Corked Check In - Week 8 and 9

I have been doing pretty darn good with not purchasing new, non-consumable items.  In the past 2 weeks, I bought a total of 2 new t-shirts.  In all fairness, JR was going to purchase the t-shirts because we were at the Deep Eddy Taproom in Dripping Springs.  He decided he didn't want to for whatever reason and I thought that was silly.  The man wears t-shirts every day and these were soft, nice quality shirts with a cool logo on them.  Granted, the $20 price per shirt was a bit steep, but not horrible for souvenir shirts.  So, I bought them.  1 for me and 1 for him.  We brought them home and what do you know, mine fits bad.  Too low in front, too long, ugh, I might be wearing it for pajamas.  JR's fits just fine, as usual. 

Amazon and E bay have been taking care of my shopping urges with their never ending selection of used items.  Books and children's DVDs are my top purchases online.  Even though I'm aware I can download books from the library and stream shows on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc., it never fails I will be looking for a show for the kids, generally educational, and it's only available for sale.  Call me old school, but I need the hard copy if I am paying money for it. 

The library is awesome for downloading free copies of books, but I can never finish in the amount of time I need to read the book.  I only read right before bed.  This could be 45 minutes or 10, it all depends how tired I am and when I have to wake up in the morning.  Then there is that race against time feeling with library due dates and I really don't need that stress in my life.  So I buy.  Used.  Most of the time. 

Goodwill and local thrift stores are wonderful places to find cheap copies of books you would like to read if you don't have an agenda.  If you do, Amazon, E bay, and countless other places come in handy. If you aren't in a hurry, whatever it is you want will most likely show up for a price you are willing to pay.  One site I use to find used books is Bookfinder.com, but I almost always revert to E Bay or Amazon.  They seem to have the best prices consistently. 

A fun thing I do when I have time is browse free websites.  I only get items I will use because who wants a bunch of stuff cluttering up your house that has no purpose being there.  I don't want companies wasting their money on sending samples to me if I'm seriously not interested, either.    One free site is The Absolute Newsletter.  They start off by telling a little joke, then list a few freebies, then contests, followed by coupons and good deals.  Recently I have received mascara, coffee and detergent samples.

The only thing I have tried so far is the Persil detergent and I hate to say it, but the smell... yikes.  It reminded me of when my Grandma used Prell to wash her hair when I was a child.  It didn't help that the smell of the detergent was mixed with the smell of cauliflower I was cooking in the crock pot.  Gross.  I have a super sensitive nose, so that doesn't help.  I am a Tide girl.  I love the smell and anything else smells too flowery or strong now.  I do love freebies though. 

All in all, not a bad two weeks in the spending department. 

Total for week 8 and 9:  $40 for 2 T-shirts.