💀 I got a $3800 Con Edison Bill 💀

So I've switched to window shopping :) :) :)

I’ve been very bad about writing this newsletter because I’ve been pretty good about not shopping… because Con Edison (and my landlord!) completely fucked me with almost two years of “estimated” bills ending with a catch-up bill of $3800. The TLDR is: Con Ed has never (not even once!) been able to read my meter since I moved into this place in December 2017. They didn’t notify me of this either! I just got bills every month, which were on autopay, and I just lived my life until it all came to a screeching halt when I opened The Bill Of Death a few weeks ago. I yelled, I cried, I argued, and Con Ed knocked off around $600 (all fines, which my landlord has to pay) but I’m left with the rest which, as you all know, is NOT conducive to my lifestyle!

Here are the small to medium-sized joys I’ve allowed myself in the last few weeks followed by an extremely long list of things I did not buy.

1) I took Archie to the vet last week and made my usual post-vet stop at Natty Garden nursery in Prospect Heights. It’s across the street from the vet and Archie is usually tired enough from all the excitement that he’ll remain mostly calm as I browse all the beautiful plants. They had just gotten a shipment of giant monstera plants (aka the Instagram plant) and slightly taller bird of paradise plants. I’ve seen monstera plants this size, and with split leaves, go for over $100 so when I saw these were $49 I lined them up and picked what I thought was the best one. (If you live closer to Williamsburg, Sprout has similar sized monsteras for slightly less at $45 and they will repot it for you in the store. They’re also available on Amazon, though that’s a risk. And if you’re a plant murderer…I have this fake one from Ikea in my living room and I love it.)

2) I sold a bunch of unworn stuff in my closet to make room for a few Paloma Wool pieces. I got this incredible blue sweater and a wool blend wrap top.

The sweater is also available in cream, but it’s more expensive at that boutique. For some reason, Liberty London has almost the entire new collection at a slightly cheaper price, plus you get an extra 10% off your first purchase if you make an account, which I did! I wore both of these immediately. Both outfits are in the Lewks highlight on my Instagram :)

3) I’ve been casually looking to replace a pair of black heels the dog ate earlier this year and I finally found a decent pair on sale (plus extra sale!) at Anthropologie. It took serious self control to not get them in gold, but one of you should!

4) I upgraded my iPhone and got my first case in at least 5 years. I’m not a phone shatterer but I became one just days before I was supposed to exchange my old phone for a new one. I have Apple Care+ (its included in Apple’s upgrade program) so the repair only cost $29. The case is FINE but it gets in the way of wireless charging, which is extremely annoying!!

5) I went back for more Renew underwear at Everlane, including a second bralette. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Bonus: This is not something I bought but a cool thing I stumbled upon on Reddit. A Redditor shared her Airtable base for wardrobe tracking. It’s a great way to keep track of what you have, how often you wear things and cost per wear, among other things. Tracking the outfits is a bonus! Im bookmarking this project for a cold/rainy weekend.

All the things I bravely walked away from:

• Listen, I don’t know what my dumb ass was doing in the Rachel Comey store but I ended up trying a few things on and fell in love with a $600 jumpsuit that I obviously did not buy.

  

• I’m obsessed with this surprisingly fancy Ikea lamp that I know will find its way into my home very, very soon. I also love this tiny round guy.

• Is anyone looking for the same round, brass mirror that everyone and their mother has? Me too. This is the best and cheapest one I could find.

• Not sure what I was thinking here but this tab has been open for over a week.

• Someone PLEASE buy this cursed cat lamp. I cry laughing every time I look at it.

• This is a cute rug, if anyone’s shopping for a 2x3.

• I’m abstaining from the Madewell sale-on-sale but these earrings are great and so is this beaded Paloma Wool bag.