12 Dates of Xmas…

Lately in my feed reader, I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers participating in what they’re calling the 12 Dates of Xmas. It seemed really fun, and since we’re, let’s face it, pretty much flat broke this year, I’ve been wracking my brain for ways to enjoy the season on a budget (read: without buying tons of presents). I pitched the idea to Steve, and he agreed to it, and thus begins our mission. We agreed to plan four dates together, and four dates each on our own.

So far, some of our ideas include going to see a holiday movie in the theatre, and a walk downtown to see the lights and get a beavertail. Yesterday was date the first, and we got “seasonal beverages”, as I like to call them, from Second Cup, and took a walk in the greenbelt. It was warm and melty, so the trees had a gorgeous, frosted effect. I may or may not have declared it a winter wonderland, cheeseball that I am.

Tonight is beavertails night and I’m psyched!

Tags: 12 dates of xmas

Monday To Do List

I like Mondays. They’re a chance to put last week’s procrastination behind you and get a fresh start. These are the things I hope to get done this week:

+ Typing and word processing for my dad.
+ Get the laundry done before it gets out of control.
+ Clean the bunny cage and the fish bowl.
+ Finish up a couple pouches of tea.
+ Make some sort of crafty project.
+ Finish reading my psych textbook.
+ Watch something new on Netflix.
+ Finish reading the new Maureen Johnson book.
+ Unclutter my nightstand.
+ Try to be in bed with the internet put away by 11 p.m. each night. I’m having insomnia issues lately, and all the temptations of this beautiful thing we call the world wide web are not helping!

Sunday funday

If there’s one thing my mom and I know how to do, it’s shop. She took me out today, & I came home with so many treasures! I found an Adrian Tomine book for only $5, and picked up the new Maureen Johnson book as well. Young adult literature is far & away my favourite genre, which is weird, seeing as how I used to turn my nose up at it when I actually was a young adult. Go figure. I was also treated to a bottle of argan oil, a mug with owls on it, and some pretty rad boots. I’ve been sitting on the idea of buying Fall boots for the past 3 or 4 years, so it was time to make it happen.

And as if that’s not enough, Husband and I stopped by at David’s Tea and picked up a tin of apple pie flavoured green tea, which is legitimately to die for, and we’re ordering in pizza for dinner. A perfect day off!

Not Much To Say…

Today, I have nothing of interest to say; I’m just pushing myself to write more.

I’m feeling a lot of nervous excitement today and I’m not sure why. I don’t have anything special or interesting going on. I can’t even say I’m excited for the weekend, because I work at the mall tomorrow. Funny, now that I’ve given my notice, I actually feel kind of happy about going in. I guess because I know I don’t have very long to go now. I’m sentimental about it. I’ve worked off-and-on in the same store for four years now. Leaving it is scary, but at the same time, I think it’s a necessary step in the right direction. I don’t want to be a sales associate for the rest of my life.

Anyway… my only other goal for my weekend (or “Sunday”, as I’ve heard some people call it) is to get the apartment cleaned up a little bit. Between the two of us, Husband and I have way too much stuff for the space that we’re in. I have this theory that it’s really hard to find a one bedroom apartment that’s meant to occupy two people, because lots of apartment buildings are older, and Back In The Day, unmarried couples didn’t live together, and once people got married, they bought a house. What I wouldn’t give for a nice, modern, spacious one bedroom apartment! But in the meantime… we clean!

I Gave Notice!

I’ve worked at the same store off-and-on (mostly on) now since 2006. Four years of cumulative employment, all things considered. And yesterday, I sucked it up, and gave my notice.

Whoa.

Quitting a job after a long time feels like breaking up with someone. It was awkward, and I have no idea what to expect next. It’s not like I’m jobless or anything… for the past month, I’ve been juggling two jobs, and the hours I get at Job #2 are enough for Husband & I to get by on… but it sure feels weird! So much of my identity is wrapped up in working there.

I just keep telling myself, it had to end eventually. So, why not sooner rather than later, right?

Thrifting Success!

I never have good luck scoring bargains, no matter how hard I try or how patient I am.

…Until today!!

I decided on a total whim to go to Value Village tonight after work. What happened was this: I was driving in a semi-unfamiliar neighbourhood, and I ended up going straight at an intersection when I should have turned left. My brain involuntarily re-calibrated my route in a split second, but something about the chill in the air and the colour of the sky made me feel like the last place I actually wanted to go was home. So instead, I set out for adventure! Thrifty adventure!

Eventually I’ll take some pictures (sure, sure…) but for now, a list will have to suffice. Here’s what I scored (for forty bucks and change, no less):

+ A complete set of dessert plates shaped like granny smith apples.
+ A 100% silk, hand embroidered green top from China. It is possibly the most beautiful garment I have ever owned, save my wedding dress. It was four dollars. Four dollars!!
+ A wool-blend skirt from The Gap.
+ A second wool-blend skirt from Club Monaco.
+ A black 100% wool skirt from some brand that I’ve never heard of. It’s perfect for work, though. And did I mention it’s 100% wool? And did I mention I only spent $40 overall?
+ And a hat. It’s a fur hat. I have mixed feelings about this. Hear me out:

The hat is made of rabbit fur, and I did feel a bit morally compromised buying it. There’s a part of me that feels like it’s never okay to wear fur (for style’s sake, I mean), but there’s another part of me that realizes how hypocritical that is, considering I eat so much meat that I’m practically a full-on carnivore. It’s also, quite frankly, a practical choice, given how cold Ottawa gets in the winter. Ultimately, I decided that I was okay with it, because buying it second hand means no money will go to the person/people/company that was responsible for creating the garment in the first place. I’m not sure that I could happily financially support the killing of a rabbit for fashion’s sake, thereby encouraging the production of more rabbit-skin garments in the future, but I’m okay with putting that money toward Value Village, which is a company that invests money into nonprofit organizations. I’d still prefer the fur to be fake, all things considered, but it is what it is.

Anyway, today really feels like my lucky day. Just for kicks, I went to the Gap website and looked up a skirt comparable to the one I found. The brand new one retails for $49.95 U.S. Why can’t thrifting be like this every time?

Tags: thrifting

61 Days of Pure Awesome!

I really love September and October. So much so that one year, I took it upon myself to engage in what I called 61 Days of Pure Awesome, wherein I attempted to extract every last drop of fun out of each day spanning the course of both months. I had totally forgotten about that until this morning when I was in the shower (why does everything always come rushing back when you’re in the shower?), but I definitely think Version 2.0 is in order.

I’d say I’m late getting started, but yesterday was pretty awesome because I started my new second job, and it turns out that it’s pretty fun. I have an awful lot to learn, but still. Fun + money = good times.

But speaking of work, I literally have no time right now, so I’ll have to flesh this out later. Just let it be known that this is happening!

Tags: 61 Days of Pure Awesome