February 13, 2009

My Shopaholic Confession

verabear Family, Mahal, Shopping 10 Comments

Hi, my name is Vera and I’m a Shopaholic!

If you’ve been following me around you probably know this about me already. I love shopping at malls, bazaars, corner shops, and even online looking for the best deals on technology or other unbeatable steal not to be passed up. I was actually surprised to see that my Shopping category for my blog posts don’t have the most number of posts in them. Surely, that must be a mistake! So I hopped on over to my Vox page, where I blogged for a brief period and found my shopping posts, those definitely brought back good memories 🙂 Too bad my Bravejournal doesn’t make it as easy to browse through posts…

I am such a shopaholic, in fact, I am currently downloading the digi goodness that I just shopped around for. Yes, you got that right, I made another online purchase and added to my ever growing stash of digital scrapbooking supplies. Alfred will probably have something to say about that. But it’s just so difficult to pass up, check out what I bought at The Daily Digi.

I come from a family of shopaholics. Perhaps the least shopaholic of us would be my brother – but only in the sense that he doesn’t shop as frequently as we do. Maybe because when he goes shopping – he really goes shopping, you know what I mean? My dad has got to be the most shopaholic of us, or at least he comes next after me. He and mom always go out on weekends and there were times, specially when he started his fitness conscious phase, when it seems as if he was always carrying a shopping bag home. So whenever he tells me that I do so much shopping, I kid him back – “I get it from you!”

These days, the only time we go shopping as a family is when somebody comes home from a trip abroad. Duty Free shopping, I tell you, could be a family event. Haha.

Lucky for me, I’ve found the perfect shopping partner. Okay, partners. I always have my foldable reusable shopping bag in my bag (wah too many bags in one sentence) and I whip it out whenever I buy small stuff, or even when I buy foodies at MiniStop or wherever. It is especially handy when shopping at Greenhills or Divisoria – sando bags are just so un-chic, eh? Hehe. And of course, the boyfriend is such a gem for a shopping buddy. Sometimes he acts like konsensya (you know, from those Safeguard ads?), but he actually enables the shopaholic in me. He loves shopping himself! In fact, it was his idea for us to brave the multitude of people at the recent three-day sale at SM City North Edsa.

His favorite item to shop for? Rubber shoes. How many times have we gone in and out Adidas/Nike shops in the past year alone? If you add pa The Shoe Salon and the shoe section at department stores, hay. Here’s a better question: how many times did we emerge from these shops carrying a box or two? Haha.

He’s also the perfect companion to Divisoria, not because he knows all the good shops, but because he will patiently do the rounds with me and he’s better at remembering where we’ve already been and where else we wanted to go. Lately, he’s also been practicing his bargaining skills, something I mastered while shopping in Bangkok (ah those were the beginnings of my shopaholic days). He’s not just good for carrying shopping bags around, he’s a true shopping companion.

Without a doubt, one of the reasons I look forward to the Christmas season is all the shopping it entails. Granted, I haven’t enjoyed it so much the past two seasons but I am gearing up for the next one. Haha. I’m serious. 🙂

Our favorite shopping digs now include Trinoma, Gateway, SM Cubao (yes, I just love their Plus Size section), Greenhills and Divisoria Mall and 168. Tiendesitas is up there if we’re looking for Zune(=dog) specific things. Actually, we’re game to shop anywhere, as long as it’s easy to get a cab home. SM North used to be a favorite destination, but after the horrifying transpo situation we had there last Christmas, we’re not too enthusiastic about going back (getting a taxi there during the recent Sale was a breeze though, or maybe it was just because we were there and left pretty early).

Shopping for bargain books is another aspect of my Shopaholic-ness. I used to be a regular at the previously owned books section at National BookStore (the Main branch at Cubao). I also used to frequently visit the Books for Less branch along Roces Ave. I spent hours browsing books at both locations, and spent good money on books too.

My current favorite bargain bookshop is Pick-a-Book at The Loop at ABS-CBN, both for it’s accessibility and for the selection of titles they have. They also let me put some books on reserve for up to a week. Last time I was there, I picked up two books, and snapped this photo.

Fully Booked has recently been added to my list of faves, because they have a hard-to-find titles too. It is a bit pricier than NBS though, but for some books, it’s worth it. It sometimes breaks my heart when we visit FB Greenhills and I’m on a budget. 🙁

Sometimes I do try to rein in my shopaholic tendencies so I don’t end up 6-feet in debt like Becky Bloomwood of Confessions of Shopaholic fame. But it’s so hard, isn’t it? Haha. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be so bad to be like Becky – as long as you take away the part where she had to fall so deep into debt, haha. Wait, this actually reminds me that I intended to buy Shopaholic Ties the Knot last Christmas, it’s the third in the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. It’s been years since I got to know Becky, it’s about time for a follow up.

Oh and I can’t miss the movie! I’d have to say, pretty as she is, somehow Isla Fisher doesn’t fit the picture of Becky in my mind. So I also want to watch the movie so I can find out how she can change my mind. No doubt, a day out to see the movie would also mean some shopping on the side 😉

Catch “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in Cinemas on February 18, 2009!