Weekend To Do List

C is visiting his family and friends in our hometown this weekend, so I'll be on my own. I really enjoy these quiet weekends to myself every so often.

I have a lot of things I need to do this weekend, so I'm making this list to help guide me:

- Finish federal and state tax returns and mail them out - I actually took care of this one last night, but I still need to make copies of my returns and put them in the mail.
- Clean the apartment thoroughly - it's just gross right now
- Finish fact-checking assignment - it's due on Monday, and I'm almost done. There are just a couple of loose ends to tie up, I should be able to wrap it up in an hour or so.
- Start working on my baby booties knitting project again. I put it down when I got sick last month, and I haven't returned to it since. This baby will be born in a few weeks, so I need to get cracking. My goal is to finish the practice bootie this weekend.
-Work out a new savings plan - I got a raise this week (I'll write about this later) and I need to adjust my monthly savings plan to account for that. I'll also write about what I did with my bonus - don't worry, it was very responsible of me. ;)

Errands
- Stop by the Gap - seems like a weird goal for a pf blogger, I know, but I really need to update my wardrobe and I have a 30% off coupon. If there are any good sales, I could come home with some great deals. We'll see.
- Make a quick trip to Trader Joe's - 'cos you know that milk I left out for five hours the other day can't be in good shape, although I did try to re-refrigerate it.
- Go to the library to pick up items on hold

I should be able to get most of this done today, and the rest will have to come tomorrow before work.

This Weekend: Baby Shower & a Busted Shoe

This weekend I went to my parents' house on Friday night after work, then to New York for my cousin's baby shower on Saturday; it's amazing to think that the next time I see her, she'll have a sweet little baby boy in tow. I can't wait! I did spend a little more on the gift than I'd budgeted (about $15 more), but that's okay. C and I don't really exchange Valentine's Day gifts, so I'm not anticipating taking any more money out of my fun fund this month.

The shower was nice, and it was fun to spend time with the extended family. The day was pretty exhausting, though, since my mom and I left her house pretty early in the morning to drive there, and I didn't get to sleep until almost 1. Staying up late is a challenge for me even on a Saturday night, but it was definitely worth it to stay up talking to my cousin and her husband, and watching several episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, one of quite a few shows they've gotten me into over the years.

On the way home today, mom and I stopped at the outlets. Knowing that we'll be doing quite a bit of outlet shopping in Florida later this month, we had no plans to even enter any of the stores we walked by in our search for the bathroom. However, as I exited the restroom, I noticed that my shoe's heel was loose.

Uh oh.

My shoe collection is pretty basic, when it comes to work-appropriate footwear: one pair of black pointed-toe heels, one pair of brown heels, and a few cheap pairs of ballet flats. That's it. I don't really do the whole shoe-crazy girl thing. I bought this particular pair of black shoes by Nine West at Marshall's in the spring of 2007, and they have served me well, but I think it might be time to replace them. Mom & I stopped in the Kenneth Cole Reaction store briefly on our way out, since I've always had good luck with their shoes, but the prices were insane. A pair of shoes I'd almost purchased in Florida last February (they didn't have my size or I would've bought them) was double the price they'd been a year ago. What on earth kind of business model is that - wait until there's a recession, then double your prices? Because we all have so much disposable income right now?? They had my size, too, but there was no way I was shelling out $80 for these shoes. Maybe I can pick them up in Florida for the "old" price. Weird.

Quiet Weekend

This weekend was pretty relaxing. Actually, I think I slept for most of it.

Friday night, C and I went out to eat at a really delicious (and thifty) Italian restaurant. We came home and watched an episode of Mad Men, but after polishing off our complimentary bottle of wine from dinner, I'm pretty sure we were asleep by 11.


Saturday I spent a long time cleaning my apartment. I do this every Saturday afternoon, but since I went to visit my parents last weekend, it had been two weeks since the place had been cleaned. Gross. We stayed in pretty much all day/night, and finished watching season 1 of Mad Men, which is definitely my favourite show right now. I can't wait for season 2 to come out on dvd!  I think Pete Campbell is my favourite character.  His smarminess just makes me laugh.  

Yesterday I went grocery shopping and spent only $17 for a week's worth of groceries, plus snacks for my desk at work.  Woo hoo!  I had to work at the inn, so I missed the super bowl, not that I cared.