31 Things- Purchase

Here is another layout completed for my 31 Things class through Big Picture Classes.

I am amazed how far this free digital kit has gone for me. I guess that is the nice thing about a themed album, that you can use the same product through out. 

Journaling:

I have always been frugal. As a kid I would save my money for something perfect. As an adult, not much has changed.

I consider myself a minimalist. I don’t buy things I don’t need, with one exception. I try to use what I have until it doesn’t work anymore. I only buy things that I have a place for.

This is the age of the debit card. I use my debit card for 90% of my purchases. Tom’s checks are deposited electronically, so we rarely take a trip to the bank. If we need cash we usually purchase something small at a store with our debit card and use the cash back option. 

I do use cash but it is done very sparingly. I rarely have cash on hand. 

Some of our purchases are done using a credit card. These are usually purchases made online. We don’t maintain a monthly balance. We are conscious to pay them off every month. 

The last way I pay for things is with a personal check. I usually use checks to pay individuals money I owe them or for bills that haven’t set up free bill pay options online.

I have become a bit of a couponer, but I will never go to the extreme for a few reasons. I will never buy things I will not use or would not buy if I didn’t have a coupon. It takes a lot of time and energy to track all of the great deals. It is too difficult to take my kids to the few stores that I do. There is no way that I am going to multiple stores a week! I do, however try to be conscious of prices of things, track things on sale, and get a good deal on those things I buy on a regular basis.

 I have a hard time stock piling things. I think it is a combination between watch ing too many episodes of Hoarders and keeping things minimal in the chance that we would move. Now that we have a permanent residence, I am still finding it hard to buy things we don’t plan to use immediately, even if they are on sale.

There are things we spend money on that others would see as a splurge. We buybrand name groceries, brand name diapers, (nicknamed “label snobs”) pay private school tuition, and when we buy a car, it is new.

My grocery shopping is done weekly. I make a list of the things I need to buy, enough for dinners for every night of the week and the basic lunch items. I stick pretty close to my list unless I see our main staples at a good price. Planning food for the week has helped to eat out less, which saves us quite a bit money not to mention trips to the grocery store. 

I don’t buy shoes. I don’t enjoy buying clothing. I have stopped buying books, CDs and movies since I use the library now. I don’t tend to buy my children lots of things above what they need. Their grandparents, aunts and uncles do a good job spoiling them. 

My spending weakness is scrapbook supplies. I have greatly curbed my habit, from purchasing all paper that catches my fancy, or that stamp set that I want to buy because of that one project I know I will do someday. I try to stay realistic and only buy supplies that I know I have photos for, and that I have time to use. I find it stressful to purge later, so not buying it in the first place is good for me. I track prices, wait for coupons or sales, and wait to be sure I am in love with it before purchasing anything.

Purchases today: Ran out of milk and getting low on bread. Missed the kids’ fish sticks on Monday- my grocery shopping day. Added a pint of ice cream for the kids and I to have for an early summer treat! Today I purchased some stamps and page protectors for this album from JoAnns online store. Took advantage of the 50% off stamps and other scrapbooking supplies as well as a coupon code for free shipping for purchase of $35. I have had my cart going all week and finally checked out today since some items were starting to sell out.

Project Life: Weeks 11 and 13

Here are some more Project Life weeks completed! I spent last Saturday evening at a crop and knocked out a few weeks. I have another almost completed, but I have to scan and shrink an invitation to fit into a journaling pocket.

Week 11:

This week I did something different in the bottom of the first page. I had the perfect photo collage for some photos I took on a walk with Madeline but it was portrait. I decided to cut it in half and used them together. Love how it turned out! I was able to use my new Studio AE stamp set to embellish.

On the right hand page I tried stamping directly on the photo with white paint. It didn't work, so I brushed the paint in an area big enough to fit my sentiment, let the paint dry and stamped with the red ink. Love how it turned out!

Week 13:

Played around with some more Technique Tuesday stamps on this layout as well as getting some use of the Lilibee alpha stickers I purchased for this project. 

I think I have been struggling with this project a little because I am not in love with the core kit I chose. (Well, it kind of chose me since it was the only one in stock when the page protectors came back in stock.) I think next year, I am going to make sure I choose a kit that uses colors and things that match the other products I already have and like buying.

Hoping to spend some more time on this project soon and have more to share!

31 Things- Shoes

Finally got back on track with my 31 Things album. Lost track of which topics I wrote for, which I needed to take pictures for and what pages needed to get put together.

When creating this layout I struggled with the lower right corner. I moved the pieces around a hundred times. Then I asked my husband what he thought. That was a big mistake. He gave me the normal "Looks good to me." I would move something and ask again and get the same response. We then had a lengthy discussion about how it's all opinion when it comes to art. I argued that there tend to be some good design principles like balance and color that can determine if things look good. He agreed but argued anything beyond that was opinion. That's what I get for being married to a logically thinking physicist!

Fun thing! I just won a spot in the 28 Days of Sketches:Round 2 class at Big Picture Classes! I am so excited! Hope to see some of you in class!

Journaling:

I have small feet. I wear a 6.5 shoe size but tend to get size 7 in tennis shoes. 

I have fewer shoes than Tom does. He has all of the different shoes he needs for all of the sports he likes to play. He has golf shoes, basketball shoes, running shoes, black shoes for work, brown shoes for work, sandals, slippers, and more.

I have quite a few pairs of shoes, but I don’t wear most of them. 

I have a white pair of Nike tennis shoes, but with my feet hurting me lately it may be time to buy a new pair. I have an old grey pair of Nikes as well. I held onto them incase I needed an old pair to muck in the mud in. 

I have a pair of black flip-flops that have rainbow colored peace signs on them. I had the kids with me when I bought these this summer and Aaron told me I needed them instead of the plain black ones. 

I also have a pair of Chuck look-a-likes that are open in the back. I bought these so when I needed to run outside for something or quickly wanted to throw on a pair of shoes I could slip these on, no problem.

A pair of Doc Marin leather sandals that my dad bought for me almost 15 years ago still have a place in my closet. The soles are worn a bit uneven, but I love them and can’t bear to part with them. I also have Doc Martin boots. These are not your ordinary boots! I bought these on my trip to Europe, while in London. They are pink, blue and white with drawings of British flags, guardsmen, double-decker buses and other London images. Not the most practical and even harder to find clothes to wear with, but a great souvenir! 

I have four pairs of black dress shoes. One pair I wear the most. They are my flats. I am all about comfort and these are the least fussy pair I own. I own another pair that are platform sandals. These have been around a while and probably have sand from the beach in them from California. Two pairs of black heals, both that were purchased to wear with a school dance in high school. Both are strappy numbers that I wear to something fancy.

I have a couple pairs of white heals in my collection of shoes. One is a strappy number and another pair that has a butterfly on the top. Both were purchased for my wedding. The first for the wedding day and the second for the rehearsal and dinner.

Three more pairs of dressy shoes are in my closet. One is a brightly striped heal. It was worn with my bridesmaids dress in Dan and Carrie’s wedding. Another is a silver pair that I wore in Jennifer’s wedding. 

My last pair of dressy shoes are my clear plastic ones, my “glass slippers.” Another pair that are over 15 years old. I saw these shoes in Teen Magazine (prom addition?) and had to have them. My mom graciously drove me across town to purchase them from a bridal shop. I wanted something romantic and unique for my senior prom and they were a perfect match for my dress. ☺ Only thing is they fog up! I would put them on to have them frosted over around my toes from the perspiration of my feet. There were some ventilation holes for this but obviously not enough. So much for romantic!

Madeline at 8 months

I participated in a scraplift challenge at Scrap Whispers. It is kind of the telephone game only with layouts. One layout starts it and you see how different the last layout is in the end. I really enjoyed it. Especially since my layout was inspired from a friend of mine, Colleen.

Used some really old SEI papers in my stash along with some of the swirl lace paper I used in my Christmas layout this spring. I used some Elle's Studio tags and banners that were part of last year's  Christmas line. The title (8 month) ribbon and clip came from the Becky Higgin's baby kit. Used the Stampin' Up! heart punch I just got for the hearts. Three sizes in one punch. Love it! Get it while you can because it is now retired! Used some Technique Tuesday stamps on the the banners.

2 months down for Madeine's album. Only 10 more to go :) The kids have been watching old home videos and wanting to look at their baby pictures. Glad to have some stuff completed to show them!