Illustration by Zara Picken
So it just occurred to me....our wedding is less than five months away! Holy merde. When did that happen? Boy do we have some work to do and one of them is to save up a little more money. How exactly were we going to do this? What adjustments would need to be made? A few weeks ago, the two of us sat down together to target exactly where a large chunk of our monthly cash was going. After looking through both of our bank statements and receipts for the month of November and December, it occurred to us just exactly how we were going to save, we'd have to cut back on something we (and when I say we, I really mean me) spend money on everyday.
Wine.
Cue in a slow motion nooooooooooooooo, as I hurdle over a table to grab a bottle of my precious red wine.
It's not like we're drinking a vintage Châteauneuf-du-Pape every night, but the wine we like costs about 7 euros, so add that with the peanuts or little goat cheese munchie balls that go with the apéro, and then there is always something else to buy like juice, soap or mint syrup. So on an average we spend about 10 euros a night at the market on items we don't really need. 10 euros a night times 7 days a week does add up when trying to save.
In order to fill the void of not cracking open a bottle of wine every night, a habit I picked up almost 10 years ago, a replacement needed to present itself as a way to celebrate the end of the day.
We're now drinking cheap straight vodka in plastic bottles.
I'm totally kidding.
The new rule for 2013 is that Sunday through Thursday, we keep a dry house. The only exception is if we're having people over, like we did last Thursday. No, we're not that annoying that we'd force our friends to suffer through this recent lifestyle change. Notice how I didn't say resolution?
Weekday booze has now been replaced with fancy shmancy designer tea that while a bit pricey, still allows us to save considerably. So where exactly does one get hipster tea in Paris? (I'm shaking my head right now in shame) Kusmi, baby.
To completely contradict my visit to the free-standing Kusmi Tea boutique within BHV, I made one little trip that some of you may be extremely disappointed with. As some of you know, Friday is my early day, so I went from teaching adult English for two hours, to a 30 minute walk to Rivoli to check out the sales of almost every store (yes, both H&Ms), and by the time noon hit I was in serious need of sustenance. Just a little something to hold me over until I got home to heat up a bowl of the stracciatella soup I made the evening before. It had been over four hours since I had eaten, and I needed something toute de suite. I also wanted something naughty like potatoes, preferably fried, and most definitely from Chez McDo. This is what happens when I wait too long between meals! Bad choices!
I found the nearest location on Rue du Renard and after waiting on a twenty-five minute line (because apparently I wasn't the only one who had a craving for the golden arches), I picked up a medium sack of deluxe potatoes to-go. Lying to myself that I would only eat a few and save the rest for later, I popped two wedges in my mouth, placed the paper bag at the bottom of my tote and headed over to the department store. Two wedges turned into three turned into six. In BHV, I stealthily crept my hand in my tote every other minute to pull out a potato to munch on while wandering aimlessly through each department.
With three little taters in my hand, and in pure carbohydrates bliss, I heard someone call my name. Of course I did.
Have you ever dated a guy who you thought was way too attractive for you, and sort of wondered why he was with you? That's exactly who François is to me. He's really tall, has the Parisian coolness of Louis Garrel yet the warmth and charm of say, Romain Duris. I don't have self-esteem issues but seriously you guys, François is a major beaugosse who could be dating Clémence Poésy. We briefly dated before I met MF. Our courtship shortly ended because he moved to Barcelona for an internship. No big story there. We're still friends on Facebook.
So to paint the picture, there I was with no make-up on, in dire need of some color in my hair and a shampoo for that matter, an under the skin red zit throbbing under my nose, and stupidly holding three greasy potato wedges in my hand in the book section of BHV. We went in for the double bisous, and I had no choice but to chew in his ear because like I said, I was in mid-bite when he had called my name.
Pulling away from our greeting he said, "Bon appétit," and was clearly very amused. I, on the other hand was not.
Not having much of a choice because there was no way in bloody hell that I was going to put the potatoes back in my bag, the two of us caught up as I stood their clinching the potatoes in my palm. Even in the States this would be a little weird. If questioned, I had already prepared a lie that "they" were giving out samples on the food floor.
Unfortunately, he never asked.
The way François was looking at me - although he was very nice - I did not at all get the impression that he felt that he really missed out on "the one", nor was he damning his internship in Spain to hell or high water. I could tell that he was more than okay with the way things had panned out. I was just mortified, because let's be real here, we always want guys that we used to date (especially the really good looking ones who more or less broke it off) to still think we've got the goods even if both parties have happily moved on. To add to my embarrassment, the essence of McDonalds was beginning to waft out of my tote.
Needing to get out, I told François that I was in a rush, a boldfaced lie, left him in the dust and headed up to Kusmi. Within fifteen minutes I was safely on the platform of metro line 1 with a tin of something called Prince Vladimir nestled next to an empty McDonald's bag in my tote.
Aside from the François fiasco, I must say that I am delighted with my purchase, and our new program has been much easier than expected. While some nights are more difficult others, for example, last night when fresh snowfall and a glass of wine together make the perfect winter's treat, tea is turning out to be a pretty comforting companion as well. Habits are hard to replace, especially deep-seated ones, but it's never too late to mix things up a little. Let's see how this new change will make a difference, I suspect in more ways than just saving money...
