ShannonThrifts

I bought a lamp.

And it nearly did me in, the lamp buying. I'm in Pennsylvania this week, visiting my folks, and registering the siren call of the economically-depressed, no-sales-tax Pennsylvania shopping trip. Dear reader, stuff here is cheap. I knew I wouldn't be able to totally hold back on all purchasing (as I've mentioned before, going to Jo-Ann's and Michael's is a major bonding opportunity for my mom and me), so I set aside a small amount of money to purchase with. 

All was going well. I got materials to make two pillows (and actually began making one, details on that soon). The weather was cooperating with me, by snowing constantly and keeping us all pretty much indoors. So I got a bit cocky, and agreed to accompany my mother to Wal-mart. I needed a glass jar (glass, not plastic, thank you) to keep my homemade granola in. This way lies destruction, my friends.

Wal-mart, a place I don't like at all but always seem to find what I need in, was no big deal to get through. But then my mom suggested we scoot over to Ross, a discount clothier that seems to perfectly fit my desires in clothes shopping: they have things, cheap, in my size, in black. It's a quagmire. Still, I did ok, finding 3 pieces that were still within my budget and not a waste of money. And then I went to the lamps. 

Well, I need another lamp. I have a visitor coming next weekend and I think she might like to see what she's doing in the guest room (there's no working overhead light). And it was inexpensive, $20 for both the lamp itself and the shade. And it's pretty, three large crystalish globes on top of each other forming the base. And... um, I paid for it in cash? 

Let's not even discuss how I still have to pay to have it shipped back to Brooklyn...

Valentines.

 

I was hit by an urge to send Valentines this year. Who knows why? I usually make my own Christmas cards and didn't have time to this year (nor did I last year, but I made them anyway, crying quietly to myself late at night whilst doing so -- this year I forced myself to purchase cards early, which solved the problem), so perhaps the card-making urge was just too strong. And, of course, I wanted to tell a few people who I love that I love them. So I decided to challenge myself to make no more than 6 cards, for my family and closest friends, using stuff I already have. 

I began with a card pack that I bought somewhere at Christmas time. The cards with white, brown, cream and grey and I went with the grey. I wanted to make something home-made looking yet faintly sophisticated and grey seemed right for that. I also just love grey. It's by far my favorite neutral color. 

I used some scrapbooking paper that I had picked up in PA at a Michael's. The paper was all in a 1950's style that made me a little crazy with joy. After much deliberation, I decided to actually use my two favorite prints from it. The one above (which I confess, I loved so much, I kept for myself) and a cool flocked black and white style that you can see below. 

 

I also used a set of letter stamps that I got at Michael's for $1 with a blue inkpad that I had. Yep, I'm the kind of person who has random inkpads lying around. That's why I don't need to buy.any.thing.for.a.while. 

For envelopes, I had to improvise since the card set didn't come with them and I didn't want to use something that didn't fit right. I remembered that my friend Duck sometimes makes cards out of magazines so I spent 10 minutes online reading various envelope-from-magazine-pages tutorials and trying to figure out what size template to print out. Then I read on one of 'em that you can just carefully open up the right sized envelope and use that as your template. Ah-ha! Genius. 

I found it really absurdly fun to choose appropriate magazine pages and make the envelopes. The one above is for my brother and sister-in-law, who are the kind of fashionable young couple pictured. I found some great Tiffany's ads that included lots of lips and nekkidness (great for V Day, right?) and, as below, some cool NYC black and white ads for my best friend Roo and his partner. I used a purple Sharpie to just write right across the ad after the envelope was done. (I glued them after folding them and used office sticky dots to seal). 

 

The best magazine score was a couple of straight-up silver card-stock ads from Nordstrom. Perfect envelopes for my parents' card. I will never look at magazines the same way again, I tell ya. They are a hot bed of creativity waiting to happen. :)

Below is my favorite envelope, a gorgeous Cartier ad which I used to send a Valentine to my best friend in SC, and her family. I kind of love that I get the prestige of the Cartier name and the beautiful sentiment of their famous ring, without spending anything. Since I had stamps already, and glue, and a pen, and magazines, and cards, and paper, and office sticky dots, my total expenditure to tell all these folks I love them? $0. Or priceless. You know, whichever. 

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! oxox  

 

Rewarding.

 

I woke up happy today. This is not a small thing. I've not been very happy lately. But today, I woke up to the sun shining through my blinds. I knew I had plenty of time to get to church (instead of traveling almost an hour to get there, I was going to a church about a brisk 15 walk from me). I only have a week of school and then a week off. I had spent the morning of the day before at the library and writing, and the afternoon with my best friend, seeing a good a movie and having a good chat. I even got some organizing done last night. It was a good day. Today felt like a good day beginning. And I wanted to buy something.

Ah, yes. The eternal paradox of the consumer (like me). When we are sad, we want to buy something to cheer us up. And when we are happy, we want to buy something to commemorate our happiness. Good times. 

It's been about 6 weeks since I began this campaign to cut back on my debt. I'm pleased with how I've done (although I continue to despair about how much debt I racked up and how little I can do to get rid of it in the immediate future) in terms of reducing my consumption. I've not purchased anything in that time that did not have a clear purpose or function in my life. I've upgraded -- a better robe, and a good pair of shoes (although those, sadly, had to go back to the store, as they did not fit well). I've bought food, of course, and lunches and dinners out with friends. I've gone to two movies (hideously overpriced, but thoroughly enjoyable anyway) and I bought one magazine. And I've picked up pens, a notebook and a few birthday/holiday gifts for others. I also gave a big (for me) donation to Lutheran World Relief, my charity of choice when natural disaster strikes, as in Haiti. Oh, and I bought a train ticket to PA for next week. That's right, I bought it straight up. On my debit (not credit) card. Big yay. 

This is good stuff! I'm pleased and proud of myself, plus I feel calmer in my spending habits. I feel that I am beginning to understand how money goes in and out of my possession. And I still wanted a treat. 

Ultimately, I decided to buy the flowers above. They were $6, which is not so much, and, thanks to receiving my per session check from extra work at school, I had the money. They're pretty. They make me feel like Spring is coming. And they're a sign of hope -- that someday, in the not too distant future, I'll reign over my finances with clarity, calmness and a sense of purpose. 

For those of you who are interested, the flowers are white tulips, displayed on my living room mantel. The artwork next to it is of my hometown, created by a friend of my family who often makes use of Johnstown places in her work. I really love the dimensionality of that piece. And next to it is an awesome vase of saying and quotes, one for each day of my 35th year, from my wonderful friends, the Marrs. I don't take one out every day, as you can see. Just when I need a strengthening thought! 

The Robe.

The robe over which I agonized (see below) arrived on Tuesday afternoon. It is sooo soft. The color is flattering. It fits. It does not have, um, chocolate stains on the front. It does not, um, have a hold in the right underarm. It is really, really nice and warm, and did I mention, soft? It was well worth the $25.

And I think it's worth noting that I've truly taken notice of this purchase. It's not an acquistion that just came into my life and made little impact (like, say, a book I forgot I bought two months ago and just found, to my shame or a magazine that I read and discarded within hours, or a dress I ordered online and hated after trying it on but never got around to sending it back..). I've noticed having this robe and I like it. It has made my life better. And I paid for it straight up, no credit card.

Attention has been paid. Another good lesson about acquiring.