Breaking my own rules

So I made this rule for myself about undergarments.

I believe in buying 2 (or 3) new brassieres every 6 months.  And tossing the old.

I wear the same two bras in rotation all week.  The bra lady at Macy's told me to do that.  And hand wash.  Wear them on alternating days and let them air out and let the bra re-shape for 24 hours between wearings.

Anyway.  That was my goal.  I went shopping last year in September (Happy Birthday to Me....) and got two great bras.  (And also a nice sports bra)  So to stay on schedule I should have retired those two bras to "weekend wear" in March and purchased two more.  Right?

Well I've been trying.  I've been trying to find 45 minutes of alone time to stop at Macy's for five months now.  And I've failed. 

Failed I tell you.

It is almost September again and I'm wearing some sad, stretched out, worn out boobie holders.

So I'm going to reinvent.... again.  And try once more.

Anybody have any great bra styles to recommend?    I've heard the barely there invisible look is good... anyone?

Project Couch

This is what my couch looked like a few weeks ago.  Notice the sage green Pottery Barn cover is gone.  I've always hated that cover....ever since I got it (and a chair cover) for a screamin' $80 shipped from Ebay.  It never stayed on quite right and it always looked tired, faded and sad.  This is the couch with the original back cushions replaced.  And the bottom cushion slipcovers have been dyed about a thousand times.... they are worn and frayed.

This is what the couch looked like new.  Ten plus years, three kids and a husband in fire boots ago.

Here's how it looks on any given Saturday.... laundry pile, dog & cat.  Oh... and see my cute new ottoman?  It was one of those buy now, talk later purchases.  $40 on Target clearance online.  My husband hates it.  I like putting my feet on it, the kids love it, and the storage is fantastic.  It stays.  Although the tray on top had to go. 

 Target had RE brand slipcovers on sale for $50.  I figured it couldn't be worse than the stupid sage green one.  So I got chocolate. 

Yes, it shows dog hair.  Yes, I DYSON it every weekend.  Yes, I LOVE it.  It stays tucked and looks nice.... well.... as nice as a couch with a dog on it can look.

Here it is all gussied up.

I also sprang for some clearance nesting tables.  Much loathed and much used by the husband.  Fantastic for the laptop.

Mmmmm.  Do you see my latest "art" project in the background?

Do you know what this fantastically modern piece of art is?  And can you tell I busted out the glass while assembling it?

Friday Fun

The girls and I are home for a sick day today.  Fortunately, because of my fabulous internet service, I have already managed to log several hours of "real" work.  Love it.

Now I'm playing. 

One of my fav organizing blogs is A Bowl Full of Lemons and last month she did a 21-day organizing challenge.  Now, you know what a slacker I am about checking blogs so I missed the whole fargin' thing. 

But I'm on it now.  Days 1 & 2 were the junk drawer and the top of the desk at the computer station so I'm doing that today.

As soon as the modge podge dries I'll take some "after"pics.

We have two other little projects going on.....  painting the pirate cave and managing the school paperwork.

I can't really explain the pirate cave painting except to say Sweet came home yesterday and said he wanted to paint his "bedroom" so we did.  Yes, my son sleeps in a Harry Potter room.... except his space is OVER the stairs instead of under them.  We have a lot of bodies packed into a small square footage.

I've had a vague idea about how I want to manage kid paperwork for a while now but I couldn't quite get it together to actually DO it until I was cruising back topics on another fav organization blog IHeartOrganizing.  I still need a trip to the office supply store to get some cute hanging file folders (all I have are industrial office green ones) and I'll be ready to present my take of her inspiration for kids paperwork.  I totally get her thoughts about making three matching sets even though they aren't all in school yet.  I get it.  I even used her labels even though they are a little more colorful than my usual style.  I added a pre-k and records section and I'm planning to change the orientation of the one-page document with the school photo on it.  And I think I will use hard plastic containers since these will ultimately be stored in the shed.  And, of course, being who I am and what I do, I already have a large-sized portfolio of larger works of art. 

Off I go to spent 30 minutes on paperwork and then to painting.

I still think it will be hard to narrow the hoards of paperwork down to just one file.

Ideal Dreams

I love:
1.  Sephora hair bands
2.  ELF lipgloss
3.  Dansko shoes
4.  Smith sunglasses
5.  Thymes Olive Leaf
6.  My stubby handled 2" angled paint brush
7.  Victoria Secret hipsters
8.  My new travel coffee mug
9.  Gift cards for the coffee shack by my house

Things I'm searching for:
1.  good mascara
2.  solid base coat
3.  a cardigan as perfectly cut as my beloved but shabby black Carolyn Taylor one
4.  really great couch pillows
5.  curtains for the bedrooms
6.  new swimwear
7.  a paint color for the bedrooms
8.  perfect organization in the laundry room
9.  classic sandals for this summer

The process of reflection and reinvention.

The process of reflection and reinvention.

I realized reinvention does not occur without reflection.

And so we will take a moment to reflect.

Blink.

And now to proceed.

I need to talk about Costco.  It isn't that I WANT to talk about it, no, I need.

This is about our budget.  For October's reinvention I made a simple plan.

Costco.  Every two weeks.  $200 or less.  One hour or less. 

That's it.  That's the budget for money and time.  With an additional $25/week for "non Costco" grocery items... in our house that's mostly dressing mix packets, vanilla yogurt (Mountain High Low-Fat), wonton wrappers, canned soup in cartoon characters & sour cream. 

So.... 4 weeks in... let's reflect on how it is working out. 

1.  The actual budget:  Weeks 1-2 I was at $206 for Costco and $23 for the grocery store.  Weeks 3-4 saw $218 at Costco and $5 at the grocery store.  There was also an outlay at Target for post-holiday candy that I plan to absorb into future weeks.

2.  I'm amazed at how many non-grocery things I sneak into that $200 or less list..... expensive prilosec, batteries, coffee cups (travel ones... with coupon), dog treats, dish soap, antibacterial wipes.  I don't know what my initial plan really was going to include... I just had to start somewhere and see how it played out.

3.  I confess that Weeks 3-4 included a bottle of wine for $9.  Mmmm.  But Hot has a separate "wicked" fund that includes his alcohol and, ahem tabacco products.  I just sneak my booze into the grocery budget.  I'm ok with eating Kirkland brand mac-n-cheese a few nights so Mama can have a bottle of creme de menthe (sp?) for the holidays.  Also.... there were several splurge items in weeks 1-2.  Oops.

4.  I thought about taking whatever was leftover from the $450/month and using that for eating out the next month.... but what I'm finding is it is more fun to see what things I can sneak in that I am not spending elsewhere....  like Hot's daily prilosec. 

5.  I'm keeping us well stocked.... possibly over-stocked on some items.  Hot is back to packing a field-style lunch most days.  This means more sandwiches and less leftovers.  So I have LOTS of bread in the freezer.... way more than we can eat in the next two weeks.  But I figure as long as I rotate the stock that is ok.  I also keep an extra bag of chicken nuggets, butter, chocolate chips, flour and a bag of coffee in the garage freezer at all times.  Essentials. 

6.  We don't drink as much milk as I thought.  Only about a gallon a week.

7.  We will see how I maintain as baking season gears up.  And gift buying.  Can I sneak some gifts into my grocery budget?  Hmmmm. 

Next up will will discuss how I hope to convert this time savings in the grocery shopping category into physical activity.