February 2017 Month in Review

What did I buy this past month? Let's find out!

Clothes & Accessories - $256

Flannel nightgown - $45
Somewhat matronly but very comfortable, this was invaluable in the days following my surgery, plus a few days where we had no heat at home. I haven't been wearing it as much in the last couple of weeks, but I wore it a LOT in the first weeks of February.

Plaid tote bag - $16
I didn't really need this! My wife thinks I buy too many tote bags. They're useful for lots of things, like replacing shopping bags (provided I remember to bring them shopping), and this one is better than the cheapo ones you get at the grocery store because it's durable and cute and has a zipper. But yeah, I don't really need more of these.

Hiking pants - $80
This is a different-size version of something I already have. I have the size 8 pants and I love them, but they kept sliding down, so I tried to size 6 at the store and they fit way better. I'm keeping the size 8's in my "larger size clothing" box, since my weight tends to fluctuate.

Polish dresses - $115
The weather was warm for one (1) day, and I got the urge to buy dresses! (It's cold again now, but it will be warm in the future, I'm told.) I've had such good luck getting bras and dresses from Polish big-bust clothing companies in the past, so I'm trying another one. I haven't received these yet, and I'm a little nervous about whether I got my sizing right. If they don't fit, I can probably sell them, since I know a lot of people in the Bra That Fits community are interested in trying these companies but are hesitant to make international currency transactions with high shipping fees and long ship times.

Misc - $56

Thermal mug - $26
I had previously gotten the 8 ounce version of this and love it, so this is the 16 ounce version. I knew when I bought it that the 8 ounce version would be a little too small for most things, but I always get hot coffee in size small. However, a warm snap prompted me to go for the larger version because I usually have iced coffee in 16 ounces, and a thermal mug would be great for icy drinks as well as hot ones. I probably don't need the smaller one at all now, but oh well. It's nice to have one at home and one at work.

Bottle brush - $8
For cleaning the mug.

Cute outdoorsy things - $22
A bandana and an enamel camping cup. I admit that I buy into outdoorsy style more than I actually hike or camp. I keep daydreaming about all the hiking I'm going to do, but I probably won't need these items even when I do go. I still, I can still use them in my noncamping life as an accessory, and a normal cup. (I ate granola out of it last night.)

Hobbies & Entertainment - $165

Art supplies - $29
I got two sketchbooks and some micron pens, hoping to do some nature sketching as I've recently joined a few citizen science projects relating to plants.

Reference books - $52
Though I've bragged in the past about getting rid of all my books, I've been expansionist about plant books lately since I'm trying to teach myself about botany for my volunteer work. I think eventually I'll figure out which of these books I actually find useful and get rid of the rest, but for now I'm still looking for my ideal plant library. I also have to admit to buying another bird book because it called to me in the store!

Ebooks - $24
I keep buying these, even though I also get a lot of reading material out of the library.

Video games - $30
I bought the $30 Freedom Bundle which donated proceeds to the ACLU, and I've already gotten far more than $30 worth of entertainment out just one of the games, Stardew Valley. It's a cute 8-bit farming and romance sim and is MY IDEAL GAME.

Running app one-year subscription - $30
This is kind of silly to get, since the app works fine without the pro upgrade. But I've used it a lot and I was hoping that the extra features would help me run more frequently in the coming year.

Summary

Total: $477
I stayed within my $500 goal, barely! This doesn't include eating out for lunch and stuff, but also doesn't include a +$90 from returning a pair of boots that I never actually managed to wear.

I'm okay with most of these purchases. Some stand out as real winners (Stardew Valley, some of the more approachable plant books), some I haven't used yet but expect to get more use out of later (dresses, hiking pants, mug, some of the more technical books). Time will tell!