I’ve gone a bit wild in the shopping department lately. There were just some things I needed after life stopped for a few weeks, and of course, I felt the need to engage in some retail therapy. So let’s talk about some of the things I bought, five for Friday style, shall we?
1) Adhesive cat scratcher for furniture
Let me show you what my reading chair looks like:
The culprits? My sweet little girls. They may look innocent, but they have done a great job destroying my reading chair. They have plenty of scratching pads all around the apartment, but I guess nothing feels as good on their claws as this chair. There are a lot of options when it comes to protecting furniture from cat claws, but I opted for something that would still allow them to get a good scritchy-scratch without destroying my chair any further. Let’s hope it works!
2) Advent calendars
Yes, calendars plural and yes, I bought them in October. Last year, all of the advent calendars I had my eye on sold out by mid-November so this year, I wasn’t messing around! I started my research early and was happy to get them in the mail yesterday. They’ll go on a shelf until I’m ready to use them, but I’m so excited to start opening the gifts in December! Here’s what I got:
- Books Are Magic advent calendar with 25 bookish goodies ($24)
- W7 Beauty Blast advent calendar with 24 beauty items ($30)
I treated myself to two calendars this year since I wasn’t able to get one last year. I’m excited to dig into these calendars—I’ll definitely report back on whether or not they were worth the price!
3) Car accessories
When Gladys was towed away originally, I was feeling a little frantic about things so I didn’t grab everything out of my car that I wanted. (We were also late meeting the tow truck driver, and I felt terrible that he had been sitting and waiting for us for 20 minutes.) And also, I was hoping everything was going to be okay and Gladys would be repairable. I could have gotten a ride to the dealership to get stuff out of the car afterward, but I just wasn’t in the headspace for that. Anyway, this means there were a few car accessories that I needed to buy for my new car, such as:
- A new tiny trash can ($9)
- A mount for my iPhone ($25)
- A USB cord for my phone ($10 for two)
I also need to buy a new window decal for my car. I had this one on Gladys and I’m tempted to buy it again, but I also have my eyes on a few different options, like this one that combines all of my favorite things in one decal!
4) Floating bookshelves
I’ve had my eye on these floating bookshelves for so long (years!), which is silly when they aren’t even that expensive ($20 for four shelves). I finally purchased them and I’m looking forward to finding a cute way to display all my editions of Anne of Green Gables as well as my Taylor Jenkins Reid collection and maybe some other favorite reads of mine.
5) Ruby
She’s heeeeere! Ruby, my brand-new Kia Soul, arrived on Wednesday and we have had a good time getting acquainted with each other. She’s a red-hot bombshell (her official color is “Mars Orange” so she’s more like an orangey red) and a blast to drive. It also just feels so nice to have a car again after being without one for so long. Would you believe that tomorrow marks one month since Helene? It’s crazy to think about all we’ve been through since September 26th. I’m just happy I was able to get all of this taken care of and can now fully put this last month behind me. (And I really must sing the praises of Geico – they handled my claim quickly and within 10 days of filing, I had money in the bank. One of my mom’s friends also had her car flooded during Helene and she is still waiting for her claim to be handled; she uses a different car insurance company and I am immensely grateful I’m not dealing with the headaches she’s going through.)
Did you buy anything this week?
Congrats on the NEW CAR!!! Jack bought some super cool bag hangers for his Soul– they go over the head rest so you can hang your backpack on the back of the seat– I love them and might get some for my car. I bought an evening gown and Ben got a tux this week for a work thing– so, kind of pricey over here LOL.
I’ve seen those bag hangers…. I’ve had my eye on them or something to place my bag while I’m driving, especially when I have other people in the car with me. There’s not really a place to put my purse!
An evening gown and a tux – va va va VOOM!
Welcome Ruby! You are quite the stunner. After that I’d rank the cell phone holder and cables as the #2 purchase – I can’t be without those.
We could go back and forth on the differences between cats and dogs all day. I can be all “lah-di-dah” that dogs don’t scratch furniture…they chew it! Doggo has definitely left her mark around the house. Someday she’ll grow out of this phase and we can have nice things.
She is a stunner, isn’t she? I keep staring at her and sighing happily. 🙂
Oh yesss. Dogs and chewing furniture! The legs of my mom’s kitchen table are a mess thanks to a certain sausage-shaped doggo! I’m hoping the adhesive scratching pads work to keep the reading chair from getting even MORE damaged.
Welcome, Ruby! I’m so happy for you!
I, too, bought advent calendars in October. I didn’t want to miss out! For how bad I am at buying Christmas presents early, I feel like I rally with how “on it” I am with some of our little ritual stuff like the calendars and ridiculous pajama shirts and the cookie plan haha!
I haven’t even THOUGHT about Christmas presents but I have my advent calendars READY TO GO. Haha.
I am usually a very hard pass on “red” cars, but Ruby is gorgeous. I love the colour and it fits you perfectly.
Despite all the horrible things that have happened the last month, I really appreciate you finding some silver linings. Three cheers for Geico!!!
I can still remember the first time I ever saw floating book shelves like that and I LOVED them. What a creative way to display some treasured collections…
I’m not a fan of red cars either, but I really love Ruby’s color. She’s a stunner.
I’m excited to get these floating shelves up!
Welcome Ruby! That’s the name of my Dad’s car! That’s great that Heidi took care of it so fast. I had AAA as my car insurance and they were good about paying claims quickly too.
I didn’t buy much this week as Elisabeth was hosting me. However I did buy ice cream, coffee and a meal out, so those were my favorite purchases this week. Actually I had to fly with Bob and that was about $100 extra, so I also paid for that.
I hope your dad’s Ruby has been good to him! I’m really grateful everything was taken care of so quickly, especially considering how many claims they had to deal with!
ELISABETH!!! That’s so fun! I can’t wait to read all about your time together. <3
I didn’t really buy anything exciting, but Zelda the Cat’s medical needs are intense right now, so there’s been so much money being thrown at her! Hopefully it will mean less money in the long run, but it’s crazy.
Ruby is such a pretty color! And YAY for it being a relatively smooth process of buying her and getting insurance money.
Gosh, you really do go through the gauntlet with your pets. I hope this medical issue will be resolved quickly, both for Zelda’s sake and your pocketbook’s sake!
Yay for Ruby! She’s pretty and vibrant! I like her color! And time is weird – Helene doesn’t seem like it was a month ago! October has been a blur for me, even though i didn’t travel the first 2 weeks! I’m traveling the last 3, though, so that’s making my head spin a bit.
I bought a new pair of black pointed toe Rothy’s this week as my other ones wore out. And then I had to buy a new pair of Goodr sunglasses as I somehow lost the pair I had. When I bought them in April, Phil was like – put a note on the calendar for 6 months from now that says “Lisa’s sunglasses?” I am notorious for losing them (but never spend much on them). I was so smug when October 6th came and went and I still have my sunglasses! And then I somehow lost them on my DC trip to visit my sister. Womp womp.
I know, it’s wild that it’s been a month since Helene! So much has happened.
The sunglasses story makes me giggle. Poor Lisa’s sunglasses!
Hello, Ruby! What a beautiful car! I’m not generally a red car person, but that’s a red I could go for! I’m very intrigued by the floating shelves. I think those would be perfect in my house!
I am not a red car person either! I like the little orange undertones of this color. I’m just so happy to have wheels again!
Congrats on the new car. That color is fierce.
I love the floating book shelves too. Such a fun way to display loved books.
I love Ruby! And red cars are supposed to be safer (I guess it’s easier for other drivers to see them?)
So you’re telling me I need to order some advent calendars? Right now? Okay, I’ll start looking!
Tua is back! I’m watching the game right now… Dolphins are winning in the 4th quarter : )
I was doing pretty well for a bit there, and then our washer broke and we bought a fancy new washer and dryer, then we had to pay an electrician to come fix our wiring, which was much more messed up than we thought. Then I went to dinner with a friend and we ended up doing some shopping, and I bought myself two new sweaters, and also some candles, and also some Christmas gifts. So this week was spendy. Not as spendy as a new car, but still. Also, YAY RUBY! She’s beautiful, and I hope you have MANY wonderful years together.
Oh, congrats on Ruby! What depth of color. May she drive well and long.
In the last week, I have bought yarn, chocolate, and books, so a very on-brand week for me!
Ruby is beautiful! I can’t believe it’s only been a month and that it’s been a month at the same time. It’s all been so bizarre. And I say that as someone who lives in IL, very far away from it all! Anyway, I am so so glad Ruby is there!
I hope the scratcher works! Report back please! Our old couches looked like that. Little turds.
Hmm, what did I buy last week? Lots of treats at a vegan popup in Cedar Falls, IA. Yum!
Congratulation on Ruby!! She is beautiful! Oh, and the trash can is so glam. I must have it.
What did I buy this week? Brown suede booties from Blondo (too small, will return), red sparkling shoes for L’s winter concert, and coffee. 🙂
So glad your claim was handled so efficiently and that you have a car again! Such a pretty color. I love your new bookshelves, too!
Yeep! The damage to your chair is one major reason my husband is opposed to getting cats. Is there anything to do to prevent them from scratching the furniture?!
Welcome Ruby! I am so glad you have a car again – and she’s a cutie! 🙂 I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since Helene/Milton, but I am glad things are back to normal for you.
I wanted to circle back to this because I got the kind of car trash can that you did, and not only do I like having it, but it came with a couple of little hangers to hang from the back of the seat, and I just used it for hanging my purse, and I love that! So thank you for bringing me to this solution.