A little bit of this, a little bit of that
This post contains affiliate links.
It's time for a post full of random things! Ready?
My nose is doing a lot better.
(In case you missed it, I had functional rhinoplasty.)
I'm 2.5 weeks post-op now. The swelling inside and out is steadily going down, and even though it'll take a whole year for it to completely un-swell(!), I can already tell that my breathing is a lot better than it was before the surgery.
(My selfie game is weak, especially with an SLR.)
And it'll only get better from here on out, which is pretty encouraging. Yay!
Also, I am starting to look way more like myself, which exactly what one hopes for with a functional rhinoplasty...better breathing, little change in looks. Yes, please.
I gotta be honest...I was a little worried at first that my nose was going to remain large and swollen and that I wouldn't look like myself at all!
But Mr. FG talked me down from the ledge and reminded me that you can't expect to be completely un-swollen a week after major nose surgery.
Which, of course, is completely right and sensible, but I needed to be reminded.
Temporary hair color shampoo
Because of my nose, I've been posting an inordinate number of selfies of late (three in the last 2.5 weeks on Instagram!) and several of you commented about my hair color.
It's actually just from colored shampoo.
I have naturally brown hair, but I got blonde highlights early in the summer. Then in August, Mr. FG told me about this new colored Viral colorwash shampoo he saw online.
I'm not brave enough to color my whole head of hair, but this shampoo only shows up on the light parts of hair.
(Or your whole head of hair if you're blonde!)
So, I felt like that was pretty not-scary and I ordered some from Amazon. I tried purple first, and then decided I'd like something with a warmer shade, so I tried the red and then the pink. I think the red is my favorite so far.
The color is somewhat temporary...it'll wash out in several weeks. And it's pretty easy to switch from color to color. I've done purple, then red, then pink, then red all in two month's time.
I'm not sure how the cost compares to buying actual hair dye, but it is really easy and not very messy and it's a lot less of a commitment. And if you already have some pre-lightened sections of hair, it's a totally not-scary way to try out crazy colors.
You can buy colorwash shampoo at some hair salons, but it's definitely cheaper on Amazon.
Oh, and they have a Gem Lites line that consists of less-crazy colors, in case you're not feeling super adventurous.
(CelebLuxury has no idea I exist, and I bought all of my shampoo with my own money.)
I'm getting online bargains. But not so much for Christmas.
I know companies put out deals at Christmastime so that we will buy presents. But I've been taking advantage of them to buy a few things I wanted/needed to buy anyway.
For instance, AdoramaPix (my fave place to get photobooks) had a 20% off sale, so that made me get off my booty and get a book put together. I knocked out all my photos from January-August 2016, which is making me feel happy.
I got some skinny jeans for Sonia, Zoe, and me online at Kohl's.
And I got some work pants for Mr. FG from Eddie Bauer for 50% off. Excellent.
Also, I have been remembering to go through TopCashBack for all of my online shopping, so, gold star for me!
(Here are my thoughts about the best online cashback sites.)
I ordered a new-to-me iPhone.
I currently have a 4s, which I bought refurbished nearly 3 years ago (my first smartphone!)
It's starting to have issues, mostly because I can't update to a newer iOS. I'm on 7 instead of 10, and that's causing a number of problems.
So, I just ordered a refurbished SE (basically an iPhone 6 in a 5s body) from Amazon, and I'm pretty excited about the prospect of being able to download apps again! I think the camera on this one will be a lot better than what I have now too.
I thought about going with the 5s, but I worried it would get out of date too quickly. I think the SE will last me longer.
I had a pretty good Amazon gift card, plus Amazon credit from our Amazon Visa, so it only ended up costing me $35 out of pocket.
And yet, I still hesitated a while before ordering it. Mr. FG was like, "Um, babe. You have the money. What's the problem?"
Heh.
My frugal heart is the problem!
But I think I'm going to be pretty happy I upgraded.
(We use Ting for our wireless service, which means we have to buy our phones outright. It's still way cheaper overall than having a contract, though!)
_________________
That wraps up this edition of randomness. See you tomorrow for a grocery/menu post!
Email subscribers, you'll have to click on over to the post to get working colored shampoo links. I have them set to disable via email in order to comply with Amazon's terms of service.
Hi Kristen! The hai coloring shampoo is a neat idea! I think I'll look into it. Do your daughters ask to use it too? When I was Lisey's age, I was using the Sun-In product. Lol!
Will you have a bed update soon? We're in the market for a new one.
I'd love to hear you thoughts about the Amazon credit card. We buy a ton of stuff from Amazon. We have a bank credit card that we've had for 30 years and a Citi Bank credit card. We only use the Citi Bank one for Costco purchases. I really don't want another credit card, but I'm intrigued about the Amazon one.
We only use our Amazon credit card. We love it! We don't travel so airline points don't make sense for us. We primarily use our points for computer part purchases. We put everything on the card except most of our utilities bills (I just haven't switched them over) and we get about 30-40 of credit every couple of months.
I always did like your cool-colored hair! Unfortunately I work in an office for a client, so it looks like fun hair colors aren't in my future. Yet. 😉 Good job on the Amazon find, too!
I've started planning out homemade gifts for most of the people on my Christmas list, so hopefully that will be a money-saving endeavor. I'm going to make bourbon-soaked cherries, bacon salt, caramel-filled truffles, a book hidey-hole (book with a secret compartment for storage), and peppermint sugar scrub. For other people we didn't agree to do DIY, so most of them are getting gift cards (it makes me a little sad, but that's what they requested!).
Ha, yeah, being self-employed does give you more hair color freedom. 😉 I do work part-time for our church too, but they don't care what color my hair is!
I have a frugal teenage son who was using an iphone 4 for years. He also didn't upgrade his software because it slowed his phone down. Finally, one day, the Uber app wouldn't work anymore...time for a new iphone. He chose the 6 which should last him until he leaves for college.
Yep...that's my story too. I could have upgraded the software, but didn't because it made the phone so incredibly slow. I limped along for a while like that, but it was getting to the point where I really was running into problems.
I hope his 6 works well for him for a long time!
I dig the colored hair look. I may have to pass the info on to my wife. Funny, for a guy who has lived a pretty conservative life, I do find some of the more "counter culture fashions" on women to be appealing to me.
I'm also on the "buy stuff on sale but not as gifts" train. I needed work boots and my wife needed a new coat. LLBean and Lands End sales made this possible.
Your nose is straight and looking normal, congratulations!
Coloring hair just isn't for me. I have so many people asking if I don't want to cover the gray that is coming in, but I just can't get interested. Actually, as a dull dishwater blonde, I prefer the silver hairs I see coming in. I'm really happy to see I inherited my late grandmother's silver streak at the temple. She started with that streak and went completely silver not too long after. I'm on that same path, and since she was very dear to me, I'm happy about that. Funny thought -- what would I look like if I used that color shampoo, with all the individual silver hairs on my head? Like an incomplete dye job?
We are going to try to use holiday sales to get some things we need for the home, too. My gifts are done, but it makes sense to use the big sales to get things that had to be purchased. I try to get used when I can, but some things just can't be found used, or almost never can be found used, although we've managed to get a few things that way, like an air compressor.
Ha, I can already tell you what much of my menu for this week looks like -- LEFTOVERS.
Hi there. It's been a while since I've commented. Thanks for the link to Gem Lites! I had my hair professionally colored with Black Raspberry. Love it but pricey. I will try this product. Some people think that I am much too old to have a crazy color in my hair but I think it's fun. So happy that your nose is improving. Have a very Merry Christmas to your and your family.
Patti P
Congrats on your nose healing and on the new phone! They are expensive, but I try to look at it as I'm getting a new camera along with a phone. They are pretty fancy these days!
Congrats on the great phone deal! Are you also planning to sell back your phone through Gazelle or one of the other sites that buy them? You might make the rest of your $35 and get a free phone! 🙂 We always trade electronics down the family line of succession (dad first, he's the techie!) but when we're all done with them we usually sell to Gazelle, I think they give the best prices, per my dad, but you'd have to check.
So happy the nose is healing well!
Ooh, you are using AdoramaPix? I am planning to make my first ever photo book, and was going to use MyPublisher -- should I rethink that? What do you like about AdoramaPix, and do you have any recommendations for a first-timer?
Here are my thoughts on Adorama Pix books: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/win-a-beautiful-adoramapix-photo-book/
And My Publisher: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/07/thoughts-on-my-publisher-photo-books/
AdoramaPix photo quality is my very favorite, but making a book with them can end up being more expensive. So it's really a matter of priorities for you...are you more picky about cost or about outstanding photo quality? Mypublisher quality is fine; it's just not at the level of AdoramaPix. Their stuff is a bit more grainy, and the pages aren't quite as thick.
Thank you! (I should have known you'd have done a prior post on AdoramaPix)
I'm doing a book with our wedding photos (we had a photographer, but only got digital pictures, never had an album made) -- so I'm going to splurge on this a little 🙂
Ooh, if you're doing your wedding book then yes, I'd totally go with Adorama. No doubt. You probably have great quality photos and you'll want them printed in great quality.
I wrote some tips about making photo books here: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/7-tips-for-making-great-mypublisher-photo-books/ The post is about My Publisher, but most of those tips apply to Adorama too. Although for a wedding book, skip my tip about colored backgrounds....white is probably the best way to go!
Glad that you continue to be on the mend. I love the colored hair look, but worry about trying to look too cool for my age. Any idea how the shampoo works on gray hair? Do you use the conditioner too? Do you use the whole bottle from wash to wash or alternate between the color and regular shampoo?
Ha, well, I'm 38, and I just decided not to worry about the age thing.
The shampoo definitely doesn't cling to gray hair as well as it does to other hair. Such a bummer!
I haven't used the conditioner, and I use the color maybe once or twice a week. If you use it super often, it will definitely make your hair a bit on the dry side.
Congrats on the new phone and the healing nose!! Nice to hear some good news!
Used up turkey in a poppy seed turkey casserole -- my family loves it.
Used leftover mashed potatoes and fish to make fish cakes, yum!
Cranberry orange sauce made a lovely batch of muffins and a loaf of tea bread.
Carrots, peas and corn went into the turkey soup pot.
Trying to finish Christmas shopping.
How is everyone else's this and that list??
I'm with you on the cell phone! I bought my first smartphone 3 years ago which was a Samsung Galaxy S2, thinking I would be frugal (they were on S4 at the time) and now its gotten so "old" that the memory is almost full and I can't update many of the apps I use either. It runs slowly which is a pain when I'm using GPS. I don't "need" a new phone, but my husband insists that I do, so is buying me an S7 for my birthday/Christmas. I wish smartphones didn't have such planned obsolescence these days...my last phone was a flip phone which I used for 8 years.
I hear you...it's frustrating how quickly they get out of date.
Thanks for the recommendation for Topcashback, Kristen. I've been using them for about 6 months on your recommendation and I've earned about $60. They are totally simple and user-friendly, unlike Swagbucks (I found SB to be pretty annoying). I've never had any issues with getting credited for my purchases, also unlike SB.
Yay!! I'm so glad. TopCashBack is my favorite cash back site by far.
I was curious about the shampoos, I love colored hair but I dont have the patience for the care they require. On the cell phone, in Brazil (where I live) we have a high risk in the streets, but still people - all - have smartphones, especially Android. I have a MOTO G2 (Motorola Generation 2) and it serves me well. Usually change every 2 years and always for cheap models. Good luck with your new smartphone!
Yes, this is a great low-maintenance way to get hair color!
Never heard of that shampoo but I'm kinda scared the color would stay in longer than I'd like. My daughter's friends were coloring their hair with kool aid over the summer. I read that it would last about 6 weeks so I let her do it. That was in July. Guess who still has bright pink hair in December!!
Also, ugh phones are so annoying. My husband keeps telling me to get a new one but my frugal self is all like no this one still works (nevermind that I can't use half my apps or take pictures)
It is hard to predict how long it would stay...I haven't been brave enough to let Sonia (who is blonde) use it, because her whole head of hair would turn the color, and I'm worried about what it would look like as it washes out.
I would like to get a refurbished iPhone, but I am concerned about losing all of my pictures and texts. How do you handle this when you trade phones? Thank you for your blog. I really enjoy reading about your family and your frugal living lifestyle.
Oh, you can transfer everything to your new phone...at least, you can with pictures. I'm unsure about texts, but your contacts can definitely be transferred.