I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s trying to cut back on superfluous spending lately—cramped budgets! Looming holidays! Insane daycare costs! Medical co-payments! Babysitters! Pants for my son who keeps getting taller but not wider so nothing ever fits, ever!—so I thought it would be fun, and possibly even useful, to share a few of the things we’ve bought lately that have been worth every penny and then some. Caveat: these have to be things we’ve bought for ourselves, not for our kids, okay?

I’ll go first:

1) A pair of Lucky “Lola” Skinny Jeans. I am not a huge fan of the skinny jean, but I’ve been inexplicably craving a pair this year. These aren’t as comfortable as my broken-in everyday jeans, but they’re nearly not as bad as I expected them to be. The waist isn’t too low (bonus!), and the fit over my thighs isn’t, like, sausage-casing tight. They work perfectly with boots, without bagging at the knees. If you’re in the market, give this style a try!

2) Bare Escentuals Multi-Tasking Minerals Bisque. This stuff can be used as a concealer or an eyeshadow base. I use it to sweep a little powder above my eyes up to the brow and I don’t know HOW it works but it somehow makes my eyes pop, my eyebrows look more groomed, and my entire face seems softer. Bonus: it takes all of 2 seconds to put on. LOVE.

3) “Percussion Gun”, White Rabbits. I don’t know anything about this band—I think this was an iTunes Genius recommendation—but oh my god, I could listen to this song over and over and over and OVER. Which in fact I have been doing.

5) Pureology ScalpCure Shampoo and Conditioner. When my stylist was cutting my hair last weekend she suggested this brand and at first I was kind of embarrassed, because what do you mean I need dandruff shampoo? Well, FINE, I guess my scalp does get dry and flaky sometimes, especially this time of year when the air is so dry inside. Normally I just switch to the Neutrogena T Gel stuff for a day or two when that happens, but this Pureology smells SO much nicer and feels much easier on my hair. Plus, it totally works! No more surreptitiously blowing on my shoulders when I’ve got a black shirt on.

5) Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. The Amazon blurb starts out describing this book as “Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration.” It’s an absolutely fascinating read, deeply satisfying on a number of different levels. You can simply enjoy the fast-paced story that builds up to a fifty-mile foot face made up of semi-crazed ultrarunners and a tribe of nearly superhuman Tarahumara Indians, or you can also soak up the brain-bending thesis about why we were born to run and why the current plethora of overly cushioned fancy athletic shoes is making it so hard on our bodies to do so. Finally, I can almost guarantee reading this will change how you think about running, and light a fire in your soul to get out there and give it a try.

Okay, your turn! Favorite things you’ve bought (for you) lately: GO.

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