Welcome to Shopperella in Boston

Hello wonderful people. Welcome to this, my blog of wonders, land of shopping bliss; home to pretties, baubles, and things I can't afford but wish to salivate over; material pleasures, sinful lusts, passions, desires, debauchery and coveting; simple pleasures, small splurges, big splurges, ridiculously unintelligent splurges; and economical musings.

So why blog about such a trivial thing as shopping and, of all things, why now? The economy has imploded upon itself, Congress is scratching its collective and proverbial buttocks, John Q. Public has stuffed his savings under his mattress and the media is talking about monetary issues like it used to talk about terrorism.

I've thought on this long and hard and, for the most part, have come short on any single, deep, thoughtful, pensive answer. I could BS you with something over-the-top-ly metaphysical, some reflection on the state of man and how shopping is a foil upon the species...but maybe it's just more the fact that

I

Love

Shopping.

Irresponsible? Perhaps. Trivial? Quite possible. Fun? You betcha. And the reality is that sharing is love. The joy of the intarnets is that it allows (wo)man to live vicariously more than ever before and, frankly, when I come upon something I really want but cannot buy, talking about it, coveting it, appropriating its image and posting it for all to see is almost as cathartic.

Almost.

Shopping is also the ultimate stress relief (finals are upon us!). I mean, what is it about material possessions that makes us so damn giddy? Some of us (aka, me) are more materialistic than others...but to what extent do we distinguish between materialism, the love of material possessions, and the love of material - things like fine textiles, premium teas, and sumptuous, tactile pleasures - the stuff of life?

To me, shopping is a pleasure that, like all pleasures, comes with both elation and guilt. It is a form of outward expression, not unlike standing on a soap box or writing into a diary (or a blog for that matter). After all, money does the talking in the modern age, as we have come to know all too well in recent months (she said, with the tang of bitter irony on her tongue.) But sometimes it's nice to take comfort in the consistency of a familiar brand, the revelation of a new scent, the coziness of a cashmere scarf. Possessions have symbolic value. We surround ourselves with nice things, things that bring us joy, things that call up fond memories, things that memorialize fleeting moments in our lives.

You will notice that the name of the blog is Shopperella in Boston. My name is not Shopperella, believe it or not. I'm Emily. I'm a law student here in Boston. I've referenced Boston to alert you to the fact that the stores to which I have access are stores in the Boston area. Does this mean you need to be in or from Boston to appreciate my adventures? Not at all. Even if you never set foot in any of the local Boston shops I feature, I think there's a certain worth in just enjoying the experience (and the acquisition!) vicariously. Plus, I hardly intend to limit myself to just Boston. My shopping escapades know no bounds! Really, this blog is going to go all over the place - from recommending single, widely available products you can pick up at Target to reviewing one tiny shop near Fenway Park to featuring the shopping scene in a foreign city I've visited to discussing the works of a tiny craftsman in Hell, Michigan or Blueballs, Ohio. Shopping is a global art and I intend to bring you with me.

So join me in memorializing the fleeting moments of my life through the wonderful world of acquiring new possessions, and all the romance hidden within them.