Week of Money: Where Little Bun adorably tries to forge my info for a donation

DAY ONE

??:?? — We wake up pretty early. I am very tired. I know it is definitely not even 5. It is 4. I am sure of it.

5:04 a.m. — OH GAWD…..  WHY *sob* … I am truly exhausted. I know and feel it in my bones.

6:12 a.m. — Little Bun is quiet and not giving me a hassle because

7:00 a.m. — My partner gets up to cook, and I get ready to go to yoga. I am dead tired but maybe yoga will help me… who knows.

9:58 a.m. — Oh this pearl necklace is cute. $32 though? Umm….. I will see if I can find something similar on Poshmark, otherwise, I will see if I can swing it in my budget at the end of the month.

11:25 a.m. — After yoga I do feel way better, but fatigue is setting in. Before lunch, I try and lie down for 10 minutes but end up being called by a panicky, bleating Little Bun: Mommy Mommy! You’re going to miss lunch and be late. MOMMY!

12:45 p.m. — I try in vain to lie down again for a 10 minute nap, and I manage to doze off for a bit, with Little Bun watching the clock. Once it hit 13:00, he came up close to my face: How many more minutes Mommy? It is 13:00 .. and I give him another 5, then another 5, and I get up and force myself NOT TO NAP.

2:56 p.m. — DYING. I am so tired. I really am. Little Bun is in there fluffing pillows, squealing, doing anything but napping but having somewhat of a quiet time.

3:00 p.m. — On the dot, I hear a polite knock on the door to signal to us that he is up and wants to be let out of his napping time, so I grab his milk as he runs giggling back to the bed (I can hear him squealing).

4:34 p.m. — I do all the dishes, clean up, organize things… I am really tired. I almost don’t want to do any of it but I force myself because I don’t want to do dishes tomorrow morning.

5:16 p.m. — Well this made me furious.

EVERY WOMAN NEEDS THEIR OWN MONEY. Somehow. Someway. SOMEWHERE. I cannot repeat this enough – these are the 3 things every woman should have and own. NO MATTER WHAT. Oooo I am so angry right now. I know this is a real thing. I know there are women out there who are TOTALLY DEPENDENT on their husbands like this. I might sound rabid about this, but for good reason.

6:56 p.m. — Time for bed. Face clean, teeth brushed, I am in bed. I lie there as we talk about things we loved about today. He tells me he loved (1) playing Ducky Maze ( a game he made up with his rubber ducky, giving it directions to go up, down, left or right to get to do certain things like take a school bus or go to bed), (2) eating his pasta and (3) playing Starbucks for Life with Mommy, and having her win 35 stars (which totally happened.) Children are such innocents. I sometimes look at his eager happy little face and think that he should never change, but I know as life goes on, he won’t be quite so innocent. I am trying to soak it all up now.

7:45 p.m. — Little Bun turns and says very cutely: Now Mommy, why don’t YOU tell me what you like doing at work? …. My heart. I tell him I like having colleagues to talk to and joke around with, a spot in the back where people don’t sneak up behind me and frighten me, and that I am close to home so I can come back sooner.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up somewhat rested. I slept EARLY last night at around 7-ish, 8-ish, and I am slowly getting my brain back. I truly think that sleep deprivation and a lack of sleep is the cause of many things. I just wish I could fix this somehow, but I will just keep going to bed earlier.

6:00 a.m. — I play with Little Bun, feed him his breakfast (he asked for pasta), and he asks me to pack the banana for him for his snack at daycare because he doesn’t want to eat it here, he wants to wait until he is there. (See? Conscientious. The last time he ate his banana at home, he was sad because he didn’t have a morning snack to eat at daycare.)

7:26 a.m. — After a game of Ducky Maze, and promises to play more when we get home after daycare, he goes off happily. I sniff his head and smell him before I hug and kiss him goodbye and tell him I love him more than anything in the whole world, always, no matter what happens. (I always tell him.).

8:12 a.m. — Home, I get caught up in little tiny tasks – call the bank, log in, check balances, etc… and before I know it, I am late for my appointment, and I hop into the shower, shower, dry my hair very quickly (this hairdryer is a good investment and a lifesaver because now my hair/head won’t freeze outside when it’s wet!). I somehow threw this together. I like the collared shirt underneath – it is a tank, that happens to look great over a sweater I had with dramatic bishop sleeves.

9:00 a.m. — First call of the day, in the car as I am driving to the doctor’s.

9:30 a.m. — I am sitting in the car, second call of the day before the doctor’s. These calls are frankly, useless.

10:03 a.m. — Into the doctor’s office, 15 minutes for her to tell me the secretary mixed up the messages and I really didn’t even have to come in today (WTF)… and I leave. At least I didn’t overpay  for parking. $0.50

10:25 a.m. — I drop by a prepared meals store, pick up some extras to add to my lunches for the week – I cannot survive on what my partner is cooking and I dare not ask for him to make more food or different meals because he is so STRESSED about studying and exams. I’m stuck just quietly supplementing. I also get some macarons as a treat. $47.49

I would be a terrible, TERRIBLE trophy wife if they were expecting me to make anything like this:

 

10:37 a.m. — WHAT THE HELL IS MY NEIGHBOUR DOING UPSTAIRS. I just hear banging ALL DAY LONG. I cannot think, I cannot even concentrate on calls…

11:00 a.m. — Another call. I am sorry (not sorry) and pretend I have another call so I can drop off and leave this interminably useless meeting early.

12:00 p.m. — I call my friend to chat during lunch, as I eat my braised beef cheeks with beans and rice.

12:45 p.m. — This is how you rebalance a portfolio, by the way. Someone asked, so I quickly did an image for them.

The second half which I posted later, is that you now know how much you need in each fund at the end, so just minus it out. $10,500 needed in the first fund, you already have $6000, so add an extra $4500. Simple!

3:28 p.m. — Ate my lunch and my second lunch.. so I am good for the night. I am trying this thing where I don’t eat closer to night time (cutoff around 6 p.m.) so that when I wake up at 6-ish (give or take Little Bun’s schedule), I will have had 12 hours of not eating, or intermittent fasting which is completely voluntary, and not like when my mother was a little girl and had to starve for hours without food.

The other thing, is that even if I wake up at 6 a.m., I only have a cup of matcha tea with some milk, and nothing to eat until about noon or so when lunch rolls around. I know milk breaks the fast, and I should just have water, but I am not a monk.

I don’t eat breakfast (usually), and feel perfectly fine. I only start getting shaky around 2 p.m. if I haven’t eaten SOMETHING by then, having only eaten the night before. I’ve tested this before. Anyway, I am trying it out, and seeing if it will help stave off the effects of Type 2 Diabetes, which runs in my family. I haven’t really felt this to be a hardship, it doesn’t seem to harm me, so I’ll keep doing it.

3:42 p.m. — Ooooo my legs hurt. I really pushed at yoga yesterday while being tired, and she REALLY LOVED the Chair Pose (one of my most hated poses)… so I am feeling it in my legs today. In a good way that also is bad.

3:42 p.m. — I have so many grand plans when I wake up, and before you know it, it is almost time to go pick Little Bun up from daycare. Ugh.. I really have to get around to changing all of my passwords. *sigh*

4:23 p.m. — I grab him and he tells me: Mommy you’re 7 minutes early. OMG CHILD. I told you 4:30 OR EARLIER. He is really into time and schedules, which I suppose is a good and bad thing. Good, because it is one way he knows what is happening (schedule) and feels like he has a control over what happens in the day. Bad, because now I have to literally look at the clock and take it seriously when I say: Let’s get ready at 8, he is watching the seconds tick down, and once it changes from 7:59 a.m. to 8 a.m., he is out of his chair, ripping his clothes off as he runs down the hallway to get changed to leave. Children are very literal.

5:16 p.m. — Home, we play Ducky Maze to bring hot soup to help Fishy get better. And people wonder why I am so scatterbrained sometimes. I am here, coming up with plausible scenarios that include the teachings of Aesop’s Fables to help my son grow into a strong independent young man (BUT NOT TOO FAST), so I add in some exotic fanciful scenarios to make him giggle and keep his creative innocence alive. No wonder mothers everywhere have Mommy Brain.

5:23 p.m. — Laundry time, I clean up a little, I make plans and notes to DO BETTER tomorrow and actually call my bank instead of promising I’ll call, and to TURN OFF my Instagram, as well as to stop ogling outfits in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (I binge watched Season 3 and I am in love with her outfits but am not sure I am willing to wear a corset to fit into them.)

SWOON!

Sorry for this terrible screen capture, but this was a CAPED DRESS. <3 When she walked, it FLOWED. <3

5:48 p.m. — We play Ducky Maze, Fishy Maze, and he got THREE cool new space books as a Christmas gift. This one book alone, kept him occupied ALL NIGHT for 3 hours straight — Super Space Sticker Activity Book. It gives you stickers to fill in puzzles, blank spots, it is very interactive and cool. He is in love. I now know what to get him when we go on vacation and have long stretches of time where he needs to be quiet.

8:37 p.m. — Bedtime. I tear this book away from him and we all go to sleep, after we chat about our day. Today he tells me he loved Eating Pasta, Playing Ducky Maze with Mommy, and his Space Book. Then he asks me politely: What did you love about today? How do you feel? — these are all things I ask him and I am glad to see they are sticking because he is mimicking me. I tell him I loved playing Ducky Maze with him, that he got a Space Book as a gift, and eating my lunch. <3

Spent: $47.89

DAY THREE

??:?? — Tired. Still woke up tired. I could have taken another hour.

5:04 a.m. — WHYYYYYY. *sobs* … I try and keep a lid on Little Bun – he is in a good mood but he can be still very loud in the morning when he is happy.

5:22 a.m. — We play our Starbucks for Life, and then he watches a few videos with me – he is so eager and cute, he wants to sit with me and explain these episodes, over and over again. THESE SAME EPISODES I HAVE SEEN 4 TIMES BEFORE… but children like to watch things on repeat. They learn and see new things, and are comfortable with what is coming – nothing is changing, and they know what to expect in the episode, so they need to watch things a billion times and will not get bored like us jaded adults.

7:15 a.m. — I drop him at daycare. THIS IS MY LAST DAY OF APARTMENT FREEDOM. He is in daycare and I am free at home to do what I want. LAST DAY I can be alone in my apartment without Little Bun around. This is my cute outfit by the way.

8:00 a.m. — First call.

10:15 p.m. — Call over. THESE CALLS SHOULD BE FIFTEEN MINUTES and I shouldn’t have to attend because I have zero stake in this.

12:04 p.m. — Time for lunch. Mmmmm.. beer braised pork over beans and rice. Then I am off to Starbucks for a treat. Today is a Double Star Day (YES I AM THAT SUCKER), but I also want to get the Starbucks for Life plays for Little Bun. He was so incredibly disappointed that they screwed up on the app and didn’t give us our 4 free plays for him to tap on the screen, even though I have logged proof that I paid for purchases after 2 p.m. to qualify.

12:10 p.m. — At Starbucks, having a treat. I got this free lemon loaf. $0

12:34 p.m. — I also pick up a blueberry cheesecake because… HOLIDAYS. $7.35

1:15 p.m. — During my other 50 billion useless calls, I end up taking out all of my necklaces on a whim, and going through them. I am trying to KonMari this collection I have because I HAVE A LOT of necklaces. A ton. You can see all of them on Instagram under the Highlight My Closet @saverspender.

2:56 p.m. — Uh. I should not have taken out ALL the hanging ones and just dumped them on the floor because now they’re all tangled. I am dumb.

4:00 p.m. — I end up picking through all the necklaces, organizing them all, and I sort of can’t get rid of any of them. They are all amazing, with sentimental value, but also just because I like to wear them and different varieties.

(My Instagram stories highlight also has a few videos of me talking about some pieces)

4:30 p.m. — I finally get everything untangled in time, and dial off my conference call (THESE ARE SO LONG AND ANNOYING) except for 4 necklaces, and run off to pick up Little Bun.

4:58 p.m. — Also, I did finish The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3 and WHAT A CLIFFHANGER. OMG. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. I am so mad now. When is Season 4 starting? This show is full of varied, interesting, quirky characters all lovable in their own way, even the villains.

5:00 p.m. — I get there, and he runs out to me happily waving this rather chic looking Christmas tree he made and decorated out of crumpled tissue paper and some pom poms and decorations. It’s pretty cute. I’ll give him that.

5:07 p.m. — He also announces that he peed on himself during naptime. He must have REALLY been sleeping heavily because normally he wakes up for that no matter what.

5:12 p.m. — We get home as it starts to really snow.

5:40 p.m. — At home, we unpack everything, I put away dishes, and we play Ducky Maze, do more Space sticker activity book, and watch a few videos of Tom and Jerry before it gets too late and I start getting ready for bed, myself.

5:54 p.m. — All throughout the videos, he is telling me: Mommy, Tom can’t swim! (He can’t.), and I tell him that that is why HE needs to learn how to swim, and I plan on taking him to our indoor pool during our time off.

6:23 p.m. — He also does something weird in the bathroom with his blanket, pulling it over the towels and I have no idea what is going on in his head but… if he is quiet and having fun, not causing trouble, I leave him alone.

6:38 p.m. — He does this, then rearranges everything in the bathroom, putting the toothbrushes where the tissue box is, and the tissue box is now upside down. He giggles and says: Is the bathroom all messed up? HEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

7:11 p.m. — He runs around like a banshee and ends up hitting his knee on the floor because he jumped and missed the landing. He starts crying but I can tell it is fake because he isn’t really hurt. He tries to get sympathy from me and I have none – I tell him I already told him many times he can’t jump around like that, and he had to learn somehow. There you go. Lesson learned. (I sound harsh but this is a typical life of a parent and child.)

8:25 p.m. — Time for bed. I am leaving these dishes for tomorrow. Eff it.

Spent: $7.35

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up … dragging. I actually slept, but not enough. At least it isn’t 4 a.m. I hope. I make him check the time and it is 5 a.m. I drag myself out, and then make some tea.

4:30 a.m. — I grab the laundry out from last night, and he perks up — Mommy, I have to do the laundry sorting first before we can play Starbucks for Life and read grandmom’s emails (my mother writes to him at his own email address). I am VERY pleased to hear this even at 5 a.m. in the morning because it means he is understanding when I tell him – Mommy has to work first, and then she can play. — I want him to really have this work ethic instilled in him, the way I had it when I was a child. I ALWAYS did my homework first before having fun. I was THAT. KID.

4:47 a.m. — He sorts the laundry as I make my tea, making little piles of his clothes, my clothes, and then matching the socks to make sure they’re all paired off — they are except for one white sock, and he and I cannot figure out where the sock went.

5:10 a.m. — After sorting and putting clothes away, we get our 2 free plays from Starbucks for Life. I also did not get plays I was entitled to from a challenge so I email them. I really only do this game for him, he loves tapping the snow globe and getting ‘stickers’ as he calls them.

5:23 a.m. — He then proceeds to read through my mothers’s emails to him. I respond back to her in his email address with what he is saying as he reads the emails.

6:02 a.m. — He also got a free local 2020 calendar this week from a political party and has been inputting people’s birthdays and events. He made a note for 2020 when he will go back to daycare and how long he is on vacation from it. When we get his school schedule we will put it in there too to let him know when he is starting school, when his breaks will be, and other reminders.

This is his January

• My friend is visiting from Jan 1 – Jan 4
• Jan 12 is a family birthday
• Jan 13 is “d” for the day he goes back to daycare

6:08 a.m. — I very much enjoy that he has a 2020 calendar (it was free) because I had one as a kid and loved making schedules and lists, the way he is doing now. I liked knowing what I would do each day, what week it was at school, what subjects, when things were due…. and I am seeing all of this show up in him. It is how I became so organized and efficient starting around age 7 – it is a difficult skill to teach – and to this day, I do not forget much because I make endless lists to stay on track, even today. I never pretend that my memory is sufficient.

6:28 a.m. — Whenever we have something, he tells me – Mommy, hmm, let me check my calendar. IT KILLS ME IT IS SO CUTE.

6:33 a.m. — He then asks for ‘Instagram math’ (exact words). He shoves my phone to me and asks to look at math on Instagram. He likes the videos on geometry and so on, so I try and find interesting math videos for him.

6:50 a.m. — I prepare a bowl of pasta for him before I leave for work, that is his favourite breakfast, and he exclaims: Daddy made pasta! He pasta-ed himself! … I tell him pasta is not a verb. LOL

7:28 a.m. — Oh and this is my outfit. Cute, festive and stretchy skirted!

8:08 a.m. — I buy a danoise cake from Starbucks for work and it is delicious – like a cinnamon cake. $0 – used credit

7:40 a.m. — I get to work, and it is a full day of endless, quite useless meetings. I know I get paid a lot to sit through them but .. it doesn’t make them any less useless.

8:50 a.m. — I have a work dinner to go to quite late at 18:00.. I plan on going to show my face, but quite frankly, I wish I could skip it. Still I will try to see if I can make friends or something with more people and not be stuck beside deadweights who can’t make small talk that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WORK. I hate hate hate work talk outside of work. If I am talking work, I am going to bill for it.

4:35 p.m. — Work day was normal. I end up leaving a bit early, dropping into Sephora and touching up a little as I know I am vain, and I know I will be a disgusting, self-conscious oil slick if I don’t.

5:29 p.m. — I also go by an Anthropologie and try on a skirt with a top, and it looks beautiful together but I can’t really justify either.

Oh and these earrings are pretty:

And these gold cups are wonderful… I love it especially for finger food and dipping.

6:00 p.m. — Dinner was surprisingly fun. Everyone teased me about my accent because it isn’t Québecois, I managed to get to know a few people better. I also realized that some people take words VERY literally. I joked to one guy who was at least 60, saying: Oh so I take it you’re not a millennial? … and he was genuinely shocked I would think so. LOL. Some people are very easy to fool.

9:23 p.m. — I get home late but not too late (the snow squall made me drive really slowly), and Little Bun is already asleep. I remove all my makeup (double cleanse method with cleansing oil and then a cream cleanser), slap on some anti-aging BHA, AHA and serums, and sneak into bed.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

??:?? — Little Bun wakes me up by sitting on my stomach, and leaning in: Mommyyyy.. I am awake now. I grab him into a big bear hug and he squeals happily. I kiss him until he squirms away and go to grab his milk.

6:08 a.m. — In the bedroom he is giggling like a banshee. Turns out he put his stuffed toy on his pillow, and pretended that his stuffed toy would drink the milk instead of him. I smile, he is so silly. I tell him he is being silly, and that only little children and babies drink milk! Not stuffed animals! He giggles and snuggles into bed and has his milk.

6:16 a.m. — After milk, I am working in the living room, after making a tea.

7:58 a.m. — Mommy.. Would you like to come and knock on the bedroom door? I am not ready yet, so please wait! I will get ready if you would like to come and knock on the door. I promise to wait, he runs off, I go and knock on the closed bedroom door. He opens it to welcome me into the bedroom and I teach him to say politely: Oh hello, how are you? Would you like to come in? and to invite me in nicely. Into our own bedroom.

8:12 a.m. — I play with him a little, do some sock ball catch (he loves this game), and then go back to work. My partner is home as well so he is also doing catch on and off during the day.

8:49 a.m. — Oh and he made this tree in daycare which I find quite chic and cute actually

9:34 a.m. — I go back to work and am on calls all morning.

1:09 p.m. — He is down for his nap.

1:10 p.m. — I immediately watch two episodes of Modern Love from Amazon while eating lunch. This is one of the most poignant series I have ever watched, about various forms of love. It is all so complex and exciting.

2:04 p.m. — Back to work. More calls, I do a few documents. As I am on a call, my partner cleans up the toy room / living area without saying a word. I didn’t ask him, he didn’t ask me, or complain, and just did it. THIS is equality. People seeing what has to get done, and just bloody doing it instead of saying it is one gender or another.

3:07 p.m. — Little Bun is up.

4:23 p.m. — I obsessively watch more episodes after work. Everyone is winding down. Ain’t nobody working today or tomorrow.

6:47 p.m. — I watch a few episodes of Tom and Jerry with him – he wants me to pick them but I never pick the right ones he likes, so he squeals: NOT THAT ONE!.. I get so frustrated after 5 wrong picks, that I finally ask him to tell me which ones he wants me to pick. Eye roll.

7:15 p.m. — Somehow Little Bun takes an envelope I wanted to recycle and starts filling in my name and address, and then he says: Mommy? MOMMY I need your card. Give me your card please. I need your card. What is the number?… I am incredibly confused until I see what he is doing – he wants to fill in the donation form for the Green Party and use my credit card to send them money!!!! An early philanthropist, although with his Mommy’s money.. LOL… I am laughing so hard right now.

7:39 p.m. — Time for bed. I am very tired, I fell asleep sitting upright.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — He is up. He checks the time and very cutely tries to go back to sleep because he asked me when he should wake up and I told him 6 a.m. He tells me it is 5:10 a.m.

5:10 a.m. — I get up, get his milk, get ready, and he is in very good spirits, except for the screaming: MY NOSE! MY NOSE!! … It was dripping but he couldn’t get his own napkin (obviously /sarcasm) and had to scream to let everyone know he needed it wiped.

5:29 a.m. — We play Starbucks for Life and check the weather. We added Beijing to the list so that he can monitor the skies.

6:06 a.m. — I eat my lunch early and then make a green tea.

8:15 a.m. — Good (late) morning… I went out for a chai latte for the morning because I needed a break from Little Bun’s incessant whining. Also, I am on a conference call and need peace and quiet. $5.37

9:27 a.m. — I come back home and my partner goes out to run errands. My calls are thankfully, done for the day.

10:08 a.m. — Working. I have no idea why people think that things can get done the week before Christmas. So many people are on vacation already.

12:08 p.m. — YES! I LOVE IT WHEN THINGS CLICK.

12:28 p.m. — I go out for a vegan burger, and am very put out by seeing food waste. I mean.. can’t you bring this home to eat for lunch afterwards? What is the point of wasting it? You PAID FOR IT. It kind of irks me. $10.59

12:56 p.m. — I grab a little piece of apple cake and am loving it. $4.35

1:30 p.m. — Working we have meetings up until the very last hour of the day.

4:00 p.m. — DAY OVER. I am officially OFF. I submit my timesheets ahead of time with ZERO hours for the next 3 weeks.

5:24 p.m. — My partner is upset, Little Bun hasn’t had vegetable stew in a while, and therefore .. barely any vegetables. I sort of sigh. I am tired, and he just hasn’t been hungry in the evenings so I have fed him NOTHING, ergo no soup. And why the hell is it my sole responsibility and job? YOU FEED HIM THE GODDAMN SOUP. I am too tired to even scream this. I am planning on sleeping again at 7 tonight.

6:15 p.m. — I clean up what I can around my desk, go through my endless notes of things to do – they’re all little things you know, like deleting old accounts, updating passwords.. and when you have over 200 accounts online, this can be very tricky.

7:22 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $20.31

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I wake up tired, but feeling okay. Sort of. I feel a scratchy throat, I suspect I have caught yet another cold which explains some of my fatigue as well.

6:37 a.m. — Little Bun sobs in bed after checking the time. He is upset he woke up “too late”, he wanted to wake up at 6 a.m. not 6:37! I have to try and calm him down, and finally realize he wanted to wake up at 6 so he could have Quiet Mommy Time. Basically, the early morning, alone with me, watching videos, or just cuddling etc, before Daddy wakes up. He really cherishes these quiet moments alone. <3 I promise him Quiet Mommy Time in bed with Daddy in the kitchen.

6:40 a.m. — After his milk, I don’t even make a tea, I just cuddle with him in the bedroom and he wants to play the “Stuffed Animal Caring Game”. It is a new game he made up where he has two “babies” in the nursery and when they cry, he wants to take care of them – change their cloth diapers (yes we cloth diapered and it was so easy!), feed them milk, or just cuddle them because babies need to be cuddled.

7:32 a.m. — I start getting ready to go to yoga. He whines a little, and asks me to stay home, but I tell him firmly I am going out and will be back around noon. I leave, without a fuss, just a sad-faced Little Bun. Better than screaming.

8:08 a.m. — Quite possibly the best piece of history I have learned in a long time:

8:33 a.m. — Yoga was good! I don’t love the slower movements, but I do like stretching and being pushed into more advanced poses, and she sort of did that, but I just modified it to be what I wanted. I know I will feel great and achey tomorrow. I even did the full Wheel (deep backbend) which I used to find a bit more difficult!

10:11 a.m. — I go to Starbucks and grab a quick drink, and then go have a vegan mushroom burger. $10.80

10:28 a.m. — I pop into a few thrift stores and see some interesting items..

These two bracelets were nice – the big gold one was too heavy and I didn’t want to pay $10 for something I wouldn’t really wear considering its weight, plus I have so many other nicer cuffs. The blue and gold bracelet was BEAUTIFUL but missing a “stone” and broken.

You can always find cashmere in these places if you touch/look carefully. I already have a grey cashmere turtleneck, a vintage men’s one from Gucci, so I didn’t bother with this one.

This is a cat picture that I found interesting, and when I posted it on Instagram, a friend wanted it, so I’ll go back and get it for her.

Someone did a little DIY on this sweater – you can see they chopped off the bottom.

I keep seeing these faux fur vests everywhere I go. I sort of and do not want to buy one because I suspect I won’t wear it. Besides, I have faux fur stoles.

I saw this on a rack and immediately loved it. I know it looks shapeless but I can see it is done artfully:

Perfection! $7 and it was mine. I liked the batwing sleeves, the assymetrical hem, and the longer tighter cuff on the wrist is perfect to give it some architectural interest (you push up on the sleeves).

Liked this print, hated the cheap polyester fabric.

Did not love this print as much but appreciated how well made it was – this was a perfectly constructed garment.

A cheap Alexander McQueen knockoff. Look at the terrible fabric piling! If it wasn’t in such terrible condition, I’d have bought it and tried to resell it because it is kind of cool.

Ugliest earrings I have ever seen in my life. And creepy.

A very well made vintage sweater, with actual metal clasps. Very beautiful, but too large.

12:08 p.m. — Home, Little Bun greets me at the door, and I eat my lunch, sharing it with him.

1:02 p.m. — I carry him into the bedroom for his nap, but I can tell he slept too much from this morning so he’s not interested in napping.

2:00 p.m. — I let him out, and give him milk and let him watch videos in the bedroom. He isn’t going to nap, I can tell. I just tell him to be quiet until 15:00 so I can get stuff done, and I end up working on the blog layout, trying to fix everything. For some reason, this blog theme I bought did weird word-breaks, as in it would snap words in half like writing daught and then putting er (for “daughter”) on the next line. Some sort of stylistic trait I guess, but it is so dumb. It is very disconcerting to read, so I go through the CSS code, Google it, and figure out how to make it break properly at the FULL word…. I can’t code worth crap, but I sure know how to Google and figure things out.’

3:09 p.m. — My partner is home, and I ate all the pecan shortbread cookies because they’re my favourite from my friend’s care package!

4:27 p.m. — I answer a few questions on IG – I post a LOT on Instagram. With daily pictures of my life, a good chunk of my thrifting/shopping finds, etc, but I do save a lot for the blog as well – what I actually bought (I don’t post it all on IG). Here are a few questions people sent in as an example:

I get this question at least 5X every time I post – Ask me anything!

This was a good question. HAHA!

I still remember this coat. I hope to find something like it again! But in my size. The shoulders were too big, and you can’t tailor shoulders.

Someone asked how I “do it all”, and the answer is I don’t. I let a lot of stuff fall to the side.

6:25 p.m. — I feed Little Bun soup, drink some cashew milk, and then he gets two cookies (and I do too).

6:40 p.m. — I go to take a shower, and instead of staying outside to play alone, he asks to stay inside the bathroom with me and the hot steam, and wants to look at me / watch me shower. LOL.. this is normally very creepy from anyone else, but I know Little Bun is feeling super clingy lately, and he just wants to be near me as much as possible for some reason.

6:48 p.m. — I am in the shower, and he asks me: Mommy, do you want to write letters and shapes for me in the shower stall? So I draw them on the shower stall as it steams up and he calls out the numbers, alphabet, etc. He even makes sure that I wrap my hair up nicely so it gets dry, and grabs the towel for me. Like a mini butler. LOL

7:38 p.m. — We play the Stuffed Animal Caring Game again. He is loving these babies, and learning how to care for them, with empathy, etc. They say you socialize kids from an early age, and I believe that. I didn’t encourage him into any of his activities, he chose them and I play with him to try and use it as a teaching lesson (in a fun way), no matter the activity. I teach him about burping the babies, and why we do it, etc.

7:50 p.m. — I do laundry, and clean up around the toy area with his help.

8:34 p.m. — Time for bed. Before bed, we always tuck the Stuffed Animals in, and he gives up his pillow for them because it is their nursery bed. He tells me: Mommy don’t give me my pillow! The Stuffed Animals need them to sleep, they’re only babies! …. And then he snuggles into my Mommy Nest (he sleeps in between my legs, with his head on my belly), all warm, cuddled up with my legs warming him, and a blanket. We talk about our favourite things from today – he tells me he loved Lunch, Dinner, and Our Chatting right now. He falls asleep almost immediately.

Spent: $10.80

———-

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