The Shopaholic

Thanksgiving to-do lists

2009-11-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

This isn't my first Thanksgiving in the US, every year it feels like it actually is (in a good way, of course!). I want everything to be perfect, even for those friends who couldn't make it to my house this year. So I decided to scour the web and try to find a website that could help me out with flower delivery.

I ended up using 1-800-Flowers, just because I like shopping online all in one place, although they have such a variety of gift baskets it was hard to narrow them down! All of the recipients loved their flowers and were touched to know I was thinking of them, and they made rain checks to come up and visit soon :)

My future garden

2009-11-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

My husband has plans for a big garden when we eventually buy a house, but I really have no idea what to put in it. I'd like there to be a lot of color, so probably a nice variety of flowers - I want it to look like a rainbow. But, not only am I probably going to have to deal with a lot of insects, the colors might get a bit too intense!

I was checking out 1-800-Flowers recently and noticed that they had a plants section (not just cut flowers), some of which were almost like miniature gardens, which gave me some interesting flower arrangement ideas. Hopefully when we do get a nice garden I'll be able to create a really nice space for lounging/gardening. Or, maybe I'll just get my husband to do it :)

Flowers as a special gift

2009-08-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

I recently took a trip to see my aunt. She lives on the other side of the metro area so I have to take two or three trains, which makes it difficult to get to see her regularly. So when I do, it always becomes second nature to buy her some flowers. I know her pretty well, so I remember that her favorites are daffodils.

That's what makes it difficult for me to choose flowers as a gift for people I don't know too well. I figure if I can't figure out or don't know their favorite, then I would rather just play it safe and get a mixed bouquet instead (I usually buy online from 1-800 flowers if I have enough notice ahead of time).

My aunt isn't fussy anyway, and she loves anything that's given as a gift. Flowers have always been her soft spot, though, so usually when the daffys are out of season I'll get her something with a daffodil print, or a painting or drawing of daffodils I did for her.

Seeing The World With YMT Vacations

2009-05-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

My grandparents have been bitten by the travel bug recently, after seeing me do a spot of globetrotting. They're a little concerned that their age (they're in their 80s) might be a bit of a hindrance for traveling, but I suggested they try Your Man Tours, a vacation company that specializes in tour packages for mature travelers.

My grandparents had been on fantastic vacations when they were younger, but felt a bit out of the loop. They mentioned to me later on that they were surprised by the variety of options Your Man Tours had for what they considered to be a "forgotten market". I think they'll be using Your Man Tours in the future. They still say they have a lot of the world to see.

United American Insurance Company as a Health Insurance Choice

2009-05-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

My roommate is a martial arts instructor, and was talking to me about the various benefits studying different styles. He recommended I try Kung Fu, mainly because you learn practical moves quicker than, say, Tai Chi. The only problem with that is that you need health insurance much sooner. He suggested I try United American Insurance Company to see what they had to offer.

Being from the UK, I've never had to buy health insurance, so I'm a bit unsure as to how to go about getting the right type of cover, but United American Insurance Company were helpful in letting me know what my options were. I'm still shopping around at the moment, but I have spoken to other people in the same boat as me and suggesting they give United American Insurance Company a call, too.

Amos Tamam as an Entrepreneurial Example

2009-05-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

My father always complains about the level of inconvenience when he takes taxis. Generally, when he travels, he tends to rent a car, but it's harder in places outside of the EU where he holds his driver's license. So when he comes to the US, taking taxis is a bit of a pain, as he never carries much cash on him.

I was talking to him the other day about how this businessman named Amos Tamam was implementing credit/debit card machines in NYC taxis, and that hopefully that might catch on. It seemed like quite a great grassroots-type idea, so my dad was particularly impressed by what Amos Tamam was doing. It'd be a lot more convenient for people to just use their debit cards in ways that Amos Tamam was implementing, rather than having to find an ATM that doesn't charge you, then running around with cash on you! Maybe that might encourage my dad to visit more often.

SRC Leads as a Sales Resource

2009-05-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

My uncle is considering working in sales, because he misses the busier lifestyle he had when working as a realtor. The only thing is he's quite concerned about the sales market he's been missing out on for the past five years or so. I was doing some internet browsing and happened upon SRC Leads, who generate sales leads for their client.

I suggested to my uncle that he take a look at SRC Leads and see what they had to offer. He seemed pleasantly surprised by the level of service he received from SRC Leads, considering that my uncle is kind of a crotchety guy who's pretty fussy about what he pays for. Hopefully he'll get back into the swing of things soon.

Choosing K-Designers For Home Improvement

2009-05-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

My cousin Elysa is one of the many people I know who have busy lives. She's married, has two kids under 2, and works full-time from home (and often travels for it). She tells me that she spends a couple of minutes working out her schedule at the beginning of each month, and semi-regularly works on ways to improve the efficiency of her days and save valuable time on day-to-day things.

But with working from home comes procrastination, and one thing she's been putting off was updating her garage door. She has one of the old pull-cord doors, and it wastes so much time in the morning for both her and her husband. I suggested she take a look at K-Designers to see if they had any garage doors that she liked, and so far she can't really decide.

She tends to get distracted by interesting things quite easily, so when she was browsing K-Designers' website, she happened across a few other products that piqued her curiosity (such as K-Designers' exterior paint service), but anything that saves some time off her busy schedule can only be a good thing.

Fussy shopping

2009-05-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

I can be a fussy shopper if I need to be for certain things. If it's a t-shirt or a pair of socks, I'll probably get whatever looks nice, but I won't make a big deal out of it. But buying things like a purse, shoes or a wallet are something that I take much more time over. It's the same with buying a pair of glasses.

My boyfriend has told me that he knows many people who wear them, and they tend to buy one or two pairs every year. My issue is that a pair of specs is almost like a tattoo - for me at least, that kind of thing would last for a very long time, and it's a semi-permanent decoration on my face. Why wouldn't I want something to be comfortable in and that would suit my style 24/7? A good website that caters to the fusspot in me is eyeglasses.com, because of the variety of styles they have. Maybe shopping online is the way to go.

Fiduciary Frugality from Frank Hanna

2009-05-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

Financial responsibility is a hot topic these days. In light of the recent economic downturn, many people are either finding their past mistakes coming back to haunt them, or are suffering from the poor choices of bigger institutions. In times like these, it's important to read as much material as possible concerning tips to ensure your financial welfare.

I stumbled some writings by Frank Hanna, whose blog strips down monetary worries into more manageable epithets and words to live by. Reading Frank Hanna's blog puts the current economic doomscape onto a more philosophical level, where one can address the underlying problems of mass debt rather than rushing to rectify problems when it may be too late. There are a few other sites that seek to illustrate the problem on a similarly large scale, but Frank Hanna's blog reduces the issues to general questions that aren't based on challenging one particular company or institution. Until the crisis is resolved, it's a good idea to think about what you can do personally to resolve or remedy yours and others' situations.

Sports tips from Mohammed Banbangida

2009-05-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently got into polo, but was lamenting the fact that she didn't really know much about the sport. So, she decided to play it on bicycles, and got a pretty big following of people eager to try it out, and maybe start a tournament.

I told her that grassroots tournaments like that can be really successful on a larger scale, and mentioned that Mohammed Banbangida was commenting on how many people showed up for a big tournament in Nigeria. My friend told me it was interesting how a businessman like Mohammed Banbangida who probably didn't have a ton of free time on his hands would be into such a cool, nerdy sport, and that it was refreshing. She said that Mohammed Banbangida sounded similar in style to Richard Branson, because of how personable his interest in sports seemed.

My friend tends to keep her tournaments on a mini-level, though, but if bike polo catches on on a similar level, she might just start hosting international matches in her own backyard.

Fond childhood memories

2009-04-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

My mother has a beautiful obsession with flowers. She and my aunt (her sister-in-law) both taught me how to identify and cultivate certain flowers. I always thought it was a bit too girly for me, but they explained how one day, before I was born, my older brothers and her two sons (who were older than me) pooled their money together and bought them a huge bouquet of roses and a small sapling as Mother's day gifts for the both of them to share.

My mother explained that neither her nor my aunt were too fond of each other after my mother married my dad, and when they saw that their own kids had come together to buy them some beautiful Mothers day gifts, they decided to bury the hatchet and patch things up. So now, every year, I try to get both of them some really thoughtful Gifts for mothers day to carry on such a meaningful tradition in bringing our family together. I tend to use 1-800-Flowers, because they have such a good variety, particularly harder-to-find varieties that my aunt loves so much :)