July 4th Weekend Part 4

On the day of July 4^th my dad wanted us to stop by for a bbq.  As a product of divorce,  I want to be there for both my parents but during holidays it could be difficult.  I spent the early part of the day reading outside on my balcony.  I love being out there.  It’s my tranquility during my most sociable times.

I wore red, white and distressed blue jeans for the bbq.  The weather was perfect to wear jeans since I knew we would be outside.  Mosquitos love me so I wanted my legs covered up. 

My dad is insisting on going to Puerto Rico this Christmas.  I will have to see this to believe it.  In the meantime, I’m sticking to my budget in case he is really serious. 

July 4th Weekend Part 3

I’m sooooooo behind on my posts.  But I am glad to say I am on the right track with my tight budget.  Around my birthday I treated myself with some Versace earrings (mini Medusa heads to be exact) when I got a promo code at YOOX.  Score!  Then I found a pair of Saint Laurent sunglasses at Amazon that I purchased using some points I had accumulated.  I told myself I would stop with the indulgences since I really want to take another vacay.

But then out of nowhere, I went to two music festivals and then had to contribute to a bridal party for one of our friends.  Everything was last minute, and I was getting frustrated that I wasn’t putting away money for what I REALLY wanted to do.  Lol.  I told myself after July 4^th weekend I was going to take it easy.

Believe it or not, I’m slowly getting back on track.  The good news is, here in Chicago, there are tons of things to do for FREE!  Summer is amazing here and I take every opportunity to try to enjoy it.  Back to my recap!

I managed to run my errands and do a light workout.  The weather had dipped a bit back into the 70s considering the day before it was 15 degrees hotter.  What a difference!  My friends made plans to go to Arlington Race track to watch the fireworks show but I wanted to stay behind.  I got invited at the last minute to join my friend on his boat.  He wasn’t planning on taking it out to the lake and figured I could keep him company while he did some work on it.  I picked up some sushi and grabbed a bottle of wine and made my way down there.

He was recently in Bangkok for work.  It was his first time there and he showed me his pictures.  I absolutely LOVE hearing travel stories!!  They get me even more curious about the world in general.

I’m not sure where my next trip will be but I will be narrowing down my choices soon.  Right now, it’s about budgeting, and making sure the time is right for a quick escape.  ttyl

I DON'T NEED A VALENTINE. I NEED VALENTINO

Let's be honest.  It's hard to keep a positive attitude with the weather we've been having here lately.    Last weekend, it was cold!  I stayed in both Friday and Saturday because the temperature was too frigid plus there was gusty winds!  Sunday was the only day this week that was going to be sunny and in the 60s.  I caught up with my friends after church and we made our way to the mall like we use to do.  It's getting harder to catch up with everyone now that some of them have babies.  I know I have to find a way to keep busy and make some new friends, (which will be hard for me because I'm pretty shy).  Regardless, I am going to be busy this weekend, and will make an effort to enjoy myself out despite how yucky the weather will be. 
Since nothing much else has been going on with me, I have a funny story to mention.  Since I've been single these past few years, I've found a way not to feel so bad about my status.  I've bought special gifts-to-myself for my birthday, Christmas, and Valentine's Day in the meantime.  This past Valentine, I was eyeing a Versace ring I secretly wanted.  I never owned anything from them, and was worried about the ring sizing because it was in Italian.  I looked into the conversion, but low and behold, when it arrived, it was too loose.  I could have kept it and made the most of it, but my co-workers insisted I return the ring.  "What if you lose it?  It's not worth it if it doesn't fit right", they said.  Sadly, I knew they were right, and sent the ring back the same day I received it.  So much for my Valentine's-gift-to-myself this year, I murmured. 
Of course I couldn't let go of the fact that I didn't get something for myself.  I even started looking around for my up coming birthday in 3 months.  Then one day, I was on the outnet's website, and saw some Valentino earrings.  They were a steal!  I clicked on it and right away was notified that there were the last pair.  I couldn't resist.  I purchased it without even thinking about it!  I got them the other day and can't wait to wear them out.  Yes, I did get Valentino for Valentines, and I'm in love!  It's little splurges like these that can bring you some joy out of the blue.  I am a true believer that I can't get whatever I want, it just might take me a while.  lol.  Not to mention, it didn't compromise with my savings plan.  Now if I can only figure out how to get those rockstud heels... 

My gifts-to-myself over the years.  The vintage Chanel earrings I splurged for my 30th birthday, and the YSL arty ring I got on my 40th.  The Alexander McQueen bracelet was my Christmas present-to-myself 2 years ago.  The watch and cuff bracelet is BCBG. 

LOVE the red box!

THANKS TheOutnet!  I'm officially hooked on your website and love my earrings!

It's Fat Tuesday!!

Happy Fat Tuesday!  I can't believe Ash Wednesday is tomorrow.  I have one more day to indulge.  lol.  Just kidding.  As I mentioned earlier, I decided to give up going out past 11pm for Lent this year.  I think this will help me save money since my social life lately has taken a hit at my finances.  Last month I focused on paying off a huge debt that lasted over 10 years.  Because of that, my credit cards have suffered since I never took the time to budget after the holidays.  I'm still paying off my vacation from Paris and Italy.  Not to mention, I HAVE been going out a little too much lately.  Time to disappear for a bit.  No harm done.  Paying for dinner, drinks, hopping from one spot to another plus the late night uber rides have maxed me out.  I'm financially exhausted.
The good news is:  I'm NOT giving up on socializing!  I can still partake on after-work happy hour specials and low key dinners and still be able to ride the Blue Line back home.  Chicago right now isn't the safest city so I usually take an uber home when I'm out late at night.  With my new curfew, I can ride the CTA home safely and save some serious money.  This is possible!  I can feel it!
Over the years, I've given up chocolate, drinking, cursing, and shopping for Lent.  This year it will be late night socializing and I think I'll be just fine. 

 

One Year Already!!

The following week in January, things slowed down a bit.  I stayed in and the Golden Globes helped me get through Sunday.  I knew I had a one year old birthday party coming up the following weekend.  Not to mention, I was near the finish line to knock off my huge debt.  I wanted to stay on track with my budget.   I quickly finished up a short book I bought off ebay called "A Technique for Producing Ideas".  I like reading self-help and entrepreneurial books.  Sometimes you need an author to psyche you up!  Plus, I always feel the end results get your brain juices flowing with creativity.  If there's one thing I would take away from this book, is to "not make the mistake of holding your ideas" close to you. " Submit it to the criticism of the judicious."  Even if it's your passion, you NEED to express your ideals to other people and see what they think of them.  Don't take it as someone having the opportunity to be judgmental.  With a new set of eyes, they may see something you could have overlooked.  And if they do find something wrong, go back and fix it!  Trial and error are crucial in making ideas come to life. 
On the 15th my friend held her daughter's 1st birthday at Wonder Works Children's Museum in Oak Park.  I can't believe she had her little daughter one year ago this day!  It's unbelievable how time flies.  She is absolutely precious!!  It sometimes got a little chaotic with all the kids running around, so it helped that my friend rented out the whole place for her little girl.  I also got a chance to catch up with my other friends who became moms last year.  It's getting harder and harder for all of us to get together.  I told myself I will try my best to attend any celebrations I could so I could see how everyone's doing.  My social situation is changing now that they have all settled down.  Whether they know it or not, I still need them in my life but I am understanding how their lifestyles have changed. 
I was invited later on to catch a dj at Paris nightclub afterwards.  Me and my friend who lives downtown (and who is also about to have a baby herself) made our way towards the city.  We both stopped by the Hampton Social to catch up with another friend who was having dinner and drinks there.  We figured it will probably be the last time she could be out in general before she has her baby.  She only stayed out for 15 minutes, but at least she got her chance mingle.  I finished up there and made my way to Paris nightclub.  Luckily we didn't stay out that long.  I was exhausted since I did work that Friday.  It was pretty low key the rest of the weekend.  I thanked the frigid temperatures for that!  It helps make the decision to stay in worth it, plus be on top of your financial goals.

Wonder Work Children's Museum!

Check out that dessert table!

Add caption

This little one's birthday will be in May

The birthday girl herself!  She loves pizza!

She made a mess but she's happy!!

  

Monday Blues

Last night David Bowie passed away.  I'm so sad about this.  He just celebrated a birthday a few days ago.  I think what surprised me the most was that he was battling cancer for the past 18 months.  The news media said very little of his health condition.  He even released a new album!  The fact that he did this privately shows me how difficult this must have been to keep his condition a secret.  Having a terminal illness puts people in a awkward situation.  They first have to come in terms of their illness and then consult their options with doctors and family.  Who they share this information with afterwards is the hard part.  My heart goes out to Iman and Bowie's family.  This is devastating news to the music industry and to the world.  He was a true visionary. 
For the past 2 months, the holidays came and went, but one thing that never left my mind was making sure my mom felt loved and needed.  She was emotional on Thanksgiving, and on Christmas Eve, she left to go home early after having dinner at my aunt's.  New Year's Eve she did the same thing since she had to get up early to go to work.  Since then things have slowed down at her job, so she's been at home resting.  Unfortunately, now the weather has gone frigid.  I want to make sure she doesn't go crazy being stuck at home.  I know I have!  I stayed in this past weekend because of the weather, too, but having cabin fever is a problem when you have nothing to do.  I downloaded an album off iTunes and blasted away so that helped.  Plus the Golden Globes was on last night and that was pretty entertaining.  Sometimes you have to use these pastimes to not drive yourself crazy. 
Back to last November's events.  After Thanksgiving Thursday, I stayed in for Black Friday.  I knew I might go crazy with all of the sales going on, but I really wanted to focus on finishing up all of my Christmas shopping first.  It's hard to stay on track by budgeting alone, and since I started to focus on my apartment more these past few months, I think it helped me feel at "home" finally.  I have slowly bought a few Christmas pieces to my place.  Instead of a traditional Christmas tree, I bought an LED birch tree to display in front of my fireplace.  I figured it would be easier than to get a tree and having to get ornaments for it.  I also figured out that it DOES take time to get those special Christmas pieces you want to fill up in your home.  You can't just go out and buy everything you want because it takes years to get what you are really looking for.  I'm secretly jealous of what my mom has for her Christmas decorations, but I know for a fact they've been around for over 20 years.  You can't get this stuff anywhere else, plus every year there's always new things being put out to add to your home.  I made it a point to buy things I really love and not get things to "fill up" in the meantime.

That following Saturday my friend invited us to her dad's birthday celebration.  Her parents are well known in the Filipino community, so there were a lot of people at her parents' house.  I loved the fact that so many people showed up despite the cold weather we were having that day.  Plus it was nice seeing my friends since Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday craze.  I also got a chance to see my friend's baby boy.  He was born back in July and the last time I saw him was in September.  We had a good time that day and even stayed out at their place past midnight!  Time flies when you're having fun!


The birthday boy!



HUGE TURNOUT!



He's getting so big!



The money shot!  You don't know how hard it was for us to get him to look at the camera!  lol