A Post About Grocery Shopping | Claire

Hello, all!

EXAM PERIOD IS AT ITS END! 

I (Claire) finished last Wednesday, after having 4 essays due in 3 days (living the fast life), and Grace finished today! For all of you who have also finished, congratulations! May your days be spent in bed binge watching Netflix/Stan/Presto (ok, let's be honest. We're all using Netflix, aren't we?) as your life is free from academia once more. 

And to those of you who are still going, YOU CAN DO IT. But ugh, studying is the worst, isn't it? Remember to take breaks and don't work yourself too hard. Passing is important but so is your health. 

With swotvac and exam period, we were two very busy bees. So much so, that by the end of last week we had no washing powder, had squeezed the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube, and all we had to eat were 2 minute noodles, soup, and mac and cheese. All great food options, but not ideal to live off. When you have so many essays to write, grocery shopping just doesn't seem like an option. So last Friday morning, when I was enjoying the start of my Uni break and Grace had a couple days until her next one, we wrote a list, took our personal shopping trolley (this nifty thing from ikea), and set off to our closest Coles. 

Now, if you haven't already gathered, Grace and I live out of home, and so grocery shopping is up to us. Planning meals is probably the hardest part of independent living, as well as finding the time to go to the supermarket (check out  part one of Grace's adventures in the kitchen here). However, grocery shopping is Grace's favourite time of the week, and I will have to agree. You see, we have a routine. Every Saturday morning we clean the apartment (somewhat) and then we go grocery shopping. This is the same routine our Mum has back at home, which we helped with and carried through with us here. (Thanks, Mum <3) 

We really enjoy grocery shopping, but we are not sure why. Is it the freedom to put whatever food you want in the trolley without someone to say no? (Kind of. We still stop each other from getting unnecessary food items from time to time. Remember to keep an eye on that budget!) Or is it the "adult-ness" of it? It is all so grown up, doing your own grocery shopping. We think this must be it. 

Moving to Melbourne and having our own apartment/routine in the city is something we have always looked forward to while in high school. Is that weird? Perhaps we watched too many movies/TV shows growing up. But which TV show glorifies being an adult? Because Suddenly 30 (That's 13 Going on 30 for you non-Australians), definitely doesn't. Maybe it's our love of watching YouTubers and their vlogs... 

Nonetheless, trivial things like going grocery shopping makes us happy! It's like we have control of our lives, and being twins, I guess being independent is more important to us... even if we are being independent together, it's more like we get to ease into it together. Grace has been doing the independent life longer than I have, since I was at a residential college on campus last year and all of my food was prepared for me (shout out to the kitchen staff!), so we help each other. 

If you have made it this far with a post about grocery shopping, we love your dedication!

We don't have that many tips with grocery sopping, other than always look for specials, and even then, check all the price tags and see what the cheapest option is. Just because it is on special, doesn't mean it is the cheapest option. Also, try and plan your meals for the week before you go. That way you can stay focused and get what you need, as well as get in and out of there without wasting 10 minutes staring at a shelf. 

All in all, we appreciate the trivial things in life. We are so happy, and lucky, to be able to living in Melbourne and have this as our life. Like, we are living the dream, basically. Living in Melbourne with jobs, great friends, and studying what we love at a University we love. We are so grateful to have these opportunities. So yeah, we are happy we get to go grocery shopping. It means we are growing up and are at a place where we can afford to do that. Which is pretty special. 

Now that we are on Uni break, let's see if we post more! Here's to hoping!

Stay Gold,

Claire x