December 2019 Budget

Well, my first no-buy was mostly a success! I say “mostly” because I did crack and buy two things at the American Eagle sale, buuut I was able to keep up the no-buy mindset the rest of the time, and it did keep me from quite a few impulse buys.

Pre-no-buy, however, I did go a bit crazy on Black Friday. It seems that sales for things I’ve had my eye on are my shopping kryptonite. 😳

(some of the following are affiliate links)

1. AE Oversized Button Up Cardigan: $50 on sale for $20

2. Glamsquad Take a Tint Lip Balm: $18 on sale for $13

3. Averr Aglow Clear Skin Kit: $158 on sale for $119

4. Keds Cyber Scout Boot: $85 on sale for $40

Not pictured:

Aerie Long Sleeve V-Neck T-Shirt: $30 on sale for $15

TOTAL: $207

Welp, all of my Black Friday purchases came from Instagram ads. #influenced 😳

Y’all already know that I love the Keds boots. They’re super cute and warm and comfy, not to mention water resistant! And I get so many compliments on them!

I need to cool it on the skincare purchases! Obsessing about my skin is definitely a place I go to when I’m looking to fix something in my life. But I do feel like the Averr Aglow products are helping to tone down my redness, which is my main skin concern, so I’m pretty pleased. Bonus that the Flawless Nourishment Cream smells like a citrus dream.

The Glamsquad lip tint looks and feels lovely, but it seems like it might be drying out my lips a bit, so I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it.

I haven’t worn the AE sweater or Aerie tee yet (they arrived over the weekend), but they are soft and cozy and perfect.

Since it’s the end of the year, let’s see how much I spent in 2019. (Not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous to tally this up.) TOTAL: $1780 That is… way too much. Almost $1000 more than I spent in 2018. (Although I did spend $2700 in 2015, so things could be worse!) I really don’t need to spend that much money on stuff. Not to mention that I never have any money when I need it—that extra $1700 sure could help! 2019 was a really difficult, painful year, but buying things didn’t make me feel better for any real length of time. That’s a lesson that I need to internalize someday!

Did you score any Black Friday deals?



High Five for Friday: December 27

What a whirlwind week! Here’s what brought the sparkle:

• As I mentioned in my last H54F post, I was in kind of rough shape last Friday. Luckily, I managed to drag myself out to an ecstatic dance + winter solstice ritual with some of my yoga teacher training friends. And it was AMAZING. I obviously wasn’t feeling super ecstatic, but that was okay. So instead of dancing like a maniac, as I have in the past, I spent most of the time lying on the floor. I felt deeply exhausted and in need of grounding, and you can do whatever you want at these dances, so that’s what I chose to do. It felt very restorative.

And then the winter solstice ritual! I had never been to one before, it was so cool! A perfect start to the (almost) new year! I felt called to volunteer for a role, and I ended up playing the Maiden, which meant that I got to light everyone’s candle. ❤️ It was just a great night that nourished my soul, much like visiting Maggie and Pudge the day before.

Maiden garb!

• Full disclosure, though: sometimes, you just have to drive fast and blast some tunes, and that helped me too. I reached this one mostly deserted stretch of highway on my drive to Reading on Friday, “Dr. Feelgood” came on (LOL), followed by Joey Ramone’s version of “What a Wonderful World,” and I just lost myself in the music for a few minutes. It was GREAT!

• I’m pretty excited about my Christmas Eve finery this year! Just like in this post, General Hospital was my fashion inspo. 😂 I loved Sam’s outfit for NYE 2015, so I went with a black bodysuit and lavender pants. (Btw this bodysuit is super comfortable. I really love it and highly recommend! I did size up, though, so maybe that helps.) Very pleased with how this lewk turned out!

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Merry Christmas! I ❤️ this look that I put together for Mass last night, and I’m glad I got dolled up because I’ve been feeling exhausted lately. (I just want to lay around watching Gilmore Girls or old General Hospital? 😂) I guess that’s depression/grief for you—it’s been quite an emotional rollercoaster. Thinking of everyone who’s missing someone at this time of year. ❤️❤️ . . #christmas #ootd #outfitoftheday #whatiwore #amazonfashion #depression #anxiety #grief #healingjourney

A post shared by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Dec 25, 2019 at 8:30am PST

Screenshot of Sam’s lewk

• Christmas went better than I expected emotionally, but I ended up feeling very sick by the end of it. 😫 I started the day feeling like I’d had an allergic reaction to something, and I ended it running a fever! I came home from my cousins’ house and basically collapsed on the couch, feeling like death. But then I felt much better when I woke up on Thursday. How bizarre!

These sweet furry friends did make me feel a bit better, though!

#Pops

• My bffl sent me the sweetest gift for Christmas: a print of something we very much associate with Kristin—her prized cat in a fish airplane (or race car??) salt shaker. What are the odds that Soph would find this on Etsy?! (That’s right, she found it, she didn’t commission it! 🤯) It was nice to have a reminder of one of Kristin’s favorite things here with us on Christmas. ❤️

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When my bffl @sophnsoph and I first met Kristin, her profile picture for everything was this cat in a fish airplane salt shaker. (Which Soph now tells me is a race car 🤯.) I forever associate it with Kristin and keep an eye out for it when I visit @spiderblues . Well, can you believe what Soph found on Etsy?! Such a sweet, touching reminder of our dear friend. @elizhagopian says that it also came from Kristin (like what are the odds of finding this?!), and I think she’s right. ❤️❤️ . . #christmas #catstagram #grief #christmasgifts #friends

A post shared by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Dec 26, 2019 at 12:17pm PST

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

High Five for Friday: December 20

I must confess that this has not been a super-sparkly week—thanks, depression! I know that feeling is supposed to ultimately be a good thing, but it’s also A Lot, so I’m kind of glad this week is over. I would say that I hope the next one is better, but next week is Christmas—the first without Kristin—so it might not be. And that’s okay. I guess that’s just the reality of life at this time of year when you’re grieving.

🎶It’s the most wonderful time of the year🎶

But! There are still things that brought the sparkle this week, such as:

• Having the outlet of therapy and feeling supported there, no matter what emotions come up.

• Long chats with Maggie—with one Pudgesicle curled up next to me! (Pudge even used my leg as a pillow at one point because she just needs to be optimally cute at all times. 😭💖)

RIP me, I guess.

• Getting a haircut!

• Strangers complimenting my new boots! (Literally, one woman gushed about them while we were waiting to cross the street!)

• Successfully playing the first few notes of “She’s a Rainbow” on the keyboard! (The first thing I’ve ever played on the keyboard!)

Hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful Christmas(…time?)! Happy Holidays! xoxo

High Five for Friday: December 13

HOW is Christmas right around the corner?! While I ponder that, here’s what brought the sparkle this week:

• Saturday was our annual Christmas party—10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION! A bunch of my grade school pals came (direct from a trip to Germany, no less!), as did several of the yoga teacher training gals, which was delightful! Overall, though, parties take a lot out of me—I need introvert quiet time afterward to recover!

Pops, on the other hand, is an excellent host!

• But there’s no rest for the weary during the holidays! On Sunday, Maggie had a party, which also meant a reunion with everyone’s favorite velvet loaf, PUDGE! Poor Pudge was not in a partying mood, though. She was hiding upstairs, so I detoured from the house tour to stay with her. After a bit, she started purring and demanding pets. OH, MY SWEET PUDGESICLE. It’s possible that I love her an unhealthy amount (considering, you know, that she’s someone else’s cat!). 😂

ennui cat

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As @maggie_hegney was giving me the grand tour of her new abode, we found PUDGE! Hiding from everyone at the party in a darkened bedroom (hence the godawful quality of the video). 😭😭 I stayed behind and sat with her, and eventually she began accepting pets and purring. And then she began demanding pets, which is more her usual style. 😂 I just love this sweet being so much. I had been having a rough day, and she cheered me right up! 💖😭🥰 Maybe we’re each other’s therapy cats! 😂 . . #catfriends #catsthatarentmine #catsofinstagram #tabby #catsagram #therapycat

A post shared by Jess (@jessie_face4) on Dec 9, 2019 at 6:09am PST

• IMPORTANT BOOTS UPDATE: THEY FIT! Hooray! They’re quite stiff, but at least they’re not too big or too small. And most importantly, they’re cute!

• Thursday was a rough anxiety day, but it had some bright spots, like my ever-patient friend Alana helping me to make sense of my feelings, and Bri posting this:

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Back when in what feels like a lifetime ago, when I used to blog consistently, and participated in blogger gift swaps, I was given @jessie_face4 not once, but twice, to send a gift to. I naturally started following her blog & she quickly became one of my favorites. Even though it’s been a hot minute since I wrote a blog post, my last one was actually only even written because she asked for an update, when I saw one of the @fatmumslim prompts was “sparkle” I knew I wanted to take a page from Jess’ blog & share what’s bringing the sparkle to my life right now... besides just my nails... Tomorrow I’m going to do something that I have never done in my adult life. I’m two parts excited and one part terrified. And while I’m not going to say just yet what it is, I’m hoping that it leads to a brand new chapter in my life!

A post shared by Bri (@northstargirllonestarworld) on Dec 12, 2019 at 4:37pm PST

I LOVE hearing about the sparkle in other people’s lives! It makes my heart so happy to know that my blog has been a means of connection with somebody else! ❤️

• Lastly, this week’s trip down General Hospital memory lane takes us back to a particularly dramalicious moment in 1999: Carly catches Liz dancing with Jason (to *NSYNC, no less—SCANDALOUS) and turns around and SLEEPS WITH SONNY, starting their relationship. Jason then gets shot in a mob ambush (of course), prompting college-student Liz to start harboring him in her art studio. I remember watching this in real-time back when I was 13, and I was RIVETED. (I was such a weird kid, but now I look back on it and I love it! haha)

Hope you have a great weekend! xo

High Five for Friday: December 6

Let’s see what brought the sparkle this week!

• On Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to dinner with Kristin’s parents and her bf. Her parents live out of state, so I don’t get to see them very often anymore. 😢 Her mom is like my second mom; she is a wonderful gem. Oh, they also GOT TO WITNESS THIS MIRACLE FIRSTHAND:

He may not look impressed here, but I started rocking him like a baby, and he was purring and making air biscuits! 😭💖😭

• We got our Christmas tree up! Our house is now pretty much all decorated. It is quite a winter wonderland! Also, remember the year we didn’t get our tree up until like Christmas Eve? We’re doing so much better this year! 😂😂

• On the topic of Christmas, I’ve been following along with Allana Davison’s Lanmas vids, and you know who is loving Lanmas? My dad, hahaha! I mean, what’s not to love—Allana is super adorable, and she and her bf are just the cutest. So we’ve been watching the daily Lanmas videos this week during dinner!

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Issa vibe ✌🏻 - a mummified version of @talineainein and @jonjmuller cute Tulum couple pics 😂

A post shared by Allana Davison (@allanaramaa) on Oct 15, 2019 at 10:25am PDT

Oh yeah, she got SECOND DEGREE LIME BURNS in Mexico a few months ago, and I literally told everyone in my life about it because I was so horrified.

• Did anyone else only shop for themselves on Black Friday? Because I sure did! 😂 I have a really hard time resisting sales for things that I’ve been interested in for awhile, and I totally got influenced on Instagram. Three of my purchases came from IG ads, and one came from blog friends (good job, guys! 😂) The Cyber Scout Boot from Keds (now sold out) was one of the IG purchases, and I’m really hoping it fits! (I have stupid narrow feet, so ordering shoes online usually yields nothing but disappointment and heartbreak. 😫)

A live look-in to my Black Friday

• Lastly, I am so not a Gilmore Girls… girl… and yet I watched a ton of the Gilmore the Merrier marathon last week. It just pairs strangely well with Thanksgiving and writing out Christmas cards! It also yielded Sebastian Bach singing “Hollaback Girl,” which is everything I didn’t know I needed?

(Side note that Gilmore Girls does name-drop my soap OTP, of all things, so I should really get on board!)

Hope you have a great weekend! xo