Week of Money: Where I am motivated to Shop my Closet

DAY ONE

??:?? — Little Bun snuggling!

6:00 a.m. — I really like this home decor look. It is neutrals with a super dark wall. I think I am really leaning towards dark walls for my closet office. It makes small spaces look far bigger, and deep.

And the way these pictures are arranged is also really nice:

7:59 a.m. — We head out for the morning. My partner plays with him in the park and I go for a long walk.

8:49 a.m. — I get caught in the rain, and when I head back, by the time I reach them waiting in the car, the rain stops. So we head out for a walk together again.

10:40 a.m. — We head home and Little Bun moans and tells me it MUST BE 14:00.. it’s because he ran/walked a lot today and he is sort of grumpy, and hungry, having burned his breakfast off long ago.

11:10 a.m. — Lunch. He has his lunch, then feeds off mine, and then my partner’s. We call it the Little Bun Tax, and set aside small bowls for him to eat from our meals. He loves the slight spiciness of my brown rice and cauliflower mixture, and my partner made pasta. Kind of like a home buffet for him.

11:30 a.m. — HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

1:01 p.m. — Down for his nap after playing with him, I am working on the home plans, organizing, thinking of where to put things like benches that would be the most practical, and so on.

1:40 p.m. — I take a break and force myself to read my book. I am reading the third instalment of this series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and his writing just sucks me in. It’s a mystery + thriller set in Barcelona Spain in 1945. Very well done.

3:00 p.m. — Little Bun is up, and he wants me to play with him. I tell him to help me with the plans and we spend time on that.

3:47 p.m. — I do laundry.

5:16 p.m. — Dinner time, and I am measuring out my closet and clothes. I can cram a lot in 50 cm of rail space, but I want to start leaving space in between, so instead of putting in 30 items, I want to put 15, so they have room to breathe.

6:20 p.m. — We eat dinner, Little Bun is in love with the treat this week (we eat meat once a week more or less), and this time it is langoustines, and he devours his share. We bought 3, and we each had one. We aren’t the types to go overboard in eating meat when do we do, we are starting to be more conscious in cutting back and eating in moderation. Strangely enough, I prefer vegan burgers, so perhaps I am losing my taste for meat and seafood in general.

7:07 p.m. — Dishes done, I work on the blog.

3:00 p.m. — I work on the closet plans now, then time for bed, while Little Bun and his father watch an action film.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I beg him for 10 minutes more before I drag myself out of bed. He’s too active to go back to sleep. What is with children and waking up at these ungodly hours.

6:00 a.m. — This is super cute and imaginative. I feel like.. I ought to do this. Somewhere. It’s so whimsical and fun.

7:05 a.m. — He watches some Dr. Binocs and then just won’t stop talking about what would happen if the world would end. He starts drawing out how the sun would burn out or disappear in billions of years, then the moon would have no light either as it comes from the sun, and then everything would have no sun and stop growing / die…. It’s quite morbid but he finds it so interesting.

8:08 a.m. — Little Bun writes this in his workbook and it makes me laugh.

Diner: A place where you have meals.

Dinner: A night snack or a meal. (NIGHT SNACK!!! LOL)

12:00 p.m. — “Mommy, whatever your lunch is going to be today, I would be HAPPY to try it with you and eat with you.” — so sayeth the cutest Little Bun who hovers around me as I prepare my meal.

2:28 p.m. — I love a statement coat. This one is just stunning. Wish I knew which designer it was..

3:15 p.m. — Sometimes his brain goes off on tangents and until I figure out why he is asking, I don’t understand his questioning.

“Mommy. How can I eat more vitamin C?” .. I name off the usual suspects – citrus fruits, potatoes.. broccoli.. and he perks up at broccoli and potatoes and says: “OH GOODY! This means that I can get LOTS of vitamin C“. I ask him why he’s so concerned about Vitamin C, and he tells me very seriously that it is to avoid scurvy. And he also got a small, very tiny papercut on his finger, and he read in his books (?) that Vitamin C helps with healing wounds.

3:35 p.m. — We work on the home plans together, and I let him go wild decorating the patio, his new bedroom. He adds books, tables, and wants to make it all look comfortable and snuggly. I am thinking I will have ONE chair, a La-Z-boy recliner that I will use as my office chair and swivel it to become a lounge one as well so I can nap / read at will at my desk or use it as a recliner to watch shows.

5:29 p.m. — Laundry, vacuuming, dishes. Then dinner.

7:28 p.m. — Book reading, another action film with Daddy, then time for bed. Our daily routines don’t really change that much, to be honest.

8:22 p.m. — I order a new knife for my mother because I heard her complain about the one she had, and a paring knife would be useful for her. $101.97

Spent: $101.97

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun again. <3

6:04 a.m. — I have an appointment today, so I will head out after I get some work done.

11:55 a.m. — I log off from work and get ready to leave.

12:08 p.m. — I head out for a bit and see this along the way:

1:25 p.m. — While I am out, I treat myself to a Vegan Crab Burger from Copper Branch. $15

2:10 p.m. — Home, I log into a meeting.

5:09 p.m. — I log off for the day.

5:22 p.m. — Little Bun is so… KIND. And generous. With no prompting at all, when I have basil that we harvested leftover from his dinner, he has taken to splitting it in half and sharing with me because he knows I love eating basil as it is. He really rips it down the middle to make sure it’s fair. And when it’s a bigger leaf versus a smaller one, he usually gives me the bigger one because I am bigger than him, so it feels fairer (I asked him once why he gave me the big one). <3

6:44 p.m. — “Mommy, what are you having for dinner?” … I side eye him, and say I was thinking of making either vegan sushi rolls (cauliflower in the middle), or risotto… he perks up at both options, I ask him which one he wants, and he tells me risotto so I make it for us.

8:22 p.m. — I have a TERRIBLE canker sore, and instead of suffering for weeks with it slowly blistering then closing up, I know the solution is to directly salt it. I wet a finger, put salt on it to make it stick, then brace myself and press it hard directly on the wound until endorphins kick in and the pain disappears, and I stop crying.

Little Bun spies me doing it, and comes to me asking if he should hug me while I do it. I nod, prep the salt, and I take a deep breath to press it into the open canker sore. Little Bun hugs me hard around my waist, squeezing, and saying: It is okay Mommy. It is okay. You’ll be okay. SNUGGLING ACTIVATED!, while rubbing my lower back (where he can reach), and hugging me hard, making soothing noises as he sees me breathe hard and tears run down my cheeks (this stuff is PAINFUL but necessary).

8:25 p.m. — It is all over, and he hugs me one more time to check I am okay, and runs off to read some comic books. I can already feel it being less painful.

Spent: $15

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake him to Little Bun kissing my cheek and snuggling me.

6:30 a.m. — I drag myself out of bed and make a tea. He spies me making matcha and says: OH GOODY, you got to have your tea today. I know how grumpy you are sometimes when you don’t get your tea, and when there is no milk, Mommy.

10:25 a.m. — I love this light pink coat and all-white outfit. I do not think I can pull off this shell pink but I can definitely recreate this from my wardrobe with ease.  

 

I have really been getting into videos on how to shop your closet, and someone recommended Alyssa Beltempo on creating new outfits out of what you already own, and I love her work! Here is an example of Old Clothes / New Outfits. This is what I am doing / attempting to do and I am making notes from what she has created.

8:34 p.m. — I salt my canker sore again, and call him to come give me moral support. He puts the iPad on the table (he loves following rules and now NEVER forgets to put it nicely on the table so it doesn’t get cracked on the bed), and he runs to me, hugging me hard, making soothing noises as I salt it hard and cry. This is the last time I need to do it. Just two painful experiences and the pain is gone within 24-48 hours depending on when I started salting it.

9:03 p.m. — We read a few pages in his math book, and we learn about paradoxes, math puzzles and probabilities. He loves these.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

10:00 a.m. — We all need to be reminded of this

10:02 a.m. — I take a break and make a mug cake with Little Bun, this time adding in a lot of cinnamon to make it Snickerdoodle-esque.

11:15 a.m. — I am watching some closet videos while working and in between conference calls as a break, and honestly, I find a lot of them really boring. Just because you have a wall full of Hermès bags that are $50K each, so maybe $3M in bags, but that doesn’t mean you have any style personality. Sorry to be so rude and frank, but I greatly dislike it when people think throwing money at their style means they’re stylish. Even having things covered in diamonds doesn’t impress me.

The person I am currently loving, surprisingly, is Heart Evangelista, who is just .. so funny, sweet, witty, certainly privileged, but humble and also just as successful as her husband and FINANCIALLY SAVVY (she keeps talking about being on a budget, saving money and saving for her “grey days”):

Aside from Heart, I’d also rather watch someone like Alyssa Beltempo shop her own closet using cool pieces and outfits as inspiration. She is far more stylish with her secondhand finds, her breakdown of her outfits, ideas, and she is giving me lots of great ideas.

12:28 p.m. — I feel like this right now after all my meetings.

1:56 p.m. — I take a break to read my book and drink a tea.

3:02 p.m. — Little Bun is up from his nap but I am on a call, gesturing frantically to get him to SHUSH. He grabs the iPad and runs off to get his daily rewards (he has to log in and colour in patterns or whatever else to get his daily reward in the games).

4:56 p.m. — Off my calls, and done for the day.

7:10 p.m. — Dinner, laundry, nothing much all night.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

7:00 a.m. — Little Bun looks thoughtfully at me and asks: “Mommy, is it possible to talk too much?” I burst out laughing and say: YES IT IS POSSIBLE. (I am clearly thinking of him because he is a mini chatterbox full of facts and never seems to have quiet thinking moments).

12:08 p.m. — I order some vegan chicken wings (they’re mushroom), and the “bone” inside is a piece of bamboo which is so cute, honestly. They come with this great slaw and this thick creamy sauce, I lick it all up and love it. $10

1:40 p.m. — Back home, logging back in. LAST DAY BEFORE WEEKEND.

3:05 p.m. — Little Bun wakes up and squeals: MOMMY AREN’T YOU EXCITED? TODAY IS THE LAST DAY BEFORE THE WEEKEND WHEEEE!!!!!!! NO MORE WORKBOOK!!!!

4:27 p.m. — I do the dishes while on a call. It’s long and interminable. I said my piece up front at the start and now I am good.

5:20 p.m. — I log off for the day, and grab dinner.

5:30 p.m. — My partner goes to lie down and listen to the radio, he usually ends up napping too which is hilarious. Little Bun then goes and baby bombs him by opening the door screaming: PA PAAAAAA!!!!!

7:18 p.m. — I watch Flatpack Empire, all about Ikea and how they do business and so on. In some ways, I am disappointed because they do cut down a ton of trees for their catalogs and so on, but then again, they also do think of low cost, frugality, and cost cutting in their products without scrimping on quality. I just feel bad for the suppliers being squeezed in the middle however. One company has 100% of its business with Ikea and only a few products they produce millions of yearly. Imagine if that work all went offshore completely? Boom. Business is dead.

9:43 p.m. — Laundry put away, then bedtime.

Spent: $10

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I try to sleep in but Little Early Bird wouldn’t let me.

6:00 a.m. — This is ungodly on a weekend.

8:08 a.m. — We head to the park.

11:15 a.m. — Back home, we have lunch, and Little Bun tells me all about how much fun he had, and how much he loves eating his lunch, then eating some of my lunch, then some of Daddy’s lunch.

12:01 p.m. — I go and lie down, to read my book. Little Bun plays on the iPad.

1:10 p.m. — Down for his nap, I am still reading my book but now with a cup of tea.

3:25 p.m. — I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. I find the writings of Zafon excellent, and when you get sucked into a book, everything else, dust, dishes, and laundry, all cease to exist. I even read while eating, like when I was younger. I was that much of a bookworm!

9:22 p.m. — GAH. 50 pages left. I will finish it tomorrow.

Spent: $0

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.