So I had this idea. Let’s do a monthly roundup!

Since I’m doing a year of not buying any new or used clothing, and in the spirit of full transparency, how about I tell you all about the things that I actually do buy each month?

How about the books that I read each month because I’m really trying to read more books with the free time that I have now that I’m not endlessly searching for the next thing that I don’t need?

And how about the things that I’ve watched? Cause we all know that Netflix has been getting us through this pandemic.

Yeah? Cool.

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First up, what I bought…

I didn’t start off the year deciding not to buy any new or used clothing. I didn’t start off the year with any intentions at all. 2020 did a number on me (on all of us) so I didn’t want to place any expectations on myself. But the more I thought about things, the more I felt like a no buy year (clothes) was right for me.

Now I’ve attempted no buy monthly challenges on the past. I even attempted a low buy year in 2020 but things didn’t exactly go as planned. But somehow, this time the timing feels right.

With all of that being said, I did buy somethings in January, some before my no buy decision and some after (although no clothes after, obviously ;).

On January 2nd, I ordered a long brown cotton dress from The Real Real. I think I received it about a week later (I had also ordered a pair of grey wool pants but they didn’t work out so I returned them). I LOVE this dress and have no regrets about the purchase. I know it will be something that I wear often and something that can be worn in every season. I’d had it in on my favorites list for a few weeks and ended up purchasing it for $132.

We went to our favorite antique shop on January 17th. It’s about the only place we go since it’s a large space and they only allow 8 masked customers in at a time.

I have a pair of larger gold hoops that I’ve had for years and wore almost every day before the pandemic but I find them to cumbersome with masks.

So I was very excited to come across the most perfect little gold hoops. They are 14k gold and I paid $45. They don’t get hooked on my mask when I put it on or remove it.

I also found a flower vase for $10.

Shortly after that purchase, on January 22nd, I ordered a bra from Pepper based on the recommendation of a friend. I am actually quite happy with this purchase. As a member of the “itty bitty titty committee”, underwire bras are tough.

I ordered the “All You Bra” ($49) and it fits really well. There’s no gaping at the top of the cup and it’s really comfortable for an underwire bra (never thought I’d write that).

When it came (on January 29th) I actually debated ordering another one but knew that was against the rules of my “no buy” and that I didn’t actually need it, so I didn’t.

It felt like a small victory. And I’ll take all of those that I can get right now.

I had made a declaration on January 25th that I would buy no new or used clothing for the rest of the year. You can read more about it here and here. And I haven’t bought any more clothes but 9 days is nothing to get too excited about. I’ll save the champagne for the end of February.

I did end up buying 4 skin care related items (all after January 25th) – 2 were replacements and 2 were ones that I’ve been wanting to try.

I’ve been using Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair since October. I’d been curious about it for years but the steep price tag ($105 for 1.7 oz.) stopped me from trying it. When a local department store was having a holiday sale before Christmas, I was able to snap up a bottle with the gift of a full sized eye cream for around $80.

So I bought it. And sadly, I love it.

Just kidding. The rest of my skincare products are fairly inexpensive and taking care of my skin is really important to me. I don’t spend much money on makeup so I can justify this purchase. Plus, I just really enjoy putting it on. I use it in the morning and night and this is my second full size bottle (I also had a smaller 1 oz. bottle in between the two full sizes.

I picked up a jar of Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Moisturizer ($17) on Jan. 27. I use this in the morning before I add my sunscreen. I like how cool it feels and the silky texture.

In the same Target order, I picked up a Sonia Kashuk Microneedle Facial Roller ($15) and Rose Quartz Roller ($10).

I have heard that the microneedle roller is supposed to help increase the effectiveness of skincare products and also address issues such as fine lines and uneven skin tone.

I’m all about getting the most out of that expensive serum! And the quartz roller seems like it would be a nice way to massage my face.

I’m not great about taking the time for dedicated self care. I hope that using these little tools will be a nice little treat…even the process of using the microneedle roller feels relaxing.

Total Spent: $383 ($236 prior to no buy, $147 after)

Whew, that’s a lot! It’s amazing how quickly little purchases add up. Writing everything down in a monthly roundup like this was scary, but now that I have, it was also very eye-opening.

I’m very hopeful that by not buying any clothes this year, I become more conscientious with other purchases as well.

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Next, what I read…

I love to read. And I love to read actual physical copies of books. I buy a few from time to time (usually non-fiction that I will want to reference back to), but I get most of them from the library or borrow them from friends.

Since I wasn’t browsing for clothes online, I found that I had more time to pick up a book. I actually read 5 books in January, which is a lot for me. Most of the time I read when I go to bed. On the weeknights, this is usually somewhere between 9 and 10 but sometimes it’s 8. And then I’ll read for a few hours. Or more if I’m really into a book.

I went ahead and added my rating for each book. I am not a book critic. My rating is very subjective and based on how much I personally enjoyed the book. If I couldn’t put it down, or I was emotionally connected to the story, it got a higher rating.

First, I read “The Little Shop of Found Things” by Paula Brackston:

I bought this book as a treat for myself around Christmas. I had a few other books that I had borrowed from a friend that I had to finish up first so I didn’t start this one until January.

It took me quite a few pages to get into this book but I’m glad that I stuck it out! By the middle of it, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. LITERALLY. I stayed up until 4am one morning because I had to finish this!

My book rating: 4.5/5

I couldn’t wait to move onto the second book in the series, “Secrets of the Chocolate House”…

I was really excited to read this book, and I enjoyed it for the most part. But it wasn’t as intriguing as the first one. I also didn’t like how the author chose to end the book. It’s not that it was a bad ending, it just felt like there was a sudden change of direction which made the book feel off for me.

My book rating: 3/5

Since I had read the first 2 books in the series, I knew I had to read the third one, “The Garden of Promises and Lies”…

It was actually this book that led me to the series in the first place. I had seen it on the new arrivals wall of the bookstore around Christmas and I was drawn to the beautiful cover. And once I discovered that the series was about antiques, I knew that I wanted to read it.

Much like the second book, I didn’t love this one as much as the first either. I had no problem putting the book away each night and I wasn’t rushing to pick it up. But it was entertaining and an interesting enough read.

The author definitely left room for a fourth book, and I’m sure I’ll read that one too.

My book rating: 3.5/5

Next I moved on to “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid…

And I really liked it. Back in June, when I had made a decision to actively read more books by Black authors, I had read that as important as it is to read non-fiction books (such as “How to be an Antiracist”), it is equally as important to read fiction books written by Black authors. That it’s important to read about Black people living everyday lives and experiencing struggles and triumphs.

Sometimes it’s easier to understand the racist issues that Black people deal with everyday through the eyes of a character. This book centers around a racist event at the beginning of the book, and we get to see how this event affects the lives of the characters.

My book rating: 4/5

And, I saved the best book for last: “Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson…

This book was so beautifully written. It was a joy to read but also heartbreaking. There was a lot of back and forth between the past and present but it was a multi-generational book so that’s important to the overall story. But it was easy to follow.

I read this pretty quickly. The way that it’s written and my wanting to know more about the character’s stories certainly helped.

My book rating: 5/5

For more books written by Black authors, check out this list.

I hope that by listing the books that I’ve read in a monthly roundup like this, you are able to find some new and interesting reads.

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Lastly, what I watched…

I don’t watch a lot of tv. The majority of my tv watching happens on Saturday evenings. My husband and I have “date night” on Saturdays where we make a nice dinner (well, if I’m being completely honest, he does all of the cooking), we have a glass or 2 of scotch and we watch a movie or a tv series.

I am definitely partial to a tv series since this means that we don’t spend a lot of time searching for a movie. Last fall we watched “Game of Thrones” and ever since, we’ve been searching for a new tv series to watch.

“Godless” is the latest tv series that we’ve watched and we watched it all in January. It wasn’t that hard. It was a limited series of 7 episodes. And we really enjoyed it.

I don’t normally like wild west type shows but a bunch of women kicking ass in the wild west is something that I can get behind.

I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a new show to watch.

My rating: 5/5

I hope you enjoyed this monthly roundup of what I bought, read and watched this month. I want to be transparent with how I am spending my personal money this year as I continue to not buy clothes, new or used.

Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this post and if it was useful to you. Have you read any of these books? Have you watched Godless?

Also, any book or show series recommendations is much appreciated!

Until next time,

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