I live in a small city, come from a small school and have worked in offices where I’m much younger than my coworkers for a long time. I love my life and my friends, but in the past year my core friends have moved to opposite coasts or have very limited time to be in touch, which has left me with some friend shaped holes in my life. It’s been something that I’ve been working through since the spring- I’ve been developing new friendships and putting myself out there a lot more.
Sometimes it’s so good to put the getting to know you aside for a little while and see people who already know your back story, where you don’t have to explain because the knowing smiles are already on their faces, and your quirks just make you more yourself.
Last weekend I went to Minneapolis to meet three girls I’ve met through blogging over the past three years – Mandy, Nora & Lisa. This is what our weekend looked like from my lens…
We had an outstanding time, from buying way too much wine to my packing my suitcase full of Old Dutch Ketchup Chips so they could get a taste of Canadian kitsch. It was a crying at the airport & wishing there was an island that all my favourite bloggers could live on kind of weekend, and the perfect end to a breathless summer.
As soon as I buy that island, I’ll let you know. Bring lots of books, reality TV show recommendations & polaroid cameras, okay? :)
There’s nothing better than receiving a beautiful package in the mail, even if I sometimes wish I could have them delivered instantly. I’ve been waiting for my mustard yellow Kylie messenger bag for a little while, and when I got home yesterday I had to check the post office. It arrived!! I love everything about it, down to the Malaysian stamps on the package. These are them, along with some two vintage pieces I’ve been saving for show and tell…
My new messenger bag that came with the stamps is amazing, I can’t wait to hit the streets with it!
I hope you’re having a great week- I have pictures from my weekend trip to Minneapolis all ready to post tomorrow morning, I can’t wait to show you some State Fair pictures. There was so much food on a stick that it made me dizzy- dizzy and then very hungry ;)
Managing finances as a couple can be tricky business. In our house we’ve traded off being the breadwinner, we’ve saved, overspent, and tried lots of different methods for managing our money. Because we moved in together quickly, talking honestly about money has always been something Jesse and I have had to manage, and for that I’m really thankful. While we’re not always on the same page, and it’s not always easy we’ve become pretty good at it.
Our only real rule is that all major life and financial decisions have to be made over nachos at our favourite Mexican food place. No seriously, it was in our wedding vows.
With all the changes going on around here I’m switching to part time work and am going to rely more on freelance work for my income. Which is amazing! Because I need more time for blog designs & soon I’ll need dedicated time for my etsy shop too. It’s been really interesting so far, and we’ve been making some changes to how we live that I thought might be fun to share. So this is what we’ve been doing, behind the scenes to streamline our spending…
With plane fares being what they are in Canada, we have to really limit our travel this year. This year has been great, but we’ve been a little reckless with how much we’re running around and need to chill out on the spur of the moment road trips and planning big get aways.
What this looks like for us:
- Paying in advance when we have the money. When we booked our stay at Disney for later this year, we booked the dining plan for the first time which means that our trip & our food were actually paid off in the summer. We can just go and enjoy ourselves without bearing the full cost right after the trip.
- Take a local holiday. Renting a little cabin and running away to the lake in the summer sounds just about perfect to me, and there are all kinds of rural bed and breakfasts around. We don’t need to change time zones to have a good break, and this way we can bring the dogs! Hello, no boarding costs!
Jesse and I are very lucky to have very little debt. We’re really serious about not buy things on credit card that we can’t pay off in that month. While I don’t have great willpower, I can’t handle the stress of unpaid bills! But there are definitely places where we can do better.
What this looks like for us:
- Get rid of a car payment. We’ll be paying off one of our cars this year! Switching to only having one car payment is going to be a fantastic feeling and sticking with two cars will keep me from getting bronchitis in the winter (the cold + our transit system’s delays = my lungs want to move to California)
- Save for everything else. From vet bills to home repairs and the cars, everything that has the potential to hit hard now has a space in our budget. When something happens (and it will!) we already have a head start, and that gives me a lot of comfort.
When our budgets are seriously realigned I’m guilty of getting down on myself and feeling “hard done by”… which generally leads to me wandering through shops and buying jewelry. Having a little wiggle room planned helps me feel pampered and keep me from steamrolling my budget.
What this looks like for us:
- Buying seasons of TV shows to catch up on. We’ve been watching Bones from its first season, one episode a night, and Angela and Hodgins are THE CUTEST EVER. And season two of Buffy The Vampire slayer is my happy place. Lots of entertainment, and it costs very little.
- Buy high quality, low quantity. I can’t make a big investment in my closet right now, but I love buying new cardigans and blouses in the fall, so I’m choosing a few vintage or thrifted pieces that will last and leaving it at that.
This is definitely just the tip of the iceberg for us, because we’ve been making some big shifts lately. We’ve cut back on going out, we’re meal planning, and living with a minimalist mentality. But I love having a plan that reflects how I want my life to be: packed with experiences, light on stuff, and full of happiness.
And also with a bottle of Pinot Noir tucked away near by, just in case.
What’s your favourite little indulgence?
Mine is vegan marshmallows, be still my heart!
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My neverland is temporary, where blog comments turn into e-mails that turn into phone calls and plane rides. Where a weekend becomes that summer camp I never got to go to, and the pixel pictures of girls become real people. It’s hugs at airports and hotel keys, anticipation and connection.
Neverland lives outside the day to day, outside of work and expectation, and every now and then I’m lucky enough to conjure it up for a weekend. :)
See you on Monday!
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I’ve been itching to do another greater than post for a while, so here is how things are stacking up in my world at the moment…
bikes > cars
film > digital
bunnies > all other pets
board games > video games
handmade > designer
have > want
messy > neat
making it up as you go along > having it all planned out
laughing > smiling
crocheting corners > knitting cables
baking > cooking
listening > telling
My greater thans are always shifting and grappling for first place, trying to position themselves in the direct line of my attention- and I love that from one month to another they’re almost never the same.
Okay, maybe baking and knitting seem to rank up there consistently. And maybe the blogging. Plus I tend to watch a lot of bad sci-fi movies and then there’s…
…well, maybe I’m a bit of a creature of habit ;)
What are some of your greater thans?
