Upgrades

Since recently making our way out of poverty (read: two full time students), I've made a few upgrades that I kind of love.

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Upgrade #1:

New jeans. After a year and a half of wearing the same two pairs of jeans that were purchased from Charlotte Russe, aka, not the highest quality jeans, I decided that I needed new ones. Actually the mirror decided it for me, since I wanted to barf on my lower half every time I looked in the mirror. I found these little gems at American Eagle.

Super long, super comfortable, and super affordable, like $39.99 style, and when I went to find this picture online, they were $29.99. Let's face it, I probably will never be able to justify buying ridiculously expensive name brand jeans, and since I don't care about name brands anyways, I'm very very happy with this find. It's amazing what a new pair of jeans can do for my self-esteem and booty.

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Upgrade #2:

This swimsuit (not the girls in the swimsuit, though I wouldn't mind those either). I hadn't purchased a new swimsuit since before we got married, and since my swimsuit bottoms were turning kind of sheer, I thought it might be a good thing to get.

But I didn't get the high waist bottoms shown here, and actually, haven't found bottoms that fit me well yet, so I'm still sporting the sheer. Good thing I'm a slave to swim shorts...for your sake. :) But I like it. I wanted a tankini that wasn't a halter, since I hate those tan lines, and it needed to come in long. This one fit the bill. However, when I first got it I was super uncomfortable since I had never had a V-shaped neckline before, and I wasn't used to my sternum being exposed. It just takes a while to get used to.

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Upgrade #3:

Kirkland brand shampoo and conditioner. Okay, you're thinking, "What the? That's an upgrade?" Uh yeah, I had been using this really classy brand called Suave before, because I could get the scent I liked best in the big bottles from this really classy store called Walmart for like a dollar. Side note: Sara and I decided that you know your hair products are really cheap when you choose them based on scent rather than function.

So, I bought these and LOVE them. I feel kind of like Lindsay and Tobias Funke who use $70 conditioner and then say, "It's a small price to pay for self-esteem, Michael!" But mine isn't $70, it's like $7.98 for a two pack at Costco. Once again, LOVE THEM.

Upgrade #4:

Homemade strawberry jam. Mmmmmm, I love this stuff. All through school I ate PB & J sandwiches for lunch using the Welch's stuff, which was fine. But then my sister-in-law Natalie gave me a jar of homemade strawberry jam that she made, and I can't get enough of it. So this week I made my own little batch that will hopefully last me through the winter (because I'm a bear?) until strawberries are cheap again.

I was thinking that I should convert someone else by giving them a jar, but unfortunately since I'm rationing it, I'm not willing to part with any. Sorry to be selfish. Maybe next summer. .

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Upgrade #5:

Moisturizer. Okay, this one I'm not completely sold on. I had gotten a free sample of some moisturizer at one point and really liked it, but then it ran out. When I went back to purchase the same kind, it was like $18 for .5 oz. POINT FIVE OUNCES! I can go to QT 18 times and get 44 oz of Diet Pepsi for that! So, I settled on this from Costco. And you better believe that it came in a two pack. I think that this is the kind my mom gets and has been using since I've been alive, and since she is really pretty and young looking, I thought it would be good. Buuuut, I'm not in love with it. It kind of makes me a little too Oily and less Olay-ey, and then the weird spots on my face that get really dry, still get dry. So, you people that are smart with skin stuff, what do I do? Should I stop being the biggest cheap-o and buy the $18 stuff or is there something that you guys love and recommend?

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The next thing on my upgrade list is a new toaster, since ours mysteriously stopped working this morning, which is a blessing since I hated it anyways. It always burned one side, so midway through toasting you would have to push the bagel button so it would stop toasting the burned side. Annoying.

(Edited to add: my toaster still works. I tripped the breaker for the outlets in my kitchen and didn't think to check that until this morning when my waffle iron didn't work either. That means I have to keep this one. Waah.)

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I'm also thinking that I want all new house stuff, like bedding, pots and pans, stuff like that. Those are things though that I'll probably wait on until we get a house. I ask Philip all the time, "Hey, when we get a new house, can we get new ______?" And because he thinks I'm ridiculous for asking this far in advance, he always says yes. Bless his heart for putting up with me. :)

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Happy non-Laboring tomorrow! Um, Jones cousins, are we having a party? Jenny and Aly and I briefly talked about it, but nothing was set in stone. Do you guys have plans? Let's party!