Viewing Category: Shopping
2011 Aug 30
I’ve had my eye on the REI Transit laptop bag for a while now, and since it went on sale a few days ago I couldn’t resist! I took my old bag into the store and proceeded to “test drive” the new bag by throwing in my laptop, charger, mouse, Kindle, and p&s camera to see how everything fit, and the bag swallowed it all up nicely! The padding is really plush, even the shoulder strap pad and carry handle are nicely padded. This bag is great because the main compartment is accessed from the top via a zipper. As I mentioned in a previous post, I don’t really like having to lift up the big flap to get in there. Anoher nice feature of this bag is that the zippers have a nice waterproofing seal on the outside. Of course it’s not waterproof like a Pelican case, but it seems like it would hold up in a decent rain (not that we’ll see rain ever again in Texas). I got the greenish-brown/orange one instead of the boring black/grey version.
Another bonus is that the little clip has holes in it which seem perfect for attaching a cell phone strap. I went through our collection of keitai straps and found this Totoro strap. The colors match nicely, I think! BTW, I gave my other two laptop bags to Bay and Koa. Luckily there was no fighting over who got which one since the each took a liking to different bags. Whew!
On another bag note, I ironed on my Ravenclaw patch to my canvas camera bag. The colors don’t match so well, but I like it anyways.
2011 Aug 15
There’s a watch store called Mr. Time in my old hometown of Torrance. It’s located on the corner of Sepulveda and Crenshaw and just about always has a “20-50%-Off Sale” sign hanging outside of it. It’s kind of a running joke between myself and Mariko because I always remind her that next time we visit family in California, I’ll buy a new watch. I’d estimate that it’s more like half of the visits we make to Torrance I buy a new watch and the other half of the time I just window shop. Well, this past summer I decided that I wanted to get a watch with a metal wristband. This would be a first for me! I’ve always prefered a black plastic/rubber wristband and the guy at Mr. Time always offers to switch the bands on any watch. When I bought my Waveceptor watch I had him replace the metal wristband with a black one. But I was looking in my drawer that I keep my watches in and I noticed that there were a few in there that were kind of just dead-in-the-water now because the original black wristband had broken and the replacement wristbands either did not exist anymore or didn’t fit too well. Because of this, I decided to go for a metal wristband.
I looked at a few really nice Seiko models but they were too expensive so I fell back on good ol Casio. I like the designs and they are pretty inexpensive. Quality is good as well. The Casio name isn’t going to impress anyone but I like them anyways. The model I decided on isn’t anything special but it does have analog hands and a digital face which I like. It’s also simple to use. I think I can adjust most everything without having to break out the manual, which is something I have to do whenever I want to adjust my Waveceptor. The new watch also has markers for North South East and West, but there’s no actual compass on the watch. The letters do make it look a little more sophisticated at least. It’s also waterproof down to 200 meters.
Like I mentioned above, I’ve never had a watch with a metal watchband before so it took a little while to get used to. But I really like it now and the peace of mind that it will last much longer than the rubber watchbands is a real plus. Now I am thinking about trying to find a metal watchband for my other watches. I bet Mr. Time could help me out. If anyone can do it, he can!
2011 Mar 13
A few months ago I was at the REI on 6th and Lamar, and I happened upon a pretty nice sale. They had a ton of lightly used shoes available for super cheap and I managed to find two pairs of Keen shoes that I really liked. The low-top pair was $8 and the boots were $20, so I saved around $110 off the retail price! They did have a little bit of wear (and a fair amount of caked-on mud) but they are really comfortable. Keen shoes are pretty good, but on these two pairs the soles were separating from the mid-soles. Kind of annoying, but easily remedied by applying some good ol Shoe-goo. A tube of this stuff is only about $4 and works great. I used a popsicle stick to get the glue well into the separation, then I smashed the shoe under a heavy bag of topsoil (I was in the garage) and left it overnight. The next day, the shoe-goo was dry and the sole was good to go!
The shoes came with plain brown laces which were ok but I wanted to get some old-style hiking laces for the lo-tops and then a more modern pair of hiking laces for the boots. I had to get rid of an older pair of shoes to make room for these new additions but I think it’s a nice trade.
2010 Apr 09
Anyone one else print out the Michael’s coupons before going to the store? Typically you save 40-50% off of a single item. My purchases for the kids’ school projects are usually pretty inexpensive, but it’s great to get them at half off anyways. I’m thinking about buying a nice oil paint set, though… could save some serious cash with my 50% coupon! Just do a search for ”Michaels coupons” and you will find them.
2009 Apr 14
I came across the Yard Sale Treasure Map while browsing Lifehacker. It’s a mashup of Google Maps and Craigslist garage sale listings. Just put in your address (or town), select a radius and day, and the site will map out a route for you. Once you have the map, you can edit it however you please. The only thing missing is the ability to add the map to your saved My Maps, but it’s still really neat.
Yard Sale Treasure Map
2008 Apr 03
I am addicted to Saltines. I can usually go through one of those bags in a single sitting, and a box of four will be gone in two days. Unfortunately, our Costco stopped carrying Premium saltines. But luckily, Target has their Market Pantry brand of saltines, which are at least as good as Premium. Plus, they are only $.97. They used to be $.87 a box, but the price went up recently.
Yesterday at Costco, while searching in vain for saltines yet again, I came across the mega-pack of Ritz crackers. I hadn’t had Ritz in a while, so I thought I would try them. Ritz are good crackers. But they are definitely not as “grindable” as saltines. They are a bit too rich and oily. I think they need to have something to compliment their taste, maybe a dip or cheese. Saltines, on the other hand, are more of a “eat them til there aren’t any more left” type of snack to me. I would have thought the opposite, that Ritz would be the cracker more suited to mass consumption, but to me, that would have to go to the venerable Saltine.
Maybe I should branch out and look for other snacks? I really don’t like anything that has powdered flavoring on it, though. I guess I will just have to have an open mind while I peruse the cracker section at the supermarket next time I go.
2008 Mar 19
Ever bought clothes that fit kind of funny? I bought some t-shirts from Old Navy yesterday, and when I put one on, it felt weird, like I had put it on backwards or something. The area around my shoulder blades seemed too tight, and there were little puffed up parts on the shoulders, as if they were left on a hanger or something. I turned the shirt around to see if there was a new style of putting the labels in the front, but nope, that felt even more strange. I even looked to see if there was an “Irregular” tag inside. Maybe I just have to wear these a while?
2008 Mar 17
A busy, tiring, but fun weekend for us! On Friday night we had dinner at our friends’ house. We had lots of vino, crackers and cheese and then Chris bbq’d chicken and steaks. I had some duck-flavored tofu “meat”, which was pretty good. Tasted like a Chinese tofu dish. The kids watched some Wallace & Grommit vids while the adults enjoyed the great Austin evening weather out on the patio. It was lots of fun. We got home around 9:30pm, and put the kids to bed, then I spent the night setting up my new computer. I finally hit the sack around 2am.
Saturday morning, we went down to Sunset Valley Farmers Market to load up on veggies and visit with Kayo and Take. We ate some great bento too! Then we went up to the Toyota dealership to look at new cars. I am retiring my Sentra and taking the Odyssey, while Mariko gets to drive a new Prius. We have one on order, so we can get the exact color and options she wants. I bet right after we take ownership of the car, the 2009 model with Li-on batteries and 100mpg will be announced. :(
After coming back from the dealership, we just hung out and did a little yardwork. In the evening, I worked on my old computer, trying to turn it into a media rig and hook it up to our LCD tv. But, I kept on running into problems, such as USB mouse not being recognized (I tried two different mice). Because of this, I couldn’t install the drivers for the new wireless network card I bought. Stupid installer program needs a mouse to click it! I got so frustrated, I just gave up.
Sunday was yardwork day. I dug out a bunch of grass in the front and planted some kind of shrub (I forget the name), then laid down the mulch over that little bed and also finished mulching the other side of the front yard. In the back, I weeded a bunch and started digging out the grass for a new veggie garden. I did about half so far. My back was aching so much, and I had no power. Could hardly pick myself up! The cul-de-sac neighbors are ordering dirt this week, so I put in an order for 1 cu. yard. It should arrive Thursday, so I guess Saturday will be another tough day for me.
Last night after dinner I was so tired that I crashed out right after getting the kids ready for bed. Today my body is a little sore, but much better than I thought it would be.
2008 Feb 23
Barnes & Noble > Border’s if you are in the market for a blank book. Plus B&N carries Moleskine. The selection at Border’s would be more appropriate for a Hallmark greeting card store: too many flowers and datebooks.
Disclaimer: My experience with the N. Austin branches, and might not be representative of all stores.
