4 things I bought with my birthday money
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I guess I'm on a "4 things" kick lately. I think this is the third post in a week's time that listed 4 things.(Although to make it consistent, I should probably do four "4 things" posts! Ha.)
My birthday was in April, I know...but I'm a little slow to spend money.
(the whole frugal thing and all!)
Even when it's my birthday, I do think kind of carefully about what I buy, just because I like to spend money on things that feel worthwhile to me.
So, here's how I spent my birthday dollars:
One
I bought the summer American Giant hoodie.
I love my heavyweight hoodie for cold weather, but sometimes you want something a little less bulky and warm. I used to have one from Eddie Bauer, but somehow, I lost it.
How do you lose a hoodie? Man, I dunno. But I did it!
Anyhoo.
I love this jacket. It's perfect for spring, fall, and overly air-conditioned buildings in the summer. 😉
(American Giant doesn't currently have this jacket in stock, since it's the end of summer. Their Essential Full Zip (not an affiliate link) is probably similar, but it is more expensive. I'll let you know if I see the summer one pop up again.)
Two
I also ordered a book about the enneagram, which is a personality typing system. It's along the lines of the Myers-Briggs, but not quite as cheerful.
Basically, it shows you a little more of the negative parts of your personality, which, while not as fun, is a necessary part of learning and growing.
I still can't quite figure out if I'm a 2 or a 9, but hopefully that'll become clear as I keep reading.
(It's a little unusual for me to buy a book, as I usually get books from the library. This one's not available there, so I bought it!
Three
I also got a little piercing.
I'm not allowed to pierce my nose again (not until November, a year post-surgery) and I haven't decided for sure if I want to.
So, I decided to do a small ear piercing for now.
Four
Lastly, I bought a Danish dough whisk.
I heard about these from my instagram friend Kate, of Venison for Dinner. And then I also saw them recommended by ATK.
Between those two things, I was intrigued.
I ordered this one for $10 and I think it's great! I'm so surprised at how well it works for things like pancake batter, where a traditional whisk just gets all gummed up.
I give this a big thumbs up, and if you're a baker, I think you'd love having one in your kitchen.
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So. There's where my birthday money went this year. I'm loving everything I bought, and things like the dough whisk and the hoodie will keep on making me happy for quite a while in the future. Love that!
(RSS and email friends, you'll have to click over to the blog for these links to work. Oh, those Amazon rules...)
I absolutely love the jacket. I have a light jacket for the summer too. Sometimes it's just too cold in a room because of the AC (i.e. mall) or if it's early in the morning. Mr. FAF and I usually don't celebrate our birthday. It's partly because we want to save money and partly because we didn't grow up having birthday parties every year. I think it might be an Asian thing.
I've never seen this kind of whisk before! Hope you'll show us how you use it with some yummy recipes!
Love that you spend a little on a few things you want for your bday. Love that whisk!
I like the piercing (I liked your nose piercing also). I want to get one as well (currently I just have one piercing in each earlobe) but I can't seem to bite the bullet and just do it. I know how weird my family will be about it. :-/ And this is how a nearly-37-year-old is still influenced by her parents. Lol
Girl, I feel you. I hesitated for a long time to get my nose pierced because of similar worries. But I did it, and it was fine. You do you!
Think of it this way...if you think you'd look cute with it and your husband does too, what are you saying if you don't go for it? That what someone else things/wants is more important than what you and your husband want? I realized that my priorities were a little out of whack, and that's when I went for it.
It's not permanent, and nothing about it changes who you are...you are still the exact same person as before, just with a new, non-permanent piece of jewelry.
Happy belated birthday! I'd say these are some fun and useful birthday purchases indeed. 🙂 I was thinking about getting my tattoo redone for my birthday, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!
Sounds you gave each of those a lot of thought and your birthday money brought you much joy (: I love that I don't have to care what anyone thinks of the piercing I bought myself after recovering from knee surgery. And I love that little hoop, so I might have to get me one! As for the jacket, my internal thermostat always reads HOT so jackets aren't things I get use out of. Now a cool tee? Yes.
I love the color of that hoodie. Is it purple or navy blue? What size did you get? Do they shrink?
Mine is a purpley-blue! Kind of in between. I line dry my AG stuff, and I wear a small.
Happy Birthday!
I hope you enjoy The Road Back to You. I work with Suzanne at Life in the Trinity Ministry and we're always glad when we hear that the Enneagram is a helpful tool for folks. Don't hesitate to be in touch (laura@lifeinthetrinityministry.com) if I can help you figure out your 2 // 9 questions!
Oh my gosh, yes! I'm totally going to email you.
I don't like piercings in general but LOVE the upper earlobe one! Sort of hip and sophisticated at the same time.
Oh, I would like a new whisk--I agree, regular ones can get gummed up with, say, pancake batter. I'll be watching for one of those! (It's the little things ...). Thanks for sharing!
I like the ear piercing. If it were me, I think I'd be afraid to try anything that might hurt my nose again, but I'm a wimp about self-inflicted pain. 😉
I have that same Danish whisk, and it is AWESOME! I use for bread, biscuits, pancakes, and in general, anything that needs a more thorough combining than a spoon can provide. It never gunks up, and for something like biscuits or quick breads, it combines so quickly that you always get a tender, light end product. What a great birthday gift to yourself!
Dude I'm all about some comfy jackets!! I love the color!
I definitely think the frugal mindset makes spending money, even on things you want, really hard. We're working on that too. Adding a fun budget to our budget has been a new experience!
Glad you ended up buying yourself a few things!
So nice!!! I'm so glad you spent a little on you! 🙂
I love to spend my brithday money! Haha.
This year I inherited some family jewelry, and decided that I needed a new jewelry chest for storing it.
I was so excited to use my birthday money (plus some cash from selling my old bulky one) to buy a sleek new tabletop one.
The new one has more storage than the old one, and has a timeless style. I think it will become and heirloom in itself.
Enjoy your treasures!
Over the years I have noticed you often spend your gift money on kitchen equipment. I do that too! And now I have to check out those whisks . . .
I had a July birthday and spent the plethora of Amazon gift cards I received on an Instant Pot. I love it! I just haven't exactly figured out where to store it yet.
Enjoy your Enneagram journey! I'm a 9. It's hard to figure out sometimes. What happens when you are under a lot of stress? Twos get angry and short-tempered when stressed. NInes get fearful and controlling
Check out the sections on wings too... I'm not a very typical 8, but 8 with 9 wings describes me perfectly.
I'm rarely gifted money, but usually restaurant gift cards. Chick-fil-A with the kids, Panera with my yoga girls, and a local pizza joint are the go to's for me.
I've always wondered about that whisk! Sounds great! Maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas, that's a good small gift.
I still have gift cards from Christmas!
I just put the whisk on my wish list on amazon!
I lost my winter jacket. It was a gray, wool pea coat that I got at the Goodwill Outlet, and somehow I lost it. I'm stubbornly refusing to purchase a new one, because I'll never find that good of a deal anywhere else. So, I feel ya on #1.
Happy belated Birthday!
Funnily enough, I walked back to the reception desk outside our church nursery last night during service, and my jacket was laying across the counter! It'd been in the back storage room of the nursery. I most-likely took it off and put it back there when volunteering and then forgot about it!
Yay!!! Oh, happy day.
I own such a whisk! I love my Danish Whisk/Whip.
I love learning about the MBTI types. I will have to check that book out. I am an INFJ and I've found learning about it helpful
I really like your new ear piercing! I'm a man, and would like to get the same one too (just the cartilage, not the lobes) but no one in our area has it, so not doing it for now. I also really liked your nose stud (and hoop), and think you should go for it in November, at least for the cute stud.
It's three years later, but I did it! Got it pierced half a year ago.
I love that you came back to update!
So a year post surgery, are you going to get your nose pierced again?
Nope, I've decided against it. My surgeon has, more than once, seen a piercing post-surgery weaken the grafted cartilage, and I don't want to risk that.