It’s been awhile, dear readers. Here’s a little life and shopping update.

Lockdown Life

I’ve been unexpectedly busy with work since my last post, working more hours than usual and struggling with work-life balance. The one-year anniversary of sheltering in place at home passed quietly for me on March 17. I remember stocking up on groceries and thinking this would pass in a few months. How wrong I was.

March 17 was also the day I woke up to the news of the Atlanta-area murders. I’ve already been on edge for the past year as harassment against Asians has increased. As a woman, I’m always aware of my surroundings in public, but now even more so. The other day, as I walked to pick up pizza for dinner I kept thinking about the man who had been stabbed, unprovoked, in the back in NYC Chinatown. I looked over my shoulder now and then as I carried my pizzas home, to make sure no one was sneaking up on me.

The most heartbreaking thing to me is how in some of these incidents, no one helped. Not one bystander did anything.

I had to stay off social media for awhile for my own sanity. I didn’t want to be repeatedly subjected to images and stories of violence.

Anyways, trying to take care of myself. Took some time yesterday to give myself a manicure. And today, I thought about getting back to the blog, so here we are.

Shopping Life

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Shopping wise, I haven’t bought much lately, but here are some things I’ve acquired:

Everlane Track Joggers – I know I said I wouldn’t write about Everlane again until they’ve changed. Have they? The company released a statement about internal hiring changes, diversity, and representation last August. But it’s hard to know from the outside if they’ve actually changed their culture. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I hope they are taking it seriously. But I just don’t know.

The truth of the matter is I had accumulated some store credit, which I’m not going to leave behind. And I wanted another pair of sweatpants because the Mister had taken to borrowing my Pact sweatpants. (Yes, I bought Pact men’s sweatpants for myself.) And then, when I saw tall people complaining about how these particular joggers were too cropped on them, well, as a petite, that’s exciting news. At $58, the price was right, especially for GOTS-certified organic cotton.

Vionic Slim Fit Insole – Ever since my foot injury, my Hopp Studio wedges haven’t felt quite right. Even though they’re cushy, my feet felt achy in them. But, the insoles in those shoes are removable, so I replaced them with these Vionic ones. And viola, for $35 I can wear these shoes again! The shoes now feel more supportive. I do wish that the insoles didn’t come in plastic clamshell packaging, though.

One other complaint: For some reason, the insoles are 3/4 length. The reason, I guessed, was so that you could put them in shoes where you couldn’t remove the insoles. From reviews, it seemed many people did exactly that. I hoped I could pop them into my Everlane V Heel shoes, which lack arch support. Alas, it’s too tight of a fit. I’d have to size up in the shoe to incorporate the Vionic insoles.

But then, when I received the insoles, the instructions said they were to replace other insoles. I find this baffling since I’m using them as intended in the Hopp Studio wedges. But as they only cover 3/4 of the way, my toes are hanging out on the uncovered part of the shoe’s footbed.

Kuhn Rikon Click-N-Curl Spiralizer Set – Since we’re spending so much more time cooking, we decided to splurge on this set. I say splurge not because it’s an expensive item at $18, but because the idea of turning veggies into pretty ribbons was not something I would have entertained before the pandemic. I think of veggie spirals as a restaurant touch. And though restaurants are open for indoor dining at 25% capacity currently in San Francisco, I still don’t think it’s safe, so I will not be partaking. The nice, practical thing about this set is that the cones for spiralizing are attachments. Take them off and you’ve got plain peelers, and good ones at that.

Well, that’s my report for now. In other news, I’m happy to see educators and restaurant workers in my personal network getting vaccinated. Everyone in my immediate family has gotten the first or both doses of the Pfizer vaccine except for me. With the news that everyone in California 16 and older will be eligible on April 15, hopefully, I’ll get mine soon.