff. I realize that even I am human, and window shopping is fun.

Now that we’re slowing starting to step out, of course buying more than the essentials will come with that. I am definitely leaving quarantine knowing I do not need 90% of the things that I thought I did. But despite this, I’m human and I kept a “Post Quarantine” shopping list on Amazon during this time. I think now that I’ve reviewed it, it’s quite interesting the categories of objects that I found.

First, let’s just say, I’m clearly done with buying new clothes – I am a clothes hound, or at least I thought I was. and now I’m a self-healed clothes non-hoarder no more. First, I got rid of 6 bags of clothes, repurposed/upcycled/crafted (Thanks Pinterest!) another full bag of clothes. 7 bags. People. I was a glutton. (Forgive me Jesus.)

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Second, clearly being at home makes you wanna shop for home. So like many, when we entered this state, we did a house purge. Did the attic, our closets, the cabinets. All of it. Again, much like the clothes purge I did (because let’s be honest, the husband abhors clothes shopping and has his essentials and they last for years…) well…I realized our kid has too many shoes so first up, shoe rack. Something he can reach rather than the flimsy one on his door that seems to shoe vomit every time you breathe in it’s general direction. Then as I’m laying on the couch, it’s been a few years and it’s starting to pill…so why not, throw a matching couch shaver into the mix, because sofas should feel sexy too. and finally, now that I’m staring at the tv more often than I should….can we please hide those wires that are messing up my component nook already? (Full disclosure, I already have one in my office space – it’s a sanity saver.)

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So now that the house is clean and organized, well, let’s eat. It’s what we do right? I mean eat our feelings. Have family dinner. Play Jeopardy and Song Quiz on Alexa? Absolutely. Of course, first things first, let’s stay organized and get us some of this huge pile of pantry storage. My husband and I have now realized we are saving tons from not eating out, and while it seems less healthy (I can be heavy handed with butter when scrambling eggs) it’s still healthier. Here in Texas, it’s getting hotter by the minute and of course, it makes logical sense to take cooking outside so you don’t steam up the house. I have been slowly learning how to smoke a good Texas brisket and I’m looking forward to taking my game to the next level with this meat injector. Finally, as I’ve said before, Sundays are for saute therapy and while I think I used to have a copy, I know that I’ve already exhausted most of my French cooking that I either mimic from local restaurants or pinterested (<—is that a word yet?) Like many things during quarantine, I think it’s time to up my game and learn it right and grab the 2-volume Mastering the Art of French Cooking and really connect with Julia.

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Since we lost our little fur buddy, we of course look to make life a little more comfy for our big dog, Penny. She’s kennel trained and since working from home, I’ve taken over some of her kennel space. My desk is next to her crate and we have become quite fond of each other. She typically spends mornings sleeping in her crate with the door open – by choice. Later to emerge and see what the family is up to. However, since Ralph’s death, she no longer has a roommate and gets quite anxious in the mornings. I’m thinking of getting a combo dog bed and rug to “hide in plain sight” in our bedroom as she comes in and lays at our feet – happy to be in the presence of other living things. Also, as things open up, I”m considering getting her a better harness like this and a handle to keep her at short range as we all learn social distancing together.

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and my final section. The future. While I can’t shop for the items that I need to move next – because to be fair, quarantine has given me many things that I need to be a better person after all of this, I think there’s merit into archiving the moment in time. I found this all too cheeky charm to keep on my bracelet to remember the time and new normal we are beginning to embrace. Speaking of new normal, I believe the world is in need of more happiness than ever, so hopefully once I feel comfortable, I’ll be sporting these wheelie sneaks to the office on casual Fridays. and finally, in the hopes for the best normal ever, I found this beautiful picnic set to feed our family in an earth friendly way before football games in the fall.

I had alot of weird feelings about this post. It feels very strange to “shop” – especially when my heart isn’t into going out all the way yet – it’s a journey. It feels weird to want things that I don’t need any more – I know there will come a time that I grab the impulse buy, and that’s okay- but I also want that to happen exponentially less than I’ve ever done before. I am internalizing that stuff doesn’t equal love, that more doesn’t always equal better. One day at a time though, and some normal silly stuff, may beget the bigger normal silly stuff.

Stay safe and progress on.