Here’s what I’m digging this week…
$3 apothecary jar from Target!
Money Diaries: I’m obsessed with this feature from Refinery 29. They interview a huge variety of women (usually in their 20s or early 30s) living in different parts of the country (some are actually living abroad), with varying salaries, and have them list out everything they spend money on during a one-week period, diary style (they also have special editions where they document longer timespans). I think it’s fascinating to read how other women around my age spend their money – it also makes me feel a little better about the amount of money I spend on a weekly basis (sometimes I feel like I’m throwing fistfuls of cash out the window, when everyone else is stacking piles in savings). Plus, I’ve always been a major voyeur/snoop, so I love reading pretty much every detail of someone else’s day. What can I say, I love the mundane!
Halloween Candy – Especially the Reese’s Cups that have Reese’s Pieces in the center?!! I had never tried them before, and now my world has been changed. Ugh. Oh, I also bought the bulk of our candy to hand out from the dollar store this year like a goddamned genius – I rarely think to wander into the dollar store (I know, I know – it’s like a religion to some people), but this year for whatever reason I did and saved a TON of money. We hand out a combination of full-sized bars and snack sizes (for when the big boys run out), and I scored a huge variety by buying the full sized bars individually instead of in a variety pack this year (I usually buy a variety pack from Target that has Snickers, Reese’s, Twix, and Hershey bars) Last year has been the only year we’ve had a decent amount of trick or treaters (I blame the fact that we live across the street from a school’s soccer field, meaning there are no houses on the opposite side of my street – plus our house is set back from the road)…but last year, we ran out of candy, so it looks like word may have gotten out that we hand out the good stuff. My dreams of being the witch from Hansel and Gretel are coming true!!
Target’s The Dollar Spot – I’m not sure if they still call it that, but I’m talking about that little section by the entrance with a bunch of inexpensive odds and ends (I think everything used to literally be a dollar, but it’s not anymore). They’ve really stepped this section up recently. In the past few weeks, I’ve purchased a beautiful tan plaid blanket scarf (I don’t remember exactly how much I paid, but it was $5 at most), several brown apothecary bottles that I’ve been using as vases for $3 each, 3 mason jars with copper closures for (I think) $3 each (I use them to hold ground coffee and Jeff’s Stevia packets), and some chalkboard labels for like $1. This section used to be full of, basically, crap (little junky toys and candy, mostly), but now there’s tons of seasonal decor and crafty stuff…I never pass it by these days.
Jessica Seinfeld – Yep, Jerry Seinfeld’s wife. “Eh?” you say? Well…She. Is. Wonderful. She’s super cute and witty and self-deprecating, she seems like pretty much the nicest person on earth, you’d never know she has about 17 billion dollars (I do know that Jerry Seinfeld has always been described as one of the most down-to-Earth celebrities out there), she does tons and tons of charity work, and she just re-launched her website , which is full of delicious, beautiful, healthy, easy recipes. I’m so smitten that it’s causing me to write in insane run-on sentences.
Plantain chips – Yum.
This Is Us – This show was a bit of a slow start for me – I LIKED it at first, but it was just a tad bit too sappy for my taste. That said, I NEEDED something to fill the void in my TV viewing life left by Parenthood a couple years ago, so I kept watching, knowing that most shows start off a little slow and get better as characters and storylines develop. Well, boy was I right. This show is effing wonderful. Jeff’s even into it, and he is definitely not big into sap (although he weirdly tends to enjoy shows and movies made for teenage girls?) I’m also very into Divorce with SJP, which I thought was going to be a drama but is actually hysterical.
Sweat the Small Stuff 