No Spending "month" - Week 1

Sunday

Purchase of $10.99 for a Neti-pot for my nose since I have not been breathing with all of the allergens around. This falls under medical as the whole not breathing thing is an issue.

Saturday

Gave Mr. Wonder $10 to put towards are portion of the dinner bill with our friends at Granby's Pizza (incredible white pizza by the way).

Yeah... I'm not going backwards... that's really what I spent... not including (of course)
Student Loan #1: $900
Student Loan #2: $30
Student Loan #3: $20.

I actually have 4 loans in total. It all started off as one and then SM just kept selling them to the Dept of Ed... and THEN the Dept of Ed decided I needed to pay for #2&#3 on website, #4 on another, and #1 I could just keep paying SM for.

SO...
Following my rules that's $20 that's going towards paying down the debts. I could have spent it on food and wine... or just wine... but I did not. I was good.
~Emme

Vintage Swap - Shelly's Half

How would you like to open a box like this? I think I died and went to heaven.

First: Just in time for winter. I will definitly have to try some of these and write up some reviews. Maybe even Mr. Wonderful would not mind giving a try or two.

I am sure this must be for my next party. It feels a bit like my great grandmother's mixing bowls. And to go with it... a matching:

... little treasure. I die. This and all the fabric in the box... I cannot believe this is a week when I am incredibly busy AND Big Bertha (the insanely heavy almost vintage sewing machine that lives in my barn) is in the shop.

Vintage handkerchief that needs a little crochet work (I'm excited to fix it and I have just the right color and weight lacework thread to fix it. The table runner in the background has pink hibiscus all over it... I die...

after all...

...

... hibiscus are my favorite flower...

...

... pink is my favorite color..

...

... what more could I ask for?

Kitchen valances... for my one day kitchen...

A yellow purse from British Hong Kong... that is the perfect color to match my favorite vintage dress suit. However... that was not what I wore it with... I wore it with my blue suit, vintage ruffled shirt and gorgeous purple faux snake skin guess heels. What else would a secret agent wear?

Two little books... They make me giggle looking at them.

What could be in this little goody bag?

I have no idea what to do with these... they are just too cute... I think I might put them on my quilt that I'm making to cover the drafts from the barn door as soon as Bertha comes home.

...

Yeah. I really do work in a barn.

...

A lovely little cup and saucer... matching a cute  little bag.

...

I am a very happy secret agent with lots of ironing and physics work to do.

...

~Emme

Vintage Swap - My half

I had the wonderful opportunity of taking part in a vintage swap. Swaps are one of my secret pleasures... I love to give gifts for no reason at all and then there's always the excitement of receiving something special in the mail.

So here is what I sent:

Here is the bottom shelf of a beautiful, lime green sewing box. The box itself is from a little old lady from Germany who used to live accross me on my street. The thread was one of the few I was able to rescue from the rest of the kit. The little little black box at one time held some sort of makeup powder. My great grandmother recognized it, but not enough to remember who produced it. The little stoneware goodies were exciting little salt and pepper shakers... no joke! I could not save the rubber stoppers, they were too far in a hardened state to cosider repairing. I would use cork stoppers to replace them. Here's a close up of the box and stoppers:

How exciting no? And on the top shelf?

Squares of vintage fabrics and some little leaf buttons (not vintage, but fabulous none the less...).

Also in the box:

Vintage sheets

Yummy little sugar dish...

Yummy little creamer...

One fabulous book

And a second fabulous book!

Shelly's wonderful package will be in the next post. :)

~Emme

No Spending "month"

It supposedly takes 40 days to form a new habit. Can 40 days really erase something I have been conditioned for over 8700 days? I was intrigued last year while reading Shopaholly's story of a year long freeze on spending.
A whole year would be a little much for this secret agent.

As I sit at Aroma's and enjoy my last few moments of needless spending (side salad and a Cafe Breve), here goes the rules (my rules, as in using someone else's will never work).

1. No needless spending... (sad for the expensive coffee habit)
2. Write down and hold off all crafting/clothing purchases. All purchases still deemed "necessity" can be purchased the after November 23.
3. Can still buy groceries (girl has to eat... you know); however, no more than $30 a week and any more than $30 is not rolled over, but put towards loan and credit card bill. This includes my wine for wine reviews (yikes!).
4. I still have to pay my bills (it sucks... I know) as no one pays them for me.
5. Expenses for shipping (cards, swaps I am already registered for, birthday presents, sales) is alright as they are prior commitments.
6. No more than $10 a week shop expense (not including Etsy's commission... I really have no control over the sale of my items). This does not include supplies for new projects, I have enough in the works to not purchase new for 40 days.
7. Sorry Mom and Grandpa Wonderful... your birthdays fall into the no-spend zone... you'll have to enjoy some handmade gifts this year... but just think about it. People pay for my crafts as it is... you should be happy with them. :)
8. I must blog about it. A girl needs accountability of some sort. The possiblity of billions of people knowing I slipped is a pretty big accountability.

~Emme~

Wine Thursday - Middle Sister - Rebel Red

As I was walking around Target looking for get well goodies for Grandpa Wonderful (he's been a bit under the weather lately), I walked down the wine asile. I LOVE the wine asile at Target. They have some of the silliest labels that I've ever heard of. Then I saw the Middle Sister labels and they all made me giggle. So I chose Middle Sister Rebel Red... mostly because I'm rebellious... HA! not really... secret agents can't really do that. It is a red table wine. And as such is a mixture of all things good. According to the website:

"38% Zinfandel, 34% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah, 2% mixed red varietals.
100% California grapes with 42% from the Lodi appellation."

For those of you like me... that means... hmmm... let's go for some taste description then:

"...a huge mouthful of ripe summer berries. The fruit goes on and on, ending in a luxurious finish."


But really... it reminds me of one of the best berry pies that I have ever had the pleasure to eat. Not bad for under $10. This... I will definitly have to find a reason to buy for Bee. I believe that as a sister in the middle she would definitly enjoy it!

~Emme

Tuna Helper?

This is such a waste of my culinary skills... you can see it on my face... sadness.

The allusive Boots

Boots the cat... in costume as a dog...

Not amused

Mr. Wonderful

My farmer is going to work

Grease the MUSICAL!