Michelle's Tattoos

You have seen all of my tattoos already. But after getting the newest ones yesterday, I wanted to show you all of Michelle's. She didn't even think it was weird when I asked to take pictures of all of them. So, here they are..Michelle's artwork! All eighteen of them!

 Betty Boop lips on her butt!

Anchor on her left foot

Cherry blossoms on the left side of her hip

It used to say "Dude." Now its leaning more towards "dud."

Star on her wrist

On the side of her lower back

Anchor on her right upper ribs

Awesome lighthouse on her left foot

Diamond on the other side of her hip

Lightning bolt behind her ear

HUGE flowers on her ribs

"Sailor" on her ankle

"love" written in rope on the other side of her ribs

More huge flowers going up the side of her back

"Stay True" on her shoulder

Our great-grandmothers name on her wrist

Unfinished sugar skulls

The latest addition!

Day Five: Pay Day Rants, Tattoos and Cookout!

So, it's payday. I'm not sure if I've ever voiced my opinion about how much I hate direct deposit. I don't like having the money go into one spot. I like having a check in my hand, going to the bank, cashing it..and deciding how much I want to keep there. I live by the envelope system. I have since I was 16 and I really don't see myself ever backing away from it. I think it's hard for people to understand how it works. Danny doesn't. He just knows we are saving money. Anyway, today was payday. I had a fit this morning about how much I hate direct deposit...and then we moved on and I filled up my envelopes.

Me and Michelle went to Walmart to get stuff for the cookout. Like I said, it's payday. She thought it was so funny that everyone was stocking up on things for the next few weeks. I just think it's funny that you can tell when the entire town gets paid. Do most people just do their grocery shopping on payday? Maybe it's with the help of the envelope system that we go every week. I can't imagine getting everything I need/want only twice a month.

Okay moving on from my rant!!

Me and Michelle got tattoos today! We both got "Let It Be." She got it on her foot, I got mine on my wrist. That makes number 7 for me. And way more for Michelle! I just decided that someday I'm going to do a blog entry on all of HER tattoos! As usual the tattoo artist thought it was my first one. I guess I should start getting bigger more obvious ones! AND he thought all The Beatles were still alive...he must live under a rock!

 I'm paranoid that the birds don't look like birds!

I see a starfish, dolphin and wishbone...

We had a cookout tonight! The four of us, Reina and Dave, and Dan and Natosha. We had wayyy too much food. Reina made an awesome dessert, we named it the candy apple dip. It was a-maaa-zing! Miley even had a little play date!

Somehow we ended up at the bowling alley. Very rowdy, some of the boys had way too much to drink. It was a fun time hanging out with everyone! 

Winner Winner!

I'm psyched that I have had some luck with giveaways!

I won a great cookbook from Kara over at The Ramblings of a Marine Wife. I haven't had a chance to make anything from it yet, but I think the cover recipe is going to be the first one. Seriously, look how good that looks!

I also won a super cute necklace from Mrs. Gambizzle at Life as a Sailor's Girl. The necklace made it's big debut at the Paul McCartney concert. Seriously, love it. And she is so sweet, she sent Miley a jewel for her collar.

I still have one more that I really want to win! Please go vote for Miley over at Head Over Heels into Dog Handling. Miley could win a dog training kit!

How Much Do You Spend?

Today's post is on a topic that I've always been curious about - on average, how much do you ladies spend on your wardrobe each month? How do you manage or control that spending? I'll share my own "info," but I'm more interested in hearing your thoughts.

^ 2 things I tend to splurge on - Burb Coats and Coco

Before I started PAG/ExtraPetite I had a blog called "Fashionable Finance" for over one year, on which I babbled about savings, investing, retirement accounts, etc until I bored readers to tears. To avoid that happening again, please continue reading at your own discretion! Snoozefest to ensue!



I consider "wardrobe expenses" to include apparel, shoes, handbags/accessories, AND alterations. I have several credit cards and do a lot of returns, so it's critical for me to track exact net spending. I've used Mint.com (free) for two years and it's pretty simple. Here's a step-by-step:

Step 1. Transactions automatically load from all of my credit cards. "Categories" are applied.

Step 2. In the Trends tab (my favorite) you can select any time frame and view your total spending.

Step 3. Click on any piece of the pie to drill down on the spending. For my "Wardrobe" category:

So there you have it. $193/month this year, but not including July and NOT including my annual coat and handbag splurges. Those haven't happened yet, but can easily bump this monthly average number up $100-$200. 


Some tips I've read about for managing wardrobe expenses: 
1. Budget by % of salary (Elle tweeted an article that said 4%)
2. Analyze "cost per wear." Let's say I spend $800 on a coat that I'll realistically wear 2x a week, for 4 months in the year, for a minimum of 3 years. The cost per wear is about $8...still high, but I'd rather spend $ on one thing I love than, say, a year's supply of F21.


Personally, I hate budgeting and cringe at the thought of analyzing cost per wear. I have no debt, so my spending guidelines are simple: save and/or invest 30% of each paycheck, use 30% on rent & fixed expenses, and happily spend the rest.

Day Four: Longest Day Ever!

Today has been the longest day. Best part? I woke up at 8AM! That's two hours later than usual. I woke up to freshly brewed coffee made by Danny. I could have slept later, but we wanted to get breakfast and checkout of the hotel by 11. It was nice to just lay around and be lazy, without having to chase around the puppy.

We went to Blynk for breakfast. My Mom ordered a gift certificate for our trip. I don't think she really looked at the menu though. We all thought it would be a real breakfast place, but it was a counter service, completely organic place. Like, everything was biodegradable, natural, and organic. It was good, but not what we were craving. I had a yummy yogurt parfait with cranberries and almonds. And the strongest coffee...ever.

Then we made the four hour trek back to Jacksonville. Atleast we were in good moods on the way home! It's seriously the longest ride ever. So close but so far away.

I couldn't wait to pick up the puppy! I always feel bad bringing her to the kennel. I picture her sitting in the corner and no one wanting to play with her. On the report from the day camp it says she is shy and nervous. And she likes to play with the humans more than the dogs. And that she really likes to cuddle. My little lovebug!

We didn't do anything today. Went to the pawn shop for some movies and ate some Mexican food. Even thought I'm pretty sure no one was actually hungry.

Now the guys are playing Wii golf and we're planning the rest of our weekend. Haircut, tattoo, and Myrtle Beach! Can't wait!

Day Three: PAUL MCCARTNEY!

Yesterday was a-ma-zing. There's not even a word to describe how awesome the concert was.

But let's back up. We were four very cranky people on the way out to the concert. This is what the ride looked like...

Let's just say it was a very long four hours. With no talking. We couldn't wait to get out of that car!
 
But get alcohol into our systems...and we're good to go! We had dinner at Enso, an amazing sushi place. Everything was so so good! We had stuffed mussels to get started, had some wine and sushi. It was a great way to start the night!

After dinner we walked around the area a little bit. I wish we had more time, Charlotte looks really nice!

It was so so hot out. We stood in line waiting for the doors to open, and sweated our butts off. At 6PM they finally opened!!

We couldn't wait to get to our seats and for the show to start. But we had to wait for TWO hours before the show started. But once it did...it was amazing. He sang all of our favorite Beatles and Wings songs. Two and a half hours of Sir Paul singing, playing guitar, piano, ukulele. My favorites? Hey Jude, everyone singing together...I got chills. Back in the USSR, I just love that song so much! Let it Be, all time favorite. And so many more, seriously, there wasn't a bad song!

And now...videos!!!!

After the show and all the beers, we wanted some food! We headed to Wild Wings Cafe and had some salty deliciousness that tasted so good at the time...but totally regretted it today! Fried pickles, yum!

We got back to the hotel, had a good laugh over the size of the pullout...and passed out after an AWESOME day!