Spring Pretty and Pretty Thrifty too! Perfectly Preppy...

Spring's prettiness is slowly coming into the cottage here...

Spring's influence in celadon green tones on the computer n' notebook

Fascinating reading for this Winter into Spring & into the rest of the year

This Winter I am eagerly anticipating Spring...what with actual snowfall early this morning here along the coast of southern South Carolina...for us, this has been quite a chilly winter indeed!

This winter I have also really enjoyed reading a book that I purchased after seeing a couple of good reviews about it: We Have Met The Enemy- Self-Control in an Age of Excess by Daniel Akst. Great food-for-thought and the cover with the doughnut-bomb is too too apt, love it!

I enjoy reading any book about society, culture, economics and the virtues of thrift and this one is definitely a read well worth undertaking. Akst now ranks up there to me with several other current authors within this genre styling including Juliet Schor, David Shi, Barbara Ehrenreich and Bill McKibben. But above all, I'm enjoying his book especially, most especially, as the author incorporates a whole lot of great quotes and theories from many of my favorite philosophers about self-control, discernment, editing ourselves and "enoughness"...

And so, with feeling "enoughness" myself lately as to various things like my wardrobe, books, plants, bibelots, decorative items for the house and cottage and such...I've decided to do an experiment this year and limit myself to $100.00 a month Cheerful Cash where this is the anything-extra fund beyond the usual bills, savings, tithing, investments, charitable contributions, garden supplies and such however... yes, this'll be a fun-fund, but also somewhat practical, purposeful....somewhat ;)

Here towards the end of this month, I'm up to $70.00 spent so far and it's all Pretty Springy Preppy in anticipation of the season to come and amazingly...excepting a computer-cover and a magazine, everything was on Clearance! Last Season-who cares?! We're Preppies, we don't "do" the "latest" 24/7, we mostly wear the "classics" season after season, year after year and...decade after decade. Generation after generation of use actually when it comes to things like pearls, cashmere twin sets, tweed blazers, summer houses and so forth.

Of course I don't have to spend one hundred dollars every month for sheer fancy and frivolity. If I don't spend that or up to that then that'll be just fine as well. The point is to enjoy some sort of monetary self-discipline this year within the "extras" category which usually with me isn't limited, monitored or even thought about really um, to be completely honest.

This hundred dollars spending limit was inspired by McKibben's book, Hundred Dollar Holiday.

From the photos above, the break-down of frivolity so far in January has been:

A Japonesque-design computer cover from Skinit.com ordered online.

Bandelino strappy-heeled metallic hued pumps

Ralph Lauren silk scarf in my favorite tropical-brights for Spring and Summer wear galore'

Lilly Pulitzer's Squeeze scent...super-delicious, yes I've already spritzed it

Babkgaard orange leather plaid-stitched paperweight since I actually use these in the office

Pure Style Outdoors book that's absolutely wondrous and very garden-rooms inspirational

The Spring Fashion edition of Marie Claire magazine for, er, fashion trend research but of course

Oh, and the small green notebook next to my Japonesqued-computer? That's where I'll keep track of my monthly fun-fund expenditures and this'll also serve as a journaling of what all strikes my fancy as this year moves along.....should be interesting to chronicle...

Enoughness-experiencing this year with little dashes of cheer n' frivolity.......I'm ready for it!