Show Us Your Life: Shopping!

For those of you who might read Kelly's Korner, you know that she does a cute thing called 'Show Us Your Life Friday.' Each Friday she comes up with different categories, and you can post a link on her site to your blog post about that category. So this week is SHOPPING! Fun.

I thought I'd share where I shop for all things running/swimming/biking...well I haven't bought anything for biking yet so I guess it'll just running and swimming.

Okay so I live in the middle of the Mississippi Delta No Where which makes shopping tricky. You may be surprised to hear that the Tunica Dollar General does not carry distance-running tennis shoes, anything Under Armour, goggles, swimsuits, HammerGel, Emergen-C...nona that. However, if you're in the market for Vienna sausages and generic diapers, Tunica Dollar General is where it's AT.

So needless to say, when I married Tom and moved from Nashville to Tunica, it was quite a shopping culture shock. Just to bring you up to speed, our nearest Kroger/Wal-Mart/Target is 30 minutes away. Living in Tunica just takes some planning ahead and stocking up! My first Christmas in Tunica I learned to start shopping before Thanksgiving and to do it all online. I have single-handedly kept UPS and FedEx in business, I'm pretty sure.

So when it comes time for new athletic gear, I turn to my favorite site on the planet.....drumroll please....AMAZON.COM! Who doesn't love Amazon? My most recent purchases include these goggles, swim suit, and I'm about to have to get new tennis shoes. Bex and I did a sixer this morning and I can feel the blisters coming. I love these shoes...I buy a new pair about every two or three months, and I always get a different color just to mix it up.

I recommend Amazon for a few reason:

1. Almost ALL their products have reviews and I love reading reviews on new products. They are always so helpful...'I had to buy these a size larger than usual'....'the color in the picture is decieving'....'this seller is so easy to work with on returns'...stuff like that.
2. Everything I have ever ordered has come when they said it was going to.
3. It's cheaper than buying retail....once I bought an Under Armour shirt for $30. When it arrived it was in the original packaging with a price tag of $50. Awesome. And my shoes, I've bought on Zappos before for $95. Amazon's price is $75. Love it!

For the stuff I eat when exercising, I get the HammerGels at Fleet Feet in Memphis. I am pretty sure most large cities have them. I know there's one in Knoxville and Nashville. You can get HammerGels or GU at most any running store. As you might remember, I know you can get Emergen-C online at thevitaminshoppe.com (for like 1/2 off!), but I have also found it at Target for a good price. I always eat a Luna Bar before I workout in the mornings, and you can get these at Wal-Mart or Target also.

For the girly stuff....

We do have one cute, cute, cute gift boutique downtown, 1251 Place. It is adorable and perfect if you need to run out to get a last-minute birthday gift or hostess gift. Or maybe a cute casual dress/scarf/clutch combo for a party or something. So I gotta give a shout out to 1251 Place.

Other than that I love shopping in boutiques if I can afford it at the time. I just got the cutest dress and necklace at Personalities in Southaven, and there is a precious boutique in Hernando called Janie Rose that I really like. If it's not boutiques, I LOVE digging through the racks at Marshalls to find a good bargain. And I love the shoes at Marshalls.

For make-up and perfume I looooooooove Sephora. That is one big thing about Nashville that I really miss. My Sephora. She was my friend. Now me and Sephora.com are great friends.

Happy Friday everyone! Go shopping this weekend!