Evicting the roommates was a swift affair once I called in the big guns. You'll remember from last time that they had stopped paying rent and the situation was dire. M flew in from Seattle to "negotiate" (a punched hole in the wall was involved as I recall - the Czech girl's boyfriend was the temperamental sort). I was cowering somewhere out of sight and didn't witness the event. The couple left with a string of muttered Czech words trailing behind, cursing my name, I'm sure. Freed from thongs ... Read more
A Debt-Free Life Part 3
He went ballistic. Telling M about my debt was not going well. He started to do the frantic head-clutching move reserved for extreme stress and duress, and he looked at me like he'd never seen me before. I bawled. "How much???" He practically keened and clutched his head some more. And here, I have to confess that I shaved off a few thousand dollars because I was scared out of my wits, but then quickly admitted the real sum because at this point our future together seemed unlikely. What ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Alpine Coat Take 2
Good morning! Part 3 of the Debt-Free Life installment is in development, but friends, I was unprepared for how much it took out of me to write part 1 and 2. So I had to take a breather with some Christmas sewing and also put final touches on a coat over the weekend. Turns out, it's far less mentally taxing to wrangle fake fur than it is to look through all of my old journals during that period in my life to form a coherent post. So Wednesday for sure. As K likes to say, I pinky ... Read more
Happy Friday + A Debt-Free Life Part 2
Happy Friday! When we last left off, I had utterly lost control of my financial situation. The thing is, it didn't look like it. On the surface, that tipping point seemed so insignificant, so logical. Imagine this: I am newly graduated, fresh-faced and eager to make my mark in the business world. I've garnered a job at a swanky beachside marketing company, overlooking the frenetic consumer activity of the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade shopping district. I am earning more money than I ... Read more
Thoughts + A Debt-Free Life aka Kicking the “Should”s
I have been feeling a little deflated about blogging lately. I've talked about this before, I know, and I've pondered whether I've become too predictable because I'm such a routine-lover. I can confidently say that I'm not dialing it in by any stretch and I still love sharing my creations and each comment still makes me feel giddy. But I've also been conflicted about what I'm doing (at what point is too many dresses for one child? Probably about 100 dresses ago) and haven't been pouring myself ... Read more