Mini Smellies

Fragrances are fickle things: you never know how they're going to treat you until you try them out for awhile. Which is why when I'm thinking of trying a new fragrance, I usually look for a mini version. They're less expensive, and I can always buy the full size after I run out if I really like it. But honestly, by the time I get through 1oz. of the stuff, I'm usually ready to move on to something new. I guess I'm fickle, too.

I'm considering the 1oz. bottle of Fresh Sugar Lemon, which can be had on Sephora for around $25. I don't wear a lot of perfume when it's warm outside, so this would probably last me most of the summer.

What's your perfume habit: full sized all the way or do you like to try 'em before you buy 'em? Or do you forego the smellies alltogether? (PS: Sometimes I just like to smell like soap.)

Image via Sephora.com- where you can find all sorts of mini smellies.

Quirky Pictures Day!

(I'm totally late with the blog post today- it's been a crazy busy day and I have not been home since 7am. Oh, and did I mention it's snowing in Columbus? Yes, snowing. In April. Urgh.)

Every now and then I stumble across something that for whatever reason catches my fancy and think "gee, I should take a picture of that". Well now, thanks to cell phone cameras, I can. Here are a few of the quirky (and okay, somewhat random) pictures I've picked up over the past few years:

You read that right, elephant poo poo paper. That way when you have to write a letter to someone you don't like, you can send them a piece of poo at the same time.
Mind you obey that last half-MPH. No going 13 MPH here!
Oh, just 50 lbs of Swiss cheese. You know, in case you get hungry. Or if you're not that hungry, it doubles as furniture.
When I first saw this car, I assumed it must be one of those advertisement vehicles, but there was no logo on it or anything. Apparently someone just really liked cows.
Pineapple turkey, courtesy of Hil's mom, every Thanksgiving.

Anybody else take pictures of random quirky things, or am I just an oddball?

Photos in this post are all my own. Excuse the horrible picture quality- we're working with a cell phone camera here.

Spending Hiatus Update: Week Eleven!

Money poster by Howard Sokol via allposters.com

Only one week left in the spending hiatus! I'm so excited to be able to get out there and buy a few pretty things for spring and summer, although with the weather like it is today (cold and drizzling rain) it seems like warm weather may never come. Le sigh.

Still, I'm feeling pretty upbeat this week because I did a decent job of avoiding the siren call of stores and spring clearances. I was pretty distracted anyway, with the start of classes. And plus, there's nothing like spending a few hundred dollars on textbooks to make you not feel like shopping, right? Textbooks, of course, being one expense I couldn't get away from.

So this week, instead of shopping, I:

• Got my butt in gear for classes! One week down and nine to go until summer freedom :) (and by freedom, I mean summer jobs)
  
• Did laundry like a responsible adult, with Hilary, on a Friday night. Because we have sweet social lives like that (and because I hate going to the creepy laundromat alone). I must admit, I bought a magazine to keep us occupied while we waited for clothes to wash and dry, so that was a bit of an unessential expense. I don't feel too bad though, given that we would have been bored just sitting there.
  
• Moved my living room furniture around! I know this may not sound exciting to some, but I love the fact that my living room now has a little extra space in it, which is golden in an apartment as small as mine. Plus, I'm pretty proud of managing to move all the heavy stuff myself, with the exception of calling Nathan over to put the microwave on top of the fridge. Mostly because I almost broke it trying to do it myself.
  
• And the Sarahs and I went to the gallery hop on Saturday night, which I talked about doing back in week seven. This time we found a rather amazing little pizza restaurant that made unusual (and delicious) organic pizzas. Then I promptly forgot its name. But I'm sure I'll be back one of these days, and then I'll remember.
  

Gallery Hop Night: via the Short North Arts District

Last week I talked about how I was still working out my plans for "phasing out" of the spending hiatus. I know I've gained a new awareness of spending thanks to this spending hiatus but I also know that all changes can be reversed pretty quickly if you aren't careful, much like a dieter who goes "off" a diet and promptly gains all their weight back. So while I don't plan on cutting spending completely out of my life, I do plan on cutting way back, starting with making a budget that will allow me so much money a month on "unessential" things. That way, I can still shop, but I'm controlling how much I spent. And I plan on writing it down *gulp* and reporting back to you all within a month or so to keep myself accountable. My other challenge will be to avoid all emotional/boredom shopping in general. I've learned that that's when I do the most damage, and it's usually not on things I even really want.

How else do you think I could control post-hiatus spending? Spill your wisdom, dear readers.

And, as always, you can read the rest of the spending hiatus posts here.

Can we discuss body image for a sec?

True story: yesterday I was in Target checking out the super cute bathing suits (okay, and I was supposed to be buying toothpaste, but shhh) and over heard the lady next to me talking to her daughter, who looked to be maybe 8 years old or so. And I thought "cute, a mother-daughter shopping excursion". It was so adorable when the girl very seriously informed her mom that she should get the "one with the spots" (a navy blue polka-dotted bikini, girl had good taste). At which the mother replied...

"...Mommy is too digusting and fat for that suit."

Um, what?

I generally try to focus on things that make me happy for One Happy Panda, but every now and then I feel the need to share something that just bothers me. The fact that some women feel so bad about their bodies that they'll call themselves "disgusting" in front of their daughters makes me so sad. Because you know, young girls pick up on their body image from the women they look up to, like their moms. And some day when that girl hits puberty and becomes a perfectly curvy size 8 like her mother, how is she going to feel? Disgusting and fat?

I'm not innocent of putting myself down in front of others. I used to do it all the time. But eventually I realized that body image is contagious. When you put your body down, other women (and men?) feel the need to do the same for their bodies. Happily, it seems to work in the reverse too. When you're happy with your body and take care of it, other people do the same.

So in the name of universal body happiness, can we all agree to give our bodies a little bit of the love they deserve?

PS: Speaking of polka dotted bathing suits, I think the one above (from VS) is totally adorable. And on sale. Tempting.

Sleep Makeover Update: Week Five

Okay so my Thursday sleep makeover post is a bit late today because I (ironically) slept in this morning and didn't get anything done before work. And I'm putting it in bullet form because it's not really coherent enough to make paragraphs.

• My first week back in classes after break, and I got *drumroll* 6.7 hours a night! So close to my goal of 7, but not quite there. That's also an hour per night less than last week, but last week I didn't have any classes.
• It's also almost an hour per night more than when I started the makeover- a huge improvement.
• I've decided that one of the things that really helps me most is switching off the computer and tv well before I go to bed. When I'm up on the computer right before bed, I have a much harder time getting to sleep.
• I've realized that I'm a complete scaredy cat. Every single bump or creak in the night wakes me up and has me convinced that someone is definitely breaking into my apartment, and then I get too creeped out to sleep. Which is bad when you live in an old apartment building with 7 other tenants (lots of bumps and creaks).
• White noise really helps drown out the scary bumps in the night.
• I still suck at going to bed early, and I don't even know why I find it so difficult. My average bedtime is now about 1am, which is actually a 2 hour improvement from when I started, but still isn't early enough. I'm aiming for midnight by my next update :) Wish me luck!
• I don't feel as energetic as I did last week- all the more incentive to get back up to 7 hours a night!
  

PS: What do you think of the bedroom above? I'm actually kind of digging the tree branch headboard thing they've got going on there. Not sure what I think about what appears to be a grasshopper hobby horse. But I love the overall natural feel- nature always makes me feel relaxed (all the more reason to get flowers!).

As always, you can read the rest of the sleep makeover posts here.

Speaking of Flowers...

via sunset.com

If you love flowers but have no idea where to start (um, like me), the Sunset Plant Finder is a pretty cool tool. You can search plants by climate, type, and water/sun requirements. You can even search for houseplants (great for us city people). Then you get a list of potential plants with both the scientific and common name, plus info like care instructions. How much easier could it get?

The plant pictured above is the bellis perennis, or English Daisy. So pretty!

(via Apartment Therapy)

Spring Daffodils

via Apartment Therapy

Don't these spring daffodils look lovely? Le sigh.

According to the folks over at AT, they're in season too. I will be on the lookout for them in my local grocery store tonight.

PS: I also think the wooden hippo in the middle picture is awesome.

Have a hankering for spring flowers too? What's your flower of choice?