“Confessions of a Home Goods' Shopaholic!"

I watched the 2009 movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic" and loved, loved Hugh Dancy. Before that, he stole my heart in the tragic 2007 “Evening.” That’s another story.

Now, let me face my handicap. I confess that my shopaholism was so bad I bought things for future wants and needs. I acquired unnecessary catering service wares. Any psychologist who has diagnosed a shopaholic knows that any reason is good enough to fill a car with unnecessary purchases several times a week without a twinge of guilt.

I confess for the lunacy of my shopaholism. I bought all the service wares featured here (and more) to give to my daughter and to friends in the future and to use some of the items to cater future events. For example, I bought several items for my future grandchildren. Never mind that I did not ask my daughter and her husband if they wanted those items. 

I bought Godinger Dublin highball glasses and kept them for years. When a friend came down from New York in January 2020 (before COVID-19 held us hostage), and we were going to visit another friend, I opened my coat closet and took down one of the packaged highball sets. I cradled it in wrapping papers, and off we went to Houston to give it to that friend. 

It never crossed my mind to use them for me because I had other (less ornate) DAILY glasses. Do I not deserve ornate glasses for daily use? I have bleached such a crazy mindset out of my thoughts. 

My shopaholism was so terrible that I scheduled Tuesdays as my shopping day because Ross Dress for Less gave me 10% off my entire purchases. I scheduled another purchase day on Saturday because Macy's gave me 50% on some purchases, and I had my international discount and other discounts. I always left Macy's euphoric because I had scored expensive items for a steal, especially perfumes.

My shopaholism was so terrible that I would walk into TJ Maxx around 10 A.M., and by the time I got to the cash register, it was dark outside. Marshall's was my layaway central, and my visits were so rotational that the employees knew me. I visited at least seven Ross stores, at least seven TJ Maxx stores, at least three Marshall's in the Katy and Houston areas.

My shopaholism was so bad that I had to wait for Tuesday Morning to open after church on Sundays. My shopaholism was so bad that after church, I did a rotation from Big Lots, Sam's Warehouse, Costco, and other stores on my way from the church to home.

My shopaholic was so terrible that window shopping was not a frivolous act. I cased the "joints" to take pictures of the items I saw in the display windows, and I returned to purchase those items.

My shopaholism was so terrible that I had to make walking in malls my self-imposed SA (Shopaholic Anonymous) treatment. If I could resist shopping while I walked, I would be cured. This was the beginning of my recovery. I left all IDs, cash, and all payment cards in my car. The more frequently I walked the malls without buying anything, the more my health improved through heart health and weight loss, and the more my bank account improved through weight gain. 

I am allowing myself to recognize the goodness in bad situations such as me staying home due to my need to self-isolate because of COVID-19, job loss, and so on. One result of COVID-19 is that I have been cured of my shopaholism. An avid germophobe, I allowed the pandemic to elevate my fear of contamination. Therefore, most shopping events are unnecessary excursions. The idea of trying on clothes others may have worn or touching items others may have touched is simply intolerable (except for groceries and such necessities that I cleanse once I get home).

When people cannot gather, and when half of my shopping was honed in on acquiring home goods, I now have the freedom to host parties for one, and I am breaking out my special occasion dishes, service wares, and silverware.

In unpacking the dishes and such, I discovered just how brilliant Mikasa is. Their packaging was exciting and difficult to unpack. As famous as Godinger as is, the quality and packaging of its breakables nowhere near those of Mikasa. 

I was relieved that Mikasa did not frustrate buyers with the preservation of their breakables as toy companies do with their infuriating (and supposed anti-theft) packaging. Mikasa’s packaging showed extreme intelligence and the desire to protect service wares from breakage, beautiful and functional culinary products.

The ornateness of the dishes remained intact after all the relocations to which I have subjected these special occasion breakables. For the love of these Mikasa dishes, I made rice casserole in the longest/widest dish. 

Ornate Mikasa dishes

The table is set with fine china. Dinner will be served on the next blog entry: The rice casserole deserves its own story. 

=============================================

-Frances Ohanenye maintains this visual "cookbook" that features processes and ingredients in pictures. Cooks and chefs need to calibrate according to their locale, availability, and preference. Please click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for additional information. Thanks for visiting.