I love rainy days and taking walks with close friends (Holly) and the Yale Co-op bookstore and Kate Spade organizers ($75.00) and pencil cases ($45.00) and adorable (cliche) magnets that read "Be the change you want to see in the world" and "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." I love cute tan J.Crew jackets with ruffles that cost $198 for no apparent reason, and I love expensive medium chai lattes that cost $3.89 when a hazelnut coffee is merely $0.90. In this economy, it's difficult to find money to spend on groceries or on a haircut (I am probably at least 2 weeks overdue on that front), never mind for indulgences such as the ones listed above. I don't need Vera Bradley thank you cards to adequately thank my loved ones, I don't need to buy every book that I read (what? the library?) and yet I do. Lately, Jeff and I have been working together to find ways to cut costs and save more since this economy is negatively affecting our usual budget. September is our trial month--we are doing our best to be frugal and go out as infrequently as possible, and to date we have been fairly successful. We're not Ralph Waldo Emersons by any stretch of the imagination, but we realize that to live and still feel productive in today's world, we have to take it down a level. So if that means we can't always go out during the week when friends ask, or if we just order one martini instead of four :), it's nothing personal. It's just business.