I'm so happy to be able to post tonight. Why? Because I feel like it's one of my normal posts...extra wordy, over-italicized and all over the place. Lucky you. Ha!
I haven't been thrifting in ages...and I mean ages. I took ten dollars and went to Goodwill. Goodwill is my least favorite place to shop because they seriously inflate prices, which sounds hilarious considering things are still fairly inexpensive. However, it seems they've developed a new strategy of pricing just below retail. It's always a shock to turn an item over and see a T.J. Maxx sticker with $12.00 on it and note that Goodwill priced the donated item at $9.00. I know it's for a good cause, but there needs to be a better balance.
Fortunately, I found two items the Goodwill Price Auditors must have overlooked. First, was the purse you see above. When I was a pre-teen and visited my grandmother in the summers, she always had some complaint about what I was wearing. To be fair, I usually took the time spent away from my parents to wear all the forbidden stuff I'd secretly stockpiled at various garage sales. Things like the famous espadrilles with four and half inch heels with the criss-cross ribbon straps that wound up to my knees! Adam and I often rode Greyhound to see her and eight states after I boarded, I'd step off the bus in full "grown-up" regalia...which included make-up and blue satin short-shorts with white piping.
To give my grandmother some credit, she was a fashion savvy woman in her day and liked that I was fearless about my "look", but she felt it was her duty to try to reel me in a little. Usually this meant being covered up with something from her closet and while now I'd die to fit into her things from the 30's, 40's and 50's, at eleven I thought my fashion sense was highly developed and none of her things could compete with my almost completely see-through purple disco halter top. There were tears of protest on my part and lies that my mom really did know about my crocheted bikini, but in the end Grandma Gloria usually won and I'd sulk, but eventually get over it and enjoy the trip.
If you're wondering what the heck any of this has to with the price of rhubarb, the reason I bring it up is because the purse above is an example of something I like now, but would have been horrified by even just a few years ago. My taste changes frequently and I often find myself falling in love with things the eleven year old in me would have died and gone to hell before being seen in. I miss her though, she was so brave.
As I wandered Goodwill, I saw the purse hanging on a rack and was drawn to it immediately. I reached for it and and knew it was silk right away. Then I realized it had a familiar look and remembered I'd something like it in a museum magazine a few years ago. I looked inside and sure enough, it was a Pineda Covalin. I'm not a designer purse-hound, but I got a little kick that I was holding a three hundred dollar purse priced at only $7.00 and more importantly...I loved it. It went in the cart.
Then I found this vintage Steelmaster (late 40's early 50's) file for $2.99!
I don't write about my playwriting often, but it's still a major goal. I keep all my ideas on index cards and file them away for future reference. Now I have the perfect place to keep them! I may have to change the subject cards, but who knows? Maybe I'll get an idea for a play about Wall Street and the card will be ready! By the way...visit this site if you want to weep with longing.
OK. The Food Project. It was a success and I didn't buy groceries, but we still ate out more than we should have towards the end of the month. I learned a few important things:
- We do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. I thought we were pretty good before I started this, but realized early on that we eat much less than I thought. The reason I end up throwing produce away is probably due to under-eating rather than over-buying. It was a shock to realize how little fruit we consume in a week and I'd thought we were getting well over five servings a day...try hardly two.
- I use the grocery store for inspiration and creativity. I wander the aisles picking up things for spur of the moment meals and without these trips, I felt a little uninspired. I found myself staring at the cabinets and everything seemed boring. Though, I made a lot of good meals for us with what we had.
- We eat too much food at night. We snack and when the easy snacks ran out the first week or so, I ended up making us popcorn a lot. Then, we'd end up with grilled cheese or French Toast...as a snack. Pretty soon, I didn't feel like making much and Mark was not inclined, so we just fantasized about what we'd eat in the future....Sad, because you guys saw the ample food list. Mark was desperate for toast...we ran out of bread and I wasn't in baking mode.
In summary: It was an eye-opener, I used up a lot of what we had, we saved money and I felt more appreciative and vowed to be more mindful when we could shop again. I also appreciated the little things, like knowing I could grate organic chocolate into hot almond milk and be happy even without a cookie on the side or that my tea with honey seemed so much sweeter since there wasn't candy around (I did buy some candy the other day and got a pounding headache after eating it). I didn't lose any weight though. Do you think the popcorn and Gluten-free brownies at two a.m. had anything to do with it?
The future plan: Well, this is the month to be extra mindful of how I handle a return to shopping. I decided that even though we could probably go another month on the project with just the food we have, that instead, I'd look at what we have before shopping and only buy items that complement things in the cabinet. And I also want to make sure to include more fruits and vegetables in our diet. I'm stunned at how little we eat and here I'd truly thought we were practically vegan for crying out loud!
In March we may do a restaurant ban, but first we're going to practice simply being more balanced in February. Mark really felt the pinch since he isn't the cook around here and relied on me to be creative when it came to snacks...but, he got to eat out more because of his job which annoyed me to no end.
I'm doing well on the 2008 book buying ban too, but since it was my birthday, Mark gave me some books...Remember, Mark thinks book buying is a small pleasure and he will not give it up, so it's just me on that one. I have to say I was appreciative when I opened this one though:
I was never a short story fan until my friend Kelly gave me Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. It blew me to pieces and I've been afraid to read anything else of hers for fear it won't live up. Mark thought it was time to get over it and picked up The Namesake as a birthday gift. I read the first two pages and I'm in like Flynn. Sigh. What a relief. Sorry I doubted you Jhumpa.
Last, but not least...I wanted you to see this. I want it soooo much. I can just see my goldfish bowl atop of it. It's a mere $975.00 over here. Oh well...someday.
Sweet dreams!
