TGIF!

Happy Friday! It's going to be a nice, long and fun Memorial Day weekend!

I've been really busy this week in terms of a social life! I went to a baseball game on Wednesday with some co-workers and a friend (tix were free, I paid for dinner for my friend and I, $15.77)... Last night I went out line dancing with the same friend and bought dinner for us (he covered our drinks), $12. And tonight my roommates want to kick off the weekend with a bar crawl! It'll be fun because it's supposedly a large group of people. I'll probably offer to drive, which will keep my costs down so hopefully I don't spend more than $20? I'm also finally getting a haircut this afternoon! That will run me about $60 including tip. My hair hasn't been cut since mid-December, so I can't wait! However, my stylist was unavailable and I really wanted to get it done today so I'm seeing a different stylist at the same salon. I trust her recommendation, though, so I'm not worried! :)

I'm volunteering on Saturday and I need to make a Costco run, too. I'm also planning to watch some Stanley Cup playoff games (possibly at a hockey bar? hopefully with cute boys?) and the Indianapolis 500! Hey, look at me, I'm turning into a sports fan! ;)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Closet Cleanout

I did some spring cleaning this afternoon! Thanks to Me in Millions and her Great Closet Cleanout idea. I had been telling myself for the past few weeks that I need to get rid of a few things and just organize my drawers, so this was the perfect way to get me to really do it. (Luckily, my small closet itself is very clean anyway. I totally wish I had an amazing closet like the one above, though!) Here's what I got rid of:

• 6 shirts
• 3 zip-up hoodies
  
• 2 cardigans
• 2 tank tops
  
• 2 skirt slips
• 1 sweater
  
• 1 pair of pants
• 1 bra
  
• 1 pair of heels
  
• a couple of socks
  

I forgot to take pictures, but it wasn't that much stuff, as it all fit into one paper grocery bag. Now the bag is sitting in the back of my car! My co-worker's sister-in-law is about my size (very short and petite...I still fit into kids' sizes!) so I'm waiting to hear if she's interested in any of the items. Otherwise, it'll all go to the Goodwill up the road! :)

Next up? I'm definitely excited to do some shopping to replace some of the articles of clothing! Happy Sunday!

Sunday Updates

In bullet point format:

• I went over my weekend staycation budget by $5.84. I'm totally okay with that!
  
• I've been slowing adding weight lifting to my workout regime, so now it's kickboxing classes 2x a week and weights 2-3x a week.
• Finished reading The Girl Who Played with Fire and Sarah's Key recently. Both were awesome, in really different ways! :)
  
• I got some new prescriptions recently. Picked them up at Target yesterday... thank GOODNESS for insurance + generics! $52.85 out of pocket, but they will last me the rest of the year.
• I'm obsessed with the Sally Hanser Nail Color Pen my Mom sent me in a recent care package. I'm horrible at giving myself a manicure (my hands are NOT steady!) but this is a lot easier than normal nail polish... not perfect, but good enough! :)
• Went on a date on Wednesday! I had a great time and it seemed like he did, too. (He kissed me when he walked me to my door.) But now it's Sunday and I haven't heard from him...
  
• Purchased some groceries this weekend. Great buys (thanks to awesome sales and coupons) included a Kashi frozen meal for $3, a dozen natural, large eggs for $0.88, a Betty Crocker Warm Delights cake for $0.05, a free package of McCormick's seasoning mix and a free package of Uncle Ben's Roasted Garlic Whole Grain Rice Medley. Yum!
  
• My Mom included $40 for me in the recent care package (love her!) so I put $20 in my CL/25th Fund and am using $20 for whatever I feel like... so far, a Starbucks happy hour frappuchino ($1.83) and a burrito for Friday's dinner ($6.43). Oh, and I think $1 for parking?

I've already made a white bean dip today (healthy snack for the week!) and I'm about to cook some burritos for this week's lunches as well as chop up veggies in advance. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! :)

Weekend Staycation

I'm taking tomorrow off to enjoy a three-day weekend! One of my best friends is coming into town to visit me and to check out potential grad schools. It will be a fantastic staycation and I'll get to play tour guide from Thursday night until Sunday morning. You can bet we'll be spending time at the beach, outdoors (hiking/golfing) and at the bars! :)

I'm not really sure how much to budget, but I did transfer $150 from my Travel Fund to my checking account. I know we'll be doing a bunch of dining out at local cheap restaurants and just having fun in general, but I'm not anticipating any really big expenses. We have a ton of fun together so I am just excited to see my friend! My Travel Fund still has a bit of padding in it, even after booking my flight to Denver, so I have no problem spending some of it for a nice weekend.

Weekend Getaway: Denver in June

I have been monitoring flights using Kayak and Momondo for the past two weeks. This past weekend, I booked my flight to Denver for the end of June! The total came to $213.40, which based on my research isn't bad at all... plus the flight times were much better than the more expensive ones, so go figure. :) I'm really excited to go! It will be a whirlwind weekend getaway (Friday night to Sunday night) but those can be the best. Especially when friends are involved!

I'm really looking forward to this trip because I've never been to Denver and I hear nothing but AMAZING things about the city! And, of course, I can't wait to spend an awesome weekend with one of my closest girlfriends. Yay!

Carnival of Personal Finance

I made my very first submission to this week's Carnival of Personal Finance (#255), hosted by Well-Heeled!

Check out her awesome roundup by way of the Origin of the Piggy Bank. :) Tons of fantastic submissions! I used my blog post about Why I Pay 41% of Take Home Pay in Rent.

April Net Worth!

My networth increased in April by 5.85%. Yay!

Most of this was due to the fact that my 401k vesting just increased by 20% since I've now been working there almost two year! Hooray! Also, it was a three-paycheck-month and most of that went into savings and I've updated my sidebars. :)

Let's see what May brings!