The One About The Gumbo

I just think you should all know that this gumbo (plus the addition of a pound of shrimp) managed to make NINE meals.

NINE.

The money I have, I don't like to spend on food (unless it's delicious and made by someone other than myself) - so this is HUGE.

Also, my mom has agreed to teach me to sew, and we've picked out a first project. I'll let you know how it goes. (It's on the blog now mom - there is no backing out)

AND my little sister got an internship with UBS in New York, so that's very exciting!! Congratulations Helen!!

The One About Lunch

So - I gave up eating out for lunch during Lent. I like this plan. Hopefully it's going to make me eat a smidge healthier, and I'm 90% sure it's going to keep money from hemorrhaging out of my bank account. Let's say I spent $8 on lunch everyday, and I eat out 5 days a week (all of the work days)...then I've spent $40 a week, and $160 a month eating mainly fast food in Inverness, AL. That's nauseating. Monday I went to Target and loaded up on food for my office. We have a full blown kitchen so I could cook whatever I wanted to but I figured I would stick to the basics. I bought bread, mustard, turkey, cheese, PB&J, and apples for lunch - plus - yogurt, Special K bars, Pop-Tarts and English muffins for breakfast. I'm 100% sure I'm going to miss Chick-fil-A (or maybe Tazikis) the most, but so far so good.

I've maintained good self control for 5 whole working days...hm. Tomorrow, for my JOB, I'm going to have to skip over my self-imposed hibernation during lunch and venture out to eat. A girl in my office is leaving her job so we'll be having lunch as a big group. Oops.

On another note...I've started attending a Bible study focuses on the book of John. The guy teaching is WAY smarter than me, but it's interesting.

AND, have y'all seen this today? Remember when I was talking about making myself one of these? I like how this girl did three different ones and hung them together. How cute is that!?

Anything fun going on in your life? I'm swamped at work which is fun and terrifying all at the same time. Not only are we overly busy - but this girl who is leaving? Yeah...her work has to go somewhere, and there it is...on my desk. I'm so pumped about getting to do a lot of new things and MORE things, but did I mention terrifying?

This weekend I'm babysitting for my cousin while my aunt and uncle visit her brother in Athens. I am looking forward to a desperately needed weekend of relaxation, early to bed and getting in a few chapters of the books I haven't been reading. I'm sure she'll have 8 different 10-year-old sporting events.

The One About Our Kitchen

The roommate and I are trying to figure out something fun to do (inexpensively) that would liven up our kitchen a little bit. We've run through everything from painting (thank you to me for choosing the most time-consuming, least practical idea), to blowing up photographs, to buying one of those giant pieces of "art" from Home Goods and hanging it on the wall.

Our problem is really many-fold. Our walls are plaster and therefore IMPOSSIBLE to hang things on. It can happen, but it involves a strong guy, an even stronger drill and a little prayer that pieces of my wall aren't going to come crumbling off. Also, our kitchen is really dark - so we're definitely looking for something fun, but not too overpowering. And our kitchen is also our laundry room...which means the wall in question is a really large blank space that spans over the toaster oven/island situation, the stove and the dryer. We're not looking for anything that we'd be upset if it happened to get steamy, or rattled right off the wall.

I want to do something really simple and graphic - probably in a group. I've seen a few things I like around the internet, but I think I have a better idea. And no...I'm not going to try to paint something myself.

I absolutely LOVE these, but at almost $60 a pop, that's a little more than I wanted to spend.

So...I think my roommate and I both like something like this.


It's definitely basic, and costs a LOT more than we're really thinking we're going to spend...but don't you think I could recreate this? Not only do I think I could paint these pretty easily with some good brushes and a roll of painters tape...but - my roommate had an even better, and simpler idea. How about simple frames (black, silver, etc.) with mats, and using some spray mount...woudn't it be so simple to paste pieces of fabric inside the frames? It would probably take all of an hour (if I'm slow) and we'd wind up with something pretty, useful, simple and not so pricey. I think I'm going to give it a shot this weekend and see how it goes. I guess the first stop is the fabric store...if I can't find anything I like, I'll be hard pressed to make it look good in the end. What are your thoughts?

Doesn't this look so simple and happy!? We need a little happy in our kitchen. Our kitchen is dull and white.

Also, on a totally different note. I'm looking for some antique bottles. Does anyone know where you go to pick those up?

And click on that first image to go purchase these for yourself...if you lucky enough to have a great place to put them and a few extra dollar bills y'all lying around.

The One About Hair

Last week I had my hair colored and BOY was it not pretty. I was very blonde and a tad bit streaky and completely freaking out - so I went back to the salon Friday during lunch and had it tweaked - to a much prettier color that I was VERY happy with.

Unfortunately, this is about as scary as anything to do with my hair gets. I don't do drastic haircuts (learned my lesson after I chose a BOB for my 6th-grade graduation), and as much as I wish I was a redhead, I've never wanted to do a full dye-job.

My hair generally looks the same - straight, and blown-dry. It's impossible (literally, Mom tried a LOT when I was little) to keep curls in my hair, and even bobby pinning it up is difficult with all of my really fine baby hairs not wanting to stay in place. I use a lot of hairspray.

But...every single time I'm in Forever 21, with their $4 hair accessories, I want to splurge on fun things to add a little spunk to my boring hair choices.

I'm a sucker for a good headband, but the best part of Forever 21 is that you can buy things that you wouldn't normally wear, without breaking the bank.

I love headbands, and I know I wear them...but would I really wear a pom-pom on my head? Do I really want to pay $22.50 to find out?

So these are my picks at Forever 21, and maybe after Christmas I'll brave The Galleria and purchase a few of them.



After all...I could buy everything on this list for a few more dollar bills than this pretty. Seriously. And maybe I'd throw in this, just for that last few seconds of 2009...maybe.

The Second One About Rain

My rain boots came in last night and they look AMAZING. They do have some blooming - but no scuffs, and wiping them down made a gigantic difference. I can see how if I spent $115 on a pair of rain boots I would be a little bit ticked at their less than perfect appearance when they arrived on my doorstep, so I guess that's why they get sold on eBay through an outlet. Either way - I'm super happy. I have a problem - sometimes I buy things on sale just because I think I'm getting a great deal. Saving $80 on something I wanted anyway is great! I might be trying this eBay thing more often.

click the image for Flickr link.

The One About Rain

I'm not kidding when I say that Alabama is DROWNING. It's been raining for weeks straight. Every time it rains I wish I had these.


But let's be honest - $115 for a pair of rain boots is MUCHOS expensive. So...I did some research and I found a pair on eBay for $35. That's like getting these boots for 70% off. Granted, the site said they had some "blooming" - but I did MORE research on that and "blooming" is a normal thing that happens to boots - and it can be wiped off with a wet rag. Hm.

There might also be some scuffing - but HELLO eBay - these are rainboots, not evening shoes.

Long story short, I bought them.

If they don't work - then I spend $35 dollar (and NO shipping - because that was free) - to know that I don't love them. Not bad if you ask me.

Now all I need is a few more puddles....

The One With Frames

I bought a few pieces of art this weekend (you'll see those as soon as I get around to documenting my apartment), and I'm hoping y'all (many millions of readers) can help me with something.

I bought a set - two tiny little pieces that are framed in 2x2 frames. Giant frames, giant mats, and I love the way they look. The other piece is larger, and I love the size of the frame - but it's a little pale. It doesn't help the art stand out on the wall - which is the point of buying art (right?).

Question: does anyone know an inexpensive, high-quality place to have something framed? Any thoughts on what I can expect price-wise?

The One Where I Find It

Look!

This would look pretty perfect in my little reading nook - and guess what? It's only $249 + $29 for an extra slipcover...just in case my pristine white original gets a little messy. I think I've officially found a good reason to give up my in-bedroom TV, and I've always wanted a swing-arm task lamp!

The One About My TV

I have a big, pretty TV in our living room, but I keep another TV in the bedroom. This TV has a teeny-tiny screen, which apparently is good at concealing its rather large bum. It's really a monster in disguise. I need something for the TV to sit on, but I still want it to look good in my room. Right now we're working with this horror.

My problem is two-fold.

I have no money, and space is limited. I have a large cabinet on the same wall so ideally, this TV stand will carry no weight at all. I really don't want to even see it.

Unfortunately - an ugly plastic rolling cart is hard to miss.

So I've come up with a few options...

I've contemplated getting another one of these shelving units - just this time, in the 2x2 size...but those are pretty bulky. The advantage is that I would have one more place to put picture frames and books. More storage is always good.

This might work - but I would have to measure. I have two side tables that look fairly similar to this but are better looking. I wouldn't want to repeat that type of thing in another area of the room. Plus, I'm not a HUGE lover of the folded leaf - I think the fact that it was always down might annoy me.

I have no idea! I need help - professional help, but since I'm looking to spend about $100 (or A LOT less) on this thing...there probably aren't a lot of interior designers our there ready to help me.

Maybe I just need to scratch this idea entirely and use this lovely corner for something like this or this...or maybe even this. I would LOVE to have a little reading nook. I could put something like this behind the chair and be perfectly happy.

Especially since my brother never did build me that radiator cover.

On a completely separate note - I could just do this, hang it on the wall, and not worry about the TV having a place to sit.

Do y'all have any thoughts?

The One About My Project

I'm a pack rat.

In my defense, this only affects a few, very important things.

I save all of my t-shirts. Every single one. My roommate can attest, because there are three giant boxes in the top of our storage closet that contain shirts from college, high school, before high school. They're in the top of my storage area - so obviously I don't wear them. Why are they still hanging around? I'm convinced one day I will need them (want them) for something and then I will be really sad that I let them all go. I'm aware that this is irrational.

I also have MASSIVE binders filled with recipes from magazines we get at the office. We work for a food company so we have loads of food magazines. One summer, before I was working here full time, I was in charge of cleaning out our library and chucking all the magazines printed before 'X' date (classic intern assignment, right?). Well - it's against my nature to chuck things without knowing what they are, so I took them all home, pulled the recipes out that I wanted, and THEN recycled all the now almost empty magazines. Now those recipes are in sleeve protectors, in binders, in my apartment. I've convinced myself that one day I'm going to organize them all and suddenly become Giada.

Doubtful.

And it's fairly obvious that I have a large collection of books.

My current obsession? I want a cork board. NOT a board made out of prefab cork, a bulletin board made out of CORKS...from wine. I worked it all out and I need about 1,600 to make the cork board that I want. I want it to be the width of one side of my desk, and very tall.

In my room there is already a large collection of frames above my bed, and my desk sits on the same wall. I don't want anything else hanging on the wall so my solution is to build a bulletin board that could fit on the wall to the right and be exactly the right width for my desk, about 26 inches - or 28 corks. Now, if I want this cork board to be 28 corks wide, and a little more than double that height - 56 corks high....then I need 1,568 corks. That's a lot of wine.

You can buy similar cork boards from really cool stores like SkyMall - but they are much much smaller than what I am looking for and VERY expensive compared to how much it costs to buy the corks themselves costs. Plus - if I make it myself, then I can pick exactly how big I want the board to be.

So...now I'm moving on to making it myself.

At the Widget Manufacturing Co. you can buy used (because they have to be used) wine corks, they've just adjusted the price based on how many you are purchasing. For my little project it would cost $128 in corks alone - that's still pretty pricey.

There are a few people who are selling them on Ebay. Here, here and here. They have groups of anywhere from 20 corks to 1,700+. The 1,700 corks only costs $85, so at least thats less than on Widget.

Is it bad to buy the corks?

Should I just be saving up mine so that the bulletin board is meaningful? Does it matter if my bulletin board is meaningful? Should I just get a plain one and wrap it in fabric?

How long would it take me to save up $1,600 corks? Even if I drank a bottle of wine a day which is not happening it would take me close to 5 years to save up that many corks.

Oh, the conundrum.

The One About Gardens and Guns

via Garden and Gun

There is this amazing magazine floating around the South. My dad found it via some fellow magazine industry people, and now it appears at our house once a month. For $17.97 you can get a subscription (and I think you should) but for FREE, you can be a member of the site and receive their newsletter every once in awhile.

The magazine in the flesh is really the best part. It contains beautiful photography, is made out of really heavy wonderful paper, and the articles are legitimately interesting. But, for FREE you can get a newsletter in your Gmail. I received mine this afternoon and the article it contained was this.

For the very tiny price of $6,000 - you can make an entire barrel of your personal wine at Vint Hill Craft Winery near Washington, D.C. Apparently a barrel of wine is about the same as 300 bottles, so that works out to about $20 a bottle. In case you're interested, the article has all of the contact information for the winery. Anyone out there NOT have $6,000 to blow on personalized wine? I think it sounds like a pretty smart investment.

Right?

The One With The Budget

Before I actually had my own blog - I was a blog stalker. I've been reading Pearls of Wit for a few weeks now (thanks for the suggestion Dawson) and today she had something amazing. I've already signed up, and organized it all so I can say for sure...this thing is genious. Mint must have been created by a. a billionaire computer whiz or b. a broke computer whiz. It catalogs all of your purchases (you give the website your banking information) and breaks them up into catagories. You can create a budget for each of these catagories, and attempt to stick to it. It even makes a pie chart of what you spend where. I even inputted the information for my 401k. I'm going to be trying to stick with this (it sends me emails if I go over budget, those I am dreading) and hopefully it'll keep all of my finances in order. Finances are the bain of my existence, why I am not a billionaire I do not know. Apparently Mint is going to make it easy though. So far I have learned...

a. My rent and utilities are a HUGE portion of my paycheck, bummer.

b. I go out A LOT, on Mint I have to split it up into "Food and Dining" (food...and dining) and "Going Out" (basically any alcohol related activity) to make myself feel better about it.

c. I am poor. I need to quit going to The Summit, immediately.

d. Apartments are pricey (not just the rent) - it costs a small fortune just to make it livable. Target and I have gotten to be great friends.

So - because I obviously have all of my financial ducks in a row, I'm suggesting that you use this lovely little contraption to get yours that way too. Hopefully this will be in lieu of the Dave Ramsey seminar my dad wanted to send me too, he got a little ornery after mom started telling him how much I was spending out in Texas...oops.


**UPDATE: Mint.com officially has an iPhone app, I'm downloading it now.

The One Where I Rant

I am number one hundred and thirty-something in line to get The Help from the Jefferson Country library system. If the book I want is always checked out, what is the point in the library. Everyone's talking about how great this book is, and apparently - everyone is also making use of the library. I'm trying to save money here...but if I want to read a book and one hundred and thirty-something people are going to get it and read it before me, I might just be making a trip to Barnes and Noble.

The One Where I Plan For Retirement

I officially set up my 401k. I will officially be spending a large percentage of my paycheck every two weeks on my retirement. REALLY? I know I'll be happy about it in the years to come, when I'm old and wrinkly but I'm seriously going to miss that money every month. BOO. I just thought y'all might get a laugh out of that...let's hope that I don't totally screw it up and invest in something really dumb - like Asia - cause don't worry, that's on the funds list from my 401k people. I just invested in a whole continent, and some really delicious food. Sake anyone?

The One With Only One Dress

Is this real? My friend posted about this today and I just wanted to pass it along - amazing! Liz is amazing and fabulous and wants to open a high end vintage boutique so of course she's thinking about all the accessories...I'm thinking about how much money this chick is saving. 1 dress? That she made herself? And donations for everything else?? Plus, on the site she says that if designers want to send her things they can - what!? I pretty much think this girl is awesome, CRAZY, but very cool. What a good way to raise a little extra cash for her favorite charity. If I only I wasn't so attached to my clothes, that's a serious vice....

The One With The Fun Dinner Party

The BF's sweet brother and sister-in-law had us over for dinner Saturday night. They just bought a brand new house and it's adorable! They've gotten so much done it's really just ridiculous. This was officially the first outings sans the BF's parentals so that was new and fun! We had lots of girl time (I'm assuming the boy's had boy time but I didn't participate) and eventually headed home to SLEEP.

The SIL is going to learn to sew with me which I am super excited about - how useful would it be if you could make your own cute pillows and things? I figure it'll save money too, curtains and pillows and things are EXPENSIVE! She's also much more domestic than me and has learned to smock little kids clothes, which she promises to teach me, but I might hold out on that (at least until my married friends have babies...I'm waiting on Wiley's future sister.) BUT, the pillows and things I can handle.

I've officially decided that my first project should be simple so I think I'm going to try to do a tshirt quilt. I have a million tshirts and since I'm a crazy packrat I don't want to give them away - sooo, tshirt quilt here I come. It doesn't seem that hard, just sewing together some pieces of fabric right? Probably just need a little practice - I figure sewing a million pieces of fabric together will be GOOD practice, I'll probably be a sewing genius after that!!

Anyone know anything about sewing machines? Are there good ones and bad ones? Where do you buy them? OH CONFUSING.

Am I going to look like this woman?

The One With My First Step To A Budget

Guess what I did today? It's VERY cheap (as in free...), it's going to save ME a ton of money in particular because I spend wads of it on this very thing, AND I did it online. Any guesses? Go here....

Yep. I signed up for a library card. Did you know that you can get online, pick out books, and THEN just swing by the library and pick them up. They'll be waiting on you at the door. Sweet. Especially sweet because I live about a mile from the library, well at least the Emmet O'Neal one - there are about 20 libraries I can check out books from if I want.

But, there would be no need...my library will go get books for me if I want them, from any of the other 20 libraries. My library is the absolute BEST.

AND. Did I mention it was free? FREE!

Hopefully I'll be able to do this - I'm trying to avoid going to Barnes and Noble to browse and buy an absurd amount of books (in hardback, because they're prettier). That can really eat into a paycheck.

So - of course after actually creating an actual budget, I think this is a good step on the money saving road of life. And I desperately need to learn to save me some money.