Let’s Look: At What’s in our Grocery Carts

Happy Wednesday!

Today I’m linking up with Mix and Match Mama for Let’s Look!

This month we’re looking at our grocery carts, but sadly I forgot to take a picture of my cart last time I went shopping, so I thought I’d make a list of the things I always buy.

– Plain Greek yogurt (we all love it with granola)

– Oat cheerios (one of Dalila’s snacks)

– Sugar free granola

– Garlic powder

– Frozen vegetables (always broccoli)

– Sugar free peanut butter

– Pesto sauce

– Fish fingers (to throw in the air fryer for a quick dinner)

– Plenty of milk (we go through a lot of milk at this house) and a carton of sugar free hazelnut milk for my coffee.

– Fruit (we buy a ton of fruit because we’re all obsessed with. Dalila eats a couple of pieces of fruit after lunch and dinner so we go through fruit very quickly. We always have bananas, apples, pears and oranges and then we buy something different like pineapple, strawberries or blueberries)

– Decaf (I drink a lot of coffee but switch to decaf after lunch)

– Tomato paste, cream and béchamel sauce (for cooking)

– Basmati rice

– Pasta (fusilli, penne or the little bows, which I can’t remember the name for)

– Cucumber (Dalila is obsessed)

– Carrots (for Dalila’s vegetable soup that she eats for every meal)

– Some sort of rustic bread

– Stevia (for my coffee)

– Decaf black tea (which I love with a little milk)

– Paper towels (which I’d love to stop buying but are so convenient to clean mealtime messes)

– Crackers

– Huge amounts of biodegradable baby wipes.

– Diapers (the kids are both still in diapers so we go through a ton)

– Formula

I’m sure there’s more that I can’t think of right now. We buy a ton of groceries every week for our family of four (while Olívia is not eating food yet, Dalila eats plenty).

What is something you always buy?

Love,

Cheila

*pictured is my grocery cart from years ago

Extra Blog Post: WordPress March Prompts – A Shopping Spree

Where would you go on a shopping spree?

Before I go crazy, who exactly is financing this shopping spree?

If it’s coming from my own pocket, I’m first making a budget and putting a cap on my spending. So I’ll plan something like “I’m going to the mall but I won’t be spending more than 100€” or “I’m making a SHEIN order for a few dresses but I can’t spend more than 50€”. Besides the spending, I’m trying (emphasis on the trying) to be more mindful of what I bring into my home, since our space is limited.

If I’m being offered a hypothetical shopping spree, paid for by a hypothetical benefactor, and if money is not an issue, I’m going crazy at a couple of stores.

I’d stop at IKEA and get a few things for the house. Definitely a new, bigger couch. Our couch used to be fine when it was just the two of us, but has since become too small.

I’d stop at H&M and Zippy (Portuguese kid’s store) and go crazy with stuff for the girls. If my imaginary sugar daddy is buying, I’m not shopping at Primark.

For myself, I’d let loose at Mango and Zara for clothes, Sephora for cosmetics and makeup and whatever random book and stationery store I could find. I’d definitely be getting myself a fancy new coffee machine too.

I’d obviously get something for my husband. Probably a pair of very fancy running shoes and some nice new running gear.

Finally, I’d get a huge boneless rotisserie chicken for Rosa. Then my shopping spree would be complete and I’d wake up.

Extra Blog Post: February WordPress Prompts – The Accidental Shoplifter

Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?

Well, there was that one time I ALMOST shoplifted at the grocery store. I went to get a few things and, because I had Dalila in her stroller, I didn’t get a cart, instead using the under the seat storage to place my groceries. So I got a few things and went to look for something else that I didn’t find. Dalila started crying and I realized she needed a diaper change, so I immediately left the store to go change her, completely forgetting I had some things I needed to pay for. #mombrain

As soon as I got to the bathroom, I realized I had a bunch of things in the stroller that I had failed to pay for. Mortified, I immediately went back to the store. Apparently, I’m a very accomplished criminal because nobody had even realized I had left the store without paying for my shopping. I obviously paid for everything and now I ALWAYS check if I have anything under the stroller.

And that’s the story of how I was a successful shoplifter for about 2 minutes.

My February Purchases – A Haul: Journaling, Beauty and More

Hey Everyone,

I hope you’re all having a great weekend!

It’s rainy and cold here so we’re pretty much just chilling at home.

I’m crazy about a good haul post, so I thought I might as well write one myself. I’ve compiled all the little things I bought back in February and came up with a list of purchases plus reviews to share with you.

These are the things I bought in February.

My Bucket List: Journal – If you’ve been following for a while or if you happen to know me in person, you know how fond I am of lists in general. I love having a bucket list because it helps keeping my goals in perspective. I feel like if I write down my goals they’re more likely to happen. This bucket list journal couldn’t be more perfect. I love that it is divided in categories. It cost 5€ at Flying Tiger.

Knitting Journal – This will double as a crochet journal because I’m more into crochet than knitting. I forgot to take pictures but I love how it has space to catalog your yarn and all your projects (including pictures as well as a few helpful guides such as stich abbreviations in different countries. It cost 5€ at Flying Tiger.

The cutest plant – I don’t really know what kind of plant she is but I absolutely love her and her beautiful flowers. She’s currently at my home office where she’s happy and thriving.

Belei Rich Eye Cream – I was in the market for an anti-ageing eye cream and decided to try this one. It’s Amazon’s own brand and very affordable (I paid around 6€ for it). It’s supposed to “improve elasticity and plump skin”, which I’m not yet sure it does. I like that it is pretty fluid and not greasy at all and that you only need a couple of drops.

What the Fake: Plumping lip filler by Essence – I have to say I’m very happy with this product. It does actually make your lips look fuller and plumper and I’ve even gotten compliments while wearing it. I’ve been wearing it as a lip gloss but I might start wearing it as a lip primer, under regular lipstick too. It does sting your lips a little bit because it contains chili extract. Just like every other Essence product, it is super affordable at less than 4€.

Strong Hardener: Nail Advanced Treatment by Essence – My nails have always been extremely weak, soft and breakable and, even though they’ve gotten much better with pregnancy, they’re still quite pitiful. I decided to try this hardener, which I’ve been using as a base coat. To be honest, I haven’t worn it enough to tell you if it actually works, but for 2,50€ it is definitely worth a try.

Lip Care Booster: Lip Peeling by Essence – This might be my favorite beauty purchase of the month. It is said to “moisturize, condition, renew and smooth” and I can confirm it does all those things, while also lightly exfoliating. My lips are super dry and so I have to exfoliate them quite often, otherwise they become flaky. I’ve been applying this every night before bed and I can tell a difference. My lips are less chapped and much softer. Priced at about 2€, it costs like nothing and it works so well. Will definitely be buying again.

Ink Liner: Intense Black by Essence – It is my dream to be able to draw a perfect winged liner though I don’t think I ever will. I still bought this and intend on practicing my eyeliner skills. Have yet to try it as I haven’t been wearing much makeup at all. Will report on it later. Like every other Essence product, it’s rather cheap at less than 3€.

Read Harder: Reading Journal – I’m very into journals and keeping track of all activities lately so I’ve been looking for a reading/book journal for a while. I do track all my reading on both Goodreads and The StoryGraph and they’re great apps but I like having something I can actually write on. Besides a reading log it comes with many reading challenges which I plan on taking on. It cost about 12,50€ on Amazon.

Moisture Meter – An absolute lifesaver for a convicted plant killer, either by drowning or extreme dehydration. All I need to do is stuck this in the soil and it will tell me if it is too wet, moist enough or too dry and then water accordingly. I’m pretty sure some of my plants are only alive because of this purchase. I bought it on Amazon for about 12€ and it is worth every cent.

Even though most of my purchases have been baby items, I still like to treat myself to a couple of things each month, nothing fancy or expensive, just a few cute items that bring me joy.

I’ll be back tomorrow with my Pregnancy Update for weeks 29 and 30!

Love,

Cheila

Things I Don’t Buy or Spend Money On – Part I

Good morning everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well and ready for Easter, if you celebrate it. If not, I hope you’re ready for the weekend, after all, it’s Friday eve.

I’ve been seeing this topic a lot, both on blogs and YouTube channels and I thought I’d write about myself. I thought long and hard about the things I don’t spend money on (for different reasons) and I think I came up with a decent list.

Paper Towels

They’re too convenient, meaning I’d use them too much. They’re extremely wasteful and so I stopped buying them years ago because I’d never use something like a kitchen towel or cloth because the paper towels were right there and I could just toss them after using them.

Bottled Water

We drink tap water. I only buy bottled water if I’m out and about and forgot to bring water with me, which is stupid and wasteful. We do buy bottled water when we have guests because my mom and sister don’t like tap water. We also buy sparkling water because I drink it every day and you can’t get that from the tap, unfortunately.

Books

I own a few books, I’d say about 50, which isn’t much at all. I used to buy books all the time when I was younger but I don’t anymore. I’d love to have a huge library and I might someday but for now, I try not to spend money on something I can borrow from the library. Also, books take space and need to be dusted and I’m trying to keep less stuff. I used to be one of those “e-books are a crime” people but not anymore. I have a Kindle Unlimited subscription for which I pay about 10 dollars a month and I do use it a lot. I’ve read 42 books in less than 5 months, meaning about 9 books a month which makes those 10 bucks worth it for me.

TV Subscriptions/Movies/TV Shows

We don’t pay for Netflix or Hulu or HBO or whatever is out there these days. We download stuff illegally, like we’ve been doing for the past 10/12 years. We know it’s not the most ethical thing to do but we would end up doing it anyway. Those subscriptions are extremely limited and you may not find anything you like or the one show you want to watch and which you proceed to download anyway. Don’t call the cops on us, please. We do have cable, which is quite cheap in our country and we only have it because your internet is cheaper if you have cable and because Rui does watch TV.

 Music*

We don’t buy CD’s or anything on iTunes or any music at all. *Instead, we have a Spotify family subscription.

Pre cut fruit or veggies

No way. Not even a bag of chopped lettuce or salad mix.

Gym Clothes

Rui does because he runs and so he needs a few specific things. As for me, on the rare occasions I move my ass, I wear old leggings and an old T-shirt. I only buy gym bras and swimming gear.

Magazines

I used to by a Cosmopolitan every month but I haven’t for years. We don’t buy newspapers either. I get a few free magazines with my Kindle Unlimited subscription and we can always read news online. I do feel guilty because I don’t support paper publications but it’s either that or the environment. And my wallet, let’s not be hypocrites.

What about you? Would you care to share your list?

Even better if you write your own post and link it back here.

I’m sure we can learn a lot from each other so…

What don’t you buy or spend money on?

 Love, Chey