Category Archives: retail therapy

full of beans

29 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, retail therapy, sevilla

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The other day I “discovered” Ultramarinos Alonso. I thought their display of beans was wonderful, so I asked the owner if I could take some photos. Then this lovely gent – obviously a regular customer – said, “with me or without me?”. And so of course I said, “Both!”

Apparently Ultramarinos Alonso has been around since 1935, though moved to its current location in calle San Luís in 2004. Now run by the grandson of the original owner (both called Alonso) they also have an active social media presence (which is how I heard about them) and an impressive online shop, in both Spanish and English. I wonder what the original Alonso would make of it.

new kipling!

11 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by in retail therapy

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In summer I have a two-bag system, mostly because it’s too damn hot to carry a biggish bag over my shoulder. Also, I tend to have a few extra things to carry around, at least when I’m working. So I usually have a small shoulder bag, really just big enough to carry the essentials (house keys, wallet, iphone) and then all the other stuff goes into a bigger handbag.

Before I discovered and became obsessed with, Kiplings, this auxillary bag used to be a brightly coloured summery straw one, then two summers ago I found this green one. Yep, another Kipling.

Anyhow, today while out doing Beer O’clock with Peter the strap on my trusty mini bag (my first ever Kipling) broke off, and so it was time to look for a new one. I’d seen that red one before, which is the right size, but I didn’t like that detail of it turning into a waist bag (bum bag? fanny pack?) as I knew I would never use it. Then came the obvious solution – just cut off those extra straps. Which I did and now I have a flat zippered compartment at the back which is perfect for sliding my summer fan into when I’m not using it. Score! 🙂

new smart tv… again

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in home, internet, retail therapy, shopping

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When I bought my first ever Smart TV three years ago, I actually wasn’t that smart about how smart a Smart TV was supposed to be. At the time I was mostly keen on having the (then) novel option of having a television with WIFI and found one on sale that seemed to fit the bill. And it did, although once I got it home I regretted not opting for a bigger screen. I went from 32 to 39, which wasn’t really that much bigger. But it was fine, and I was happy with it, until about a year or so ago when I started having problems with the sound. It just suddenly stopped. Then would start up again. Then stop again. And that has basically been the situation for about a year and a half. I never know when I turn on my TV if I will have sound, or how long it will take to “click in” again.

Since this problem happened outside the two-year warranty, well, it was either pay to see if it could be fixed, then hope it would be fixed, or just wait it out to see if it would fix itself. I’ve been opting for the latter, but it’s just getting on my nerves already. Also, I’m pretty sure that the day will come when the sound doesn’t ever magically come on again… and I don’t want that day to be when I can’t get a good deal and end up buying something in a fit of desperation.

I know… I can watch TV on my laptop, except… nah.

So anyhow… just ordered this baby online and a couple of hefty guys should be delivering it soon. 50 inch, new this year (2018) and fully whatevered. You can see that I have been studying all this tech shit carefully…

plugged in and protected

05 Saturday May 2018

Posted by in friends, iphone, retail therapy, shopping, twitter

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The other day I read an article on my friend Ana’s (aka @MrsOAroundWorld) blog about essential iPhone accessories. When I first got my fabulous new iPhone X for my birthday I put off getting a screen protector because I am always so careful with my phones and couldn’t see how it would protect against anything but scratches. It was actually when Ana & Simon were here in March, and Ana told me she had already dropped her iPhone X twice, shattering two screen protectors (rather than the screen itself), that I was convinced it would be a good idea to get one. But which one?

Ana to the rescue once again with this article. I got the protector she recommended and also this other very handy accessory so I can still use normal headphones on the phone (and keep it charged). Since I only use headphones while travelling it didn’t make sense to splash out on wireless AirPods (180€!!!). I may also get the phone case mentioned in the post, but at least for now I am plugged in and protected. Thanks Ana!