What is it about summer that makes me want to spend money with reckless abandon?

Is it because I have oodles of time to online window shop? Or possibly because my crazy school district pays me 5 paychecks at one time, which makes feel like I'm rich?

The world may never know but Mr. Postman is going to be delivering some fun to my doorstep over the next week or so.

My new purchases included a new GHD Flat Iron.

Folica.com

 
My Sedu straightener shorted out a couple of months of go and I've been roughing it with a small travel size straightener since then. The plates are literally a 1/2 inch and pulls out my hair. After looking at pictures of my hair from my cousin's wedding last week in which I felt my hair looked a little "fluffy", I decided, no more!

I got an alert that Folica was offering 25% off through Wednesday, so I pulled the trigger and invested in a new flat iron. I use the word "invested" when I want to justify than I'm not crazy for spending $130 on a tool that makes my already straight hair - straighter. Also, I used Ebates and received an additional 5% cash back.

$185 flat iron - 25% off coupon + 5% cash back = slightly less panicked Sara.

Then I took my online shopping self to the mall. Normally I show great restraint in shopping but on Saturday I was in a buying mood. I proceeded to Victoria's Secret and took advantage of their 7 for $26 panty deal and bought the cutest little Cardinal's outfit which my sister assured me was not in the least bit "skanky".

Victoria's Secret

The picture doesn't show the navy bandeau I bought to go underneath the tank.

When I showed the outfit to the boyfriend, he looked at me and replied, "I don't get it."

Not quite sure what there is "to get" but the jury is still out on if I will actually wear this ensemble to the game on Saturday or not.

While checking out at VS, the sales girl sprayed my bag with one of their body sprays. Normally I detest this practice because I am somewhat sensitive to smells but much to my surprise, I love the scent. So I went home and ordered it online as well as another bra. Oops. At least I got free shipping and 2% cash back from Ebates.

I continued my spending spree yesterday when I decided I needed a new nail polish color. Off to Walgreens to purchase my favorite Sensationail gel nail polish.


 "Cabana Boy" -  a great orange-y red to kick off summer. Thankfully, I had a $1 off coupon and found another $2 off coupon in store.

As I re-read this, I realize it may not be the money burning a hole in my pocket but the fact that I feel like I'm getting "deals" on everything. Congratulations marketing department of every store in America...you're doing a great job!

What about you? Has the shopping bug bit you recently? Or are you forever a window shopper?

I spent the whole day by myself, all alone at my house. This isn't a normal occurrence but the boyfriend had to work from 6am - 4pm, then went straight to the gym, so he didn't get home til about 6ish.

Leaving me all by my lonesome for the entire day.

I am thankful that I am the type of person who is absolutely fine spending time on my own. I can definitely entertain myself. For example, I practiced curling my hair using a tutorial from The Small Things Blog and practiced highlighting and contouring my face using a tutorial from Maskcara.
Side note: Do any of you highlight and contour? Any tips you can give me? I can't quite tell if I'm making a difference in the way I look. I kind of think my nose looks slightly narrower but I might be imagining it. Now if only there were a makeup fix for my lazy left eye...

Spent a little time browsing FB and entering every damn Silhouette Cameo/Portrait giveaway on the blogs I follow...I want to win one soooo bad!

I also made my Christmas budget and created a "manfriend" board on Pinterest for gift ideas for Chris.

I'm really trying to stick to my budget this year. Absolutely no gifts on credit which I've previously done because I've bought some big ticket items and utilized the 0% financing deals to pay them off same as cash. I am just not interested in making another payment on something...so cash it is!

I got out of the house for a little while to run to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up a gift off my cousin's registry...I figured it would be too crazy to do it Friday or Saturday. Then I got home in time to make a delicious Swiss Chicken dinner.

Even though I am ok with spending the day on my own I am more thankful that I share my life and home with Chris. Eventually I think I would go stir crazy if I was by myself all the time!

What about you? Do you like being alone or do you prefer to be around people? What's your favorite thing to do when you're all by yourself? I sometimes will YouTube Zumba videos and have a mini dance party in the living room...living on the edge I tell ya!

Woo to the hoo, it's Friday and my impromptu blog hiatus is finished. Where have I been? Read on to find out!

1. The past week and half has been spent finishing my master's degree. I am putting the finishing touches on my portfolio today and submitting that sucker. After 6 semesters, 10 classes, and ridiculous amounts of work, I am donezo! Hello pay raise!

2. I got to have dinner with one of my best friend's from grade school a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't seen each other in about 3 years and we picked up like it was nothing. It was great and I had such a good time!

3. Last Friday, Chris and I went to his best friend's sister's wedding (follow that?). It was hand's down one of the most fun weddings I've been to. They are a Venezulean family and besides all the Spanish and latin music, they had "hora de loca" or crazy time in which we all put on masks, grabbed maracas, and did one of the craziest conga lines ever!

Totally rocking some butterfly wings!

4. In June, Chris and I focused on setting and keeping a budget and I'm proud to report that we tracked every penny and each ended the month with money leftover! We went over budget in some areas but it really was eye-opening to see where our money was going. We already set up July's budget and are going strong.

5. I made my birthday list this week. A high five for birthday presents and a low five for getting ready to turn 27. Oh man, I'm getting a old!

Hope you have had a great week and have an even better weekend! I'm linking up with Lauren over at From My Grey Desk for her High Five for Friday party. Go check it out and find some new blogs to follow!