Monday, January 18, 2010

Things I'd buy myself if I didn't have to spend my Christmas money on rent.*

As I fast approach the ripe old age of 24, one of the grown up life lessons I'm learning is that usually you have to choose between having a job you love and having a mediocre job that pays well enough that you can do the things you love in your free time.

My job (and its 200-dollar-a-week stipend) falls under the first category. And for the most part, I'm satisfied with that.

But just so I can get it out of my system, here's a list of things I would be buying myself right now if I didn't have to be responsible and stuff.


1. A wall-mountable spice rack. My apartment's white walls are starting to drive me a little crazy.. This one could totally "spice up" the boring wall space above my stove. I suppose a kitchen table would be nice, too. But for now dinner parties around the living room coffee table are proving to be quite quaint.

And while I'm on the subject of cooking...


2. Ever since I went on food stamps (no, seriously. details to come on that one.) I've been cooking a lot. One of my favorite places to find recipes is The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I'm pretty sure Ree Drummond is next in line to inherit the throne of butter from Paula Deen (and we all know how I LOVE me some Paula). And I've been dying to get my greasy hands on a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cookbook. But I'm a girl who knows it's important to eat healthy foods, too. So to keep myself balanced, a subscription to Cooking Light wouldn't be so bad, either.


3. I love love love snail mail. And wish I had the money to send out adorable, hand printed valentines like these ones. Next year, my loves. Next year.










4. Speaking of valentines, I'm pretty sure I could score myself a hot date on V-day if I owned this dress. (Now on sale for the low, low price of a week's wages.) You know I'm a sucker for polka dots. And that cut on my hips? Even Joanie would be jealous. (I'm a size 6, by the way...)


5. Tickets to the Sasquatch Music Festival in May. Last year's lineup was amazing (Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Explosions in the Sky, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Avett Brothers to name a few.) and this year's is sure to kick booty as well (it won't be announced until mid february). But alas, the curse of the starving artist means there's no money left to spend on art.


6. Single Ladies dance lessons. Seriously, how could anyone have ever doubted that Seattle was the city for me when classes like these are happening just down the street.


7. A rain hat to keep the frizz away on nasty days. My hood doesn't quite fit over all my hair, and an umbrella is just too much for Seattle mist. This hat from bloomingdale's is outrageously expensive. BUT also kindof the most adorable thing ever. And it comes in black to match my raincoat and oh-so-adorable boots.




8. A trip to San Diego to get away from the rain and visit my friend Carrie, who, by the way, works at The Old Globe where Duncan Sheik is premiering his new indie rock musical. Oh how I'm kicking myself for not being impulsive enough to buy that president's day flight I saw for 150 bucks last month. Now tickets have jumped up to well over 200 bucks and the trip is no longer feasible. :(


9. A Canon Rebel digital camera. Oh wait. My dad has an extra camera laying around that he's not even using. (cough cough, nudge nudge, Jimbo).


10. A flight to Indiana to meet my godson. It kills me that he is this cute and I still have not even held his chubby little body in my arms.


Still, all these wants aside, life in Seattle remains pretty amazing. Sure, I'm pinching pennies. But day by day, my needs are being met. How blessed am I to have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and good friends to eat it with. All the wish lists in the world couldn't match up to that.

*Alternate title: Things Sarah wouldn't mind finding in her mailbox on January 31. Which happens to be her birthday. Just so you know...

2 comments:

  1. i have the pioneer woman cookbook and while i do love it, almost every single recipe is on her blog... for free. ( : i love all your choices!

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  2. What excellent choices! We just put a shelf inour kitchen for our spices. It is a nice way to "spice" up an empty wall :)

    Also, will you be in Seattle this summer?

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