My modest writing instrument collection. For a lover of stationery, it is hard for me to have such a small collection, but I’m proud that it is not out of control and I get a lot of use out of them.
The ones on the left are my work horses. That is my second brown Pilot Frixion and the ink is about to run out again. I love the ability to rub out mistakes very cleanly in my diary.
I’ve refilled that black and white Uni-ball Jet Stream twice already. The new pink and white body one I got earlier this year is so sweet. Love them both.
The Propus highlighter is so handy with its double end. I use the fine tip to write in my diary. I want to get all the colours but refraining.
The oldest of all of these is my Uniball Shalaku mechanical pencil. It is so worn out but I can’t find anything nicer to replace it, so it is here to stay.
The Zebra Regals on the right, (all the white ones) are new additions I recently got this month. They are supposedly getting discontinued so decided to get them considering I won’t be able to later. I love their silver clips and pearly white bodies. For someone who is not a fan of dark blue pens, my favourite is surprisingly the navy blue, the colour is gorgeous. The only thing I’m not a fan of is the ribbed plastic grip and the weight is a bit too light, if that makes sense.
I know, totally geeky and nerdy, but I’m an engineer. I can be.
Filed under pens collection
So while I was recycling some plastic bottles, I felt some hypocrisy on my part because while I’m limiting the need to mine for more petroleum, I’m doing disservice to the humble tree with none other than my need to use a tissue for every nose blpw. Tissues are my number one rubbish as I have to empty my bin every fortnight because my bin is brimming with tissues and rarely any other rubbish. So then I remember reading about Everyday Minimalist using handkerchiefs.
Somehow the thought of using a handkerchief leaves me trembling. I guess it is the thought of having a viral infection in your pocket that is pretty off putting.
But if this once elegant social symbol of class was used for hundreds of years prior, it can’t be that bad can it? People did die a lot more back then but it’s probably not hanky related, was it?
As Kanye West once said, now that won’t kill me can only make me stronger. I always think of fish sticks when I think of Kanye now thanks to South Park. Lameness aside, when I have a chance, I’ll pick up a handkerchief (will have to google where the heck to get them) and trial it for a day.
If you’re doing this too, keep in mind that you have to pop it in the wash after a day of use so expect to get 7 if these babies to be up to speed with hanky etiquette. Get more if you plan on being the chivalrous man (or woman) and handing a distressed damsel a hanky, or if you do your washing less frequently.
Filed under handkerchief green eco trees tissues
My top two wisdom teeth freshly pulled out today. I was awake and it was terrifying and I was shaking uncontrollably. Luckily it was over faster than I thought and the pain during the pulling was only slight. Can’t imagine how painful it would be without the local anaesthetic. My face was numb for about 3 hours which was kinda fun. I slept with the gauze in my mouth and when I woke up, it stopped bleeding. It doesn’t even hurt right now even after the numbing dissipated but I took painkillers for good measure. The second pair won’t be as pleasant as these since they are the ones jutting in. At least I’ll be calmer the second time round!
Filed under wisdom teeth
After a year, I’ve finally narrowed my skincare products down to the smallest amount I’ve ever had since I was 19. Took patience but so worth it. Makes me smile every morning and evening.
If you have followed me long enough, you know my love for less toxic products. Here are my recent favourites.
EO hand sanitiser in lavender
I am addicted to hand sanitiser especially being on public transport a lot. This one has a wonderful lavender scent and claims to not only sanitise but moisturise too.
Mill Creek Keratin conditioner
This along with coconut oil as a leave in conditioner on damp hair has seriously transformed my straw like hair to strong hair, which I love. I am not crazy about the scent though, smells like cough medicine to me.
Sukin Facial moisturiser
I use it as a hand cream because I am a bit worried about it on my face. I happened to have breakouts whenever I used this. But as a hand cream, it is the best I have ever used. My hands have never been this smooth and soft before (ahem Tokyo Milk). It has a strong scent but it smells pleasant enough for my hands. Love this. Will probably pick up another one before I head to Japan.
I’ve always had long hair as a default hairstyle because it honestly looks the best on me. However I always just let it grow without a thought and it is usually quite unhealthy. So this time round, I’m going to do it the right way. My bad hair habits are man handling. I play with my hair too often so my hair gets dried out. So I am going to wear my hair away from my face from now on to avoid this. Experimenting is another thing, I will give up on trying out shampoo bars and admit that my hair hates it. So going to stick with trusty products. Also I’ll do more frequent Coconut oil treatments.
So we’ll see how it all goes. My hair right now is by no means short but shorter than my ideal length. Also its been feeling thin so working on getting it full again.
Hoping to get waist length hair by the end of the year and in good condition.
So I ended up spending about $300 on just personal expenses. This was mainly for my work uniform and it has been so great since I bought all these awesome essentials.
One thing I bought that wasn’t so required was a new handbag, that I spoke about in my work uniform post. I really do love this bag and my old one was not cutting it in size and looks and getting old. I used it for more than a year. My new one is also in a colour that makes me happy and breaks up my monochrome work uniform. I love that it is inexpensive and handmade. Ok, I’ll stop advertising. Summary: It was a good buy.
My New Bag
I also bought Jurlique Finishing Silk Powder in Rose. I got it for only $28 online, I am annoyed because it is more expensive to buy this Australian product in Australia than online. I bought the lavender one in Australia 2 years ago and got it discounted for $36, so $28 was a steal. I have used it everyday since I bought it. Best powder ever.
Again outtings are my biggest expense, about $400. This is high because I am doing something every week with friends and bf.
Then transportation, the regular $102.
Then another $100 on miscellaneous: phone bill, snacks, some lazy lunch days, fast food, frozen cokes (damn!) etc.
So the grand total is a painful $900.
I think it could have been worse. This month I plan to spend half of what I did last month on personal expenditures, $150
Also, outtings I also want to spend half, $200.
I gave my mum some money this month already and ordered her a Jurlique powder too for her birthday.
I want to lower my miscellaneous purchases too. It’s going to be lower because bf is going to Japan this week and random junkfood runs will not happen anymore.
A big cost is Fashion Week ticket my friend is dying to go to. She wants us to get the VIP ticket for $95. I’ll probably only go once in my life and I will be moving overseas soon so I should go :)
The goal is to spend $600-$700 this month!
Since my new found freedom of being able to buy things since the consumer abstinence, I have gone a LITTLE crazy, I can see how the shiny consumer monster within was rising.
For me, I did end up buying all my essentials but still found myself on shopping websites and toying with the idea of buying the awesome dish rack or cute mugs.
So I did this by accident and it has worked so far. I don’t think it would work for everyone but I am one who does not like parting with cash. I find it hurts internally passing over those notes.
So I decided that cashing out my monthly budget would help me by being unable to shop online because the funds are with me physically instead of easily transferable online. With the amount of physical funds, it sets a solid boundary on expenses. I can see how much I need to ration for the entire month and there is no going beyond that, in the simpler days, you spend what you have, because that is logic. You do not spend money you do not have. And of course, I will not carry around the entire amount in my wallet!
So this is a fresh new concept for me so I will test it out. Since I have been working I have been spending a bit extravagantly compared to my poor student days. I will write a post on last month’s expenses very soon :)
Filed under budgeting
