So, I mentioned in my September Spending Diary that there was a reason that I have been tracking expenses and trying to live a more intentional financial life this year.
As my regular readers know, my college senior Mason is currently studying abroad in England.
So, the news I have for you is…
We (Tom, Jack, and I) have purchased our tickets to join Mason and spend Christmas in the UK!
I am still in the planning stages right now and I know that it is a little bit last minute, but we just weren’t ready to commit to the plane ticket prices until last month.
Here’s where you come in (if you are able to come in)…
I need advice and you all have had some of the best advice and recommendations for me in the past.
I believe we will be visiting Liverpool, York, and London in England and Edinburgh and maybe Glasgow in Scotland.
We are going to do carry on only. Mason will have a big suitcase and I haven’t quite figured out how to work that yet.
I am reading Rick Steves’ books! I got them at the library! He is great!
We are planning to use Airbnb’s. After a disastrous one hotel room situation a couple of years ago, I realize we need a bit of space. I also think a kitchen will be nice because we are not a “eat 3 restaurant meals in a day” kind of family. I also love to visit a grocery when I travel.
We will change where we lay our heads 5 times, I think.
We are not fancy travelers. We enjoy history, art, culture, people watching, eating as the locals do, and not rushing around trying to do and see everything.
I am a little bit worried about planning for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as far as things being open, but a pub meal would be fine. Worst case scenario, we can eat sandwiches in the Airbnb.
We are not planning to rent a car, but rather planning to use trains and public transportation.
Thank you in advance for any good tips you can give me!
Well, it’s a sad day for me because my Fall Break is over, but I am also excited and happy to see my students. We have a lot of fun stuff coming up this month and next. I really like what I teach fall semester, so it’s all good. I’m also getting more used to my new schedule and seeing more positives about it.
I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday, of course!
I had such a nice week. It was a good mix of social time, down time, productivity, and getting healthy after being sick, and catching up on my sleep.
I told you in Friday Favorites what I did up until Wednesday, so let’s start our weekend at Thursday, okay?
Also, having a blog is weird. I take lots of weird photos and oftentimes I’m thinking…”does anyone really care about my mundane life?”
I am not special and I don’t want to come off like I think I am.
Thursday was a crazy morning. Mason’s debit card was compromised and there were tons of online gambling charges. So, you can imagine the phone calls both Tom and I had to make. It is still not resolved as I write this on Sunday.
I met my friend Beth at the mall and to eat lunch at BJ’s. I had a wedge salad and an individual pizza. The wedge was the best part of the meal, for sure.
We saw these holiday shorts in one store at the mall. Anyone?
I only bought some Bath and Body lotion with a coupon, but had a lot of fun with Beth.
I came home and it was rainy and perfect for a hot chocolate on the covered patio. This mug is a gift from twin girls I taught. How cool is that? I go by this name at school!
Tom’s work friend invited us to dinner at Bonefish and it was delish!
Ernie!
I didn’t read as much as I thought I would, but I am enjoying this book that I just happened to find at the library.
Saturday, I knew it was time to get some meal prep done. I now have 10 breakfasts ready in the freezer.
Saturday the weather turned cool and I made the first pot of chili of the season.
Saturday was also an adventure for Tom. He and I went to Liquor Barn for his beer cheese stock up and then to Aldi. I think Tom is becoming an Aldi convert, too.
He was on the roof of the garage and the ladder fell. I was putting groceries away and saw his text.
Jack and I came to the rescue. I’m glad he had his phone because I probably wouldn’t have known he was stuck on the roof!
In Mason England news:
Saturday night was perfect for a fire and we watched football and enjoyed this:
I also started this and I am loving it. I loved the book!
Ah, what a week! We had summer like weather from Sunday through Wednesday and I was ok with it because I knew it was probably the last of it for us this year, but who knows? The world is quite topsy turvy, no?
Favorites this week:
Boating Time! We love boating after Labor Day because so many put their boats away and we have the river to ourselves!
Sunday Tom, Ernie, and I boated and had a lovely time.
Monday I visited my favorite consignment shop, Sassy Fox, and I had made some money from my fall and winter clothing I took there on August 1st! Woohoo! This goes into my clothing fund!
I went to bed early and felt so much better after having allergies last week!
Lots of Friend Time!
I had a lovely French lunch with my friend Elizabeth who I used to teach with. She now works in an office very close to this restaurant so it worked out perfectly for her lunch break.
I got myself a shiny navy blue pedicure.
Tuesday was the warmest day and I had a really fun plan! My friend Victoria and I met at Myriad Hotel, a new boutique hotel in town, and bought a day pass for their “swim club”.
The pool is heated and they have no closing date for the season yet!
The vibe was perfection, the lounge chairs were thick and comfy, and we had the whole place to ourselves for a couple of hours. Then, there were only a handful of other people.
We shared some lunch poolside:
We had a cocktail poolside:
It was a lovely way to spend a day!
Wednesday, I went to see my friend Jessica’s new house and she ordered us lunch. I got a Thai chicken salad and it was delish!
Don’t worry, I was home for dinner each night and Tom was fed well.
This week is flying and it’s already time for Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill.
Let’s go back to last Thursday…
I was feeling under the weather still and when I don’t have much energy, I chose black and white. I wore the black Umgee pants again (I wore them on Monday!) and my Old Navy blouse from last spring. Oh, and it was raining so I like to choose black in the rain. I start out with my waterproof Dansko clogs.
Friday also calls for black because it’s easy and a no-brainer when you are done making decisions for the week! I wore my Target Universal Thread jeans and my Loft blouse with my mules that really are hard to keep on. I changed into sneakers for most of the day. Let’s talk about this blouse. It’s going bye-bye. My hair gets caught in the tiny button at the back of the neck. Tom literally had to cut my hair at the end of the day to get it out. Now the button is covered in Amy hair. It annoyed the crap out of me all day! I will be looking for another 3/4 length sleeve blouse like this without an annoying button!
Saturday night we went to the Venezuelan place for dinner and I wore my Old Navy button fly jeans with my in-between season top. It’s good to find warm temp tops in fall-ish colors and I don’t have many. I’m wearing my Eurosoft slides that are comfy for dinner out but not for a whole day at school.
This looks frumpy, but I wore this to run errands on Monday. These Olukai mules were so appealing to me last spring, but mules just are hard to walk in – in my experience. I wore another pair of Target Universal Thread jeans and a consignment J.Jill blouse. Maybe I can improve the tuck situation?
I went to TJ Maxx and found two blouses that had patterns that just spoke to me! I am trying to be a better shopper and leaving things that are just ok behind. But, look at these two patterns:
I put the first one on and wore it right away!
A couple of days later I wore the second! That is a good sign for me. If I don’t wear something right away, it probably needs to go back. Pretty simple shopping rule!
I also purchased an Umgee blouse in University of KY blue from a little boutique called Darling State of Mind:
I would say all three of these blouses are 3 season blouses, so that is good!
And, I have purchased a coatigan and I need to make sure I got the right size. I need to try it on with a winter outfit and make sure it works. Yes, the bloggers are calling this a “coatigan” which is a coat/cardigan. I hate winter coats. Have I ever told you this? This seems like a smart option for one who doesn’t love a tradiitional coat.
Trial run:
I have loved having dressy shoe booties for those winter going out ocassions. I believe I have had my old pair for four years, at least? I happened to find a pair that looked brand new when thrifting with Jack at Goodwill recently. My old ones were really scuffed at the toe. Pretty proud of myself for this $5 find!
Old shoebooties:
New to me shoe booties:
It’s also just really fun to say shoe booties/shoebooties/ shbooties, right?
So, what have you been wearing?
Any favorites of my outfits?
Any thoughts on my 3 new blouses, my coatigan, or my shoe booties? Positive thoughts? Ha!
It’s time for another installment of Currently with Jennifer and others. Today we are sharing what we are “currently”…
Loving
I love early fall! These are not their permanent home, but this is where I put my new purchases until I can decide on everything:
I love looking at my new pumpkins and mums. I got one pumpkin with a bunch of bumps on it and I love it!
I was laying on my covered patio and leaves were falling on and around me and I loved it!
Trader Joe’s does fall like no other and I picked up a vanilla pumpkin candle. It’s time for all things apple and pumpkin!
I treated myself to fall magazines. Boy, they sure are skimpy these days and mostly made up of ads, but I still enjoyed flipping through them while on my patio with leaves falling on me!
I am also loving my sugar skull pillows on both patios. My sister said it best – she said that I really do treat these spaces as extra rooms in my house. I am sad in the winter when I don’t have these two spots to retreat to. The only months where I can’t use them are really January and February in my part of the country.
Excited About
I’m excited whenever I get a message from Mason in England. We Facetimed Monday, too, and it was great to “see” him. I already see how he is growing by being totally on his own.
His room is stuffy and he ordered a fan from Amazon. When it arrived, he needed a Phillips head screwdriver to put it together. He is figuring out how to get that now. I suggested hitting up a maintenance man, but he didn’t like my idea. He told me he needs to figure things out on his own. Message received. Ha!
Watching
I was pleasantly surprised by how cute this movie was! This would be fine for your teen or tween girls, too, I think.
I’m also watching my Bravo shows and loving them! So much is on right now!
Seeing
I’m also seeing sweet texts from Jack. My kids didn’t get a phone until sophomore year of high school, by the way. We had a pay as you go phone at home when they were home alone but it wasn’t a smart phone and it didn’t leave the house.
Your kids are huge narcissists until they realize that their parents are people, too. It took awhile but now I get questions about my day.
Observing
I try to sit and do nothing for a bit each day – no phone, no book. I love observing how the sun hits the trees and just all the beautiful nature in my little suburban paradise. I love seeing the rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds. We have a ton of them in our yard!
And, that’s my Currently! What about you? What are you loving, excited about, watching, seeing, and observing?
September 2 – $40 black pants at boutique while shopping for souvenirs for our guests to take back to Germany
September 3 – $0 Spend Day – Tom’s sister treated us to late lunch/early dinner after boat
September 4 – $85 Birthday supplies at Kroger including cookie cake
September 5 – $51 Chinese food takeout for birthday
September 6 – $0 Spend Day
September 7 – $166 Aldi – who am I?
September 8 – $33 Carraba’s happy hour with Erica and Elizabeth
September 9 – $250 Target (stuff for England), $85 Drake’s, $40 Tatziki’s
September 10 – Varaese 21st bday dinner $144
September 11 – $10 Amazon portable charger for Mason
September 12 – $41 second hand shopping with Mason
September 13 – $50 birthday gift
September 14 – $120 Aldi, $51 French lunch
September 15 – $66 Mojito, $28 Felipe’s, $20 for 2 Amazon books
September 16 – $40 birthday gift, $60 Shiraz, $56 Kroger
September 17 – $100 Delta, $5 parking
September 18 – $0 Spend day
September 19 – $0 Spend day
September 20 – $0 Spend day
September 21 – $0 Spend day
September 22 – $50 birthday gift, $83 birthday dinner out for a friend
September 23- Remember all those zero spend days? Well, here we go! $124 Aldi (4th week of making it my main grocery), $85 Walmart Neighborhood market. I went in for Velveeta and found lots of staples cheaper than at Kroger, $91 Kroger, $0 UPS store for two returns or should I say the “girl math” would be +$!55 – returned the Hoka Transports – too small, and some Amazon earrings that were not what I wanted for a gift, $0 library
September 24-$20 Captain’s Quarters lunch plus tip for Tom, Ernie, and I, $17 Felipe’s mexican for Jack, $5 Amy shoebooties at Goodwill to replace the ones I need to replace – score!
September 25- $0 Spend Day
September 26-$0 Spend Day
September 27-$20 Kroger tampon run (Wow! They have gotten expensive!), $6 McDonald’s egg mcmuffin and small pumpkin spice latte
September 28- $0 Spend Day
September 29-$27 Happy Hour including tip, $0 dinner – went home and whipped up angel hair alfredo and added sauteed mushrooms for Tom and I.
September 30- $80 Trader Joe’s, $0 library, $73 dinner out at Venezuelan place
This was a big month! We had the Germans until September 4, our kids 21st birthday, Mason leaving for England, and a few other birthdays thrown in. I just can’t spend any money during the week unless it’s an online order! I go to work and the traffic is so bad by 4:00 that I just come straight home – I also come straight home because I’m freaking exhausted and I have to get home to Ernie. I guess this is as good of a budget strategy as any!
$0 Spend Days: 9! Not bad!
Clothing: $40 Umgee black plants, $5 Goodwill shoebooties
Groceries: The Germans picked up our tab for groceries on September 2 for boat snacks and staples which was very nice. I did a huge shop before they came, of course, but we ran out of some things and wanted them to pick out things for the boat day. Then, I really tried to do the bulk of my shopping at Aldi this month. I had to go on Thursday after school or Saturday mornings, mostly. Are you ready for it?
$807! If you look back at August, this is a reduction. Of course, I have had 3 in the house instead of 4 plus since early and mid-September, but still. I did have four plus Germans for the first few days of September.
Meals Out/Happy Hour/Take Out: This was a big month for meals out. And, is it just me or are restaurants just getting more and more expensive?
$798! So that is way too high, but we made memories and spent quality time, too. Maybe that correlates with a lower grocery bill, too? We did really well about less food waste, taking leftovers home, and eating them this month, too.
I can’t believe I have tracked since January. Stay tuned and you will find out why I have been more budget conscious!
And, just like that it is October! I am happy to link up today with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday and with Tanya for Prime Purchases!
Did you see my Share 4 Somethings on Saturday? If not, click here for four random things I shared!
This is one of the things I shared, but I had a delightful happy hour Friday after school at a new Italian seafood place near school. They have half priced wines from 3-6, $5 wells drinks, and a reasonable appetizer menu. The patio is lovely!
Erica and I had a lemondrop martini and a glass of wine.
I made leftover sheet pan lasagna and angel hair alfredo with mushrooms for the fam when I got home.
I prioritized my sleep and getting better this weekend and went to bed at 9:00 both nights! Do you ever do that? I think it helps so much. I also made myself “sleep in” until 6:00 or 6:30 each morning and then still enjoyed my dark patio – ahhhhh!
Around 9:30, I got myself together after showering to run my errands. I went to Trader Joe’s, the library, and Kroger. I was open to all the new products and fall favorites at Trader Joe’s, but I didn’t go crazy!
These are my frozen goodies. Jack loves the mini croissants, I love the baguette breadsticks and the shredded hashbrowns. I am going to try to make little muffin cups with them. I heard I needed to get the double chocolate croissants! I got the pumpkin cheesecakes croissants on an impulse and the fried cheese curds on an impulse. I put the cheese curds in the airfryer and they are to die for!
These will just be fun weekend foods, I guess!
At Kroger, I picked out some pumpkins and mums.
I spent most of the rest of the day reading and resting. It was much needed.
Around 5:00, Tom and I went to a new Venezuelan restaurant that has been really popular. We tried once before!
I was shocked when my drink arrived in a fish!
I had an arepa and yucca fries and I didn’t love the cheese or the flavor really.
Tom got a corn pancake with pork and I thought it was too sweet.
Anyway, we are glad we tried it and surprisingly, Tom liked it more than I did. We both agreed it was overpriced.
We stopped at Kroger on the way home because Tom wanted to buy a lottery ticket and Lysol. Ok…..
I watched a cute movie when we got home:
Love at First Sight on Netflix
Have you seen it?
I need some not too cheesy fall movie recs!
I got up and read this cute book on the patio. Of course they are predictable, but they are one step up from a Hallmark movie in book form – they are well written and funny.
I made a veggie scramble breakfast later in the morning…
And, then I set about to do cleaning, organizing and some chores.
Recent Amazon purchases:
Since I couldn’t find these two Sarah Adams books at my library, I decided to treat myself because Mason was leaving. I don’t let myself buy many books because it saves money and keeps the clutter at bay. This is why I love my library so much. Also, I read actual books and don’t read on a Kindle.
I ordered adapters, a portable charger, and a desk mirror for Mason, but that’s all I have used Amazon for this month!
This first thing is a little story about my shower or really it’s about 23 years of marriage. Since Monday, I think, Tom and I have been silently pranking each other without saying a word. We have 3 shelves in our primary bathroom shower and I have felt entitled to two of the three. You agree with me, right?
Tom kept moving my stuff off of the second shelf and putting his stuff. Each day I would move one of his things and he would move one of mine. It finally hit a head yesterday morning when I woke up to…
all of my products outside of the shower! Yes, I currently have a lot because I am using up certain things and because I like to have choices!
I hid all of his stuff and then heard the shower running. He had just opened his new bottles. I came in the bathroom and we just both started laughing. This is marriage!
TWO
Golden Bachelor! I’ve only watched a bit of the first episode but I found it so refreshing! He is a 70 year old sweet widower and is delightfully nerdy. The women look seriously good for 60-70 plus and they are inspirations. I thought the interactions between the women in the house – so far – were also so much more kind than those of the younger women.
Did anyone else watch?
Ernie thought it was a snooze fest:
THREE
Leaves are starting to fall!
FOUR
A nearby restaurant just changed concepts from California chic to Italian seafood but they kept their great happy hour, so Erica and I celebrated yesterday after school!
What a week! I started having allergy symptoms on Saturday night, felt ok on Sunday, didn’t sleep well Sunday night, and then Monday through the rest of the week just felt a little crappy as I went through the motions of my normal week.
These eye patches feel really good when you have sinus pain and I need to buy more. Are you a patch person?
I also will tell anyone and everyone about my love of the neti pot and I swear it cuts my congestion time in half. This is not scientific, but I will stand firm in my belief.
I have enjoyed reading after school every day and have been reading a more serious book than my usual fun chick lit. I finished it Wednesday evening and I loved it! Now, I think I will read another Sarah Adams or a Colleen Hoover.
Sweet boy! I love seeing him curled up in the big chair! Of course, he’s allowed here!
I love seeing his tooth hanging out when he lays like this on his bed.
You know I have been on a white wine journey this summer? Did you know there is white Bordeaux? It’s good! I know I need to switch to red soon, but I’m still loving a crisp chilled white with a screw top! Seriously! I have been picking based on this lately because I don’t drink much at a time. I know some of you gals have no need for a way to save your wine – ha!
Right now I am picking Sauvignon Blanc the most. I also have found a pinot gris I like. Pinot grigio seems too sweet for me right now?
And, I have been using these tiny jam jars. Love!
So, I guess I am an Aldi shopper now. I tried Maple Pecan Pie and it’s also delicious, but Pumpkin Spice remains my favorite. I bought two boxes last Saturday.
And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but these are even better than the Costco pre-cooked strips. They also come in Southwestern which would be great for a burrito bowl.
I am thinking about doing an Aldi Favorites post.
I made breakfast for dinner Wednesday night and had a mimosa with my food. We had potatoes, eggs, bacon, and a biscuit.
I am so glad I purchased this inexpensive but nice quality zip up hoodie. I put it on every morning. I had a full photo of me but my face and my neck looked bad, so enjoy this image of the material! But, there is also a photo of me wearing it in my eye patch photo. I chose heather grey because it’s a classic, I guess!
One benefit to my later work start time is that I can go to Kroger before school more easily if I need to. I had an emergency – I had no tampons situation this week. So, yeah, add that to being sick! Fun!
I don’t know why this made me laugh so hard this week. It might also have something to do with Tom putting mayonnaise on my “grocery list” last week.
How much you want to bet that she has a “Bump It” in her hair?
As always, thank you so much for being here. I’m struggling a bit to respond to comments, but I will get there. I appreciate you taking the time to leave them for me and they make my day!
It’s Thursday and time to link up for Fashion Files with Kellyann and Jill.
So, let’s go back to the end of Spirit Week last week…
This is Adam Sandler day and I just phoned it in. I guess it meant baggie clothes, but I interpreted it as a flannel shirt over a t-shirt and I was too hot to keep the flannel on so I just looked like nothing. Oh well.
Friday was class color day and seniors are black and I guess I am a senior..
Friday night dinner outfit:
Monday school outift:
Tuesday school outfit:
Yesterday school outift:
And, that’s what I’ve been wearing!
Do you have a favorite? It is Adam Sandler day? Just kidding!
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 