Getting crafty

The weather's getting cooler. And I'm ready to get crafty. Some things I'd like get checked off my pinterest list ;)



Cutest storage for make up brushes :)



Baskets on the wall in my closet!

Tickets in a frame

Deep picture ledge

I'd like to hang this on a wall somewhere.



Homemade whitening for zee teeth



Majestic.

Saving

If you are like me, and you don't have an unlimited amount of money/jewels/gold egg-laying geese, then you probably like to (need to?) save moolah.

Saving money can be so tricky. I am constantly making budgets, and picking apart my bank statements ("how did we spend $xx at Walgreens?!" is something you'll hear a lot from me). I'm starting to think that for me, saving money doesn't involve micro-managing my finances. I know people who are able to do this, they know that they have a certain amount of money to spend each week on groceries, going out, clothes, etc. and they always hit that number on the nose. Guess what? That doesn't work for everybody. It's clear to me that my attitude on money is equally influenced by my mom and dad. My mom's known for being pretty frugal, and my dad is a bit more "live in the moment" kind of spender. He won't even think twice before taking me and my friends out to a nice dinner that would take me a month (or 2...or 3) to save up for.

I like that my parents are different with money, because I have aspects of both of them. I love to save & find deals, and I also make sure to save enough that I can occasionally splurge. But now I'm interested in ways other than budgeting to save. I would like to share some of my thoughts :)

• Use the freezer! Oh my god, my biggest expense right now is food (going out, ordering in, groceries, buying lunch at work, snacks, etc.) When we cook food and freeze it for later, we save SO MUCH. First of all, we're not wasting food. And second, when we're so lazy that we want to order out...we just scamper to the freezer and re heat whatever concoctions we can find. The freezer is my friend.
• DE-CLUTTER. Staying organized and knowing where things are means using the things you already have and not buying excess. For me, this applies to almost everythings (clothes, medicine, food, makeup, dishes, etc.) I love how good it feels to get rid of things that I don't use anymore. And on the bonus side - if I get rid of a bunch of clothes, I don't feel guilty about adding 1 or 2 new things to my closet :)
• Make a list when shopping - groceries and otherwise. Try really hard not to stray. This is most difficult for me at Target. Sometimes I won't allow myself to walk in certain areas where my will power is lowest. That usually means I don't go anywhere near the clothing section at Target - IT IS MY KRYPTONITE.
• Direct Deposit! I love that my employer allows me to split up my direct deposit into different bank accounts. That way, I can have a certain percentage of all my paychecks automatically go into a secret savings account that I try not to get into. Whenever I am the middle man in a monetary transaction...some of it always gets spent in the process, haha. So it's better to keep me out - which is why I love my auto direct deposit :)

That's all I've got for now - coffee time :D




the continued

As it turns out, I did have a cold when I wrote that last post. And I am still sick. I missed a day and a half of work - and realized it's not very fun to sit at home being sick, even though I am missing work. I think I'd rather be healthy and at work, than bumming around my apartment feeling like poop.

There's something that has really been rubbing me the wrong way lately, and I kind of need to vent. It's the way people are always complaining about the weekend. In that way where people say, "the weekend was so short!" "I can't wait for the weekend!" "this weekend went by way too fast" or "Ugh, it's Monday already" or even worse "It's Sunday already, that means tomorrow is Monday" grumble grumble.

Really, people?! You're only happy 1 or 2 days out of the whole week? How miserable it must be to be you, and THANK YOU for finding a way to complain about each and every day of the week.

Each and every week it's the same cycle at work:
Monday, "ARRGG, It's Monday! Where did the weekend go?! I hate Monday!"
Tuesday, "UUUgghh, this week is going by SO SLOW. It's only TUESDAY!"
Wednesday, "Could this week be dragging any more?! I can't wait til this weekend!"
Thursday, "I hate today, but AT LEAST TOMORROW IS FRIDAY"
Friday, "It's Friday, I'm tired. But hey, it's FRIDAY! I better find something else to bitch about"

I'm not kidding. It's the same thing every week. And I think it was this combination of people complaining at work + people complaining on Facebook + people complaining everywhere else in life that kind of made me re-evaluate my own attitude. I think I was one of those people, "living for the weekend" for a big chunk of my life. I can think of 3 things that helped me get over that: 1. Growing up/coming to terms with the fact that I don't want to be miserable for the majority of my life, 2. Listening to people bitch all the time, and 3. Moving in with my girlfriend. Living with Amanda is awesome, and the fact that we get to hang out/go on adventures whenever we want to makes me excited every day. Yeah yeah, cheesy, but it's true. And it's been really important for me. Even if it's as simple as cooking dinner together and watching a movie on a Tuesday night.

Anyway, it feels good to vent. I underderstant that people get excited about the weekend, and I think that's pretty regular. Of course it's awesome to have a break from work! But really - being miserable for the rest of the week just seems sad. And I'm getting sick of hearing people complain about it.

Rant over.

Happy Friday! (haha)

ideas

I have an ongiong "blog idea" list on my computer. I read so many blogs that get me excited about making mine better, but I never get around to it. I really want to do more food-related stuff on here! I don't cook too often, but enough to have a once a week food post. Plus, I LOVE FOOD BLOGS.

I also really love crafty blogs, and I think I could try to be a bit more crafty.

My brain is fuzzy today - I think I've caught a cold :( Last night I kept waking up from a sore throat. It's been so long since I've been sick, I hope it's just a one day thing! The good news: I have leftover chicken pot pie for lunch today. I can't wait.

today is this day

I have a conglomerate of 6 mosquito bites on my right calf today. Gross. Despite that, it's a good day. I'm starting to get excited for Fall. No a.c. and sleeping with the windows open is one of those little things that makes me love the changing weather. LOVE.

I'm starting to brainstorm cooler weather related adventures, and that's making me feel better about the upcoming winter (shhh). Fires in my mom's back yard , apple picking, dates at cozy hookah bars with a couple glasses of wine, bed & breakfast weekends away from the city (last year's trip was so amazing, we might go back to the same place), lots of movies and blankets and hot tea, making new soups and re-creating old favorites. Everything in the fall has such a cozy feel to it. Plus - I like scarves and jackets a lot. Oh, and football season!! Haha I've got my Goodwill purchased child-sized Bears jersey that needs to be dusted off and strutted around the apartment in.

Paul McCartney and baby love Fall, too!

This Fall/Winter I absolutely want to experiment with some of my crafty Pins!

In news that is exciting to nobody except me: I'm getting an iPhone soon. Eeee! I will finally join the ranks of the yuppies instagraming blurry pictures while ironically listening to Gotye on the red line! Seriously - get ready for me to instagram the shit out of stupid things. I've been going back and forth debating on the iPhone 5 or 4 (first world problems). What it all boils down to is I'd rather get the iPhone 4 as a free upgrade, even though it comes with lame headphones and is a half inch shorter than the 5. Oh well. Any phone is better than my current p.o.s. :)

Let me leave you with a craft I have in mind:

Welcome, September

I'm not even mad that it's September. In my mind August/September/October all kind of blend together as a coming of Fall time. Right now I'm pretty okay with that. Ask me again once winter comes though. Ugh.

Anywho, I spent my long Labor day weekend in southern Illinois with my mom/grandparents/aunt/2cousins. It was fun! A nice way to celebrate the end of Summer. And I was really excited to get home as well. Yesterday I finally spilled the beans to Amanda about her birthday present, she is psyched! As am I of course. This week seems pretty promising overall.

Today! Making shrimp tacos from scratch, and possibly watching The Artist.
Wednesday! I'd really like to cook these vegan burgers that a friend gave me the recipe for. Also, I'm thinking Wednesday is the day we finally talk about decorating our bedroom (we have yet to put up anything on the walls). I also need to sort thru my kazillion amounts of clothes to get rid of a few things.
Thursday! Patrick (an old roommate of Amanda's) is coming over with a few of his home brewed beers. We are going to have a tasting party so he can try our 2 brews as well :)
Friday! Meeting up with Brittny downtown after work. Fun times to be had! Hopefully not over-indulging in any end of the work week activities so that I am in top form for Saturday.
Saturday! Heading to Wisconsin for sky diving and other adventures to celebrate Amanda's bday. Woo!
Sunday! Reeeeeeelaxing :)

I'm really going to do my best to cook this week. Homemade meals are the best. And I just love having leftovers to bring to work. Speaking of which...I'm off to eat some lunch.