Audrey Shopping & Finances

Amazoning in the New Year

Hello all. I love shopping small & local, but the convenience of Amazon wins out pretty often in my life. And I’ve finally stopped being lazy and registered for an affiliated link (woo!), so I will earn a penny or two for M’s piggy bank*.

*her piggy bank is actually a fox

Most of these items are Christmas gifts, but some after post-holiday purchases and some are things I ordered for myself. As I mentioned, I make a tiny profit from sales through these links 🖤

New Books for M

Olya shared a bunch of marked down books on her IG last week. So naturally I stocked up for trips, holidays, birthdays, and just-becauses.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Home for the Holidays | Decorate A Christmas Tree | The Monster at the End of This Book | The Nutcracker

Gifts for the Critters

We like to spoil our pets and other people’s pets during the holidays. The vegetable squeaky toys were a big hit with our neighbors’ 6 month old puppy!

Automatic feeder | Doorbuddy | Buddy Biscuits | Chew Toys

Stuff for M

Both M’s big birthday gift and big Christmas gift came from Amazon. She got these awesome stepping stones for her b-day and this kitchen for Christmas. Both have provided hours of entertainment!

Stepping Stones | Step2 Kitchen | Sesame Street buddies

Stuff for Me

I decided to stop scrolling in bed and the easiest way to do that was to charge my phone across the room at night. But my phone was my alarm clock… so I needed a new one. I opted for this sunrise-simulating one. Way less $$ than a Hatch, but it’s actually been really nice.

The blue light glasses & cheetah flats were practical and beneficial purchases. The bag was purchased as a snack/toy travel bag for M. I actually keep it in my car right now, but it’s a great bag! Big, sturdy, tons of pockets!

Alarm clock | blue light glasses | cheetah flats | travel bag

We still have one more Christmas to go to, so I didn’t want to share ALL the things I’ve purchased. I’m linking up with Tanya for Prime Purchases.

What did you buy this month from Amazon? (Or Etsy! Or your local store!)

-Aud

Audrey Shopping & Finances

Amazoning

Like so many, I’ve been trying to shop small and shop local, but sometimes I need it fast and cheap… and there’s Amazon for that.

Before I share all these unaffiliated Amazon links, let me share a few small businesses on Etsy that I’ve been loving lately:

And now for some Amazon purchases…

Kirkland Signature Shampoo & Conditioner | ELEVEN Australia Sea Salt Texture Spray
When I was last at Aubrey’s house I used her shampoo, conditioner, and sea salt spray. And I loved the smell and feel of them… so I came back home and order some.

Dreambaby Pouch Pal | Simple Modern Reusable Food Pouches
Moo gets the majority of her fruit nutrition from pouches. She doesn’t like fruit but she’ll eat these… but only if I’m holding it. She will squeeze it out if I give it to her. To prevent that I got the Pouch Pal and to lessen waste with the throwaway pouches I got some reusable one. We’re still adjusting to both of these items.

Baby Girl WILD ONE Outfit
M’s First (Zoom) Birthday Party outfit. It fit so nicely, the pants are super soft and silky, and I feel like I can match the pieces with other tops and bottoms.

The Home Edit Workbook
Sometimes I make very spontaneous purchases. *face palm* Hopefully I love this, but it’s a pre-order so time will tell. Lol

These were a few Christmas gifts for others:

Cathedral | Burrito Blanket | The Great Gatsby | Cat Sweatshirt
My brother asked for Cathedral and then beat me in two games on Christmas morning. K’s uncle got Moo a burrito swaddle when she was a baby so she returned the favor at Christmas and got him an adult burrito blanket. My sister loves The Great Gatsby so I got her this graphic novel. She also loves her kitties.

I made a few other purchases but they’re not-yet-gifted gifts… so I’m keeping them under wraps.

What have you recently bought from Amazon? (Or, better yet, Etsy?)

Audrey Shopping & Finances

Amazoning

Happy Almost Weekend! We have another Saturday/Sunday of zero plans ahead of us. I’m attending a virtual baby shower on Saturday afternoon & I’m sure we’ll go grocery shopping at some point, but beyond that we’re homebound. What a time to be alive.

Since we’re home A LOT more than we used to be and I can’t mindlessly wander Target and we have a child that grows 125% every other week… we’ve been amazoning. (I promise I shop small business sites very often, too!)

Here are some of our latest things (and why):

Replacement Cord

Bristol is an asshole.
I was lent a baby swing weeks after M was born, but we hadn’t used it in a while. Since she was getting too big for it I contacted my friend & said I’d return it to her. When I went to break down the swing and load the parts into my car I found that Bristol had chewed through the cord. So $25 later I was able to return the swing, good as new.

Get a dog, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Changing Table & Accessories

We needed a changing table in the living room. The small one across the playpen was getting too small & I needed the playpen up in our bedroom so M can play while I get dressed in the mornings.

I didn’t realize the table came with a pad- I might return the extra one I got. The covers are so soft and match our room decor. The bamboo liners are a necessity for cloth diapering 😉

Swimsuit

We started swim lessons with M once some pandemic restrictions were lifted. Our facility is very clean & I am the only one who comes in contact with M during the entire lesson. (Kaity wrote about the swim school here!)
ANYWAY- after a week of lessons I realized I had ZERO appropriate suits for swimming with a handsy baby (I had a strapless one, a lace one, and a keyhole-boob one… lol). So I got a slightly more conservative, nip-slip-free swimsuit. HAHAHA.

Father’s Day Grilling Gifts

Along with a matching daddy-daughter apron set, we got K some dredge shakers, a griddle cook book, and his own hibachi peeing-man squirt toy. We wanted him to feel legit.

Check out that picture quality ^^ Very nice, Amazon.

My purchases are so dull. My apologies if you’ve made it this far.

I also got M some spoons & myself some cotton gloves and moisturizing treatments because the skin on my hand is nothing short of dry & disgusting. (I’m seeing a dermatologist for it this month- it’s that bad.)

And that about sums it up. Please share what you’ve been buying or doing or dreaming about so that we can switch off my incredibly boring life 😬

I’m going to link up with Kristen for What’s New With You? (obviously nothing here) and Tanya for Prime Purchases.

 

What's New With You
Audrey Shopping & Finances

Amazoning *Christmas Edition*

We’re well beyond Christmas, but I thought I’d do a quick recap of my yuletide Amazon-bender that wrecked my credit card in the months leading up to the holiday. Enjoy!

amazoning_xmas

Everything I ordered ended up being a Christmas gift for someone. The bold product name links to its Amazon page. Nothing is affilitated.

Remington D3190A Damage Control Ceramic Hair Dryer

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Receiver: K

Believe it or not, this was an Xmas gift for K. We both use the hair dryer and the one I’ve had since high school no longer works on the low setting and the “cool shot” is broken. The dogs gifted this to K on Christmas morning by leaving the box on the sink while he was showering.

. . .

La Cubana Wooden Cigar Humidor + Xiker Crystal Humidifier Jar

gift_1

Receiver: K

Another gift for K. He’s not a smoker, but he enjoys a cigar around an evening bonfire or when we’re cerebrating a milestone. Since he smokes them so infrequently, he’d been hemming and hawing about getting a humidor. I felt like such a first class gift-er when I ordered this!

. . .

Born to Die + Bankrupt!

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Receiver: Fred

My brother sent out an excel spreadsheet to me, my mom, his wife, her mom, and her sister with assigned Christmas gifts. We had 3 to 4 options per person, but he encouraged us to talk with one another if we saw something assigned to someone else that we wanted to gift him. Let me remind you, he’s an engineer. Ha. ANYWAY, I hate giving people something they know is coming, so I obliged with these two records (one by Lana Del Rey, the other by Phoenix), but I went rogue with his other gifts.

. . .

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride

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Receiver: My mom

I think I need to thank Kristen for this book coming across my radar. As soon as I saw it I knew I was getting it for my mom for Christmas. She’s a fan of The Princess Bride (and Columbo, ha) so I thought it’d be a fun read for her!

. . .

Kate Spade New York: All in Good Taste + That’s Christmas to Me

gift_5

Receiver: My Blogger Christmas Cheer Exchange partner, Nikki

When Olya & Mattie hosted this swap they used the site elfster. Participants can make a wish list, complete with links to the actual products. That made shopping for Nikki super simple!

. . .

Ello Cole Stainless-Steal Travel Mug

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Receiver: When it ships, my brother-in-law Andy

I bought this mug for my husband’s sister’s husband but it still hasn’t come in yet… (It was out of stocked when I ordered it so it’s fine.) My s.i.l. posted on FB about how her husband and oldest son continually battled over the insulated coffee mugs. Turns out almost half of K’s family then gifted Andy travel mugs for Xmas. #GreatMinds

Anyway, when this comes in (March-ish? ha) it’s going to Andy. I own this mug. YOU need this mug. Everyone does. It’s magical and lovely and the best!

. . .

Coffee Teach Sleep Repeat 11 oz. tea/coffee mug

gift_6

Receiver: My friend Kayla

This is a different Kayla than the one I normally talk about on here. (That Kayla is a social worker, this one is a teacher. Obvi.)

. . .

Sequin Candy Cane Black Ugly Christmas Suit Jacket

sequin_cc_jacket

Receiver: N/A

As mentioned here, K bought this for himself. We were invited to an ugly sweater bowling event in December and my husband doesn’t halfass costumes.

It’s a terrible picture, but for those who requested, here he is:

. . .

The Manitou (White Indian Series, Book XVI)

 

gift_9

Receiver: K’s Grandpa Bud

K’s grandpa is the most intense reader I’ve ever met. He has over 900 books packed away in boxes under his bed and he devours +300 page novels faster than anyone I know. I was browsing the book store for a Christmas gift for him and consulted my father-in-law for advice. He said Bud had been looking for a particular book for a long time & he (my f.i.l.) found it online. Since they already had a gift for Grandpa, he told me I should get it. So I did. Grandpa Bud’s reaction to the book was so fun. He said he’d given up hope of finding it and just moved on. (I think he was on book 22 in the series.) It felt so good to make his day with this $4 purchase!

. . .

Guardians of the Galaxy (dvd)

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Receiver: My Uncle Ernie

My mom’s brother is a tough one to shop for. He works a lot, avoids collecting junk, and keeps unusual habits (ski patrol, travel, bee keeping). For some reason I decided he’d like this movie. (I love it.) Turns out I think I was right- my mom said he watched it twice in the week following Xmas.

. . .

That felt like a lot… And it didn’t include the stuff I got from +5 other online retails. Honestly, I’m a sucker for free shipping with Amazon Prime…

What kinds of things did you gift at Christmas?

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