In the world of Save. Spend. Splurge.: Can you really tell if your clothing item is worth the price?

1. Truth-teller

This article: The truth about fast fashion clothing, really nailed it. You cannot go simply on the price, but if the price is far too cheap, you always have to ask yourself who is getting screwed in the process – the workers? you? … I always think about how much work it takes for logistics, manufacturing, transforming raw into finished, marketing, advertising, transportation, retailing, and it makes me wonder how people can think: Oh yeah $5 is expensive for a tee!

2. Sleek

I am a sucker for forest green, and this silk blend turtleneck from one of my staple brands MM Lafleur is just beautiful. You could layer it underneath a great coat, under a dress.. the possibilities are endless with a good turtleneck. Or wear it as is, tucked into jeans or a slim skirt.

3. Hideyhole

I LOVE this hidden nook idea. Look at how cool it is!!!! I want to build one in, but I also know this might not be a great idea…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @kino_gallery

4. Cemetary

The Cemetary series by Zafon is truly a work worth reading. It is part mini-mystery (they are all standalone books), part about life, drama, thriller.. and just so brilliantly done. I am savouring all of his books. His writing is beautiful. Now that the fourth book is finally done (LOL), you can finish the series. People were reading books 1-3, waiting for the semi-conclusion of book 4, and now have forgotten everything.

It is a lot like this Court of Thorns & Roses series I love from Sarah J. Maas, and she finally did another story and I’ve completely forgotten what has happened, so I had to reread everything to get back on track. I forgot ALL the storylines and plots and it slowly came back only near the end.

5. Earth Warrior

For electronics, maybe upgrading to a new phone every year isn’t the best idea. I mean, this article is spot on: Want to save the earth? Stop buying a new iPhone.

I personally do not upgrade my phone until I have to, or I really need one. I am half frugal, half eco-friendly. The last cellphone I owned was back in 2010. I needed it for work, and then I never needed it again until 2017 when I decided it was too much to rely on a home phone that had to stay at home and was shared by my partner for calls for work (seriously). And it was an iPhone 4. We still have and use it as the home phone / his phone, but I have my own separate cellphone now that I am much happier with – the iPhone XS Max. People make fun of me for having the iPhone 4 as the home phone but all it does is calls. No data.

Until my personal iPhone XS Max dies, or something goes horribly wrong, I will not be buying any new phones in the future. It has to be a seriously Bad Thing for me to upgrade, to the point where I am so frustrated I want to scream. And even then, I will recycle my old iPhone by trying to sell it, or put it into the BuyBack program that they have.

ALSO! FINAL NOTE!

PLEASE DO NOT PUNCTURE BATTERIES OR TRY TO DESTROY ELECTRONICS WITH HAMMERS.

ALWAYS RECYCLE ALL ELECTRONICS AND BATTERIES

(I never type in red bold titles, so please take this seriously.)

It is so important to try and recycle all of this e-waste because of the rare minerals that are in these electronics that have a FINITE SUPPLY meaning they will run out one day, or wars will be fought and people killed over some bloody iPhone manufacturing that needs it. PLEASE. I implore you to recycle your batteries and electronics sustainably. DO NOT just toss them into the garbage. PLEASE.

5. Matcha

I stocked up on my favourite brand of Ceremonial Matcha again. I buy the biggest bag possible to avoid as much waste as I can, and I simply just scoop small portions of it into another tin I have for morning teas, reseal the big bag, and refill as needed until the bag is done.

I really like this one because it is smooth, creamy, a hint of bitterness, and perfect in matcha lattes in the morning. If you want a much stronger taste, you could go for the non-Ceremonial Matcha, which I may give a shot the next time around, it is the Organic Culinary Grade matcha.

7. Spicy

I will have to find the time to make this Spicy Garlic Chilli Paste. It sounds DELICIOUS, especially with the amount of garlic in there (YUM) and would be a perfect topping on so many dishes, alongside noodles and so on to give it a kick.

8. Salads

Speaking of food, I highly recommend this salad cookbook – Mandy’s Gourmet Salads – these meals are FILLING. They aren’t rabbit food or anything like that, and can be made vegetarian, even vegan. Every time I get a salad at their restaurant, I am stuffed at the end for the entire day because they pack them full with rice, quinoa, lots of delicious sauces and flavours. This is an ultimate cookbook for salads for me because I really love eating them but cannot come up with foolproof recipes.