Yay!

Wanna know what's new around here?  Just check out lil bro's recent Facebook announcement. It's pretty amazing.

https://www.facebook.com/kdlowe22

(And if you are too lazy to follow the link, just see the pic for a darn clear hint.) Happy happy day!

I was blogged about!

Usually I'm the one doing the blogging but I'm very excited to share with you the flip side of the coin, someone blogging about me.

http://www.nonprofithub.org/featured/4-ways-nonprofits-can-be-more-proactive-with-social-media/

I am very flattered that someone would blog about me. Also as a result of this, I feel quite fancy.

A little spring in my dress

This past weekend I had a need to shop. Just needed to punch up my wardrobe with something. Per the usual though I wasn't aiming to spend tons of money so I ran up the road to the shopping center with a Marshall's, Old Navy and Kohl's.

I hit the jackpot!

As close as I can find online

I was about to leave Kohl's empty handed when this springy floral and denim dress jumped out at me. It was $64 (a smidge steep for what I was looking to spend) but was on sale for $48 (much more reasonable). I tried it on and in a word - SCORE. Then I remembered that I had $22 in a gift card from a Christmas return which brought my end price all the way down to $30, including tax.

I'm sporting it today to the office. Now I read enough fashion blogs (ie one, that of Austin Delta alumna Alta who keeps up this fashion/family blog and continues to wow me with her very large and on a budget wardrobe) to know wearing the belt that comes with an outfit is risky business. Of course, I've also been myself long enough to know I can't be trusted with accessory decisions, most especially when it comes to belts. I rely on the stores and my personal shopper Nichole to tell me how, what and when for all things including belts.

While self-portraits are not my specialty in life, I think this one via my iPhone does a decent job of showing off my new springy dress (in February because apparently we are not having a winter this year). Complete with the paired belt which I have to say, I think looks pretty good.

High Five HEB

On Wednesday when the hubs and I were finally reunited after 4 nights apart due to GFD and NYC, he surprised me with beautiful red-tipped yellow roses. My favorites!

However I was very bummed when by Friday they were starting to wilt. He had gone to HEB, which despite being a grocery store, always comes through for us on the flowers front. This was definitely an anomaly. I remembered though that the wrapping on the flowers said 7 days guaranteed fresh and I was determined to get my full 7 days.

New flowers now gracing the table

This morning I took the receipt (luckily it was just sitting in the truck console) and a picture of my wilted flowers to HEB to request new flowers.

The good lady at HEB didn't even make me show her my picture. In no time flat, I was walking out with two (less expensive) bouquets of pink and purple flowers, guaranteed to be fresh for 14 days and a few dollars cash a la the difference in cost.

I didn't think about it in the moment, but I totally should have given the very nice lady at HEB a high five for that excellent customer service.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Last year I read The Lincoln Lawyer. It was a really good book, very interesting twisty plot. A non-John Grisham Grisham-like read if you will.

Without giving it away, it's about Michael, a criminal defense lawyer in LA who is hired for a high profile assault case. It doesn't take long for his client's real colors to show through and the craziness begins.

Flash forward to now and our (very expensive) Netflix membership which I am determined to get the most of. I rented the movie on Blu-Ray and settled in Tuesday night to watch it while Ross was at work.

DISAPPOINTING.

I guess if you hadn't read the book but did see the movie, like Ross, you might like the movie (he did). But if you read the book you would have been disappointed in the movie, as is so often the case.

It simply didn't take long enough at the beginning to develop the characters which made the twists significantly less interesting. Also the first plot twist, the one that really matters, didn't have the dots connected very well. Even having read the book a few months before I was thinking "huh? how did he draw that conclusion?" Finally a few plot deviations are a given from book to movie and while they didn't have any major ones, I thought the ones they chose lessened the story quality overall.

Verdict: Book or movie. Not both.

Marie Claire & Me on Money

Since I discovered on my flight to NYC that my book. Making It Up, was awful, I splurged on the February issue of Marie Claire for the flight back. I liked the feature on Christina Aguilera, loved the feature on Gov. Nikki Haley and thought the Money Matters section was good enough to share here with you.

Here's a few of my fav tips from Money Matters + my own commentary:

• "Maximize your paycheck. Take pretax dollars from  your salary to ensure you have funds for things you need. A flexible spending account (FSA) lets you pay for health expenses..." The tricky thing about an FSA though the "use it or lose it" clause. For the first year you open one of these, I suggest figuring out your sure-thing expenses like contacts, birth control and other regular prescriptions. Only set aside enough for those and depending on how you spend, consider increasing the next year.
• "Skimp on the small stuff." This is why my college friends associate me with cheap toilet paper...and toothpaste, paper towels, etc. Needless to say, name brand is not always the way to go, especially on daily household purchases.
• "Make small changes at home. Save $33 a month: Turn your fridge temperature up to 40 degrees and your freezer up to 0." You bet I immediately checked my fridge. The other ideas here include surge protectors and compact fluorescent lightbulbs. I'd like to add in variable or low-flow toilets and keeping your home really warm in the summer and really cold in the winter (guilty as charged).
• "Shop solo. Browsing with a friend triggers competition; you'll be more objective alone." I have to admit this one isn't any fun but I know I do by less when I'm alone so there must be some truth to it.
• Take your lunch. OK this one wasn't in Marie Claire but I find it to be one of the best cost saving things to do on an almost daily basis. When we really need to save we take this one step further and instead of buying lunch stuff will make just a little more for dinner and take that with us. Dinner leftovers are especially cheap when it's pasta night.
• Use cash. Again not in Marie Claire but tried and true in the Black household. If you can't pay for it in cash, you can't afford it.