happy living Design

flying by

Things fly by so quickly sometimes.  I feel like I have missed an entire week or month.  There is no doubt that I frequently have too much on my plate and that makes me feel like I can't keep up.  Most of the time I can find some clarity in life and realize that I am only 'not keeping up' in my head and wonder why am I rushing?  We are having a beautiful day here.  I am glad I went out for a walk during lunch and took time to notice a couple of little things.

I may get a fishing license this season and start going out with the boy.  I'm not too worried about having to bring dinner home.  I think it might provide some nice opportunities to slow down, get outside and take notice (and read and take pics too!).

the spending hiatus : week 11 update

I can't believe I only posted once between updates.  Oh well.  Work is unexpectedly busy (we never did go to the 4-day work week which was very disappointing).  I am also studying for my real estate exam.  Sorry for the slowness.

Full disclosure:  I put a deposit down on a Nintendo DSi which is due to come out this week.  I have been wanting one for awhile and am looking forward to getting it.  I have to admit that I don't feel as comfortable as I used to about spending that amount of money.  I don't think it will be a regrettable purchase.  It's just a 'big' one now, whereas before I probably would not have thought twice.  Interesting.

A small victory for myself:  I was able to save enough money over the past few months that I paid off the balance on my computer saving over $300 in finance charges.  I am looking forward to my savings account going back up now.

Thinking ahead:  Joslyn had some good ideas last week about re-entry.  I think staying out of stores will be at the top of my list.  I am sure that I do more mindless shopping in stores than I do online.  Even beyond just the shopping, I have just recently started thinking about my lifestyle overall and if there are things that I have convinced myself that I need but really don't.  I don't live lavishly by any means, but now might be a good time to reevaluate. 

almost here

The lilac bush that the boy ripped out (he was supposed to rip out a different bush) is growing again.  I hope it's a good year for a comeback.



I went 'shopping' in my closet and got out these handmade quilted placemats that the boy's aunt and godmother made for us for our wedding shower.  Love them.


And I finally have door knobs!  And this time of year I love the light in my office when I come home from work.

the spending hiatus : week 10 update (and other stuff)

"Finding creative ways to buy things" is what this blog post title should be.  I bought two sweaters from Banana Republic this week, deeply discounted, and I offset the costs with a gift card and a few books that I recently sold on Amazon.

I had a color epiphany after helping a client out at her house on Thursday and ordered some paint samples for our bedroom.  I just have to wait until tax season is over to disrupt the bedroom with a big paint project.  But I am READY!  Or at least getting there.  I consider this an 'in between' purchase, not essential but not non-essential.

I also ordered new cabinet pulls for the kitchen.  I am hoping that will help me 'love' my kitchen a bit more.  This is also an 'in between' purchase.

We're still not on a budget as far as home decorating and renovating spending goes.  Well, we're still not on a budget for anything.  But I am gearing up for it, I swear.  Because life after hiatus I imagine might be a tiny bit like getting out of rehab and trying to re-enter the world.  (This is in no way meant to make light of addiction of any kind.)  I need to find my/our balance between the spending hiatus and where I was before.

One thing I can say is that after these 10 weeks of supposedly denying myself lots of stuff, I don't feel ANY LESS FULFILLED as a person than I did before.  I have the same ups and down in my days or weeks as I did before.  I am just as happy.  I am just as stressed (at times).  And there are times when I feel like I have even gotten away from feeling as though I am being denied anything and more like I have somewhat separated myself emotionally from shopping and am just being A LOT more thoughtful about the purchases I do make.  Do I REALLY want that grain sack pillow?  Where will it go and how will it go with everything else I currently have?  Will I still love it years from now?  Trust me, there are still days when I'd like to run blindfolded through Target, running my hands along the shelves, emptying lots of yummy stuff into my cart.  There are just less of those days.

dreaming of the sun and london

There was a chance I was going to get to go to Salt Lake again with the boy (who's on a business trip) but it didn't work out.  So I am here.  And it's like the 100th day (a little overstated) in a row that I have woken up to thick cloud cover.  Ahhhh.  Get me out of here.  I'm starved for Vitamin D and can't wait to have the sun on my face.  I'm also ready to hit the road.  To where?  I don't know.  I'd even take a weekend away even if it's only a hours drive away. 

My parents are considering going to London to visit my Irish cousins in September.  And it's pretty much all I can think about.  I am already compiling my shopping list and stores to visit if I actually get than chance to go.  But the stars have to align.  Money and other things need to be considered. 

In the meantime I am looking forward to: the end of tax season when I get my husband back, the spring and planting some Purple Allium and the summer and going to the beach.  I promise when it's 99 degrees in August I won't complain about it.

the london list

EllaDoran

The Modern Warehouse

Everything on Wee Birdy's London shop tour

habitat of course

Where would you go?

momo natural

I got lost in this website just with the photos.  Imagine if I could actually read Japanese!  They have all the simplistic beauty that we expect from Japan.







credit: all photos from momo natural
shop :: blog

the spending hiatus : week 9 update

Not much to report.  I did buy a book, but it is for a new business venture so I felt it was justified.

I have so many things on my list to buy for the house that I don't know where to start.  It is hard to prioritize that stuff because no matter how I look at it, it is all non-essential.  But our living room looks like a college dorm living space and it is driving me nuts! 

Even after 4/15 (my last day) I am not sure how I will approach decorating and renovating in my new outlook on spending.  I worked on my decorating budget worksheets this weekend.  They are almost ready for me to share them with you, if you'd like.

Here is a good link for the home stretch: Defeating Temptation: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself When You're Tempted to Buy

It's been quiet around here.  My allergies lately are getting the best of me.  I am doing everything I can to hang on and just make it to work.  I am hoping to feel less 'clouded' soon.  Thanks for hanging in there.

I am off to the dentist!  Eck.

New Reality 2009 by Apartment Therapy

In case some of you don't subscribe to the Apartment Therapy newsletter, today's was great.  Here's a snippet and the link for the full letter is below.  It is worth reading.  Within the newsletter there is also a link to a NYT article that is also very interesting.

"As our economy "de-leverages" and the illusory power of credit and debt is removed from every facet of our lives, we are starting to see things for what they are worth, and to see ourselves for what we are worth. Just yesterday I visited a home that a year ago was priced at $1.3 million dollars and just sold for $750,000. That's not a huge discount, that's what it's actually worth when you remove the inflation of an economy based on borrowed money.

Unlike the loss of super-powers, knowing what things are really worth and knowing can be a very grounding and gratifying experience. It allows us to get off the endless wheel of chasing our cravings, and get back to simply seeing what it feels like to aim for happiness."

See full newsletter here: Apartment Therapy

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50 Nifty Tricks for Big DIY Savings (around the house)

Article Print | Planning and Ideas | This Old House

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the spending hiatus : week 8 update

I don't know what is more amazing 1. that two months has gone by since the spending hiatus started or 2. that it has been two months since I have done any boredom-, happiness-, sadness-, or inadequacy- induced shopping.  I am by no means giving myself a pat on the back.  I have a long way to go to having a better perspective on money in general and I can say that the state of uncertainty in the world today gives me all the more motivation to try to stay on track.

I've been keeping myself busy too.  That helps.  During 'tax season', Carl works on Saturdays.  I had found that although I had lots I could do at home, I was sometimes listless and bored and wound up at Target or some other store buying stuff I didn't really need.  This season has been better.  We have a few rental properties so I have had to spend time getting our home filing system in order to try to keep better track of everything coming in and going out.  Aack.  The paperwork.  What a nightmare.  But I feel less stressed about it now that I know where everything is.  This past Saturday I had a really nice breakfast with my mom, dad and brother and we spent a little time at my grandmother's house afterwards sopping up some yummy sticky buns.  Spending quality time with people is a nice way to pass the time.

With all that said, I am lusting (and I don't often use that word unless it is in reference to my husband) after the clothes in the latest jcrew catalog. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I am in no position to be buying any clothing as I have approached maximum density.  Now that I am not feeling so anxious about the spending hiatus I am going to focus a lot of my energy on losing weight.  There is no other way to say it.  I don't like to concentrate on weight loss because I believe in looking at nutrition from all of the angles, not just how much one weighs, but for me right now there is no way around this.  So there is it.  Or there I am.

be well, friends.