Spending Hiatus Update: Week Four

I've officially made it a month on the spending hiatus! Woohoo- only two more to go!

And you know what? It hasn't been that bad at all. I was surprised, because I thought I would die without my cosmetics fix but instead I've found that I have a lot more time for myself and a lot more money for other things, like going out with friends and ahem, blogging. And according to this blog post from Glamour's Vitamin G, experiences have been more closely linked to happiness than "stuff" so dinner is better than a new lipstick anyway. Good to know, yes?

This week I did really well, though I did have to do a lot of shopping to find a great Valentine's Day present for Nathan. I think it helped that I was pretty busy doing homework and cleaning on Friday so that I'd have time to really enjoy my weekend. Saturday was great, Nathan made me dinner (awww...): salad and crusty bread with melted pecorino cheese (mmm), and this awesome baked lemon chicken with rice boiled in lemon as well. And I made us cute little individual brownies in Valentine's Day muffin cups, which were also pretty delicious if I do say so myself. On Sunday I went to CVS for mouthwash and dark chocolate because I consider both essential (and because chocolate is 1/2 off after V-Day) and I almost broke down on a cream eyeshadow from L'Oreal HIP which was such a pretty cream color and also 1/2 off. I'm proud to admit that I resisted, though, and I don't really miss the eyeshadow after all. Funny how things are so much irrisistable in the store?

One way I have been getting around spending my money on new things is by scouting out DIY tricks on the internet. I mentioned last Thursday that I've been looking at new homemade beauty products online and found a few I've been wanting to try. I didn't get a chance to try either of those, but on Sunday I did try out a honey mask because my skin was feeling close to freaking out (I may or may not have forgotten to take my makeup off on Saturday night, ahem). I'll write more on that tomorrow, but let's just say it was totally worth the $3 or so that a bear bottle of honey costs (see above).

And now I'm on a full-fledged DIY kick, so stay tuned for more tips and reviews :) Anybody have any DIY beauty "recipes" they swear by?

Honey bear picture via Meijer.

Happy Valentines Day

Whether you're going out, staying in, or ignoring the day completely, have a good one.

A few Valentines Day posts I didn't have time for:

The World's Smallest Valentine (which you can customize!)

Valentine's Day Lingerie via The Daily Obsession

An adorable lovebirds greeting card (above)

A button I probably need to buy (hi Nathan!)

Not a Valentines Day person at ALL? Support V-day instead (and help end violence against women and girls)

Valentines Day Flowers

Today I stumbled across Susannah Conway, a photographer featured on Bliss, and was captivated by her beautiful images of the world around her. I especially loved these two photos of flowers: "Solitude" (above) and "Sunshine" (below). Wouldn't they make a perfect Valentines Day gift?

It's like getting your sweetie flowers without having to pay the ridiculous florist shop prices (twice as much money for the same flowers just because it's Valentines Day? I think not!).

Images belong to Susannah Conway, and you can see more on her etsy shop Unravelling

Valentine's Coupons

I like the idea of printing off a little coupon book for your loved one on Valentines Day. Not only is the idea totally cute, but low-key as well (and relatively free!). You can make your own coupons personalized with things you know your sweetie would like, or order them from the Etsy shop everydaygrace.

Image via everydaygrace.