Splurge!

Like you, I spend ALOT at the grocery store. It's just the two of us but my grocery bill is stupid sometimes.

Books. Coffee table books. Barnes & Noble has such great deals and I just can't seem to resist sometimes.

Wicker, bamboo and wood. Baskets, storage boxes, side tables, small chests that are woven, carved, textured.

Movies on dvd. Our library is steadily growing and we have no shelf room left. Oh-oh.

Oh gosh. Does the grocery thing just drive you mad!?

I'll be carrying my tiny little bag out to the car wondering how in the heck it added up to so much. I don't feel like I'm splurging!

Then I get home and look at the bill - crab legs - $45.00, wine $20.00, hunk of cheese $6.00. Every time I swear I will start looking at the prices but I still just breeze through going "oh that looks good".

Books: check
Barnes and Noble: check
Great deals: check

(I have a friend who clues me in on the family day at Borders too where everything is a 40% discount - I just make a list. Plus, we have the famous Powells City of Books here - a positivily orgasmic experience for book lovers.)

Your wicker/bamboo/wood sounds like my fabric store treks!

Its a good thing we're not neighbors, eoe. We'd be broke and exhausted.

bananas, orange ones, with grapes on their noses. quite pricey.

Orange bananas with grapes on their noses?

I don't even know what that is but I feel a grocery trip coming on.

don't buy orange bananas with grapes on their noses, they are not worth the money. however, the llamas keep telling me to buy them.... i don't know why.. i think i shall stop giving the llamas the time of day, they are becoming frightfully rude and are rather pushy. If they want silly bananas they can buy them themselves! nothing so great about them anyway, taste like turnip.

Oh. Well then.

I agree, let them buy their own orange, grape nosed bananas.

Greedy damn llamas.

For the most part, I live well within my means. I drive a 10 old car, its paid for, it runs, what more could I ask for? My house is big enough. I hate to shop so clothes aren't a bit thing. I typically buy shoes in bulk, on sale, Converse, my favorites.

I know people who don't hesitate to buy a $100 face cream but they don't have health insurance. People have interesting priorities and that makes me curious about their splurges.

Llama feed, as I understand it, is quite expensive in itself.

Booze.

Mini-vacations.

Cd's.

Electronics. Bought a pretty decent home theatre system last year, and I hardly ever watch movies.

And big-boy toys. I've spent too much money on a semi-dream car, and motorcycles, which are "unecessary."

I splurge on food items as well. I buy good coffee (Godiva, Lavazza), european jam, european cheeses, and
good wine.

I also splurge on things that make my life easier - like a
coffee/espresso/capuccino maker that will make
me a freshly brewed cup by pressing only a singly button,
and I splurge on a housekeeper as I hate doing it.

Yep. Mini-vacations are ideal splurges.

Really, I put those down as mental health costs when I do a run-away. That helps justify it for me, anyway. It helps that we have wonderful beaches and wonderful mountains just a hop away so escape is a day trip.

Boys and their toys.

<sheesh>

I confess I don't get it, being that I am such a low tech girl. Mr. B goes through the "wants" about that stuff now and then. I'm always like - "If you just wait a year they will give it to you free when you fill your car up at the gas station - remember pocket calculators, honey?"

As long as your not blowing your dough on meat helmets and six toed prostitutes, you're a-okay, slappy.

(By the way, I was wondering about viva el ese, ole! the other day. Are you guys still friends?)

I hang out with the Ese frequently, actually. He's doing pretty well.

I forgot restaurants. When I hang out with a girl worthy of my company, I like to go to nice restaurants.

Splurging on a housekeeper. Oh CJane, you are a girl after my own heart. I did that for a bit. As long as I could. But it got a bit..... odd.... for me.

That is a very good splurge.

I'm glad to hear that the Ese is doing good. I can't say I'm surprised. I always loved the Ese. Like you, he was so much more clever than he let on.

Mr. B and I used to frequent excellent restaurants. When Mo moved in we couldn't really do that any more. I justify my gargantuan grocery tabs by pointing out how much such a meal would cost if we ate it in a restaurant.

Four year olds and forty year olds have very different ideas about gourmet treats.

The things we do for love....

(and for those who might be worthy of it).

Oh MY! I lose all track of time in book AND fabric stores. It would never do for me to be rich or I would buy store loads of both! If ever homeless, either of these places is surely where I will be found.

Went to get groceries today and returned 2 hours later with the family asking in unison what took so long. I tried blaming the long lines due to superbowl shoppers, but really I was caught up in the colors and textures and possibilities presented in the produce section. Tomato's are a splurge at this point. Never thought I'd see those prices on tomatos!

I also learned how to apply make-up some 20 years ago at Merl Norman. I still don't wear anything else. Took my daughter there last summer so she would learn proper care and application, so now it's a double splurge. Aren't you glad Mo's a boy?

I'm not materialistic, but I do splurge on organic chocolate and thrift shop velvet.

Splurge is one of those words the more you stare at the weirder it looks.

Food. I do the food thing.....a lot.

And you are all gonna laugh at me but.....I collect Barbie dolls. The collectible (expensive) ones, not the ones you find at Target. So when I want to spurge, I spend $$ on a new doll (or 2). These were a few of the latest...







I just think they are beautiful. Yes, I am a geek. A child at heart.

I received the Byron Lars Barbie as a gift a few years ago and she is indeed beautiful.


And she's increased quite a bit in value!
Bella, should I have her encased in acrylic or something?

I don't remove mine from the box but yes, if you've displayed her, I'd suggest a case. And keep her out of direct sunlight. Byron Lars has a few beautiful dolls.

squinney I can just see you pushing your bag lady shopping cart full of fabulous textiles.

I get all caught up in the packaging at hair salons! What a dazzling display of containers. Produce is of course an even more dazzling display of containers.

Yes I'm glad Mo's a boy but mother/daughter splurges are divine! I have a crystal clear memory of being around 6 years old and sneaking out to the car with my mom to eat Heath bars -- candy was a luxury my family couldn't often afford.

Organic chocolate, hmmm? I'm not a big chocolate fan but when I want it, I want the best. What kind do you recommend, Cinnescan'tspellit?

Those Barbies are fab! Wow! So glamorous.

I knew that there were collectable Barbies but I really had no idea that they came in such variety. That beauty mark slays me - is that indicitive of a certain era? I love it that the black Barbie has a short afro! How cool is that?

I love that she has actual African-American features, too, not just the standard face painted different colors.

When I splurge, I splurge -- we splurged on the house and until I get a job or hubby gets a raise, we can't afford to splurge on anything else. My idea of splurge is to buy $40 boots (after 70% discount) with gift money that was earmarked for new clothes.

Great house, though! :-)

For those tempted by dolls:

http://www.dolls-n-daggers.com/