Stephany Writes

Categories: Life

My Shoe Collection

A few weeks ago, NGS wrote a fascinating post detailing her shoe collection. I thought it was really fun to learn all about her collection and what she wears during different seasons. I couldn’t help copying her!

Obviously, my shoe collection is going to look very different than NGS who lives in the Midwest and must have weather-appropriate shoes for those Midwest winters. I live in Florida and, as you’ll see, I have exactly one pair of shoes to wear in the “winter” and last winter, I didn’t wear them a single time.

Another thing to know about my shoe collection is that I have very high-maintenance feet, although my collection doesn’t necessarily reflect that fact. I have high arches (so high that when I do those feet analyses to figure out your arch style, it looks like the heels of my feet and the balls of my feet are on two separate islands with nothing connecting them). I have very weak ankles so I never wear flip-flops or sandals if I’m going to be walking a lot. I have a plantar fibroma under the arch of my left foot (a benign mass that can sometimes hurt when I press on it). And sometimes, if I walk too much in a certain kind of shoe (often sandals or flip-flops), I get this weird stinging pain on the balls of my feet. (I have not been able to figure out why!) In any event, walking isn’t always a fun activity for me, especially if I’m not wearing the right kind of footwear.

I keep my shoes in different areas of my home. I live in an apartment so I don’t have any sort of mudroom or anything like that. (And mudrooms aren’t that common in Florida anyway.) Instead, I have a basket of shoes by the door, a bin in one of my cube bookshelves, a pair of boots in my closet, and house slippers next to my desk.

Let’s first discuss the basket of shoes by the door:

This basket holds all of the shoes I wear most regularly and I like being able to easily find what I need when I’m running out the door.

This first set are all of my flip-flops and sandals, and this is probably a sad collection for most Floridians! I just don’t need to have multiple flip-flops, honestly.

  • Fake Birkenstocks – I bought these at Target sometime in 2019 and I very rarely wear them. The problem with these sandals is that the back of the sandal is very, very hard. So, if my foot slips out of the sandal and my heel presses into the back of the sandal, it feels like a thousand knives are stabbing my heel. UNPLEASANT. Would this happen with real Birks? You tell me, you Birkenstocks fanatics.
  • Target flip-flops – Y’all, I bought these flip-flops in 2018. !!! And they are still going strong today. They are starting to fray at the edges, but are otherwise in solid condition. While these flip-flops have been good to me, they also don’t have any support so I don’t wear them if I’m going to be walking a lot.
  • Target sandals – Can you tell where I do all of my shoe shopping? Ha. I bought these gladiator sandals from Target years ago and again, still holding strong! I only wear these sandals if I’m not going to be walking much. They have zero support and they sometimes make the bottoms of my feet sting if I walk too much in them.

Next up, we have the closed-toe shoe collection!

  • Black ballet flats – I can’t remember the last time I wore these flats. They’re from Target (are you surprised?) and they are as comfortable as flats can be for someone with high-maintenance feet. I probably should give them away.
  • Leopard-print TOMs – I got these leopard-print TOMs for my birthday last year and I love them! I still haven’t quite broken them in, but I always get lots of compliments when I wear them.
  • Dark gray TOMs – My older pair of TOMs that are fully broken in and incredibly comfortable. TOMs are one of the few pairs of shoes that my high-maintenance feet can handle. I can walk for miles and miles in them! However, I don’t wear my TOMs if I’m going to be walking a ton because once my feet swell up from all the walking, my TOMs start to feel tight and the lack of airflow makes my feet start to sweat, and things just get real stinky from there.
  • Sneakers – These sneakers are my go-to when I know I’m going to be walking a ton. I also wear them for all of my workouts—spin, long walks, and strength classes. I should probably have them replaced soon, but I’ll do that after my Canada trip since I’m going to need a comfortable, broken-in pair of sneaks to carry me through that trip! This pair is the Asics Gel-Nimbus (with added specialty insoles for high arches), and I think I’ll go for the same brand/type when I replace them because these shoes have been so good to me!

Now, let’s move on to the shoes in one of the bins on my cube bookshelf. These are more “fashion” shoes (I say that with an eyeroll because I am not fashionable, especially about shoes) that I wear infrequently.

First, we have the closed-toe collection:

  • White adidas sneakers – I got these sneakers for Christmas and I’ve only worn them twice since then, but I really love them. They’re a great option when I need to wear something more supportive because I’ll be walking a lot, but still want to look a little fashionable.
  • Skechers sneakers – I bought these sneakers to wear during a mud race I did in early 2020. I didn’t want to wear my usual sneakers just in case I got too muddy. But I was able to wash off the mud so they look nearly unworn. However, I haven’t worn them once since that race. I should probably add them to my Goodwill bag to donate.
  • Sperry’s boat shoes – I got these shoes in a recent Stitch Fix order and liked them enough to keep them. I’ve only worn them once in the five months I’ve had them, so they haven’t gotten a lot of wear. I can’t see myself wearing them during the summer months (which, in Florida, lasts until November) so I’m not sure how much use these shoes will get. I’ll keep them around for now.

Next, there are my fancy shoes!

  • “Nude” ballet flats – I used to wear these ballet flats to work all the time, but I don’t think I’ve worn them once in the last few years. I probably should give them away. I like them, but they are a little loose on me so they aren’t super comfortable. Plus, they have a shiny look to them that makes them feel a little too fancy to wear in everyday life.
  • “Nude” heels – I bought these for some event years and years ago. Maybe it was my brother’s wedding in 2012?! If so, that’s crazy I’ve had these heels for a decade now. They’re my go-to when I need something fancy to wear, but they aren’t very comfortable for me since I’m not used to wearing heels.
  • Brown wedges – I bought these wedges last summer for my cousin’s wedding. I’ve wanted a pair of wedges for a long time because I’ve always heard they’re more comfortable than heels. I’ve only worn them once (to the wedding) and they were fine. Nothing I’d wear regularly, but good enough if I need something dressy.

NOTE: “Nude” is the best term I can come up with for the flats and heels, but I know it’s not the best language because the color nude is different for everyone based on their skin tone.

In a high shelf in my walk-in closet, I have my one pair of “winter” shoes, which are my brown boots. My boots always have to have a wide calf because otherwise, they won’t fit. I bought these boots a few years ago and I try to only wear them if the weather dips below 50 degrees (it’s okay, you can laugh at that). I love these boots, though. They’re comfortable, I can walk around in them for miles, and they make me feel snazzy.

Lastly, there are my house slippers! These are the most recent addition to my shoe collection, as I just got them last week. I bought them to wear when I’m standing at my desk since standing barefoot on a hardwood floor does not feel good. Some of you suggested Birkenstocks for this purpose, but I went with a simple house slipper because I think it will be more comfortable for me. I didn’t want something too fuzzy/cozy, since it can get warm in my apartment during the day, and these slippers have great support (including arch support!)

So that’s my shoe collection! There are a few additions/substitutions I want to make to it; namely, it’s time to throw away those Target flip-flops and sandals and invest money into something that offers better support. In NGS’ post, she talked about her Vionic flip-flops, saying that they are the “Best flip flops I’ve ever owned. If you have bad feet, Vionic is the way to go for your flip flop needs.” SIGN ME UP. I have a few Vionic flip-flops/sandals in my Zappos cart; I just need to bite the bullet and order them! (And if you have any other suggestions for good flip-flop/sandal brands that offer good support for someone with weak ankles and high arches, I’m all ears.)

Do you have high-maintenance feet or are you one of those people that can walk for miles in flip-flops?

Categories: Life

Quarterly Budget Review | Q1 of 2022

Hi, friends! It’s time for my first quarterly budget review of 2022! This year is shaping up to be a spendier year than I expected between some home purchases, travel expenses, and everything just being overall more expensive than usual with inflation. But I can still be better about sticking to my budget in certain areas and saving money.

One of the things I always get asked when I write these budget posts: does this include health insurance, retirement accounts, etc? The answer is no. I only include the money I am spending (or saving). Money that is being taken out of my paycheck for my health insurance, health savings account, and 401k are not included in this total simply because it’s money I don’t see. It’s taken out before my paycheck hits my bank account.

Here’s what my spending looked like in Q1 of 2022:

Bills (43.3%; +10% from Q1 of 2021) – Well, this category has certainly increased from 2021! My rent increased, obviously, and I added in a car payment. This category includes:

  • Rent ($1,118 per month)
  • Electric (averaging $86 per month, which was the same as last year’s Q1)
  • Phone bill ($112 per month, which is a few dollars extra from last year’s Q1)
  • Water ($48 per month, which is a few dollars less from last year’s Q1)
  • Internet ($80 per month, which hasn’t changed)
  • Student loan ($105 per month, which hasn’t changed)
  • Car payment ($361 per month)

Food (13.5%; +.9% from Q1 of 2021) – The good news is, I stayed within my budget for food this quarter (I budget $600 per month and averaged $596 per month). Here is how my food budget broke down:

  • 62% in groceries ($368 per month)
  • 28% in Ubereats orders ($168 per month)
  • 6% in fast food ($27 per month)
  • 4% in Starbucks ($25 per month)
  • 2% in restaurants ($9 per month)

Shopping (9.2%; +5.7% from Q1 of 2021) – Oof. Lots of shopping happened in Q1. Here’s the breakdown:

  • 33% on clothing (my Stitch Fix box, a new bookish tee from Bookshelf Tees, and underwear)
  • 12% on nail polish (5 bottles of nail polish and a buffing tool—this should greatly decrease in Q2)
  • 11% on office supplies (some pens, a stapler, a new planner, a stand for my laptop, a cable management tray, cord holders, and adhesive cable zip-ties—should also greatly decrease in Q2 as the majority of this was acquired when I got a new desk)
  • 11% on makeup (concealer, finishing powder, mascara, foundation, a makeup brush, and a makeup bag)
  • 9% on skincare (two bottles of cleanser and one bottle of moisturizer)
  • 9% on books (3 e-books, 3 Book of the Month add-ons, and 4 print books)
  • 8% on hobbies (a coloring book, a lap desk for said coloring, and an Etsy purchase for a secret project)
  • 3% on tech (a laptop case and a Kindle charger) Discover functional and stylish laptop cases at Vintage Leather Sydney, designed to safeguard your device with a touch of sophistication.
  • 3% on accessories (two headbands and a pair of earrings)
  • 1% on kitchen tools (a grater)

Home (6.2%; -3.9% from Q1 of 2021) – Even though I bought a new coffee table and sit/stand desk this quarter, I still spent less than Q1 since that quarter comprised a brand-new sectional. This category also includes some things I bought for the coffee table, like a tray, fake flowers, and coasters, as well as a new floor lamp and throw blanket. I included the money spent on TaskRabbit in this category, too.

Travel (5.7%; +5.7% from Q1 of 2021) – Last year, I didn’t spend any money on travel expenses in Q1. This year, I bought our flights for our trip to Niagara Falls in June and had to pay $157 to renew my passport (curses!).

Auto (4.8%; -7.2% from Q1 of 2021) – This quarter, I spent $43 on gas, $552 on car insurance, and $40 on car washes.

Savings (3.6%; -8.6% from Q1 of 2021) – I have to set up automatic deposits into my savings. Otherwise, I just think I have all of this extra money lying around that should be going into savings. I did not meet my savings goals at all this quarter, ugh.

Supplies/Toiletries (2.6%; +.9% from Q1 of 2021) – I try to stick to a budget of $100 a month for my supplies/toiletries category but I went a little overbudget in January and February as I was building up a closet of backup supplies (so I had to buy two of everything). March was on the normal side (under $100) so I should be back to normal for this category.

Spa (2.5%; -2.4% from Q1 of 2021) – This quarter, I spent $99 on pedicures, $200 on my massage membership/massage tips, and $31 on a haircut.

Subscriptions (2.2%; +.8% from Q1 of 2021) – I’m averaging about $97 per month on subscriptions, which includes lots of streaming services (Netflix, Paramount+, and Peacock), Patreon subscriptions, Spotify, Book of the Month, Befunky (photo editing), and Second Nature (bimonthly air filters).

Pets (2.1%; +.2% from Q1 of 2021) – Lila had her yearly checkup ($141) and I also bought food ($31), treats ($48), litter ($37), and some fun extras like a new water fountain ($37).

Gifts (1.5%; +1% from Q1 of 2021) – There were a few birthdays to buy presents for (the dogs, a cousin’s daughter, and my youngest nephew) as well as gifts for my friend who just had a baby.

Entertainment (1.2%; -.3% from Q1 of 2021) – I bought a premium subscription for an app (Sleep Cycle) as well as spent money on Candy Crush. And then there were some adventures such as book club, a reading date, and Galentine’s Day.

Health (.7%; -2.4% from Q1 of 2021) – In Q1 of 2021, I bought a spin bike so that made this category a lot spendier than usual. This quarter, this category included my monthly Peloton subscription ($15) along with some medication (some OTC, some prescribed).

Charity (.6%; +.1% from Q1 of 2021) – Every month, I donate $25 to an organization I care about. In January, I donated to my local humane society. In February, to a Ukranian relief organization. And in March, to the Florida Democrats fund (because god willing, we will kick DeSantis out of office this November).

Categories: Life

My Phone Habits

For the month of March, I tracked my phone usage. I wanted to see exactly where I was spending most of my time on my phone because my daily usage is on the high side when compared with others (like Elisabeth, who regularly spends just 1-1.5 hours on her phone daily, which is astonishing to me!) Even if my phone usage is high, does that really matter if I’m spending it doing things that bring me joy, like listening to podcasts and playing Happy Color? How does my phone usage really break down when I take an entire month into account? These were the questions I wanted to answer.

Each day, I wrote down the overall time spent on my phone as well as the number of pickups I did and notifications I received. And then I broke down every app and how much time I spent on them that day. Here’s what March 1st looked like:

Then, I started another tab in my spreadsheet where I listed out my apps in specific categories and would input the total number (in minutes) per day. Yes, it was a very intensive process and I was very happy when April 1st rolled around and I didn’t have to worry about continuing detailing my phone usage in this way!

At the end of the month, I tallied up all of my numbers and it gave me this breakdown:

Here is what all of these categories entail:

  • Phone Games (41%) – Happy Color, Candy Crush Soda, Match 3D, 1010!, and Wordscapes. (These are my favorite phone games to play!)
  • Listening Apps (24%) – Overcast (podcast app), Libby (audiobooks), YouTube (ASMR videos to fall asleep), and Spotify.
  • Social Media (12%) – Instagram, Facebook, Feedly, Goodreads, Messenger, and Patreon.
  • Reading (8%) – Serial Reader, CNN, and Chrome (which I use as my web browser).
  • Social (8%) – Marco Polo (video app I use to keep in touch with friends), Messages, Mail, Phone, and Maps. (Funnily enough, FaceTime is not counted as “screen time” by Apple.)
  • Productivity (3.5%) – Apps that I only really use for a purpose, like Notes, Clock, Calculator, Settings, and Todoist.
  • Photos (2%) – Lightroom (how I edit photos), Camera, and Photos.
  • Shopping (1%) – Starbucks, Ubereats, and Target.
  • Health (1%) – My Wahoo app, which is what I use to track my cadence on my spin bike, and Sleep Cycle, my alarm clock app.
  • Work (>1%) – Just some work-related apps I have on my phone that I will use throughout the day if needed.

After looking over my data from March, it became clear to me that I spent a lot of time on very few apps. It also became clear that my phone was counting my time as double if I had a podcast playing on Overcast (or an audiobook on Libby) while also doing something on my phone like playing a game. And I spend a lot of time playing games while listening to a podcast. So that can skew my overall screen time.

There are five apps that I spend my most time on:

It’s not surprising that Happy Color is where I spend the most time. Most days, I spent over 2 hours on that app! (Happy Color is a coloring app and it brings me immense joy and comfort, lol.) It’s also not surprising that Overcast was my second-most-used app. I love listening to podcasts and listen for hours every day.

Want some other maybe-fun stats? I gotchu:

  • On average, I pick up my phone 86 times a day.
  • On average, I get 43 notifications a day.
  • My highest phone usage day was Saturday, March 19th—8 hours, 58 minutes (!!!)
  • My lowest phone usage day was Monday, March 14th—4 hours, 22 minutes

All in all, detailing my phone usage throughout the month was a good exercise and it helped me to better understand my phone habits. (For example, as much as I love Happy Color, I sometimes use it as a crutch to not do the things I need to do.) After seeing my phone stats, there are a few changes I made:

  • I put time limits on Instagram (30 minutes) and Happy Color (90 minutes). These are two of the apps that I can sometimes spend too much time on, and it’s been so, so helpful to give myself this time limit.
  • I limited notifications. I used to get push notifications for so many things, especially things I didn’t need. Now, I only get notified for CNN/ESPN breaking news alerts, my dating apps, phone/messages, and Ubereats.
  • I changed my Do Not Disturb parameters to turn on from 9:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., dim my lock screen, and hide all notifications. When it turns on at night, it’s a signal to my brain to get to bed and in the morning, it’s a signal to not use my phone first thing.

I also want to get better about putting my phone in my bedroom to charge at night. It’s so easy for me to get sucked into coloring a page on Happy Color or scrolling through Instagram when I should be getting ready for bed.

What I learned most from looking at my phone usage throughout the month is to not beat myself up too much for how much time I spend on my phone. I spend a lot of time alone, and it makes sense that I would be on my phone during that time. When I get lonely, it helps to scroll through Instagram (sometimes) or to listen to a podcast and play Happy Color. If I had a partner or kids, I’d (hopefully) be on my phone a whole lot less. When I’m with friends or my family, my phone is always in my purse. One of my pet peeves is people who are on their phones (especially people who are texting on their phones!) around me, so I try my best not to do the same. If my phone is out, it’s usually because I’m taking pictures.

I’m glad I did this exercise and I’ve now turned off the Screen Time alerts that tell me how much phone usage has increased or decreased from week to week. I’m doing just fine.

Do you feel like you spend a lot of time on your phone? What is your most-used app?

Categories: Life

Time Logging | March 21-27, 2022

I spent last week time logging, and I really enjoyed the project! I downloaded Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours time management worksheet to log my time. I chose the worksheet that was broken down into 15-minute increments and while that made it very, very tedious to log my time, I think it allowed me to dig into the nitty-gritty of my week. I kept the worksheet up on my laptop so I could easily log my time during the day. When I was away from my computer, I made simple notes in my Notes app. I also tried to keep track in my head as I was doing things. (i.e., “OK, you woke up at 6:15,” or “You started reading at 3:00.”) It really wasn’t that difficult and I also didn’t put too much pressure on myself to get everything exactly perfect. I am not a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this, so it helped me just enjoy the process and not take it too seriously.

One thing to note is that I tend to dual-task throughout my day, but this week, I tried to not do that just to make categorization easier. Plus, since I was working in 15-minute increments, that was the right amount of time to do one task before moving onto something else. (For example, 15 minutes of cleaning and then 15 minutes of computer time.) There were times when I did dual-task (like eating dinner while watching TV) but I would categorize the time as my main task. For example, if I watched TV while eating dinner, eating would be the category since I was watching TV because I had dinner in front of me.

All in all, it was a very rewarding process and think it would be a really fun exercise to do on an annual basis. My goal is to log the same week every year and to see how things change (or don’t change).

Here’s how my week broke down in categories:

I won’t go through every single category since most of them are self-explanatory. Instead, I’ll give you guys some big picture thoughts:

I spent 37% of my week unconscious.

Between my nighttime sleeping and my near-daily naps, I spent over a third of my week asleep. What can I say? I love to sleep! I regularly logged around 7 hours of sleep a night, and also logged many afternoon naps. There were some cat naps during the workday (45 minutes, on average) and then some really long naps on the weekend (4 hours). And no, taking a 4-hour nap during the day does not affect my sleep at night. I think I must be part-cat, with how much sleep I need! If I don’t set an alarm during my weekend nap, I will sleep for a really long time. Hence why I spent so much of my week unconscious!

I spent 21% of my week on my hobbies (reading, computer time, playing on my phone, blogging, watching TV, watching ASMR videos).

I broke down my hobbies into a few categories:

  • Reading – The hobby that got the most attention this week. Yay!
  • Playing on my phone – Most of this is playing Happy Color or phone games while listening to a podcast.
  • Computer time – Reading blogs, reading Reddit, reading emails (I subscribe to a lot of e-newsletters), responding to blog comments, working on my blog recategorization project, etc.
  • Blogging – I only worked on two blog posts last week (one published on Thursday, the other the following Monday) but it still amounted to 5 hours of my week!
  • Watching TV – Just over 4 hours of TV watching this week. That’s probably lower than average.
  • Watching ASMR videos – I spent about 30 minutes almost every night watching ASMR videos before going to sleep. They calm me down so much! (The exception was Saturday as I was exhausted when I went to bed and didn’t need any help falling asleep!)

It’s fun that I was able to devote almost a quarter of my week to my hobbies! The benefit of being single and childless, haha.

I spent 4 hours total on the phone with my mom.

I was curious as to how much time I spent talking to my mom on the phone on a typical week. We FaceTime each other constantly, usually a few times a day just to catch up. (Keep in mind: We live near each other and I also see her in person multiple times a week.) This week, it was 4 full hours of random chats throughout the week.

I spent 10 hours being social.

It was a big week for being social! I don’t think I normally spend 6% of my week being social, so this is likely an anomaly. It will be interesting to compare this category from year to year. There was lots of mom time, game night with my brother and nephews, and a reading date with a friend.

I spent 4% of my week on my morning/nighttime routines.

It was surprising to me how much time I spent on my morning/nighttime routines. Obviously, I know it takes me a while to get through my nighttime routine, but my morning routine can be just as long. It was definitely eye-opening to see how long these routines take me, and to give myself a friggin break!

All in all, this was quite a fun exercise for me. I enjoyed detailing out my time in this way and learning how much time I spend in certain areas of my life. This was a pretty normal week in my life, although it was a week when my workload was much lower than usual and when I had more social plans than usual, but nothing will be 100% normal during any week, will it? It will be fun to compare this week to the same week in 2023!

Are you a napper?

Categories: Life

Stitch Fix | Spring 2022

It’s time for my quarterly Stitch Fix post! I was really happy with this Fix, even though I only kept 3/5 items. This time around, I bumped down my sizes by one and I thought most everything fit really well. The shirts were a little on the small side, but I think that may have to do with my stylist choosing petite tops. Petite sizing is a must for me in dresses and pants, but not so much in shirts. So I hope that by switching to regular sizing in tops, my stylist will choose shirts that fit me much better.

For now, let’s take a look at everything that was in my Fix this month.

Ribbed Knit Jumpsuit ($58)

I was incredibly excited when I saw this jumpsuit. I’ve never owned a jumpsuit, mainly because finding one that fits me right is hard for someone who is fat and short. This jumpsuit fit perfectly! It was the perfect length and didn’t pull weird in any way. It was sooo comfortable, too. Even still, I was torn on whether or not to keep it. Would I really wear this? (I’m usually a jeans-and-tee kinda gal.) And we’re firmly entering summer season here in Florida so wearing long pants is growing more and more uncomfortable. I decided to wear it around for a bit to see how I felt about it, and gradually, I discovered that the waist was quite heavy and sat awkwardly on my stomach. In the end, I decided to return it.

Brushed Knit Dress ($48)

I asked for a fun dress in this Fix, and I was thrilled with the piece my stylist selected. It’s lightweight and I love the flirty skirt. I felt really good in it. It’s a little “booby,” which is what I call anything that has a low neckline and shows off a bit too much of the girls, but I’d probably wear a lightweight jacket/cardigan over it if I were to wear it out somewhere. This was a very easy keep!

Khaki Cargo Shorts ($78)

I loved these shorts so much! I only have two pairs of shorts right now and one of those pairs is quickly developing holes. So I need more shorts! I was really excited to see these in my Fix and even more excited when I put them on. They fit perfectly and feel great. While they are way more than I would ever spend on a pair of shorts, I know I will get a ton of use out of them. Keep, keep, keep!

Knot Front Knit Tee ($34)

I wasn’t sure about this shirt before I tried it on, but once I did, I was in love. It’s so comfortable and fits great. The little knot at the front is a fun detail. And I love the scoop neckline. This one was a very easy keep for me.

Ruffle Back Knit Tank ($48)

I was pretty sure this shirt wasn’t going to fit me and it didn’t. I think the shirt is a smidge too small for me, but I also think it’s supposed to be a tighter fit with the sides hitting right above the hips. I prefer my shirts to have a looser feel and hit me a little below my hips. I didn’t even have to think about this one—an easy return.

While I didn’t keep everything in my Fix, the pieces I did keep are going to be lasting additions to my wardrobe, and that’s all I can ask for! In my next Fix, I asked for another sundress, maybe a romper, and another pair of shorts. It should come right before my trip to Niagara Falls, so hopefully I get a few pieces to take with me!