Cost of Excellent Blowout? Priceless

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

It was another Uber-heavy day, since Dan needed the car. I usually go to a salon I can walk to in 20 minutes, but I went back to Rachel, a stylist I loved years back. She is now at Gumdrop, on the other end of Montclair--which is too long a walk. Gumdrop is right next to Cafe Giotto on Church Street. I'm not happy about wasting that $21 for wheels, but...

I think I'm going back to weekly blowouts. I stopped to save money and to try to embrace my curls, but you know what? I really miss them. The polish and glamour.  I will have to trim back somewhere else, though, if I splurge on this pampering/TCOY again.

• Whole Foods, quart of sweet organic strawberries, bag organic lemons, pasta, romaine hearts, cucumber, crumbled feta, bananas and long baguette. I realize I will have to add a flowers/garden category starting this month. I love blossoms, indoors and out, and so do the bees and hummingbirds [in garden]. Flowers/garden, 2 huge bags composted organic soil, on sale for $10 vs. $16.99 each; hyacinths in pot for Fig, $5; 2 white tulip pots for us, $1.99 each; and box of bulbs to plant in garden, 75 cents. Also single-issue magazine, America's Test Kitchen Best-Ever Lost Recipes, looks fabulous, $9.95 + tax.  Total, $70.14.
• Repaired windshield wiper, cost $0, thanks to our amazing, kind-hearted mechanic.
• Uber to Gumdrop with Patrice [a man], including $1 tip, $10.42.
• Gumdrop, impeccable blowout by Rachel, $40. Shampoo/condition by Bre, who told me all about the Oribe [nice high-end!] products she was using at the sink. Generous tips for both since first time there, and I didn’t have single bills. Total, $55.
• Cafe Giotto, small, made-from-scratch potato gnocchi Bolognese to go, with tip, and jar of imported artichokes in oil, total $23.85. [I was short on cash, offered to put jar back in pantry but nice woman said I can just give $5 next time.]
• Uber from Gumdrop with Maurice, including $1.50 tip, $10.68.

• I FORGOT TO PUT THE COST OF GROOMER THURSDAY FOR SUG'S BATH AND HAIR STYLING. ADDING TWO DAYS LATER, $65 + tip, $75. BUMMER. NOW ALL NUMBERS UP FOR APRIL. I'M GOING TO ADD A PETS/VET $ BREAKDOWN STARTING AT END OF MONTH.

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $170.09.
MONTHLY SPEND AS OF APRIL 5 $775.73.
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND SO FAR THIS MONTH: $151.14.

It's 6:25 p.m. and I'm signing off here, have other writing to do. But instead of ballooning today's spend even more by ordering takeout on this rainy Friday, am going to make that romaine salad [with my friend Rach's homemade dressing] and turkey meatballs, using meat in fridge.