Oh Yeah, and...

Happy Birthday to Me

Bring on my thirties, I'm not scared.

Monday - Firday Damages (2/14 - 2/18)

Monday

• $0

Tuesday

• $55 - Daffodill Days (American Cancer Society)

Wednesday

• $33.18 - Hess

Thursday

• $0

Friday

• +$25 - Living Social Refund (Whole Foods wasn't offering the deal that I bought the voucher for)
• $50ish - CVS (last minute India items) 

AND there will be more purchases today...but I leave for India in t-minus six hours...lots to do and not a lot of time to do it...

So adios friends, see ya in three weeks.

Weekend Damages (2/12 - 2/13)

Saturday

• $0 

So while I may not have spent any money on Saturday it certainly wasn't a dull day. Aaron planned a nice evening in Boston for us, Maggie included (he actually found a hotel...the Hyatt...that allowed dogs). Maggie was quite the little city dog. Sooo much to sniff! She loved it, and she made herself right at home in the hotel too.

Anyways, I figured something was up, I just had a gut feeling...and I was right! I'm a genius.

I got a text from my cousin 3 hours before we were supposed to be at dinner telling me Happy Birthday (funny b/c he should probably know that I have the same birthday as my Uncle...his father...and it wasn't Saturday) and to tell my nan not to have too many drinks because he was picking her up for an early mass Sunday morning...BUSTED! I of course told Aaron immediately that his plan was foiled :). So close....so very, very close.

So my family and some of my friends met us at Tresca for a very tasty dinner and then we headed over to The Greatest Bar for the rest of the evening. While I was expecting my family and I figured a couple of my friends to be at the restaurant for dinner, I had no idea that more people would be waiting for us at the bar, so Aaron did manage to pull off a semi-surprise for the evening. I even managed to walk by this sign on my way in...obviously I was in my own world.

Anyways, kudos to Aaron, Court and all else that helped in the planning efforts for the lovely evening, and for reminding me that fleeing the country for one's 30th birthday doesn't mean you'll get off without having a room full of people calling you old.


Sunday

• $82.82 - Pet World (Food and such for Maggie)

Thursday & Friday Damages (2/10 -2/11)

Thursday

• $19.18 - Amazon

Some friends of mine recently lost everything in a house fire, and very nearly lost their dog as well...which prompted the purchase of this sticker to put in our window...and of course while I was poking around on Amazon I managed to come away with a couple of additional items. Like a yoga DVD and book on the yoga sutras of Patanjali.  


Friday

• $0

Monday - Wednesday Damages (2/7 - 2/9)

Monday

• $0

Tuesday

• $34.03 - Gas for Veruca

Wednesday

• $53.10 - Best Buy

Super huge memory card and second set of controller things for Wii Active, so Aaron and I can race against each other. :)

Shopping Locally

HOW have I never noticed the shop locally feature on Etsy before?!

Amazing. You just type in where your  location and local merchants pop up. Love this.

I mean just look at this little gem from Cody's Creations in Natick. 

Maggie would have a hard time focusing if I had a bag of treats clipped to her leash...BUT she'd probably stay right by my side, no more pulling! This may be worth trying.

I like, BUT...

Isis vest on Steap and Cheap. $59.99 from $148.95

BUT...

Made in China = FAIL.

Wewood Watch on iDeeli. $70 from $119.

BUT...

I never wear watches.

Knitted Dove Jacket on Beyond the Rack. $49 from $97.50.

BUT...

Made in China = FAIL.

Weekend Damages (2/5 - 2/6)

Saturday

• $0

Sunday

• $46.32 - Cheesecake Factory (lunch with the little after ice skating, which I had a groupon for and before going to see The Secret Garden at the Wheelock Family Theater) 
• $9.56 - Sephora (nail polish...which when I went to go use last night didn't have the little brush attached to it...so I have to take it back...wicked annoying)

This Week's Damages (1/31 - 2/4)

Woah, this week really got away from me.

Monday

• $0

Tuesday

• $50 - Jasmere

This site is really impressing me. I bought the voucher for Sticks and Stones,  with a friend of mine for another friend's bridal shower. Such a fun gift!

We got her one that says "trust." Not Alexis, I don't know who this Alexis character is, but I wanted to give you an example so you knew what I was talking about. Anyways, she's not sure if she's taking her soon-to-be husband's last name so that was out, and you can only use letters not number otherwise we would have gotten their wedding date, which would have been awesome. Alas, we settled on trust, b/c you need a bit of that in a marriage I've heard. Hope she likes it!

Wednesday

• $0

Thursday

• $0

Friday

• $130 - Aaron (framing costs...we split the framing costs for my diplomas and my "Beer Allary" fabulous vintage poster...come to think of it, I'm not sure why he paid for any of it??? But who am I to argue!...also, I spend a lot of money on framing, it's insane) 
• $32.19 - iParty (finishing touches to my gift for Averi's Bridal Shower)
• $6.72 - Roche Brothers (Averi's gift)

So we had to bring a gift that could be used at the time written on your invitation to my friends bridal shower...I was assigned midnight. You could be doing a lot of things at midnight...AND I should mention that the invite also said to be as funny/creative as we wanted. I dabbled with the idea of playing this time slot on the more scandalous side but I decided to keep it clean and went with a rave theme. That's right rave...hence the $32 at iParty, that girls got a hell of a lot of glow sticks and blow pops now. Enjoy! :)

I should mention that I tried to talk my friend into giving Averi the morning after pill for her 9am time slot. Let me explain why this is so funny. First of all, that's the best idea EVER. Second, my friend who would be purchasing the pill is 7 months pregnant. The thought of the pharmacist's face when a 7-month pregnant woman asked for the morning after pill makes me smile. Sadly her husband didn't seem to think this was all that funny and my idea fell flat. I should have switched time slots with her...

• I.O.Aaron - $100ish - to cover my part of Maggie's annual check up at Sudbury Animal Hospital (please enjoy the pictures of the abused puppy below)

 Miss Maggie, happily snorgling the snow. This is one of her favorite snowy day pastimes, aside from eating snow of course.

 Maggie and Aaron spooning in bed on Sunday morning. Nope, she's not spoiled at all.

Please note, I am not in bed because Maggie was dreaming and kept kicking me. I lost my spot to a dog....again, totally normal.

Holy Temptation...

Kalorik 18-bottle wine cooler on iDeeli. $229 from $399

 Kaloric Electric Grill on iDeeli. $177 from $249

We can't have propane at our condo :(

 Seaton dress on HauteLook. $76 from $218.

Made in USA

Maxi dress on Beyond the Rack. $64.99 from  $158.

 Made in USA

Rails Camille dress on iDeeli. $35 from $101. 

Made in USA

Rock &Republic jeans on iDeeli. $89 from $178.

Poncho on HauteLook. $55 from $156. 

Made in USA

Mountain Hardware fleece on Steep and Cheap. $74.99 from $149.95

Jovial January

Total: $1,390

The Breakdown:
Travel - $265
Clothing - $258
Randomness - $257
Health & Beauty - $160
Groceries - $106
Bars/Restaurants - $89
Entertainment - $87
Gifts - $80
Gasoline - $65
Maggie - $21
Snacks - $3

Not too bad. I spent the  majority of my money on stuff for India like meds, clothes, blah, blah, blah.

This is will one of my last monthly breakdowns folks. February will mark my last month of blogging. So start to prepare yourself now. I know it will be hard, and there may be tears...but it's for the best. As for the future of my spending...well my student loans from grad school kick in next month, and something tells me that the payments will keep me in check. (...by in check I mean eating white rice and frozen vegetables, pan handling, and perhaps even reverting back to my college self and selling sewn wears for cash. Good times)

Dizzying December

FINALLY the breakdown for December (Sorry for the delay)...January to follow shortly!!!

Total: $1,316

The Breakdown:
Gifts - $570
Maggie - $194
Groceries - $141
Clothing - $130
Randomness - $117
Gasoline - $99
Entertainment - $34
Bars/Restaurants - $27
Coffee - $4
Snacks - $0.85

This is actually much better than I expected. Granted I should probably tack on a couple extra hundred to that number because I didn't report absolutely every gift I bought...that would kind ruin the surprise, no? And at this point, I have no idea where those receipts are. Most likely in the trash.

Happy ALMOST Birthday...to ME!

It's true...in 18 days exactly I will be celebrating my...gulp...30th birthday. Gross. Luckily I will be celebrating on a plane on my way to India for three weeks. AND my theory is that if I'm not in this country for my 30th, then it doesn't count and I get to be 29 for another year. (please keep your opinions to yourself on my theory and try not to ruin my year, would ya?)

So anyways, I have already received some of my birthday presents. People should have really learned by now that you can't give me anything early, b/c I will annoy you until you let me open it, or I will open it as soon as you leave. I don't love surprises...they're not my thing...never have been.

Here's what I got from my mom and dad...

 Kitchen Aid Food Processor. 

My mom is very enthusiastic about my new found interest in cooking and baking (mostly baking...let's face it the outcome is just so much tastier...mmm sugar)

Krinkles Eggplant Lady Ornament.

 Krinkles Poinsettia Fairy Lady.

...from my brother,

The coolest teapot around...NUMI, organic flowering tea. It's the coolest thing maybe ever. You add hot water and this weird looking little tea pod expands into a flower. AND it's delicious. 

...from my friend Hilary, 

A gift card for Groupon. I didn't even know you could get a gift certificate for Groupon! Awesome!!

AND Aaron has planned an evening out in Boston for us for my birthday b/c I told him I don't need anything. So we're packing up Maggie and heading to the city for an evening. I have a feeling he's up scheming something else, but I haven't been able to dig up any additional information...and I'm trying my best not to cross any lines with my snooping. Granted that's been hard for me to refrain from, but I'm trying. 

Thanks for the birthday cheer!

Maybe I Need These...

Yeaaaaahhhhhh...probably not so much of a need, which is exactly why I resisted.

 Karma Yoga Tank on Beyond the Rack. $19.99 from $70.

Made in Canada, which I can deal with...close enough to the USA and better than CHINA!

Karma Yoga Tank on Beyond the Rack. $24.99 from $60.

Made in Canada.

 Sweater on Beyond the Rack. $24.99 from $45.

Would look cute with leggings (my new obsession)...BUT country of origina = China. FAIL.

Studded Leggings on Beyond the Rack. $14 from $53

Country of origin = China. Fail.

 Sparkly Leggings on Beyond the Rack. $14 from $53

Country of origin = China. Fail.

Patagonia boots on Steap and Cheap. $69.99 from $160.

I'm not going to lie. I still really want these. :(

Weekend Damages (1/29 - 1/30)

Saturday

• $46.43 - Roche Brothers (supplies for baking madness)
• $40 - Pamper Me Skin Care in Wakefield, MA (using up a very old voucher for facials with Court)
• $28.68 - CVS (more randomness and killing time while Court was getting her facial)
• $21.23 - Gone to the Dogs in Wakefield, MA (bought Maggie and adorable  toy dragon and this horrific 3' long stick of beef...she loves it...again killing time while Court was getting her facial)

Sunday

• $0

Clearly I got a little carried away on Saturday. Having some free time to peruse a new town isn't such a good thing for me. BUT if you're ever in Wakefield I recommend stopping in the Gone to the Dogs Dog Boutique. They had some really adorable stuff and the people were so nice. 

P.S. - I realize I still haven't posted the breakdown from December...one of these days (like in the next couple of weeks before I leave for India and lay this blog to rest I will do that, promise)

Wednesday - Friday Damages (1/26 -1/28)

Wednesday

• $31.17 - CVS (Theraflu and other randomness)

I've been feeling a little under the weather. Nothing seriously, just a scratchy throat. So I picked up some Theraflu, I happen to think the apple cinnamon flavored one is delicious...

Thursday

• $0

Friday

• $15 - Jasmere (As mentioned in my last post)

• $25 - Dana Farber Foundation (donation for a long lost friend running in the Boston Marathon)
• $14ish - Boston Convention Center (went to see the FabFour, a Beatles cover band with Aaron's mom who was in town for a dental convention) 

New Love

I was recently turned onto a new website by my pal Court, and let me tell you...it's wonderful. It's called Jasmere. While I could tell you how the site works and what they stand for...it's just so much easier to copy and paste it straight from their site. :)

"Jasmere seeks out lesser-known specialty retailers that deserve national attention. Our small team of New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC- based shopaholics personally tests every product we feature, using jasmere's negotiating power to offer you an exclusive discount. But don't let the low prices fool you. Every merchant we feature on jasmere meets our highest standards of quality. You may not have heard of these websites, but you can be sure their products and services are the best around. We guarantee it."

Excuse me? Lesser known retailers? What now? Sounds perfect for what I'm trying to accomplish here! PLUS so far what I've seen on their site has been very environmentally minded, not to mention fabulous. For example they had reusable shopping bags that packed down to little balls so you could keep them in your purse (I passed b/c I already have two that I carry around with me), and today they had reusable snack/sandwich bags from Semilla, which I am totally obsessed with...so of course I bought the voucher! I implore you to do the same, so we all get a better deal on them!

A friend of mine at Antioch had these little beauties and I loved them. I planned on sewing myself some, but you know how that goes...I never got around to it. So I figure I'll buy  myself a set and then hopefully that will prompt me to make some more. Best gift ever for all those new moms out there right (and there seem to be more and more of those in my life).


Side note...I was looking through the frequently asked questions portion of their site and this caught my eye...

I love you guys. You have changed my life. Can I buy you a pizza?

Hey, we're working out of love.  No need to send pizza.  But we do like pizza.  Broccoli happens to be a favorite, but we've been known to indulge in a bit of the 'roni as well.

Our address for pizza delivery purposes is:

2813 Covington Rd
Silver Spring MD

We happen to like this place a lot.  Make it a deep dish, and we may just toss some jasmere dollars in your account.

AND they have a sense of humor...SOLD! 

Theme Party Part Tres

I apologize for the belated nature of this post. It took me a while to get around to pulling the pictures of my swap party haul off of my camera.

Well let's get right to it. The third installation of Meghan and Jen's famous swap party was yet another huge success. I once again showed up with FAR more than the required 10 items (picture three large reusable shopping bags and a under the bed storage bin crammed full of goods...Court, thanks for helping me carry it all!), BUT much to my surprise, and yours I'm sure...I did NOT come home with nearly as much as I brought! That my friends is what we call growth. I even recall myself saying, "Oooh I like that, but I don't need it." I KNOW! Amazing.

Anyways, here's what I got...

• Fabulous fringy olive-ish colored boots (80%20...I'm guessing that's the brand?? Never heard of it)
• Eggplant like colored top (Mossimo)
• Orange sleeveless sweater (Banana Republic...I think)
• Lime green polo sweater (might be heading back to the next party...it's a little short)
• Green corduroy jacket (Ann Taylor Loft)
• Black t-shirt (Banana Republic)
• Black sparkly top (I envision I'll be wearing it to one of the next bachelorette parties)
• Nike t-shirt
• White t-shirt with little silver skulls and roses on it (Nothing like Ed Hardy, give me more credit)
• Lime/yellow colored capris (just the right length to cover my knees in India)
• Two pairs of earrings (I don't wear earrings normally so we'll see if these ever get worn, they may be coming back with me to the next swap)
• Two pairs of work pants (Express...I may try to sew some of the bell bottominess out of them, we'll see if my sewing skills feel up to the task)
• 3 Large Wooden Bracelets

So maybe it sounds like a lot but it all fit into one compact little shopping bag! My goal for the next party is to not be the girl who rocks in with a small Uhaul worth of things. It's good to have goals. 

Monday and Tuesday Damages (1/24 - 1/25)

Monday

• $0

Tuesday

• $32.01 - West Side Gas (Veruca food)
• S10.35 - CVS

I have exciting news...brace yourself...

MINI EGGS ARE BACK!!!!! 

and I already bought some.

(This is a picture of the biggest ever Cadbury Mini Egg score. D and I purchased these beauties going on three years ago while we were in Seattle for a wedding and to celebrate my birthday ...don't ask why I still have this picture...I have no answer)

Weekend Damages (1/21 - 1/23)

Friday

• $116.98 - Burton's Ski Shop (mittens with liners for Aaron and I...going to be freezing skiing tomorrow)

 This was money well spent. My hands have never been so warm while skiing.

Saturday

• $30 - Various food items at Stratton (I pretty much just hand a bit of cash to Aaron whenever we go anywhere b/c he invariably ends up paying for everything, and it makes me feel better to contribute a little...little being the key word in that run-on sentence)

Sunday

• $0

Back to Mass and back to reality. :( On the bright side we did get to pick up Maggie from my parents today. Judging from her reaction when she saw us...she missed us...a lot. Clearly she enjoys being the only dog and having full run of her humans.

Also on the bright side we got home in time to watch the Jets lose (YAY!) and for me to make some pretty delicious cupcakes. This week I whipped up Raspberry Jam, Citrus Tea Cakes. They're delicious, but next time I think I'll add a little less jam...they're pretty gooey.

Thursday Damages (1/20)

• $148.75 - Patagonia

I finally got that coat...my post this morning prompted it...and while I was browsing around the Patagonia site I picked up a new pair of ski socks too. And yes, I actually do need a new pair. I use them for work and for play and mine are getting a bit worn out.

 Torrent Jacket. On sale for $83.30 from $119.

Ski Socks. On sale for $12.95 from $18.95

Vitaliti Skirt. $52.50 from $75. 
The perfect length to keep my knees safely covered while in India. As it turns out I don't have all that much clothing that covers my knees. 

Side note...did you know that Patagonia has a blog? I didn't...it's actually pretty good. Entirely what you would expect, but that's not a bad thing.

Soon to be Purchased...

So there are a number of items I am anticipating needing to purchase for my upcoming India trip. There's just no getting around them...unless of course any of you out there have any of my needed items and would be willing to let me borrow it/them for a month?

Here's what I think I'll need...

 A power converter. I fried my hairdryer using the one I have in Greece, and while I'm sure it was just a user error...I'm afraid to kill another appliance in India....namely my ipad. I would cry. A lot.

This would be the perfect item to lend me by the way :)

Going to need one more (at least) large memory stick for the old camera. I don't want to run out of memory and while I can download some of them off my camera and onto my ipad, I don't want to completely fill up it's memory with pictures. 

STILL need a raincoat. I suppose I should just break down and buy one already.

New pajama bottoms. I suppose I'm going to need something to wear to sleep that isn't completely ratty and unpresentable, seeing as how I won't just be hanging out in the safety of my own home.

I'm going to need to make a serious trip to CVS to stock up on the necessary over the counter remedies. Some (I'll refrain from naming which ones) are a necessity when traveling to the third world.

This one maybe not so lendable :)

I'm sure there will be more things I think of, but these are what come to mind at the moment. My trip is less than a month away now! AHHHHH!