What I Buy Wednesdays

When I took Morgan to the mall last week, we went to one of my favorite stores---Altr'd State. It's sort of an earthy kind of place, where they do things for the environment, or donate some of the profits---I don't really know, but something humanitarian. That's only one of the reasons I like the store. The second reason is that they have cute stuff at reasonable prices.

I have always loved "slouchy" boots. I think these will be pretty cute with jeans. Genuine leather and only 65 bucks!

Speaking of leather---remember my leather purse I washed last week? Well, these shoes of Butch's were so ripe that they would smell up the room. Even he admitted that he could smell them WHILE he was wearing them!

I washed them! They actually came out perfect---well, almost. The little side laces came out, so he has to figure out how to get those back in. And, one of the liners came out, so he'll have to reglue that. But cleaning them really worked. They smell all clean and fresh!! For how long, I don't know!

Now you aren't going to believe this. I didn't even know this was a "thing" until I saw Mindy's on vacation. They are personalized vitamins! Oh come on. Really? Yep, really! I decided that I was going to "show" her---although I hadn't told her that I was going to "show" her. I went online. I didn't even know the name of the company she was using. I just put "personalized vitamins" in the search box and went to the website of "Care Of." I filled out the questionnaire---sort of about your family history, lifestyle and concerns. Voila! Up pops your daily vitamin recommendations. I wasn't about to subscribe, but just go buy all the recommended things (brain health, hair, skin, nails, heart health, women over 65 and bone health). I went to the drugstore and priced it all out. Some of the things I couldn't find or not in the recommended dosage. It was going to cost a fortune to buy everything separately and do it myself. I guess this company can buy enough in bulk that they can offer them cheaper---even with the packaging.

It comes with a 30 day supply in a dispenser box. This will be really easy for traveling. AND I can put a way my "old lady" weekly pill container.

The packs are personalized with your name. Who doesn't love their name on stuff? This is particularly good, because for awhile there, I found I was taking Butch's vitamins. I think that accounts for the extra growth on my upper lip! Plus, you get the added bonus of a little quote, encouragement, idea or question. I'm going to give it a try for 3 months and see if my hair, nails and skin improves. I've tried those types of supplements before and they never worked. Actually, I'll probably stick with it because I believe in vitamins anyway. The cost is $53.00 a month. I thought that seemed like a lot until I ran the numbers. By my best calculation, buying everything myself through Walgreens or Amazon, would've been in the neighborhood of $75.00 a month. Seems like a fair price to pay for good health---and I'm healthy! I'd like to stay that way! BTW--I think I did report that OsteoStrong did NOT work--and that was $105 a month. I gave it a year and had my bone density re-tested. Not only was there no improvement, the numbers went down a little.

As for my skin, I saw my dermatologist last week. I hadn't been to him in 18 months since I started my Xolair treatments. Anyway, I told him I missed him! I was having a few moles and some skin checked. Everything was totally fine and nothing to worry about. He said that we all have every mole we're ever going to have by the age of 35. It's just that as we age, they become more prominent. The raised ones are that way because aging skin doesn't regenerate as it used to, so there's a build up. Blah, blah, blah, something like that. The only ones to be concerned about are black ones (which I though I had, but it was really very dark red as he showed me by holding his black pen against it---and any brown ones that are irregular or growing). Okay, with that done, I asked him if he had any recommendations for aging skin. He said that he's had good results with a cream called Tretinoin. He said it was expensive---about $185 for a 3 month supply. Well, I'm willing to give it a try. I dropped off the prescription. When I returned to pick it up, the pharmacist assistant said that the insurance wouldn't cover it---I didn't think they would for something cosmetic. Anyway, then he said that the insurance company gave me a coupon (I definitely didn't know they could do that) and that I only had to pay $77.00! I took a really close up picture so I can do it again in 3 months to see if I can tell a difference with using the cream. OMGosh! The picture is awful---I can't even share it. It's kind of scary. I never realized that my nose has started to grow! And Janet always said I had the best nose in the family. I'll have to ask her what she thinks now! I'm getting an old person's nose. Sheesh! If it's not one thing, it's another. It almost makes me want to quit trying. But I'm not ready yet! Thank God I don't feel old. I still have a pep in my step!

You almost can't consider this "buying" as I traded some real bucks for British pounds. I'm thinking I'm not really going to spend it since it's so pretty! Okay, not really. I'll be reporting on what I spent them on when I get back from England in a couple weeks.

Moving on. So, that's it for what I bought this week. But, I thought I'd share a little of what Butch bought this week. He doesn't buy much, but I'd say he buys something every week too!

I happened to notice this on the patio. I didn't buy it, so it had to be him! He always wants a little something on the tables out there. The problem is that it's usually so hot here, we spend very little time outside---unless we're in the pool and he doesn't do that much. I suspect this is one of those mosquito repellant things. I keep forgetting to ask him about it.

On one of our B&B days, we had planned to go here. Butch had no idea what he was getting himself in to and said I should be glad I didn't go. It was a dirty, dusty place of old wrecked cars. It's a junkyard. Of course I've heard of junk yards and have seen them here and there, but I've never been to one. Actually, I never really knew that people bought stuff at junk yards. I just thought it was a place that accumulated junk.

He went to get a window hinge for Morgan's car. He always takes care of the girl's car needs. He took his toolbox as you have to remove the part yourself. Honestly, I think it would have been interesting to see this place. Maybe I'll go the next time. The hinge cost him 2 bucks! He put it on Morgan's car Monday night. She was so excited! Now the rain won't leak in the back window anymore.

That's our purchases for the week. What about you? Anything good?