Namaste. When buying a gift, may it be a birthday or a holiday gift, be mindful of what you buy but to be more specific: body sprays, body lotions and body wash because you never know if the person may have allergies towards the fragrances. I honestly don't mind any of those items but I want to lean more towards nose friendly items that aren't from
Bath and Body Works Store or the section in
Victoria's Secret that sells body sprays and such. However, I
do shop at Victoria's Secret once in the blue to treat myself to a little something, something whenever I can but shopping at Victoria's Secret doesn't happen very often (I'll window shop mostly). I'll be happy with either money
or a gift card, as far as gift cards are concerned, the main stores I really shop at are:
B&H, occasionally I shop at
Adorama,
Kohl's, The Gap, Barnes and Noble Bookstore (mostly for journals
or cookbooks), often times Macy's, Game Stop is cool but I'm not much of a gamer (just to give you the heads up) and Old Navy. Once in the blue, I'll go to the nail salon for a pedicure and/or manicure and if I'm able to, I'd go for an eyebrow threading when I can. I don't get to shop at
Hot Topic very often considering I haven't seen any
Tripp clothing being sold at Hot Topic and they're pretty expensive as well. I
would love to shop at
Trash and Vaudeville in the East Village as well as Enchantment Inc (also located in the East Village). Make-up wise, I normally buy some Cover Girl eye liner and mascara when I can but it's very rare that I buy eye make-up because of how expensive buying make-up can be. Or I buy whatever make-up is on sale but I will give
Mac Cosmetics a try. I've been to
Foto Care in the Flatiron section of Manhattan to buy some film, some of the film are a bit expensive than when I normally shop at B&H or Adorama for some of the same film! If you're not 100% sure of what to purchase for me, feel free to ask!
Gifts I wouldn't suggest are mainly body sprays, body lotions and/or body wash and an ugly sweater. There had been times where my mother and stepfather have complained that the spray smells when I've
only sprayed a tiny bit on! My mom normally complains that the spray smells like "roach spray" and I don't know how she figures that the body spray smells like "roach spray" (go figure). I appreciate the thought of body sprays, body lotions and/or body wash, though but some of the fragrances aren't nose/allergy friendly to some people's noses and you never know if the person you're buying the gift for
may be allergic
or have allergies towards the fragrances. Certain fragrances smell way better than others and my favorite fragrances on men are Calvin Klein - Eternal and Christian Dior - Addict. I'm
not too big on buying people (men
or women) body spray, body lotions and body wash products for people because I personally don't know if they're going to be, let's say, offended by that idea. In terms of body sprays and body lotions, it would be something that I would not suggest in buying for me and luckily I haven't had any allergies towards the body spray and/or body lotions. I would take the traditional route of either money or a gift certificate any day to play it safe and if I can, I would make a Christmas gift by hand and add a little something to it. I would shop at
Michael's to purchase some plastic canvas to make a project and I would rather have some Christmas/holiday items already made and wrapped, just to be prepared but I've been slacking off. Let's just hope I can be prepared for this year and I have yet to shop at Michael's in Manhasset when it comes summer so I can travel there by bus!
Just to give people more of a clear idea of
where I actually do shop or what interests me, stores I generally shop at are:
B&H or
Adorama for my photography supplies (such as film, ink jet paper or the photographic paper specifically used for the dark room but I'm more of a regular customer at B&H than I am at Adorama),
The Gap,
Kohl's,
Macy's,
Barnes and Noble Bookstore for cookbooks and/or journals,
Modell's,
Skechers,
Apple Store when I can,
Victoria's Secret;
Old Navy;
Trash and Vaudeville;
Best Buy; and I often shop at
Enchantments Inc NYC in the East Village for items. I'm also a fan of
Maoz Vegetarian which is a vegetarian spot in Manhattan and the two locations I've visited are Union Square (it's on Union Square East between 16th and 17th Street) and as well as the one in Times Square (on 7th Avenue, corner of 40th Street) but I haven't visited Maoz in the Greenwich Village area or the location in the Upper West Side. There are more Maoz restaurants in the Manhattan area. I haven't visited the Loving Hut on 7th Avenue in Manhattan yet but I Googled searched Loving Hut but they're unfortunately closed but there is a
Loving Hut in the Brooklyn area! I'm also a huge fan of
Starbucks and I'd normally order a Grande Caramel Frappuccino and a Seasonal Harvest Fruit Blend but if Cranberry Bliss Bars are in season, that's what I normally get but if not, I normally get the Strawberry Smoothie, Orange Mango Smoothie, Oprah Chai Tea, Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella Panini, a Greek Yogurt with Berries Parfait, Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl or a Zesty Chicken & Black Bean Salad Bowl. It depends on what I would normally order but that's more of a general idea of what I would normally go for. A friendly suggestion from me is pay very close attention to what I'm into and the whole ugly sweater is something that I'll pass up on with little to no interest in the ugly sweater (no, no but thank you anyway). In terms of movies, my theater preference to go to would have to be mainly be Regal Cinema but specifically in Union Square and I honestly do not do AMC theaters because their membership (AMC Stubs) are expensive considering the fact that I am not a frequent movie goer. However, I go to Regal Cinema since I get to use my
Regal Crown Club and it's free of charge to apply for. In case for those who don't know, I am a fan of vampires and Goth in realization that I don't dress in Goth attire 24/7 but it's my personal preference.
- Adorama
- B&H
- Barnes & Noble
- The Gap
- Model’s
- Skechers
- Apple Store
- Trash & Vaudeville
- Starbucks
- Regal Crown Club
- Michael’s
The most awesome birthday/holiday gift(s) would have to be my very own dark room but I know it won't happen because my stepfather's apartment doesn't have the space to even fit any of the equipment such as the
Mechanical Darkroom Timer,
Bestwell Minisight Focusing Aid, an
Easel, an
Enlarger,
chemicals,
developing trays (one set for 5x7, a second set for 8x10),
Film Drying Cabinet and whatever else I may need. Another gift idea would be, I currently own a 35mm film camera and these films I normally use. I currently use:
Ilford Delta 100,
Ilford Delta 3200,
Ilford HP5,
Ilford XP2, and
Fujifilm when out shooting. Those are my personal suggestions for now and film are greatly appreciated! Thank you very much. In terms of upgrading to a digital camera, it would be something that I would personally hold off on until I've gotten myself an Apple computer in order to download images/videos onto the computer than onto a CD format and in the meantime, I am perfectly content with my 35mm film camera! I'm also looking to purchase a
Lowepro SlingShot 302 AW Camera Bag. However, to make your lives much easier and I have created a
wish list via B&H for those who are not entirely sure on what to get me for my birthday or the holiday season. Anything photography and music related I will be happy with. I plan on [at some point] purchase myself an iPod from the Apple store on Fifth Avenue and purchase an
iPod Touch, the 128gb because knowing myself I will fill up the 16gb with a bunch of music. I'm contemplating whether or not if I should purchase three iPod Touches (one will be a holiday iPod in red and the other two will be in Space Grey colours which will have a variety of music on the other two iPod Touches). Furthermore, I hope this list helps folks an idea of what to get and what not to purchase either as a birthday gift when my birthday arrives in November or during the holiday season! Another great birthday/holiday gift would have to be
Bose since they're a decent set of items to purchase and I realize that I have some expensive taste in things but other headsets will do until I've found a decent paying job in order to purchase a Bose portable sound system and Bose headset. I wouldn't consider myself a Christian nor a Jew but I will celebrate either or both holidays (Christmas and Hanukkah). Lastly, I am not a practicing Christian/Catholic but I don't believe in either faith and tradition. Having my very own dark room would be the best birthday/holiday gift I can ask for! "I'm a photographer, period. I love photography, the immediacy of it. I like the craft, the idea of saying 'I'm a photographer.'" ~ David LaChappelle.
Yes, I realize that it's the thought that counts and you had me in mind when you bought your birthday/holiday gift for me at the time. Ugly sweaters and body sprays/body lotions are out of the question but will regift them to someone else but I will wear the ugly sweater once just to appease you but will regift the ugly sweater. I hope you take none to personal offense to it. As mentioned before, please keep the mentioned items above in mind when you're out shopping and yes, I appreciate your generous offer for those who choose to save and purchase a digital camera for future reference. Black is my favorite colour and avoid anything pink.
Warm blessings,
Jennifer
