Shopping for Personal Supplies

I spent $23.66 (including tax) on personal supplies.

I was only going to buy 1 package each of foundation sponges and cleaning pads.

However, they were having a sale.  I bought 3 and got 2 free.

Since these won’t spoil I decided to go ahead and pick them up to put aside.

The brush is to replace an old one.  

The cream hair remover is a different brand than I normally use, so time will tell if it was a waste or not.

Chapstick is for my daughter.

I did do one impulse purchase.

These were reduced to $1.89 so I picked one up to toss in my purse.

Indulgences

A few years ago I lost a lot of weight and I passed on most of my sewing patterns to someone who could use them.

I was perusing Ebay -- a dangerous pastime to be sure -- when I found a huge lot of various patterns.

Careful inspection of the photos showed them to be in my size and in similar styles to what I will wear.

There was also a variety of children's patterns mixed in, which I appreciate very much because I like to sew for my nieces and nephews.

How I managed to open the box upside down is beside me, but I did it.

Even more amazing is that she had packed all these patterns in this box.

I couldn't get them all back in.

I pulled through all the patterns and separated them according to gender/age.

I found three that I am passing on to my mama.

The rest all went into my sewing room.

There were a few crafting patterns, some girls and boys patterns, a couple of men's patterns, and a slew of women's patterns.

My biggest dilemma is deciding what to make first.

I've actually ran a test on a pair of knit summer capris.

I used fabric and thread I had on hand.

My daughter is calling these my 70's pants and says she isn't sure she'll be seen with me.

I've reminded her it is a parent's job to embarrass their teenage daughter.  :-)

Half Price!

The doctor recently adjusted my daughter's medication for Crohn's Disease and the inflamtion in her body has gone down so much that she has dropped a pants size or two.  She loves to wear jeans and is slightly taller at 5'9" , and we have the best luck finding her jeans at Old Navy.  We had no choice but to get something for her to wear -- her pants were literally sliding off of her more than I could easily take up.  So waiting for a sale wasn't an option for us.

 We had to run errands and Old Navy was on our list of stopping places.  We spent a while trying on different styles and sizes until we finally stumbled upon the "perfect" jeans.  I'm trying to remember being a teenager and how the "perfect" jeans were so important.  She was upset and frustrated because they only had them in one shade of blue.  Being older, I said we could just buy several pairs of the same color.....what was I thinking?  I'm pretty sure based on the look she gave me that I must have been speaking in tongues or have grown a second head....either way that was not a winning suggestion.

 While she put back a couple of pairs, I wandered through the clearance section.  I hadn't been going to go through it because I honestly don't need anything.  I am so glad I did!

 Guess what I found?  4 pairs of jeans in varying shades of blue....in her size...in the preferred fit...and 50% off!  They were new with tags, but because they had been bought online and returned they couldn't sell them at full price.  They were an online only kind of thing.  Three pairs were tall sizes, yet too long, and I will be hemming them.  The fourth oddly enough fits in length.  So I paid (with tax) $65 for 4 brand new pair of jeans for her!  I'll gladly hem three pair of pants for a $65 savings....in fact, if I can find a job hemming them at that rate I may take it.  It will take longer to thread the machine.

Clothes Shopping

For Christmas I received a gift card of $50 for Forever 21.  We do not have one of their stores near us, but since I knew I would be traveling to a town that does I saved the card.  

 I really didn't have anything special in mind, but I decided to look anyway.  I always hear about gift cards sitting and never being used, so I make an effort to use them up.

Most of the colors in the store seemed to be "not me."  I found one top for myself, but I found three tops that I thought would be perfect for my daughter. In order to make sure I do not leave any money on a gift card, I always go armed with a little extra cash and deliberately spend just over the amount on the card.  I spent a total of $57.22 with $3.62 of that being tax.

I bought this blue gray top for me:

  For my daughter I bought a long sleeved button up shirt and two short sleeved print t-shirts.  I know short sleeves seem kind of odd for February, but she can layer them under things or she can put them aside for spring, which isn't far away.

 

A Goody for Me

When I found this in the thrift store I just couldn't pass it up.

It was spotless, with the stickers still on it.

I paid a whopping 79 cents for it.

I love the message, because I love tea.

I love the red, because red is one of my favorite colors.

I love all things "English" and I love the cost.

Winter Wardrobe

While I cannot justify tossing the items that I have that are not animal cruelty free I can make sure anything that comes in is.  I had several pairs of boots that had reached their wear limit at the end of last season.  While we were traveling my husband found these. I fell in love with them immediately and they are all man made materials.    I was actually able to get them on sale, which helped cushion the clothing budget some.  However, no matter what new boots are rarely inexpensive.  They come to the right height on my leg and are neutral enough I am certain I will get a lot of wear out of them.  I've tried them with pants, skirts, and dresses with good results.

Shoes

One of the issues I have is that I do have arthritis.  My hips and knees often hurt so I try to be careful about what kind of support I wear in shoes, but I hate to simply wear tennis shoes.  I ordered both pairs of these from Amazon, which does have an excellent return policy.  Both fit perfectly and will carry me through the fall and winter.  They both have excellent padding and non slip soles, which are a must in my mind for day to day shoes. I went with black for both pairs and each have a print that adds some detailed interest to them.

I don't do a lot of online clothes or shoe shopping for myself, but I was quite pleased with the price, the speed I received them, and the fit.  These were my first "deliberately planned" pairs of animal friendly shoes and I love them. 

Library Trip

Our library was having a book sale -- $3 for a grocery bag full of books.  I picked up these few vegetarian cookbooks and then we filled the rest of the bag with mysteries that will be part of my mama's Christmas gift.

While I was there I checked out these books.

Less Expensive Beauty

I was in need of some new makeup and decided to see if I could find the lowest cost way to go about it and still find brands that I know I do not have a problem wearing.  I scoured the internet and sales and decided to go with CVS.  We already have prescriptions filled there so I had a membership card for discounts.

I was given a $30 gift card from a friend so I wanted to keep my costs as near that as I could.

I combined a $3 coupon from CVS with a sale on Maybelline and L'oreal products.

My total for the make-up was $46.25 - $3 coupon so $43.25 plus they gave me $10 in ExtraBucks rewards that I will use to pick up bathroom supplies.  I came really close to my $30 and overshot by $3.25.  A total I was quite happy with.  

While I was there I also picked up 4 packages of small note tablets marked down to 50 cents each.

For $2 we got 6 5"x8" tablets and 8 3"x5" tablets.  These are ideal for school and for keeping in the car for notes and messages.