Money Diaries | Volume No. 5 - peonies and bees

Is it a surprise to anyone that I love numbers, graphs, and spreadsheets? I’d track absolutely everything if only I could find a system to organize and store all of it. Well, welcome to another series of Money Diaries, here on Peonies and Bees. It’s where I share every penny I spend for 7 days.

MONEY DIARIES | VOLUME NO. 5 | WEEK OF OCT. 30 — NOV. 05

MONDAY

7AM Coffee, emails, and writing up a grocery list for my Monday client. Had coffee and breakfast at home before heading out to an 8AM barre class.

9:15AM Once home, I showered, changed, made another cup of coffee, and head to The Giant for my Monday client.

1:45PM PM I swing by Target on my way home from my clients house. I needed coffee creamer, bread, bananas, disposable to-go coffee cups, and grout cleaner. $22.88

2:30PM Once home, I have a late lunch. Left over beef & broccoli from the night before. I read, take a power nap, and begin prepping weekly lunches for me and my husband (I didn’t have time the day before).

5:15PM I’m changed and head out the door to meet my improv team for dinner and drinks before our Halloween-themed show tonight. We split a large pizza, Greek salad, and each have one beer. $18.00 with tip.

10:15PM The show was really fun, and my throat is sore from being so loud on stage. I swing by Safeway as soon as I get off the metro to grab an OJ. $2.50

TUESDAY

5:45AM I’m up even earlier today, since it’s a longer day for me. Same routine as above: coffee, emails, finishing up paperwork / invoices / grocery lists for my two Tuesday clients before a 7AM barre class.

8:15AM I’m home, showered, grab an apple, pack up my chef’s bag, make another cup of coffee (to-go!), and head out to my first Tuesday client.

2:00PM Tuesdays are bananas for me, and I eat one of the salads I made the day before in the car, as I’m driving over to my second client’s home. I don’t have time to sit down for a proper lunch, but I’m OK with it!

2:30PM Before I get started on grocery shopping for client #2 of the day, I treat myself to an iced coffee from the Starbucks inside Harris Teeter. $3.13

7:30PM I’m finally home. I heat up a dinner I prepared over the weekend: pan-seared steak with tomato-caper sauce, green beans, and rice. I pour myself a LARGE glass of white wine and watch Alex pass out candy to our trick-or-treaters before taking over the shift.

8:02PM We ran out of candy, and the neighborhood is still buzzing with children. We debate running to CVS to pick up more, but decide against it. We turn off all the lights and pretend we’re not home.

WEDNESDAY

6:30AM Same morning routine as above. My barre class is at 8AM, so I’m out the door by 7:30AM. And since it’s the 1st of the month, my monthly barre membership is due. $160

8:50AM After a quick shower at the studio, I change, and head north towards the Whole Foods closest to my Wednesday clients home.

9:30AM As I’m approaching check out, I grab my usual vegan muffin and dark roast as a mid-morning / post-barre snack. $5.73

3PM I’m home, and decide I’m craving minestrone soup. I quickly look in my fridge and pantry, and then say a silent prayer — I have all the ingredients I need to make a batch without having to run back out to the grocery store. It’s also the 1st of the month and our HOA is due. $405

5PM My audible subscription also kicks in today. The monthly membership comes with 1 free audiobook per month. This month I chose The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (I haven’t started it yet). $14.95

7PM I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and napping. It’s dinnertime, but I’m still full from my late lunch. I decide I need to take a walk, so Alex comes with me for a quick trip to Safeway to pick up random things we’re out of. Cotton balls, tea, OJ, chocolates, and ice cream. $33.81

THURSDAY

9AM I typically have Thursday’s free. So I allow myself to sleep in and give my body a break from the last three mornings of 6AM (if not earlier) wake-ups followed by barre. The cats don’t even try to wake me up for breakfast.

12PM After vacuuming, two loads of laundry, cleaning the bathroom, and morning emails, I eat a meal-prepped salad for lunch.

3PM I decide to stretch my legs, and work on my latest project: typing up all of my recipes! I decide to do this in our new neighborhood coffee shop, District Hardware Cafe. I order a large iced coffee that I milk for the next 3 hours to justify sitting here with my laptop for so long. $4.80

5:45PM I head home and cook a quick dinner for me and my husband. I have so many left over mushrooms from earlier this week, that I have no choice but to whip up chicken marsala — yum!

6:55PM I’m out the door, on my way to improv practice. Luckily, where we hold our rehearsals is a 6 minute walk from my house. SCORE!

10:15PM I’m back from rehearsal and eat another bowl of soup. Don’t judge! 3 hours of improv will give you an appetite!

FRIDAY

8:30AM I have this particular Friday off too, but I’m already glued to my computer, at the kitchen table, on my second cup of coffee.

12:45PM I’m still in what they call ‘flow’ and haven’t left my computer other than to grab a third cup of coffee and grab my laptop charger from the living room. I’m working on my food blog, with a goal of typing up and posting ALL my recipes.

3:00PM My eyes need a break from typing and I’m also starving. I grab a bowl of minestrone I made earlier this week, and decide to watch a few episodes of This is Us while I eat.

5:45PM Alex is home from work, and we decide to head to The Wharf for dinner. We are reviewing each and every restaurant, in alphabetical order. Starting with The Brighton. We each get a draft beer and a sandwich. $45.76

SATURDAY

8:30AM The first thing I do when I roll out of bed is head down two flights of stairs, Squeaks and Max racing right past me, to feed them and then make myself coffee. I read for a bit (The Circle by Dave Eggers) and make a quick breakfast of peanut butter toast before heading out to a morning barre class.

12:40PM It’s a gorgeous day, so I decide to walk the 35 minutes from barre back home. As I’m walking, I’m too tempted to stop for coffee at one of my favorite spots in Penn Quarter — Bakers & Baristas. I order a small dark roast. $2.75

1:25PM Once I arrive home, Alex decides he wants to grab Subway for lunch. So I head back out with him and we each order a 6″ sub with chips. $13.21

6:00PM For dinner, we decide we should review another restaurant at The Wharf. We end up at Kirwans and are both extremelly satisfied with our dinners. $87 with tip.

SUNDAY

9:30AM As soon as I wake up, I know it’s going to be I’m-not-leaving-the-house-or-changing-out-of-yoga-pants kind of day. So I make myself coffee and settle back in with my computer.

12:30PM I originally wanted to go to a 4pm barre class, but I’m too deep in work and I decide to cancel. Alex is working on his own project, and both of us are content. We eat left overs for lunch and head back to our own computers.

3PM I place a Boxed order because I see we’re running scary low on dishwasher pods (why are we running out of everything this week?) and Starbucks K-cups (oh hell no!). $40.99

7PM Since we’ve eaten out the past two nights in a row ($$$) I figure eating a nice home cooked meal out be best. Luckily I have just chicken marsala left over for the two of us. I figure I’ll pick up groceries tomorrow from Trader Joe’s on my way home from my Monday client and start the cycle all over again.