All Sorts of Shopping (and a tip on a great deal on a new phone) - December 3, 2013

Between my birthday, Hanukkah, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, I've had a lot of opportunities to go shopping and get great deals while doing so. Yes, I buy clothing for myself pretty often as the thrifting tag on this here blog can attest, but...thrifting is thrifting. I spend less than $3 per item in most cases and it's used. And I LOVE IT - but this was different.

First, I'd been saving the Amazon gift cards I earn from Swagbucks (that's a referral link) (and sometimes from Bing - another referral link! - and sometimes from other sources, including this blog) because I wanted to upgrade my phone.

I use Virgin Mobile because I like paying only $35 per month for unlimited text and data and 300 talk minutes that I rarely come close to using. (If I could afford more per month, I might consider another plan/carrier/even better phone, but I can't, and this works just fine for me.) I'd bought myself an HTC One V a little over a year ago using the same save-gift-cards technique, but it stopped working properly about six months in - as in, it wouldn't make nor answer phone calls half the time and often wouldn't load my contact list or send text messages. I said it many times - it's all well and good to be able to have a few apps on there or a good camera (and I do think the camera is good), but if I can't make phone calls, then the phone isn't really that great.

The phone for which I was saving was the flagship Samsung Galaxy S3 - once I saw that VM was offering it, I wanted it, but I was patient and I waited. And during Black Friday Week, Amazon finally dropped the price from a high of around $400 and an average of around $315 to $260 AND it included a free case! So I pounced. And after factoring in all the credit I'd slowly, carefully saved, I paid about $35 including tax for this fancy phone.

Imagine my surprise and annoyance when a week later, right before I went to bed, I received an alert from CamelCamelCamel (I'd forgotten to cancel it) telling me that at 10pm on Monday night my phone's price dropped down to $250 - which is a GREAT DEAL for this high-end phone, just...less than what I paid.

Happily, a friend of mine had clued me in that Amazon has a 30-day price guarantee. I simply emailed and asked for a refund and when I woke up in the morning it had been processed, bringing my out-of-pocket cost down to about $25!

I love this phone. Love love love it. Here's a link (a referral link) to this great deal on the Samsung Galaxy S3 for Virgin Mobile (be aware: you can only use the version of the phone to which I'm linking on VM in the United States). Once you get it, it's so easy to activate, and then you can pick the right plan for you!

Update 12/4/13: The price went back up but this phone is still AMAZING. Get it!

Next, boots. I have been wanting some knee-high boots for a while, and I set aside some birthday money specifically to buy some for myself. First I thought I would get these - Prize from Donald J. Pliner - but they were a bit more than I felt comfortable spending (though they are still on my wish list and if the ones I wound up buying - you'll see in a minute - don't fit, I suppose I could go back and get these instead).

Again, Amazon and Black Friday Week came through to save the day. I found these:


and when I bought them, they were marked down and there was a coupon code for 25% more off. They should arrive today and I will take pictures of them with my new phone! (Again, that's a referral link.)

Update 12/4/13: Sadly, these boots just didn't fit me the way I wanted. They were an amazing price and they're adorable, but they're going back to Amazon and I'm back on a quest for black boots.

Next, I had been drooling over one particular crafting tool for a long, long time - the Silhouette Cameo. I cannot tell you how many contests I'd entered to try and win one. This time around, after Googling "Silhouette giveaway" and entering the contests that came up in the search, I paid attention to what all the craftsy bloggers were saying - that a big Black Friday sale was coming up. I put up an alert on Amazon for the Silhouette Cameo starter kit, but on Black Friday when the deals were announced I found that - for a change - Amazon couldn't beat the deal being offered directly from Silhouette. You can find all the Silhouette America holiday deals here (though let me add that I'm a bit annoyed - I thought these deals were Friday only, and they're still available as I write this on the following Tuesday - I hate feeling pressured to buy something to get a deal and I could've waited - it hasn't even shipped yet! Oh well.). I am SO SO SO SO excited about this - I have some projects planned that I will share! (Look at me - first I'm pretending to be a fashion blogger, then I'm pretending to be a craft blogger, ha!)

Finally, I did some in-person Black Friday shopping with friends. I found a great deal on brown boots (to go with the black ones I ordered! the price in the link is likely more than what I paid - frustratingly, I didn't have the magic coupons with me, but they still were a great price and while they're synthetic, they are super duper comfy and cute!) and black clogs (to replace the Dansko clogs that I wear every day, although the reviews on these are making me worried and I'm debating returning them - the ones I bought are similar to but not the same as those in the link).

Look, here's an actual picture of my new brown boots on me:

Bonus: I'm wearing one of the tops from my most recent thrifting post - I loooove it!

And one more picture for fun:

Finally, Cuppow had a Cyber Monday sale. Cuppow? Oh, you need one of these. I got my first one from my friend Marissa as the best birthday present ever.

A Cuppow is a little plastic doohickey (made in the USA, BPA and phthalate free) that turns a glass mason jar into a travel mug. It's eco-friendly and made by a small, independent business. I loooove it. So I bought a bunch more - the one Marissa gave me is for wide-mouthed jars (and if you squint, you  can see that my jar is etched with a picture of Massachusetts - the jar is from opal & ollie on Etsy) so I bought myself one that's for regular-mouthed jars too, and then I bought a handful to give as gifts to friends and teachers and therapists (because it's that time of year and my kid has a cast of thousands!). I may also use my new Silhouette to create stencils to etch mason jars myself or to add vinyl decorations to the jars (to add to the Cuppows as gifts).

NOTE! Cuppow has extended its Cyber Monday sale through Tuesday, December 3, 2013! Use the code CYBERCUPPOW for 25% off your order. If you buy four things, you get free shipping, so that's like buying 3 and getting 1 totally free! Also here's my referral link for a bonus $2 off your order (that link is valid until December 5 - please use it!).

I think that's all for now - watch this space for new pictures and new crafts! Happy Hanukkah and happy festive holiday season!

Birthday Thrifting! - November 23, 2013

So I turned 40 last week and the biggest adjustment has been hearing that number come out of my mouth, over and over and over. Rolling it around on my tongue and trying to reconcile my notions of what 40 should be with what 40 is for me. It's fine, I'm fine, I'm learning.

To extend my celebration a bit longer, I planned a thrifty day with Amy. Well, I also needed to get away for a little bit. Things have been tricky with the kid's school and she also had a stomach bug hit her pretty hard (I blamed it on "food poisoning" until I found out that other kids in her class were similarly afflicted). I take my breaks as I can get them.

After fueling up at Dunkin Donuts, where I cashed in my free birthday drink coupon on a french vanilla coffee with skim milk and sugar and threw in a chocolate donut for nostalgia's sake (DD = Boston = home), we hit our favorite spots. The kid's wardrobe recently grew incrementally thanks to some gift cards and some store sales, so she didn't need much. Technically I didn't need much either, but I also was finding myself wearing the same things over and over.

OK, also, the first store we went to - an indie store that supports the community - was having BOGO on all adult clothing. All adult clothing is normally $2 or $3 a piece. YES PLEASE.

Two side notes: This store definitely goes in cycles and for the past...year? I hadn't found anything appealing. But the last time we went and this time I found so many things. SO MANY. And also, I used to walk into thrift stores and stare at the racks of clothing - particularly if the store was having any sort of sale at all - and go blank, wander over to the books, and buy those instead. It has been a long, slow process to me buying clothing for myself that does include my weight loss but also a sort of comfort in my body and my own style. (I still worry that someone out there is waiting to make fun of me for what I'm wearing - thank you, junior high school/high school - but thanks to the Internet and seeing so many people making so many choices, I'm more comfortable just letting myself wear whatever the fuck I want to wear.)

I considered hanging up everything all nice to take pictures and then I realized nobody's looking anyway so whatever. These pictures are terrible and my blog will never be famous for its photography. Hey camera makers, if you ever want to send a DSLR to test and review, I'd gladly accept - I'll even take two so I can do a fabulous giveaway! Ha.

I do use these thrifting posts a lot for my own reasons though - to look back and see what I've bought, what I need, what I bought but never wore, what I wear all the time, and also to check pricing because I do occasionally resell things and I want to see what to set prices at.

Anyhoo, let's get to the pictures!

I could not resist two copies of Cricket magazine from the 70s. I was a subscriber when I was a kid and for a while I had a huge collection. Eventually my mother made me throw it all away, but somewhere in her house (or maybe my dad's house?) there is a box that contains the very first issue of Cricket, the 100th issue, the 10th anniversary, and possibly some other milestone issues. These were 50 cents each.

Kid clothes are a dollar each. I had just bought my kid a shirt at Gymboree that looks very similar to these designs. These are Carters, though, and they seem nearly new to me.

Women's sleeveless tops are $2 each, and they were BOGO so $1. This tank top is to go under a sweater that I'll show you in a minute.

I bought this without trying it on - it's Ann Taylor and it's really cute and it was just a dollar so I figured, why not.

Next up, four skirts. Normally $3/each, but BOGO, so $1.50 each.

Old Navy. Swingy and cute!

H&M. Stretchy and fun!

Express! Swooshy and sweet. Very lightweight and despite what my camera really wants you to think, more of a blue/purple. Loved this one - fully lined and sort of a faux wraparound without the drama of trying to keep the wrap...around.

More Old Navy (I bought a LOT of Old Navy stuff). I really liked this one too.

Sweaters?

Old Navy. Fuzzy and lightweight and a tiny bit see through. Remember that tank top I just showed you? That's for under this.

Don't be surprised...this is also Old Navy.

And some odds and ends.

Target skinny jeans. These are "long" but I think I can fold them a bit to tuck into boots. They fit really well otherwise although I also know that Target jeans stretch out and get saggy really fast. For $1.50 I can handle it, and I liked the metal studs around the pockets.

Gap T-shirt.

Brand I don't recognize, plain black turtleneck cotton sweater.

New York & Company. I wasn't sure about it but Amy liked it and hey, $1.50 and I needed an even number of things so I got it. I've bought other tops in this style before and I never wear them but maybe this time?

Grand total with tax? $21.40.

Next up, other favorite indie store that supports a no-kill animal shelter. As I've said many times, I don't fully understand their pricing all the time, but I'll try to tell you what I paid because you care. Right? RIGHT?

Threadless shirt! http://www.threadless.com/product/1316/Keeping_Up_With_The_Boneses - I think this was a dollar.

Another Threadless shirt! http://www.threadless.com/product/310/Sally_Finds_A_Stray Also maybe a dollar?

Woot shirt that I absolutely adore. Hard to tell from the pic, but it's S'mores Code! I translated it - can you? http://shirt.woot.com/offers/smorse-code Another dollar shirt, I think.

This book was a dollar. It's from 1962 and it's fascinating. I love New York City!

This was complete news to me. The borough was renamed in 1975 - you can look it up for yourself.

Cute little Old Navy shrug with shiny accents. It has a weensy bit of cashmere in it which makes it fancy, I'm pretty sure. This was $2 I think.

Plain but long Old Navy T-shirt. A dollar?

Target T-shirt because, as I've noted, I can never have too many plain black T-shirts. (They all fit in a different way! They all match different things, I swear! Also yay.) Probably a dollar.

The tag was cut out of this squishy lovely sweater so I know nothing about it - size, brand, materials. But I know that I love how it fits and I love the swingy sleeves. Possibly $2.

T-shirt dress from Steve & Barry, a store that apparently went bankrupt about 5 years ago. This dress is cute, sorry S&B for your woes.

Best find of the day, I think - thank you Amy for finding it! It's a Columbia coat that is in perfect condition though I think it's missing a hood, maybe. It was $5.11 - yes, eleven cents - and it fits my kid and she likes it. Hooray!

Grand total, with tax, $18.31.

And finally we went to Value Village just to poke around. I saw an old Palm Pilot and a really cool industrial juicer, but in the end bought nothing for me and just a few things for the kid.

Old Navy adjustable waist cords for my skinny girl. $2.49

Two more cute shirts because apparently all I want my kid to wear (and she approves) is soft cotton shirts with cute designs. $1.49 each, Carters on the left, Old Navy on the right in a design that looks like my kid walking our neighbor's dog.

Hopefully at some point in the future I'll post pictures of me actually wearing some of the things. But first, off to the washing machine they go...!

I found a linky party at A Living Space - and another at Thrifter Maker Fixer Farm. I joined both, I linked up (I hope I did it right), go check it out!

Manifesto for 40 - November 11, 2013

This piece originally appeared at quartersmagazine.com but it was edited and also they don't believe in the serial comma so I am reposting it here the way I want it to appear because this is my blog.

My 40^th birthday is this week. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that soon I will be an age that as a kid I clearly remember thinking was “old”—yet I don’t feel old at all. It doesn’t actually matter how I feel, though. It’s happening and alas, there’s nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is embrace it as thoroughly and as happily as I can manage.

Interestingly, what am I finding as I move into this next phase of my life is this: My tolerance for bullshit is dwindling…dwindling…nearly gone.

In the past, I’d let stress about inconsequential things eat away at me. Mostly regarding situations that happened on the Internet—someone breaking rules in a forum, someone leaving a nasty comment on an otherwise interesting article, someone spreading misinformation or half-truths of some sort—but in relation to things that happened offline as well.

But now? Now that I’m hitting the big four-oh? Now I say FUCK ALL OF THAT. Life is too short and too full of things that matter, good and bad, to get wrapped up in these petty concerns. I have big plans – plans to get over all of the nonsense and move right on to the things that matter, the things that are important, and the things that I can really change. For example…

There’s a comment on an article on the Internet that is ignorant or spreading misinformation? Close the browser, go for a run, drink a glass of water, do something other than sit on my ass on my comfy couch and get worked up about something that either does not matter or that I truly do not have the power to change.

Someone on the Internet is breaking the rules somehow, with self promotion or referral links or simple asshattery in a safe zone? I’m not a moderator anywhere online at the moment, so it’s time to step away from the computer completely if I’m upset about something as inconsequential as this. Maybe I should read one of those hundreds of books around my house, maybe?

I’m keeping someone in my life who always makes me feel bad about myself? It’s time to reevaluate that relationship and possibly take a break so that all parties involved can regroup. But spending energy trying to fix an energy leak? I don’t really have time for that right now.

A project I really want to start – business or hobby - is making me whine like my six-year-old daughter whines? No. I need to figure out how to make things happen now, rather than wasting time on the what ifs and the fears. I have to stop worrying about potential failures and just make things happen. At this point in my life, a Greek chorus of cheerleaders isn’t going to appear from the mists to sing a song of the stupidity in my ideas. Either my ideas are sound and will work or they’re not and I’ll try something else.

It’s not easy to let things go but it feels like it’s time, both because of the calendar and because of how I’m feeling. I’m raising a child with a disability. I’m a freelancer married to a freelancer. I’m figuring out big things like where religion fits into my life and whether or not we’ll buy a house. If a jerk in another state wants to feel special by asserting himself anonymously online or if someone makes me feel 2 feet tall, it’s time to raise a glass in that general direction and move on by.

Now We Are Six...

I have a GIANT (currently two parts! it may grow to three before I finish!) post series about our recent vacation/adventure that will go up this week, but first I need to say happy birthday to my beautiful girl. Six is going to be a big year for her - her speech has taken off over the past month, she is up to eight steps, and she's gearing up to start kindergarten! I can't wait to see what is around the corner for us!

Today I Turn 39 - November 13, 2012

Today I turn 39. For real. The year of all the jokes. That big cliff over which I am staring. Supposedly this is the last age before, you know, the Big One.

"And I'm going to be 40!"
"When?"
"SOMEDAY!"

Well, someday is closer than ever before, but for now I'm 39 and I'm going to celebrate. And when I do turn 40, I'm going to rock the hell out of it because I do love a fresh start.

Happy Birthday to Me - November 13, 2011

I've always explained why I get so excited about my birthday as follows - my mom and I share the same birthday. My brother's birthday is within a week. Hanukkah always falls somewhere around now. So my entire year was quiet, quiet, quiet and then BAM BIRTHDAY AND PRESENTS AND HOLIDAYS AND EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.

So today is my birthday. I feel like I have been making little positive changes for the past few months and that this year has potential. Big potential. I'm hoping for more freelance work, more crafty opportunities, more writing in general. I'm hoping for big progress from my girl. I'm looking forward to starting my next year on this planet a lot healthier - my BMI now firmly in the healthy zone, my jeans starting to be too big (I have now lost 15 pounds on Weight Watchers and can see my goal twinkling on the horizon).

I simply wanted to make a blog post to mark today so that next year, which will be rather close to a milestone (but not quite), I can look back and see where my mind was and try to keep this going.

Here's my birthday post from last year, which included a list of birthday freebies.

Awww, I got a freebie from Borders last year. Sniff. This year I've gotten the free Starbucks drink, the free Moe's burrito, the 50 Swagbuck bonus, and a free $25 gift from Aveda that I still have to pick up. I think I saw a discount deal from Jason's Deli again, though I don't get there very often. Not much else this year. It's a quiet one.

Happy birthday to me!

PS My husband asked my daughter to write her name the other night. She can barely SAY her name, but we've been pretty sure she's known how to read for some time. And she wrote her name - four distinct letters, three of them VERY clear and one approximation. All on her own. The kid who can barely hold a crayon. Never underestimate anyone. Never assume anything. I plan on showing the picture we took of this feat to every therapist and teacher that works with her. I'm so proud I could burst.

It's my birthday! (freebie roundup) - November 13, 2010

Today I turn 37 - a number I'm not entirely fond of but one that I will embrace fully in the coming year.

Here's a roundup of the freebies I scored for my birthday:

• A free drink of my choice at Starbucks (via a postcard sent because I registered a Starbucks gift card online - I got a tall* toffee mocha, and I splurged calorie-wise and got whipped cream on it).
• A free drink of my choice at Dunkin Donuts (via a postcard sent because I signed up for the new Dunkin Donuts rewards program).
• $5 off my food at Jason's Deli (email).
• A free burrito at Moe's (email).
• A free "Like It" ice cream with one mix-in at Coldstone Creamery (email - used it to get chocolate with brownie).
• A free small coffee/tea drink at Borders (email).
• A free cookie at Atlanta Bread Company (email).
• BOGO at Bruster's ice cream (email).
• BOGO at Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation (email).
• 50 free Swagbucks (which gave me enough for another $5 Amazon gift card - I think I've earned about $300-$400 from this site and I love it).

I may not have time to take advantage of all these deals, but I'll try! Do you know any other good birthday freebies that I should sign up for next year?

*Both the cashier and the barista were like "Just a tall? Get a grande!" I had to explain that I did not need the calories nor the caffeine ("The grande has two shots!") and that a tall would make me just as happy. Just because something is free doesn't mean you have to therefore go for the biggest mostest hugest so you can get your freebie's worth. :)

Quick grocery post and birthday freebies - November 7, 2010

• A few days ago I went with a friend to Trader Joe's and spent about $25.
• Today we went to Publix and spent $64. I only used two coupons - a free kid meal coupon from Bzzagent (my review/thoughts to come) and $1 off Laughing Cow. When I checked my receipt at the car, I saw that Laughing Cow was on sale 2/$4 even though it wasn't marked, making it $1 after coupon. Score! Wish I'd known - I have four more coupons. Hopefully the deal will still be on the next time we go to the store.
• Birthday freebies so far - free Coldstone (used today), free Starbucks drink, BOGO at Sweet Tomatoes (I probably won't use this), $5 off at Jason's Deli, BOGO at Brusters. I should also get a free drink at Dunkin Donuts and a free burrito from Moe's. (My birthday is November 13.)
• I'm obsessing over/thinking strongly about buying a Keurig (or Cuisinart K-Cup machine) for my birthday. We were given a Tassimo years ago as a gift (we didn't request it) and I thought it was just OK, but I also didn't drink much coffee back then. The Tassimo is in storage, but we may bring it back out to see if that will scratch the itch. But I've found that there are more/better varieties of K-cups than T-discs, that K-cups are cheaper (via Amazon - the ones that are on subscribe and save are GREAT deals and I have free Prime through Amazon mom so they'd be free shipping...) and that you can make your own K-cups in a bunch of different ways. Do you have a Keurig? What are your thoughts? (Oh, and my friend has one and I love playing with it when I am at her house - mostly I make hot chocolate there, since I'm usually over in the evening, so I have no real experience with coffee with it. I did play with the coffee K-cups when my husband worked in an office that had Keurig machines long ago and found it just fine for my needs.)
• If you're wondering, I make coffee every day. Usually I use a French press and sometimes I make instant (using a bunch of instant coffee sticks I got for free - I'm almost out now). I love flavored coffee and I sometimes (rarely) treat myself to a coffee shop drink. Those are equally about the calories and the financial cost though. I have made some amazing iced coffee drinks with my Vitamix, but I always used instant for those. What if I could make fast brewed coffee and THEN dump it in the Vitamix....oooh.
• It's almost my birthday!