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

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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

Photo dump – Random things I bought last year

Super Pocket Full of Random + update + Blogging Schedule for Next Week (Exam Week)

Hey there, favorite people…

I’ve bee quite MIA this weekend, I’m sorry.

Yesterday I was super sleepy because of the change on my sleeping medication (already adjusted to less, so I’m fine and sleeping, we (my doctor and I) just had to try something.

So, I didn’t do much yesterday. I can’t even remember well, but I think I did just watch YouTube Videos and read blogs. I began watching “The Zookeeper’s Wife” but couldn’t finish. Rui went out with some friends and brought me back a Caramel parfait from McDonald’s. Then I went to be bed and slept late today.

I got up and met some friends at about 3 p.m, to eating something and talk for a few hours and then we went shopping. I HAVE A H&M HAUL COMING NEXT WEEKEND!!!

I bought some nice stuff on sale. I then bought some fruit and we waited for Rui to come and pick me up and we all went our way. We had lots of fun and my friend is now the proud owner of a lemon print romper.

As you’ve probably realized, I didn’t start my series of videos this weekend, as I had scheduled, because I wasn’t feeling well and because next week is exam week. You’ll get the first next weekend. They’ll be about 10 to 15 minutes each and you can check the theme/tittle of each one in my July goals post.

As a celebration for my 1500 followers, we’ll do a second party!! (Most people said they prefer party, of all of my suggestions. I’ll be even better than last. It’ll be on the 23rd of June. You’ll get more details soon.

I won’t be posting this week. I mean, I won’t be posting anything this week. As a celebration and to offer you some posts while I’m on exam seclusion, I’ll re-post some of my oldest/earliest/favorite posts, so you re-read them if you liked them back then, or read them now without much digging around – I have written almost 400 posts – if you are a new(ish) follower.

I think this is all I wanted to say, my friends.

I have an exam on Wednesday and another one on Friday. I’ll be studying my behind off.

Thank you so much for your support.

We’ll talk soon.

xx

 

General update + grocery shopping haul and meal plan

Hey guys,

I hope you had a nice weekend and that your Monday was short and sweet.

Let me tell you what I’ve been up too.

As you know, Mr.R went to his hometown to see his family on the weekend and I stayed home because I had a sore throat and did want to get sick, which I didn’t as it eventually went away.

What did I do being home alone?

Hung out with Rosa and nothing really interesting. I blogged, I did a Facebook, Instagram, Blog and twitter cleanup and I watched one and a half movies. Zodiac which I loved and half of Apolo 13. I love Tom Hanks so I’m sure I’m going to love it as soon as I get to it. Zodiac was good and even better because I’m actually fascinated by serial killers and love to read about them and watch documentaries. Am I the only one? Oh there are more weird thing that I watch. I love crime documentaries and… brace yourselves, live surgeries and autopsies. No I’m not a sociopath or Psychopath, I just really want to be a doctor and have no issues with blood, needles or watching anything really. I can stomach most things, unless they involve an animal. Then I have to look away and cry.

That’s pretty much what I did. Nothing especial. Oh and I slept and watered my garden.

Now the more interesting part (I think)

I decided to take pictures of our groceries (we just came from the store) and show you what we eat in about three weeks and our eating habits.

 

We bought:

Whole wheat pasta (macaroni) – 4 packs or 1 kg for 3,36€ It’s quite expensive when you compare it with regular pasta. We would have gotten the same amount for less than 1€, but I’m staying a way from processed food.

Ciabatta bread with seeds – (It’s whole wheat) – for 1,09€

Whole oats – instead of the flakes I used to get. As soon I realized there’s a healthier version I had to substitute) – 0,85€

Brown sugar – I’m obviously staying way from refined sugar and I don’t really trust stevia, so I’m only using brown sugar and organic raw honey as sweeteners – 250 g for 1,99€ which is expensive but I’m going to make it last as long as I can.

Peanuts – Rui likes to snack on them and so do I. They’re to mix with my almonds, hazelnuts and raisins. – 1,59€

3 different flavors of jello – (peach, orange and strawberry/passion fruit ) I like to eat as a snack because it’s sweet but not that bad for me, especially if I add a little more water than what is recommended, to dilute it. – 3,27€

Whole wheat crackers with salt – (the ones on your right, looking at the picture) because to add them to my lunch as carbs or eat them as a snack. – 1,49€ (I think they come with 14 packs)

Whole wheat crackers x 2 packs – I wouldn’t have bought if I had read the label before. They have high-fructose corn syrup and I run from it like the plague. That and aspartame are my NEVER EAT foods. – 1,30€

4 cans of tuna (in water and not vegetable oil) – we like to use it in salads or sandwiches and it is healthy. – 3,40€ (for almost 500 g)

1 can of chickpeas – We like them in salads as well. – 0,59€

2 cans of black beans – I didn’t eat beans before but I’m used to them now and sometimes used them as a meat substitute. 1,18€

2 cans of sweet corn – I absolutely love it in salads. – 0,98€

2 cans of sliced mushrooms –  (I do plan on not getting any canned foods, we’ll be getting frozen sweet corn and fresh mushrooms next time) – 1,58€

Fruits, veggies and dairy:

Bananas – 1,36,€ for 1,300 g or 6 bananas. I eat a banana every day.

Fuji apples (my favorite) – I eat one every day, usually. – 1,120 kg for 1,56€

Peaches – 900 g for 1,23€

(We have about 5 kg of oranges that Rui’s mom sent us, as well)

2 cartons for skimmed milk – I’m giving up on milk, but we bought just in case we need some or Rui wants some. – 9,94€

16 cups of plain Greek yogurt – I’m giving up on milk but keep eating plain Greek yogurt as a source of protein. – 3,29 €

Frozen baby carrots – one of my favorite things to add to my lunch and to have as a snack. I eat them frozen and it’s so refreshing. – 450 g for 0,89€

2 packs of flamengo cheese – regular and light, in case I want to have some, I have the light version for myself – 3,38€

1 pack of mortadella (with olives) – for Rui. – 0,89€

Fabric softener – 2,39€

Baby wipes – We use them in the bathroom. I’ve been thinking of not buying them anymore and just use soap and water to wash myself after I use the toilet. It worries how many we go through and how bad they are for the environment. – 2 packs for 2,14€

Q-tips – we are running out. – 0,49€

Paper napkins (recycled)  – 0,45€. I have been thing about switching them (although we always buy recycled) for fabric napkins. I could buy some fabric and sew a few.

2 recharges for those things you plug-in your socket so the mosquitoes don’t eat you alive at night. – 9,99€ (it comes with a new plug)

Those toilet things that release some detergent when you flush the toilet. These have bleach on them. I love using bleach as a toilet cleaner so. – 2 for 1,29€

Daily sanitary pads – I know I shouldn’t wear them as they don’t let your skin breathe and can cause infections down there, but I feel dirty without them. Do you girls wear them? (can we talk about this or is it offensive?) – 1,05€ (I buy the thong ones because I can wear them with all my panties. I do wear thongs but not every day as they are not good for you)

Dental sticks for Rosa – She doesn’t cooperate with us to brush her teeth so we do what we can – 1,99 €

What else did we get?

1 huge bag (20 kg) of dog food – 16,59€

So much fish:

White fish/hake – 1,850 g for 11,13 (it will enough for 10 portions)

Salmon – 400 g for 3,68€

Mullet snapper – 1,140 g for 9,11€

Some meat:

Turkey steaks – 4,40€

Turkey breast – 1,370 kg for 8,89€

Pork chops – 1,142 kg for 4,33€

And that is all. We already had some things at home: Some pork, cod-fish, frozen veggies, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, oats, one white cabbage, a huge bag of potatoes and onions my mother-in-law sent us and some other little things.

Our total: 115,45€ – which was cheap, actually, for the amount of stuff we got.

We think this could last us about 3 weeks and that we can meet our monthly grocery budget of 150€. We have  34, 95€ left in our budget and that is probably enough for when we run out of fruits and veggies or bread.

Next week we’ll probably have cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries for our garden.

I’m trying to eat plant based and eating my portions in fruits and vegetables. I’m also trying to stay away from sugars, processed foods and refined flours. We’re both focused on eating more fish or leaner meats.

Meal plan:

Tuesday, 27th – Tuna and black bean salad.

Wednesday, 28th – we’ll have enough leftovers.

Thursday – Turkey steaks with rice and cabbage.

Friday – Grilled salmon with boiled potatoes and a salad.

 

 

 

 

Just another Friday – No taxes and new printer edition!

Hi there!

Are you happy it’s Friday??

I’m having a good day. I can change because Mr. R said I’ve just changed my Karma because I refused to answer a questionnaire at a store and told the lady I was in a rush. He might be right, I was in no rush and could easily have done it but, apparently, I was on bitch mode lol I’m sorry, dear God! Karma, don’t screw me over, please!

One of our local supermarkets was having an amazing sale today, and we had to take advantage of it. They weren’t charging taxes today, which meant a 23% discount for non-food items and 6% for food items. Some of the things were already on sale, which meant a huge price difference. It was really good and I stocked up on some things. In the end, we saved about 40€.

We got a great brand detergent, a big box of 120 washes, that was initial 24,99€, for 8,12€!! It’s an amazing discount and it will last a long time. I’m really happy with this particular purchase!

We also got:

2 cans of Nivea men’s deodorant – 7,18€ for two cans, a 3,60€ discount and an additional 0,66€ of tax discount, we ended up spending 2,92€ for the two cans, which is less than the original price for one (3,59€);

2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste that originally cost 3,49€, with a 1,75€ discount and an additional 0,33€ of tax discount, ended up costing 1,41€.

We got many things but these were the best deals!

We also got a new printer! We were not planning on getting a new one, just needed to buy the ink cartridges which are quite expensive. We would have to spend about 40/50€ on them. While we were looking, we saw a printer that we liked, that cost 45,99€ and came with an additional black ink cartridge. We would only have to buy the color one, which would end up a total of about 70€. We considered it, since our printer is about 3 years old already, but we decided we would check the price for the cartridges at another store. So off we went, and we found the exact same printer on sale for 35,99€!! A 10€ difference and the fact that it was a super cheap but good printer made us decide to get it. We would only have to buy the said color cartridge. When we looked for it, it was also on discount, costing 15,99€!! We came home with a new printer for 35,99€, plus an extra free black ink cartridge and a colored ink cartridge for a total of 51,98€. We are pretty pleased with our purchase.

This is our new printer:

Isn’t it cute? I love the green! It will look super cute in our office!! I’m really happy about it!! 🙂

We will print a bunch of pictures to fill all the empty walls we have in our home! I have a bunch of picture frames to fill in and I’m doing a gallery wall in our bedroom! I’m really excited about it.

We have also being looking at paint colors because the house is in desperate need to be painted, but we are going to wait until Summer for that. But we already have a pretty cool idea of which colors we want to use.

I have a recipe to share with you and also a kitchen tour, I’ll post it later today!

I hope you are having an amazing Friday!

Do you have exciting plans for the weekend?

We might go to the beach, since being close to the sea helps with our sinusitis.

Love you guys.