$100 Fun Things Budget | October 2019

November has sort of gotten away from me.  In the blink of the eye it’s mid-November already.  I’ve had things going on that I will tell you about in a month or so, maybe two. Nothing to be alarmed about, but it has kept me busy.

It’s time for the belated October 2019 edition of the “$100 Fun Things Budget”!  The below are the items I purchased using my $100 Fun Things Budget.  To read the rules of what falls under this budget, please read my previous post that talked about it.

October 2019:  $96

1. Adidas Lite Racer Cloudfoam Slip-On Walking Shoes  $22
2. Max & Mia The Essential Travel Cardigan  $25
3. Felina Comfyz lounge set  $13
4. Sarasa 4+1 Multi Pen Doraemon Time Travel Silver special edition  $15
5. Sarasa Select Ink refills  $7
6. Zebra Mildliner Doraemon Time Travel edition  $15

I had two pairs of Skechers slip on walking shoes that I loved and wore for like 3 years.  They’ve been worn out, so I bought the Adidas from Costco.com.  They were a good deal for $22 (but are no longer available on their website).  I had read that they run HUGE.  I’m normally a size 6.5-7 in women’s shoes.  I decided to buy a size 6 and they’re still quite big!  I have to wear thick socks so my feet don’t slide around in them.  So they do run HUGE, if you are interested in them.

I ADORE the Max & Mia travel cardigan!  They feel soooo soft, exactly like the popular Barefoot Dreams circle cardigans, except waaaaaaay cheaper at $25!  I got it in store at Costco, because I wanted to wear it on my two plane trips in October.  On plane rides it feels like you’re wearing a soft blanket!  I loved it so much that I went back to Costco two weeks later to buy more as Christmas gifts, but by then they only had size L and bigger, and none of the people I was buying for were that size.  Too bad!  And it’s not on Costco online, so no dice.  I linked to Amazon above but it’s also large size and above, and costs more.  It’s still cheaper than the Barefoot Dreams version though!

I also bought the two piece Felina Comfyz lounge set at Costco in store.  They were on major sale at $13!  Both the top and the bottom are so soft and comfy.  I’ll definitely get a lot of cozy use out of it this winter! 

By the way, I count clothes & shoes in my Fun Budget because lord knows I have enough of clothing that I do not NEED anymore, so I have to use my fun budget to purchase them.

The next three items are all Doraemon related. 

It’s a long nostalgic story, but I started reading Doraemon comics (manga) in Chinese when I was in early grade school in Taiwan.  It was originally published in Japanese but translated into Chinese.  (He’s a robotic cat who time travels.)  I still have some of those books!  Long story short, over 40 years later Doraemon is still quite big in Japan.  I noticed that Amazon even have the mangas translated into English, so a couple of years ago I bought and downloaded some of them to read on my iPad.  I *LOVED* reading them as a kid, and I just want to keep reliving it, you know?  Lo and behold, I was on Instagram the other day and Tokyo Pen Shop announced they had Doraemon special limited edition pens in stock.  I was so excited that I went to the website right away the bought the multi-pen, different colors of refills for it, and the mildliners.  If you love Japanese pens and stationery, I highly recommend Tokyo Pen Shop.  They’re actually based in the US (Iowa), but source all their special items from Japan. 

Just look at the different Doraemon facial expressions on each highlighter!  It makes me smile every time I see it!

Doraemon multi-pen with 4 gel ink colors and a mechanical pencil.

My entire pen collection is swatched in a big notebook that I call my “comPENdium” (ha ha, get it?)  If you are interested I will write a post about my comPENdium soon.  It’s indexed by type of pen and everything!  It even includes all my fountain pens and ink refills.  I keep the comPENdium updated because it’s fun to look at, but also so I don’t accidentally buy the same pen when I already have it.

That’s it for my October Fun Budget purchases!  I’m making my list for Black Friday sales as we speak.  I have gift budgets for my family and a few friends that I’m purchasing gifts for.  I also have a budget for myself.  Top of my list is a new Canon Pixma for printing photos for scrapbooking!  I’m totally excited to jump back into scrapbooking.  My 7-year old Canon Pixma MG5320 finally bit the dust a few months ago.  I can only scrapbook if I can print photos at home, so I need to buy a new printer.  Hoping for good Black Friday sales!