Over the weekend I did a little virtual shopping. I thought I’d share my order with you so you can live and shop vicariously.
First, based on Jenna’s post about this book being the “best book she’s read all year” (and that woman reads tons of books), I knew I had to pick it up.
One of my Intentions & Goals for 2011 was to read more. I would say that falls under Item #7 even though I didn’t specifically say it, I have mentioned before that I really want to read more books!
Hopefully this book will help tear me away from my computer screen, my google reader, and my email and steer me onto the couch in the 3.6 minutes each day that I have that isn’t accounted for and do some good old fashioned pleasure reading.
The next item in my order was this USB hub.
My Mac desktop computer only has 3 USB ports:
One port has my keyboard plugged into it. I don’t want to pay to upgrade to a wireless keyboard right now. Not to mention, batteries are expensive so being wired isn’t a bad thing.
One port has my external backup drive plugged into it.
And that only leaves one more port.
But, I have my new iPhone to be charged and a card reader for all the photos I import daily or multiple times per day.
I needed more easily accessible USB ports so I wasn’t fumbling around on the back of my computer plugging and unplugging. Trivial, perhaps. But I like to streamline things and be as efficient as possible.
Now, I’m all set!
Ports ‘o plenty with two to spare
Plus the gadget is tiny. Palm-sized which is perfect. I don’t need any space hogs! Worth 9 bucks in every sense of the word.
iPhone Update: Yes, I am loving my iPhone. Totally worth it, I adapted to Touchscreen within a couple days, and if you’re even thinking about getting one, get it. You’ll love it.
Finally, I got this portable lighting studio per Kath’s recommendation.
As I said the other day, I am really enjoying photography and it’s become a new found passion. I want to take beautiful photos and that requires taking tons of them and seeing what works and what doesn’t work.
Natural sunlight is great and works beautifully for photographs, but sometimes that’s not possible and although the overhead lighting I have in my kitchen and living room is fine for day to day living, it’s not always doing my photography any favors.
Enter this:
3 lighting stands with light bulbs and umbrellas that I can move around to get the lighting just as I want it.
I probably won’t use these all that often but when I need it, I’ll have it because after creating “the perfect” recipe and being ready to photograph it, if it’s cloudy, dark in my kitchen, or later in the day, it can blow a photo shoot. Not anymore. Let there be light.
There are many different ways to insert the bulbs, and so many ways the lamp heads adjust and tilt, and the stand heights are adjustable. Tons of ways to customize!
I am also excited about these because although lightboxes are all the rage in the ‘sphere right now, I like how I am not confined to a little box with this setup.
And it all stores neatly and takes up minimal space. I should expect no less from Kath and her Neat Home series posts since she’s the queen of neat and efficient spaces and organization.
From my last post on the Potato Themed Recipes, I know, holy tater overload. Hopefully you saw something that will help you take plain spuds to va-va-voom and gave you some recipe ideas. As much as a potato can ‘voom, of course.
Dessert in honor of St. Paddy’s Day: No Bake Chocolate Coconut Snowballs (Vegan, GF, Freezer-Friendly)
Questions:
1. Any great product finds lately? Online or otherwise? Anything that has made your life better, easier, more streamlined?
Between lights and a USB hub and a book, I’m set!
2. What do you order online?
As I have posted about before, I order all my bulk spices, nooch, stevia, probiotics, supplements and more from iHerb.com Enter code AVE630 at checkout and you’ll save $5 off your order.
I know many people also use Amazon for their day-to-day bulk goods like hemp seeds, almond flour, or body wash.
If you know what you like, you know what brand you want, and are okay with buying in larger quantities (usually) and are planful enough to order in advance, you can definitely save lots of money by ordering online.
And I also save not only money, but time! I can put 6 items in my virtual shopping cart faster than I can drive to the store, park, get Skylar in and out of her carseat, and repeat at the next store because I find I need to go to multiple stores to get the products I want at the best prices so if I can eliminate that and shop online, I gladly will!
Plus, many times, my iHerb or Amazon orders are to me within 48 hours and the shipping is free or is just a small nominal charge, and no sales tax at almost 9% in CA rocks. All I have to do is click-click.
Of course, I don’t buy everything online. The grocery store is my second home. Fresh produce always needs to be replenished but I do what I can with online ordering.
What do you order online? Can you plan out your shopping orders and needs in advance or does lack of planning end up costing you time and money?
I used to just order movies and CDs online because they were cheaper, but I have started buying food in bulk after I went gluten-free. That stuff can be expensive! Especially since my love of oats is huge. But buying in bulk helps!
The lighting set looks awesome!! I cant wait to see if your pics look even better than they do now! I think that is a great idea, I need something like that for when there is no natural sunlight too ; )
I just got finished reading The Help and it was amazing! I read it in 4 days!!! So when you are done with that book, if you have not read the help yet, you should!
I ordered tory burch flats, I really needed a nice pair of black flats, and I ordered my son a birthday gift, so those were my online recents!
Have a great day!! xoxo <3
thanks for the book recommendation hon!
Love the USB port and all of your other purchases, too!
I’ve been ordering tons of books on Amazon lately– I love it! I love having the books to read, of course…but I also really love getting packages in the mail, ha!
Oh you’re getting fancy with that equipment. Love it. I order from Amazon frequently. I also order from The Limited. Love iHerb (thanks to you). I used to be addicted to ebay but have really backed off. So much is just crap now or is oddly more expensive than the store. Explain how that’s to my advantage….
I really am craving a good book lately. But I’m so busy reading textbooks, it’s hard to be in the mood for reading after a day of study!
Oooh; I’m going to see if that book is available on Kindle. I used to be a huge fan of ordering everything through Amazon that I could to avoid the 9.75% sales tax TN has; but about three weeks ago, Amazon started adding tax to all orders. Absolute crap!!!
I was very surprised to see that your lighting system was only $70 — I was expecting it to be much more! What a nice thing to have — and I’m sure you’ll get plenty of use out of it!
I but lots of gifts online, but other than that, if I can get it at Target, I just go get it. But Jason buys almost everything online: clothes, shoes, computer equipment, etc so we always have boxes being delivered!
I love ordering online! Amazon is my friend :)
Looking forward to seeing your photography skills grow– they are already quite good!
I buy a lot of my goods online, too!
thanks Kristine :)
I’m so excited for that lighting set-up for you!! You are going to have so much fun experimenting with it when you get the chance. There is SO many different things you can do with light. And since you’re not confined to a box I bet you’ll get some beautiful portraits of Skylar, too. I still need to invest in good lighting set-up, but I’m waiting until I get my own place. I have no place to set anything up so have been making do with my off-camera flash.
The USB hub is a great idea; love how compact it is. And thoughts re: wireless keyboards – I hear you. My keyboard hasn’t been a problem but I feel like I’m replacing batteries in my mouse every other week. $$$.
I buy books online and things like chia seeds, powders or maybe flours or dried fruits that I can’t find around here. Oh and all my horsey stuff :P iHerb has such awesome rates and fast shipping, but I think I just fell in love with NutsOnline, too!
I thought having three USBs was awesome for my laptop haha I had to laugh when I saw you say ‘only three’
yeah i have sooo many things i plug in!
what an awesome lighting set up! I need something like that…the light in our apartment when I’m photographing hasn’t been the best, although it’s better now w/ daylight savings time. I’ve been looking into getting a tripod, too. photography is fun, especially of food! (although I love the photos of your daughter, she’s got such a sweet smile!)
I usually don’t buy things online but a few weeks ago I bought “Will Write For Food” used off Amazon for $3! It was a pretty sweet deal, I couldn’t pass it up!
Love all the new finds! I tend to shop a lot less in general since being in college, but when I do, I like to get things IN store. I used to live in a small town and was FORCED to order products online, but now that I live in a large city and have the opportunity to see things in person before I buy them, I’ll take it!
I’m totally with you on reading. Again, college makes it very difficult to have any time to read for my own enjoyment, but reading is something that I love and always seems to relax and de-stress me.
xxoo
Heather
I’m totally buying that lighting set. I keep seeing the light boxes, and I just don’t make one because I don’t want all that junk laying around! But a lighting set with it’s own storage…totally my speed.
I buy lots and lots of things online…
Ok major favor here…if you are REALLY going to buy it, could I ask you to buy it from my Amazon Store?
https://astore.amazon.com/lovvegyogruna-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=2
I JUST set this store up…like in the last oh, 12 hours :) and havent even blogged about it yet…but it’s a super new work in progress.
I don’t even know how it fully works on my end (or clearly on the user’s end)… The price from my store is the same from amazon in any other portal and if it’s no difference to you, could you possibly buy from me? And if this is a rainy day future project or for whatever reason you’re not buying….no worries!
Just thought I’d ask :)
Got it!
i’m esp intrigued by your photography/lighting purchases, averie! can’t wait to hear more about how they’re helping your photos as you experiment. i love, too, how they bundle up so neatly – wonderful!
hope you find some reading time – i only read before bed (except on vacation) so get 3-5 pages done a night…yea. i better not pick up “war and peace!” let us know your opinion of the book!
i shop very little online…definitely is the most time and money-efficient option, though! a lot of the time, companies won’t ship to canada, unfortunately…because the US has the BEST product selection!
thanks for you always positive, supportive, and wonderful comments Cathy!
hope you made it home safe and sound :)