Well, that's it. I've made my one clothing purchase for the year. According to my clothing spreadsheet, this is all I need. No, I don't need another pair of black snowboots. I don't need another red long-sleeved t-shirt. I don't need another long-sleeved t-shirt at all! I have more than enough of everything.

Some of you asked how I came up with the ideal number of each item of clothing for my spreadsheet. It's not very scientific and it's individual. I looked through each item and saw what I wear regularly. I figured I needed 7 long-sleeved t-shirts in the winter since I wear them every day. I rarely have meetings where jeans would be inappropriate, but sometimes I have to interview for a project so I need a nice pair of trousers that aren't jeans. Two or three times a year I need to look nice for social things; I needed one nice winter outfit and one nice summer outfit. Eight or nine pairs of underwear seemed right (we wash our clothes once a week). We are at the pool every day in the summer (we join a local pool) so I need two swimsuits - but I only had one!

Now I have two swimsuits - very exciting! It fit perfectly and Lands End was having a massive sale on swimsuits. I'm lucky they had something left in my size! I wasn't too picky about pattern, just something that won't make me look sickly (no yellow, no light green, no light blue!).

Now I'm going to evaluate F's wardrobe (a harder task since she is growing so fast!)

Just earned a $15 swagbucks amazon voucher. When I end up using it (probably for a birthday gift for F's friend A whose party is next week), I will do a transfer what I spend from the "Gifts - Friends" category to the "Savings" category in Moneywell.

F's class at school is small, and it used to be that every kid was invited to every birthday party. That meant going to parties even if F wasn't good friends with the child, and having to buy 19 gifts during the year!

Luckily that is changing a little bit. Her friend A is only inviting 4 kids (and F is one of them; they're really close). A little boy in the class had his party at the pool yesterday and invited everyone, but F didn't want to go. She's says he's an ok kid, and I like the parents, but they don't play together and don't have much in common, and I felt like she should decide whether or not to go.

We've never had all the kids in the class at F's parties, but that's easier because her birthday is in the Summer. I just think having tons of kids is overwhelming for a child.

In other news I finished filling out tuition assistance forms. D started his job in September, and already had made most of his money for the year from his business (the end of the year was always slow), so it's a little bit misleading. Also instead of paying for his health insurance, they just gave him bonuses for three months, so it looks like his income was higher. I'm not sure we'll get much for next year (this year we got $3250 which was so great!). If we get $1000 I'll be happy.

The holidays are over, and I'm pretty glad, because although we met our grocery budget, things were not routine. I ended up eating a lot of strange leftovers to use them up.

The menu for this week:
- chicken tacos with guacamole
- asian meatballs and rice
- tamales from the freezer and salad
- very sweet salmon and broccoli
- tuna melts
- risotto with sundried tomatoes and spinach
- one night out

We spent $113 on groceries this week:
- dinner ingredients $38
- lunch prep ingredients $27 (we brown bag all of our lunches)
- fruits $11
- staples $27 (olive oil, bread, oj)
- breakfast items $7
- dessert ingredients $4

The holidays are over, and although I met our food budget, things weren't routine. I found myself eating leftovers from dinners with friends just to eat up the food. So, we're back on a routine now - phew!

Here's what we're having for dinner:
- chicken tacos with guacamole
- asian turkey meatballs and rice
- risotto with sundried tomatoes and spinach
- tuna melts
- very sweet salmon and broccoli
- tamales from the freezer with salad
- one night out

Spent $113 on food this week:
- $38 on dinner ingredients
- $27 on lunch ingredients
- $11 on fruit
- $27 on staples (bread, olive oil, oj)
- $7 on breakfast items
- $4 on dessert ingredients

We eat out one meal a week, so our groceries have to cover all of our meals (lunch, breakfast, dinner). And since I can't have gluten, we spend at little bit more on some things (although mostly I just don't eat a lot of bread or pasta - but I like to have toast sometimes).

I usually shop at two stores for our groceries. I was shopping in the second store, Sprouts, and pretty much done with my shopping and about to pay, when there was a huge pop and all of the lights and cash registers went off. The store was dark, but not too dark to see, and I said to the stockperson who was on my aisle "Can we pay if there's no power to the registers?"

But just then we heard the manager shouting from the front of the store to come to the registers with everything we had in our baskets. I figured maybe they had some alternate system.

There were probably a total of 20 shoppers in the store at the time, and we all headed to the registers. Two Sprouts employees who had been outside collecting carts said that the transformer had "blown up." They said it sounded like a huge pop, and the female employee hit the ground she was so scared, then the transformer started smoking.

Anyway, I got to the front, the guy at the register bagged all my groceries (without scanning them obviously) and then smiled and said "Merry Christmas! Our manager said everything is free!"

Free groceries! I felt bad for the store... but it was a really good PR move (let's say 20 people time maybe $40 each average is not actually that much for the store - they'll probably lose more from spoiled inventory, and maybe their insurance will cover it?).

When I went to my car, I saw the exploded transformer - it was all black. Glad that no one was hurt. And the traffic lights were out up to the next major street.

But, let's return to that very welcome Christmas present - free groceries!

I can't tell you exactly how much the groceries would have cost (about $30) but I will definitely have extra money in our grocery budget left over this month that I can use to pay down the mortgage.

I have adopted a new approach to clothing. I am sort of afraid to tell my friends who think that I'm way too obsessive-compulsive and that I rely too much on excel and spreadsheets and stuff. But I'm not afraid to tell you!

Step 1 - I've inventoried my clothes (and F's) including socks and underwear and pajamas (and shoes). Yes, of course this goes into a spreadsheet.

Step 2 - I've figured out the ideal number of each item (short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, trousers)

Step 3 - Replace only as necessary. I've determined that I have PLENTY of clothes. I don't need anything new until something gets super stained or threadbare. But F is still growing, and she needs to have bigger sizes as she gets bigger.

Step 4 - Make a list of what will be needed a year in advance (so if it's winter now, what will likely still fit and be ok next winter, and what will be needed next winter).

Step 5 - Shop the sales! (Everything winter is now on sale or about to be on sale). I just bought F some long sleeved shirts and a sweatshirt half off at Old Navy and got $10 off my next purchase. She will likely be a size 8 for another year, but I bought a few things in the next size up.

And... it's good to know that I don't need anything. So nothing for me until my current clothes shred and fall off! (Actually my standard practice is that clothes that are stained become workout clothes, and clothes that have holes become pajamas - then they shred and fall off and become rags).

Last night we were out at a restaurant that has a book exchange. And we saw a book we used to have, but that a borrower (who shall remain nameless) never returned - grrr! Anyway, we have the other 3 in the set, and it's one of our favorite series - the Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. And there it was, free for the taking! (We are going to pop in and replace it with five books we are decluttering out of our house).

And then today, F had a playdate with her friend S who is moving across the country (we are all very sad). Her parents said they still had to bring the birds to a pet store since they can't bring them along (they leave in 6 days). Long story short: we now have two super cute budgies. And a very expensive birdcage, and toys and food and a travel carry case. I hope they're happy here!

I went to Cost Plus today for Christmas crackers (for my English/Irish husband) and thought that there must be a cheaper source. The only thing I can think of is to visit again after Christmas and see if they're on sale for next year. We have Amazon prime, but they were the same price on Amazon and out of stock.

I know some of you are English living in the US or have English spouses - any ideas?

While I was there I picked up an overpriced Quality Street tin. They didn't have the Cadbury, which we all prefer, but I felt like it'd be a nice surprise for him.

When he got home from work he said "It doesn't feel like Christmas somehow..." I guess at work they haven't put up decorations or anything (I share an office with just one other person and I put up window clings from Target and the silly silver tinsel tree I use year after year)! So I got out the Quality Street tin, and he was really happy!

Tomorrow I'm making the mincemeat for our mince pies; I make them by hand (and no, I don't use suet - I use vegetarian shortening).

At Cost Plus I also got a couple of Aero bars (the mint kind - yum!) to put under the tree as an extra surprise.

Spent more than I wanted, but I figure it was a tradeoff since we aren't having an expensive Christmas dinner. And since we don't go back to the UK for Christmas anymore (not since the Great Christmas Fight of 2005 between D and his sister - don't ask!), I figure he needs a little bit of home this time of year.

I miss Christmas there, too, but we are going back in Summer. I wish we were visiting Ireland, too to see the rest of the family (the relatives that no one fights with!), but not this holiday unfortunately.

Nollaig Shona!

We just bought our Christmas-Present-to-Ourselves... some photos from the awesome photographer Mike Stimpson.

http://www.mikestimpson.com/photography/

Not everyone's cup of tea maybe, but we love him! (And, yes, I bought the one of the stormtrooper knitting!).

The photos themselves were not expensive - only about $6 each for approx 8x10's.

But now we have to think about framing them. We don't live anywhere near an Ikea (closest one is about 7 hours away). My husband says that American Frame is the least expensive option (over the internet).

Do you know of any other options?

I always knit something for F for Christmas. I finished this little guy last night. He's made of leftover yarn (one thin, one thick - both are alpaca).



In other news, all of the ornaments on the school Giving Tree (arranged by the Fire Dept.) have been taken! I am so happy - so many more kids needed gifts on Friday that I sent out an email to all of the parents in F's class (I am room mother) and at the end of the day every ornament was taken! (The ornaments are put on the gifts as gift tags so they get matched up with the child).

Over the past few years, I've been trying to catch up on our photo printing. We do a photo book each year (I complete it in early January and wait for a promo to have it printed).

If I see a promo earlier in the year, I print one of the past years I haven't printed yet. I was missing 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Anyway, I received a $10 off coupon in the mail, so I decided to work on 2008. I guess it was a good year for photos (D is a children's photographer), because I ended up with 64 pages! Eeek!

But... they were having a 50% off promo for photo books. And I found a 20% off the entire order coupon. And there was a free shipping code.

In the end, we got the photo book plus our holiday cards (I would probably not send these, but D is insistent - we have a lot of overseas family who we don't see very often) for $54. I think it was about a $70 savings.

I should mention that I have a line item in our budget for this (I put in $10 a month - so $120/year) which will go down once I finish the previous years (now just 2006 and 2010 - yay!!).

There are obviously other companies that do this, but I'm really familiar with shutterfly now.

Do you make photo books? Or print photos and put them in an album? Or print photos and put them in a box? Or just keep them on your computer? Or something else entirely?

So here is the photo of the lumberjack I promised; I think the Vietnamese place I go to used to be a hardware store or lumber yard or something? Anyway, it's pretty reasonable. My lunch was $7.50. I don't eat out a lot, and I really love Vietnames food.



More lunch-related news: I went home for lunch today. It's so cold here, I felt like eating something warm. Had two fried eggs, and spent the rest of lunch making this pair of pajama bottoms for F. If you look closely the pattern is cute little pigs! F LOVES pigs. So this is one of her xmas gifts!

My friend is having a baby any day now - hope she holds off until Friday (which is when the baby shower is). This is an amazing woman who has five kids already (including triplet boys!) and she's NICE. Her daughter and F are in the same class.

Anyway, I bought her a little onesie and when I was given some free yarn by F's piano teacher last week I decided to knit this little cardigan, too.



Cost was just for the buttons...

Another trip to Target - I had to get brown sugar and kleenex. It turns out that Target's kleenex is less expensive for us than other brands because a box lasts longer (90 tissues, one or two a day = 1.5 months). And their in-store brand brown sugar is cheaper than Albertson's.

Anyway, it was tax-free day (we have this once a year and it's only on school supplies) so I wandered over to the school supply section. F doesn't need to buy supplies (her school provides them), but there was a big display of lunchboxes and her lunchbox has been in service for two years. So I got a new lunchbox for her.

When I got home, she wailed that she "loves the old lunchbox!" and "why do I need a new lunchbox?" and you know what, she's right! Lesson in frugality from my daughter. Just because it's a deal doesn't mean you need it!

So I returned the lunchbox.

Being an architect is not always great. The poor economy has hit our profession hard. I am a non-confrontational person in a confrontational profession. The pay isn't that great.

Here are the two big advantages: cultural credibility (as in: "Oooh! An architect! I wanted to be an architect!") and trade discounts.

Today I finally got around to ordering D's father's day present (a little bit late). We have two non-working bedside reading lights (D even wound his headlamp around one in order to be able to read in bed) that I've been meaning to replace. I signed up for the trade discount and got $45 off each one! They are LEDs which don't run hot (the others burned your hand if you tried to move the lamp) and save energy.

The Target weekly ad showed that the toilet paper I like (one roll lasts an average of 9 days in the master bath and about 14 days in F's bath) is on sale massively. But I'm a little afraid to go in there because Target has a magic spell on it that makes you buy more than you intended.

I also need kleenex and unscented wipes.

I'm sure there is something else I also "need." A slippery slope!

Several hours later:
I am back from Target. And I bought only what I went in for: toilet paper, kleenex, unscented wipes. You are probably wondering how I achieved this miracle...

Strategy 1 - I made a list which read: toilet paper, kleenex, wipes, nothing else. This totally did not work. Here are the other things that I was drawn to: cute girls' clothing (shopping for F is my weakness), the dollar bins (oh how I love the dollar bins), stationery section, pyrex glass storage containers (ultimate goal is to replace all of our tupperware with these).

However, Strategy 2 kicked in...

Strategy 2 - I decided to go on my way to a meeting which meant I had ten minutes to get in an out. With my superior knowledge of Target's layout (this is sad, but true), I whooshed past the dollar bins (slight pang in my chest) and the girls' clothing (that would look so cute on F who already has enough clothes for at least two girls and only ever wears capri leggings and a t-shirt). I grabbed the wipes, then did a loop to the tp/kleenex aisle. Then it was like a race to the registers (a lot like Supermarket Sweep - remember that?). I actually fingered a set of round pyrex storage containers, but got back on course, just eyed the stationery aisle in passing, and got in line with only what I meant to buy!

(And made it to my meeting on time).