smattering

A smattering of random tid bits....

1. Henry volunteered his services for another photography session. I wanted to play with altering my point of focus a little bit and he obliged. I love this next one a lot, even though it's a little soft and dreamy:
dreamy little henry

And who knew a closet full of color would be such a fun backdrop for the most adorable paw in the world? He obviously had a bone this morning hence the sticky fur sprouting out. What a life.
favorite paw

If Henry could talk, I'm sure he'd say "You know you want me. Yeah. I'm hawt" or something provocative like that. Such a ham, this one.
he tired


2. Remember how I was just in Missouri for Lindsey's bachelorette party? Well now I'm headed back down there for her bridal shower thrown by us bridesmaids. I'll be gone Thursday night through Sunday again and cannot wait to see the girls for this more formal affair:) My good friend Maggie (and fellow bridesmaid) loves all things paper as much as me. She designed Lindsey's shower invites and her wedding invites. Let's take a second to drool over them, shall we? Is this not the CUTEST shower invite ever?
Lindsey's shower invite

And her wedding invites are to die for. As a closet blog reader but rare commenter, Lindsey saw Lauren's awesome invitations and used them as inspiration. Lindsey's colors are obviously black and this fabulous aqua color and I just love how they turned out.
the whole line up

Lindsey's invite

The thermography she used for her printing was divine. You know how I love texture, right?
embossed

And their calligraphy was fantastic. I have no idea who they used (sorry, Lauren and Mike!) but I dig it.
calligraphy
Sigh. I cannot wait for her wedding. And our bridesmaids dresses are in so we'll see how much I'll need to have altered in the bust. That's always the fun part of being in weddings....taking a major blow to the old self-esteem as the seamstress goes 'wow, you have a lot of room up top.' No kidding, lady.


3. Remember how I was all pumped for my new pink blackberry? I was borderline obsessed, actually. Well, if you recall, the salesman convinced me that we'd only pay $15 more per month than we did before the upgrade. I should have mentioned that we get a little corporate discount through the hospital with Verizon, so the BB data plan was supposed to be much less than the advertised price. Also, the dude convinced us to downgrade our minutes package since we rarely talk on our phones to anyone outside of the Verizon network. Between the corporate discount and the lower minute plan, dude sold me on the idea of only paying $15 more.

Then my lovely husband decided that he needed internet on his phone, since I had it on mine. Totally understandable, but there is another $15 per month. Then we got our first bill and I had a panic attack---we did NOT get our corporate discount on the data plan nor the minute plan. So all of a sudden our bill was $75 more than it used to be. I freaked. My rational inner tight wad started to scream obscenities about how frivolous and unnecessary it was to have internet on both phones. Especially when we have two very nice computers at home. And especially when my cell phone is turned off and shoved into my purse all day long at work, since I can't exactly check personal calls or emails while running around a hospital. Sure, the BB was beyond cool but was it worth it?

Nate and I had a few very long discussions about the whole thing. It was difficult to be a rational adult when it was just so much fun to have a BB. I think if we used our phones throughout the day it would be different. If my job paid for it I'd be all about it. But in reality, I do not NEED the fancy phone. It's a luxury and I knew that from the beginning.

Then the next day, my problem-free car threw a little temper tantrum. I got it brand new back in 2001, it has almost 90,000 miles on it, and I've never had any upkeep on it besides regular oil changes, new tires, and new batteries. I love my car and the fact that we do not have car payments right now. So when my car would not start one evening I knew my time had come to put some money back into the stupid thing. My father-in-law is Mr. Fix It and he is racking his brain trying to figure out what is wrong with my baby. It sounds like it's not getting any gas but it has a full tank. Then just a few days ago it wouldn't start at ALL so now maybe there are multiple things wrong with it. Ugh. Potentially facing some major bills on the car front solidified my decision to return the BB and get a 'regular' phone instead. Being an adult sucks sometimes but in the long run, I think saving the extra money on our phone bill will be worth it.

So after spending multiple hours back in the Verizon store, feeling like a tool for returning the coolest little gadget ever, I came home with this baby:

new phone take 2

not quite a BB but still okay

Sure, it's not nearly as pimp as the BB but it's still pretty sweet with it's touch screen and full keyboard option. We got rid of the BB data plan, Nate forfeited his internet plan, and we did downgrade our minute plan. So all in all we are paying less now than we did before the BB stint. And now I can breathe a little easier knowing we freed up a little extra dough each month.

And so I ask you, dear readers, have you ever had to make sacrifices in the name of saving money? This was a tough one for me, as a self-professed tight wad, but I have a feeling that a lot of people are doing the same types of things in this economy. Keeping my eyes on the prize-- a big fatty savings account is easy sometimes and very difficult at others. Anyone else with me?

16 comments:

  1. You are such an inspiration to me. My husband is a tight-wad, but sadly I am not. I'm getting there though! We lived without cable tv for a year and a half, but recently he surprised me with it. Got a good deal though $30/month. Also, we don't eat out at lunch time, I'm a lawyer who packs her lunch and I'm proud of it! My husband also drives a 1991 Honda Civic he bought off eBay for $2000 cash. Seriously, he might be worse than you! :)

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  2. I desperately want a BB, but DH is iffy. He said we could evaluate it when our contract is up in January, and I do get a sizable discount through work, but I don't really NEED it. It's just everyone else has one. :)

    I go through phases where I constantly worry about money and save tons, and then other times I just WANT things. DH, he pretty much just always saves.

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  3. Beautiful invitations...I am so honored that we actually inspired someone! How cool! And that calligraphy is beautiful, as well!

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  4. I love those invitations! How pretty!

    Believe me if we didn't get a mega discount I wouldnt' have the iPhone. Yes, BBs and iPhones are great to have around, but do I really NEED it? No way. In fact, if we had some unexpected expenses come up it would be the first thing I would cut out.

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  5. You sound just like me when it comes to money! Charlie's always telling me to "chill out" and "live a little" but if I can save $5 then I will. We just had the BB discussion since I'm due for an upgrade. However, I refuse to pay extra just so that I can update my facebook status when I'm out. :) P.S. Henry is the cutest!

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  6. dang - those wedding invites must have been a lot of work. I considered doing some embossing on ours, but nixed it when I realized how much more time it would take. Top notch to Maggie.

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  7. I am totally with you on the phone thing! My husband has an iphone and is actually able to use his all day, while I really want one but would only really be able to use all the extra stuff at home. Which defeats the purpose. I just can't justify the extra money!

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  8. I will trade you some of your tight-wadded-ness for some of my free-spending-ness...:)

    I love those invites too! Those are extremely close to my SIL's wedding colors. She's getting married in Sept. I wish I could have done thermography on hers, because I really dig it.

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  9. dog paws always make me happy! boudreaux's look like cookie dough! :) the pads are chocolate chips and his fur looks like the dough! ha

    sorry about the BB but i know what you mean. i keep thinking i should give mine up and save some money every month. you're inspiring me to give it up even more!

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  10. I have downgraded a lot of things in the last few years... I make laundry detergent instead of buying fancy ones, buy generic toilet paper and paper towel, we don't have internet and minimal texting on only one cell phone, etc. It stinks sometimes because I do get jealous of people occasionally, but it's worth it to be able to save.

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  11. Beautiful invites. Have fun this weekend you party animal you :)

    I get you on the money front. Just today while waiting on hold to make a massage appointment, I hung up thinking we could use the $60 for something else. Ugh, convictions!

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  12. Is it sad that I want a fancy camera just to take pictures of my cat's absurdly hairy toes?

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  13. I love the colorful closet as well!

    Um, can I just say that I wish I had the resolve you do regarding the BB? Tony and I have had several discussions regarding the uselessness of him having a BB . . .since he has one as a work phone! Everytime the discussion ends with us agreeing that he needs to get a new phone . . . and yet he never does anything about it!!!

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  14. Oh Henry what a model you are! SO CUTE!

    I am shopping around for a new cell phone and I just don't know if I can bring myself to pay for the BB plan. I do love the BB and all my friends swear by theirs but oh that plan is a killer!

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  15. Oy-I hope everything turns out okay with your car. Those repairs are killer and you are basically at their mercy.

    Those shower invites are SO cute-the little X's and O's-what a creative idea.

    A fancy phone is the last thing on my list of things I want. I'd just rather go out to dinner more often or buy more wine. We have switched grocery shopping from Dierbergs to Shop and Save and I still want us to hit the Soulard Farmer's Market on Saturdays. But why do I need an iPhone when all my friends have one?:)

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