Online Retail Therapy Fail...

I remember reading somewhere that window shopping [even the online variety] can stimulate the same areas of the brain that light up with all sorts of happy chemicals whenever you make an actual purchase...

This is great news for those who are firm believers in retail therapy but don't exactly have bank accounts with limitless funds! [*ahem* such as myself]

Chemical Happiness!!

A brief Google search didn't bring up the article that I was thinking of, but I'm pretty sure that all of the 'feel good' stuff that comes from shopping is thanks to our little pal dopamine.

[Psychology Today - Dopamine]

Anyway...I was doing a little online window shopping while texting my cousin [it's like we're virtually shopping together! /sigh...I really need to get out more]. I've learned that there's a ton of stuff out there to buy, and most of it is way overpriced.

Devastatingly expensive item number one:
Star Quilted Bedding from Pottery Barn.

$159 plus shipping for a Full/Queen quilt in any of the available colors. Oh wait...the brown quilt is $129. But still. That's ridiculous.

I've been wanting to get one of these quilts for my kiddo since he was about two years old. Over the span of almost four years, the price has never dropped on these quilts!

Devastatingly expensive item number two:
Holtom Storage Bench from Pier One

$349.95 plus shipping...or you could save the shipping fees if you have the item shipped to a store for you to pick up rather than have it delivered.

This isn't really the exact sort of storage bench that I'd want for myself, but it's kind of close, and a definite indicator of how expensive these things can be. Why must you be so expensive, storage bench? Why?!?

Devastatingly expensive item number three:
Elin Tower Bookshelf from World Market

$149.99 plus shipping. Plus a $30 delivery surcharge, as if that's really necessary.

I saw this bookshelf in one of their stores this past weekend...I think I like it because it isn't a typical bookshelf, but it doesn't seem like it's a very practical design. I think it would serve much better as a piece of accessory furniture rather than a functional bookshelf...or maybe I just have too many books. [pfft! nah. there's no such thing as too many books!]

Devastatingly expensive item number four:
Verona Six-Shelf Bookshelf from World Market

$249.99 plus shipping. Add an additional $70 surcharge for delivery. What?!?

This actually makes me kind of sad. Unlike the other bookshelf I posted, I could see these shelves being extremely useful and I love the design. Is there any reason it should be so expensive though? I understand that 'you get what you pay for' and if you want better quality furniture that it's foolish to not expect a heftier price tag...but I'm under the impression that a good bit of the furniture from World Market isn't exactly heirloom quality. If these shelves are made from whatever faux-wood that makes up those cheapo accessory pieces that can be found in catalogs [Think companies like Brylane Home...] then it's certainly over-priced!

I'm going to go on record as saying that this evening's online window shopping session was not successful in producing feel-good amounts of dopamine...quite the opposite actually.

But maybe now is one of those times when I should be optimistic and try to enjoy the things that I have right now...and look forward to getting some of the things that I want when I grow up! [hehehe]

Girly vs. Manly Soda Cans...

Tried several times to publish this post, but the iPad wasn't exactly cooperating last night. I'm on a desktop now, so hopefully I'll be able to complete the post. 

This afternoon, my brother and I had a brief conversation about the newest Coke marketing scheme. I'm sure you all have noticed that all varieties of Coke have a "share a Coke with _______" on the label. Well, a doctor that my brother works with made the observation that Coke Zero and Diet Coke are essentially the same product that's been marketed towards different genders. Coke Zero is marketed to a more male demographic and Diet Coke towards female. Now, we both agreed that the two different diet sodas don't taste the same and that changing the label (coke zero with its black label is considered to be more masculine than diet coke with its silver labels) couldn't have that much of an impact on whether a guy or girl would be more likely to choose one over the other. So, to test the doctor's theory, I bought a 12-pack of both varieties of the diet drinks. Turns out, the doctor had a good point. The labels on the Coke Zero cans were decidedly more masculine than those of the Diet Coke cans. Well played, Coke, well played.

"Girly" Cans

"Manly" Cans

So there's that. Kind of interesting, but not very important.

Not even six posts in and I'm already running out of ideas for things to write about! It's harder than I originally thought to come up with topics that I can write about that don't sound overly academic or like selfish whining.../shrug* oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something. ^_^

*writing in this format is a type of 'gamerspeak' and you'll probably notice that I do this quite often. The '/' indicates an action. Guess typing like that is a leftover habit from my World of Warcraft days.../sigh I miss those days...sometimes.