Last Purchases for 365 Days and The Rules!

Without giving them too much thought beforehand, these were my last purchases from 2013:

                                                1. Hunter Boot zig-zag Welly socks $40

2. My favorite liquid eyeliner $6

3. A cut-out dress from Forever 21 for our upcoming trip to Puerto Rico $20

4. A manicure and pedicure (sad that it's already chipping- it has to last me 11 1/2 more months!)

I didn't want to get too crazy or put too much thought into not being able to buy things-- I am predisposed to stockpiling (it's a genetic thing: my grandma had a whole closet dedicated to pasta she bought at the dollar store and my dad is a classic hoarder: mom recently asked him to clean out the deep freeze in the basement and he refused to throw anything out even though most of it had a 2008 expiration date). 

The Rules are essentially the same as what my blog's role-model Janet McMahon did last year. I haven't seen Janet and her husband Troy since they moved to Kansas City to church plant but I still keep up with them online. After I read about what she was up to, I knew this was something God was nudging me to do as well. 

1. I can still buy food and things for our family (duh) it wouldn't really be fair if I asked Lou and Mack to join in and give up their wasteful and excessive diaper using habit.

2. Eating out is allowed if it's social- but no solo "Woe-is-me!-My-toddler-had-a-massive-meltdown-in-public-and-now-I-need-some-onion-rings-and-a-milkshake-to-save-this-day" drive through runs. Also... no latte's. This is where I shall surely suffer. I don't really know how to leave the house without stopping for coffee so this will be a new experience that may lead to me actually arriving to places on time!

3. No services (haircut, tanning, manicure/pedicure, eye-brow wax)... EXCEPTION ALERT! Our sweet grand-parents give us Christmas money each year. I will be stretching this to use for highlights. Like 5 highlights a month but it's better than reverting to the dirty-dishwater color I think that is hiding under 15 years of blonde.

4. If I run out (like I actually used the whole stick of deodorant and am throwing it in the trash) I can buy a necessity (toothpaste- yes, please) but it has to be the cheapest. That is true for shampoo and body wash too, it just can't be the expensive stuff I've been buying the past few years. 

5. Experiences are okay: museum, movie theater, sky-diving, but these don't come up too often.

That's it! 

So far it's been 12 days. I went to Target and it was hard (I wanted to buy 29348 things namely some Crest White Strips, a frappuccino, a cute sweater on clearance for $15, and a new swim suit)-- but instead I bought Lou a frog potty and some Elmo undies to prematurely start potty-training, sounds like a welcomed distraction!