Help Me Understand

Can we please talk about Lululemon?

In my search for the perfect post-surgery compression wear, I've been researching leggings.  They seem like the most sensible option for me- and let's be honest, I wear leggings almost every day, anyway.

I came across a review that mentioned how extra snug the Lululemon leggings are.  This sounded dreamy to me, because right now, extra tight feels extra good.

I decided to hop over to the Lululemon website to check out my options.

Tight Stuff Tight from lululemon.com

HOLY. SHIT.

Guys, I've reached the point in my life, financially, where I'm willing to pay a little bit more for a higher quality product.  And by this, I mean I buy Bounty paper towels instead of the Target brand.  I do not mean that I'm willing to spend $148 on a pair of leggings!

What type of voodoo magic do these leggings contain?  Are there diamonds sewn into the fancy pocket somewhere?  Are they hemmed with the golden thread that Rumplestiltskin spun from straw?  I can't fathom paying that much for a pair of pants otherwise.

Who out there owns these pants, and what makes them so superior to my Old Navy leggings that are about a quarter of the cost?  I NEED TO KNOW!    

Perfumania

I need a new perfume.

I don't wear it too often, but when I want to dress up and be fancy, I like to smell fancy, too.

Last weekend, I spent some time at Ulta smelling the scents.  I'm almost out of my Chanel No. 5, which J bought for me on my first, actual 29th birthday.  I need a change after a few years using the same fragrance.

So apparently, every designer and their brother, as well as their cousin's sister's kid, is marketing a perfume these days.  And each designer offers multiple scents.  How on earth is a girl to choose??

The answer is to take your time, spritzing bottle after bottle onto those paper scent strips.  (And FYI, they actually DO smell different when spritzed on the strip as opposed to just smelling the bottle.  Now you know.)  In between each scent, smell the provided coffee beans, to cleanse the nose palate, so to speak.  Spritz, smell, repeat.

I finally decided on a new scent.

Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche.  It's crisp and clean, with a little hint of citrus.  I love it.

Now if only the price tag weren't so painful.  For a mere $90 I can own the scent of my dreams.

But I gotta say- shelling out almost a hundred dollars for a bottle of perfume sure beats the alternative- Designer Imposters.

I spent most of middle school smelling of Malibu Musk- ah, the generic-scented memories!

Christmas Shopping

It's done.  BAM!

This year, I have taken the pressure off of myself to buy something perfect and expensive for everyone on my list.  Instead, I've looked for something that's perfect and inexpensive. 

Let me let you all in on a little secret...it need not cost tons of money to make someone happy.  (Okay, this is not exactly a secret.  But it's something that I sometimes forget.  So I guess it's more of a something-everybody-knows-but-sometimes-need-reminding-of kinda situation.)

J and I have worked really hard on our finances this year, and Christmas just isn't the time to blow it.  We are not buying gifts for one another, or even for Gabe.  He is too little to notice, and besides that, his grandparents are absolutely certain to spoil him rotten.  My personal gift to him will be allowing him to tear paper to his tiny heart's content.  This makes him happy.

It feels so good to have everyone checked off my list, and to have chosen gifts that I think our loved ones will genuinely enjoy.  I believe I'll go ahead and wrap this weekend, put things under the tree, and call it done!

Ah, Christmas.  I love it.

And now, I will leave you with a morsel of holiday cuteness.

The nugget, with Santa.

30 Day Challenge | Day 9: The Last Thing I Purchased

You all know I'm just a boring mom now, right?  Married to a man who put me on a spending allowance?  The days of shoe shopping are looong gone, my friends.

I wish that I could tell you that this was my last purchase:

But this is the best I've got:

Not only am I so boring that the last item I purchased was groceries, you should know that 90% of these items were on sale this week.  Yep, my grocery list revolves around the weekly sale circular. 

And there ya' have it.

Back to the Dark Ages...But Not Really

Like many people, J and I are desperately looking for ways to save money.  I clip coupons and hardly ever buy anything unless it's on sale.  I re-think every purchase I make before I make it- is it a need or a want?  (And if it's a want, by the way, it must come out of separate funds.)  I buy generic...gasp!  We try every conceivable way to stretch a buck.

And to that end, we recently underwent a major change...we ditched cable TV.

For the past two years, we have been subscribers to Dish Network...blech.  But they lured us in with a bill that was $30 a month cheaper than cable.  Turns out, we really disliked satellite.  The weather was such an issue- if there was so much as a gentle breeze or a misty sky, we would lose signal and be without television.  Annoying.  But we were stuck in a 2-year contract in order to get the great price.  So we suffered through it.

Well, the two years are over.  We couldn't wait to ditch Dish.  But we certainly couldn't stomach the thought of going back to Time Warner Cable for $70 a month.  So the solution?  How about nothing?

The switch was officially flipped last week, leaving us without any type of cable programming!  AAAHHH!!


This would be much tougher if J wasn't the computer nerd that he is.  In preparation for the big disconnect, he downloaded many-a-show.  I believe we are up to 374 movies?  And lots-o-tv.  We have full seasons of newer shows like Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Modern Family.  We have oldies-but-goodies like Friends, Alias, and Boston Legal.  We have chick shows like Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, and Felicity.  We have cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants and The Fairly Oddparents (J and I are big kids at heart).  We even have some trashy reality tv, like The Real Housewives of (insert city here).


As if this wasn't enough?


J spent months writing a program called PseudoTV.  All of our many movies and shows were categorized and put into "channels".  So I can turn on this program, turn to the guide, and select the comedy or drama or family channel. It's just like the real deal!  Only without commercials, and the ability to always choose the exact show I want to watch at the exact time I want to watch it.


The only downside here?  What about my current shows??  What about American Idol?  Grey's Anatomy?  Glee? 


No need to panic, folks.  That's where the antenna will come in.  It's on order, and once installed, should allow me access to local network TV without the monthly cable bill.  Whew.


I will miss the Food Network, and well, there's just no getting around that one.  Turns out there's not a big demand for Barefoot Contessa, so downloading that one poses a problem.  And this, my friends, is a hardship that I will have to suffer and overcome. 


So there you have it.  It's not a myth, after all.  This family fought the cable company...and won.

The furture is now.

So this is our latest purchase:

Turns our, J came with guns.  Me?  Not so much the gun fan.  But I have been pretty cool about them.  (By cool, I mean that twice I've actually touched one of the guns.  I have refused to fire them, however.)

I HAVE been after him for quite sometime, however, to get a safe.  I just feel better about having guns in the house if they're locked safely away.

Enter the amazing "Amazon Deal of the Day."

We got this guy for a steal- a $500 safe for $150.  Awesomeness, no?

The coolest part about this safe?  It's biometric.  Now, I'm not gonna lie.  I originally had to look up what that meant.  Turns out?  It means we don't use keys or a combination to get into this safe...

WE USE OUR FINGERPRINTS!

Yes, people, the future is now.  And it resides in my home.  To get access to the
weapons of mass destruction
perfectly safe handguns, we merely need to place our finger in that little box and it will scan our fingerprint, allowing us entry.

Is that the coolest, or what?

Take THAT, bad guys!

Things I Heart

After writing the post about how much I heart IHOP, I started thinking...it probably won't be uncommon for me to write about things that I just love, love, love.  Enter new feature: Things I Heart.

Today, let me just say how much I adore Target's Daily Deals.

In reality, I just love Target.  All the time.  Period.

But when I discovered their "Daily Deals," my heart practically melted on the spot.  Every day, Target features five or so items on their website that are on SUPER SALE.  PLUS, free shipping!  What more could a girl ask for?

For example, I ordered this bathing suit...normally $34.99, on sale (for one day only!)  for $19.99.  Excellent deal!

Check it out here if you are interested in getting in on the Target Daily Deal action!  Believe me, Target lovers...it won't take you long to realize why I love the "Daily Deals" so.

Here's to the good old days...or not?

Today I've been reminiscing about the good old days, when I could simply go to the grocery store, put whatever I wanted to eat that week into my cart, and check out.

Those days are gone.

J is what you might call frugal.  For those of you who knew me before he came into my life, you know this is probably a good thing for me!  Shopping used to be my favorite pastime, and saving was not my forte.  (One look into my shoe closet demonstrates this point.  And yes, I do have a separate closet just for my shoes.)  However, I have since embraced fiscal responsibility.  And the grocery store is where I'm at my best!

Saving money on groceries is great.  All of the work I go through to save that money, however, is a little crazy!  My style of shopping is not for rookies.  I have reached major league status here.

Before I can leave for the store, I have to prepare:

• Coupon binder (yes, I said binder)- check!
• Shopping list, organized by meals I plan on cooking that week- check!
• Circulars to review, to make sure I'm getting important sale items- check!
• Canvas shoulder bags, so I can be "green"- check!  (Okay, truth be told, I forget these all.the.time.  They should really be on my pre-grocery store checklist!)

Once I ensure that I have all vital items, I set out on my grocery shopping quest.  This is where the REAL craziness begins.  I typically hit three to four stores in a given week , so that I can get the best deals on the foods we typically eat.  Whew!

You know that you're a grown up when you get excited about saving money at the grocery store.

I saved over $50 this week.  Word.