Come along for a Hot Pot dinner for two with appetizers and a boba for him 😊 As part of my “Year of Less” project, I am trying to stick to two planned dates per month as a way to enjoy dining out, and keep the cost within reason, while making it feel special.
Total cost for this date (including tip): $59.59
What’s your favorite cheap date?
If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you might remember a series called “the view from Sunday.” These were weekly-ish musings on life, writing, books I was reading, activities I was enjoying, etc. It’s been a while since I’ve had a regular posting schedule and I’ve missed the opportunity to engage with you all through the blog. That’s not to say the vlogs are going away–not at all–but in an effort to reconnect with activities that bring me joy and comfort, I’ve challenged myself to regular blogging in 2025.
I can’t promise that I’ll always be on time (or that a new post will always go up on Sunday), but I can promise to do my best. Which is all we can ever do.
It’s been a rough week. There have been a lot of emotions, many of them fear-based, but I refuse to lose hope or give in to despair and acquiescence. To that end, I am cultivating pockets of joy and comfort amid the chaos, turning to crafts, yoga, and daily movement to restore my energy and maintain my peace. I’m also reading (mostly romance, some non-fiction, and a bit of fanfiction), and making progress on the latest draft of book 2 of my upcoming romance series.
All in all, I’m pushing on, staying informed, but not giving in to panic. My current strategy:
And now, I have these posts.
If you’d like to follow me on this journey, stick around and subscribe. 💗
You can also subscribe to my “quiet days” vlog series on YouTube or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com. For more, visit my linktr.ee
Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
In an effort to spend less and be better prepared for migraine days, I’m back to my old ways and shopping with the intent to meal plan/prep. Join me for two, low spend, intentional grocery hauls as I re-evaluate my relationship with food spending. Plus, a few examples of the meals I prepped 😄
The big haul should last most of the month, allowing me to fill in the gaps with less.
🛒 January 3rd
BJs Wholesale haul
Buying in bulk at BJs to get meal prep essentials, replacements, and a small splurge.
Total: $162.29
🛒 January 13th
Wal-Mart haul
Filling in the gaps, buying ingredients for soup making, essentials, and cat food 🐈🐈.
Total: $131.03
The first vlog of 2025! Spend a cozy weekend with me.
It’s the first vlog of 2025!
Catching up on my goals, reading self-help books, and sorting out my life—wrestling with past life choices, meal prep, planning, and more.
Spend a cozy weekend at home with me before I head back to work after the winter holiday.
Grab your favorite beverage and join me for a chatty update on my goals and planners for 2025 😄
This year, I’m trying new things and re-establishing old habits to have a more productive writing schedule, improve health, and meet money goals.
My planners for 2025: HB90 quarterly and yearly goal planner, Inamio (Hobonichi dupe) weekly planner, and Commit30 for 30-day fitness goal planner.
My 2025 No/Low Buy Rules and Savings Goals
And we’re back!
Join me for Year 2 of my Low/No Buy Project. Tips for doing a low/no buy based on what I learned in 2024, and my money and savings goals for 2025.
My 2025 Low/No Buy Rules: Only 15 non-essential item limit (ie. the “pretty things”).
⛔ No clothing (except replacements – investing in key pieces and second hand options), new books (except the two I preordered) – read what I have, teas, hair accessories, lotions, makeup, perfumes, bags, blind boxes, “cute stuff without a purpose,” pens.
Limit dining out.
my December budget review and recap of my 2024 low/no buy savings challenge
Join me for a review of my December budget and a recap of my 2024 low/no buy rules and goals. Plus, all the ways I failed at sticking to those rules, and realizing that those categories are not the real problem at all.
December was another $0 savings month, but that was expected.
My biggest challenge this year was dining out.
My No buy rules for 2024 included:
NO beauty bath hair accessories bags, etc. clothes tea books stationary fragrances excess consumables
Overall, I failed, but my spend in these areas was not as bad as my dining out spend.
Hi! Hello! Long time, no post. ICYMI, I’ve been busy on YouTube and planning more vlogs and content for the new year. Catch up with my last vlog of 2024, or join me for a recap of my somewhat relaxing, somewhat sniffly Vlogmas.
Stay tuned for my 2024 budget recap and 2025 goals, coming this week 😄
This is the first of a two-part vlog. The second half is really chatty and didn’t have the same feel as the first half, so that will be coming next week. For now, enjoy an old-school silent vlog featuring several outings while I tried to keep myself from spiraling with post-election anxiety.
In this vlog: a day of the dead celebration at a local shopping center, a birthday staycation on Miami Beach, and a visit to the Berry Farm in the Redlands.
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Days in October. Work days, reflecting on a recent health and fatigue flare, and the current state of the WIP, plus, Halloween (with a side of sewing)!
marginalia and such 