Little Luxuries

[Gypsy]

What are the little things you splurge on that make life brighter.

Not things that are expensive, but that are expensive FOR WHAT THEY ARE, but that you love and splurge on anyway.

I'll start. I adore this hand cream from L'Occtaine. At $12 an ounce it's expensive but... worth the indulgence as it always makes me smile. http://usa.loccitane.com/pivoine-flora-hand-cream,82,1,29268,263846.htm the scent is Peony and it's called Privoine Flora.

Your turn...

 

[jaysonsmom]

Just bought a $7 quart of Baskin Robbins Ice cream, because generic supermarket stuff just doesn't do it for me.

 

[SB621]

I love to buy gap clothes for my son. He is tall and heavy set in a muscle type of way so clothes from other places don't usually fit. I find GAP to be expensive but I love how he looks in them.

I like to have massages and my hair professionaly dyed.

I also like organic milk which is usually twice the price of regular milk

 

[baby monster]

Ha, luxury is in the eye of the beholder . My mother thinks it's very luxurious for me to buy starbucks coffee every morning. "Can't you boil a kettle?"

 

[asscher_girl]

Definitely my Le Mer Moisturizing Cream, at $155 an oz, it's crazy expensive but I love it. And actually a 1 oz pot will last me 5-6 months so I easily justify it... only $30/month, that's a great deal!

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/la-mer-moisturizing-cream-ultrarich-cream/3057002?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=1045&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-browseresults-_-1_3_A

I also love, love, love Fresh's sugar lip treatment. $22.50 for chapstick... what? yeah but it's awesome
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/fresh-sugar-lip-treatment-spf-15/3493001?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=60137760&fashionColor=&resultback=4079&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-searchresults-_-1_11_D

The funny thing is, I use god ole Panteen shampoo and conditioner, lol!

 

[TooPatient]

Just bought a $7 quart of Baskin Robbins Ice cream, because generic supermarket stuff just doesn't do it for me.

Have you tried Talienti gelato? QFC has them on sale (from $5.99/pint... or is it $4.99/pint?) for $3.79/pint but if you buy 5 products it is only $2.79/pint. (you can mix/match with other stuff like toilet paper & kitchen cleaner if you don't want 5 pints of gelato in your freezer)


Luxuries:

Talienti gelato or sorbet (LOVE the sea salt caramel, roman raspberry, banana/caramel, double chocolate, Mediterranean mint...)

Spring water -- I only drink Whole Foods brand spring water or QFC spring water. The other brands just aren't as good. I don't drink tap water. Ever.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I like to buy organic veggies/ fruit, hormone free animal products and stuff with highest quality grading. And when I'm in the mood, I'll buy whatever I'm craving and not care about the price, like a $3 pear. I notice most of my luxuries are food related.

 

[Begonia]

Life is too short for cheap chocolate and crappy coffee.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Just bought a $7 quart of Baskin Robbins Ice cream, because generic supermarket stuff just doesn't do it for me.

Have you tried Talienti gelato? QFC has them on sale (from $5.99/pint... or is it $4.99/pint?) for $3.79/pint but if you buy 5 products it is only $2.79/pint. (you can mix/match with other stuff like toilet paper & kitchen cleaner if you don't want 5 pints of gelato in your freezer)


Luxuries:

Talienti gelato or sorbet (LOVE the sea salt caramel, roman raspberry, banana/caramel, double chocolate, Mediterranean mint...)

Spring water -- I only drink Whole Foods brand spring water or QFC spring water. The other brands just aren't as good. I don't drink tap water. Ever.

Never tried Talienti gelato, will have to look out for it since we don't have QVC in so. Cal.

 

[minousbijoux]

I like to buy organic veggies/ fruit, hormone free animal products and stuff with highest quality grading. And when I'm in the mood, I'll buy whatever I'm craving and not care about the price, like a $3 pear. I notice most of my luxuries are food related.

This exactly and fresh cut flowers, which are my reason to clean my house since they look so lovely

 

[minousbijoux]

QFC? QVC? What are these?

 

[April20]

QFC? QVC? What are these?

QFC is a grocery store chain. I want to say they're owned by the same parent company as Kroger or by Kroger.

 

[Rosebloom]

Organic food in general - grass fed beef ribeye steaks, these amazing raw vegan coconut oil based tarts, sustainable wild (expensive) sea food, marcona almonds, avocados...
Valet parking at my children's doctor's office is $3 more than the lot a block away. That's a luxury I love!
Weekly house cleaning.
I spend an absolute fortune on my son's half day preschool. But it is an incredible place, he is thriving there, and we can afford it. Definitely a luxury though!

Hmmm... I seem to have a lot of little (and big) luxuries!

 

[TooPatient]

Just bought a $7 quart of Baskin Robbins Ice cream, because generic supermarket stuff just doesn't do it for me.

Have you tried Talienti gelato? QFC has them on sale (from $5.99/pint... or is it $4.99/pint?) for $3.79/pint but if you buy 5 products it is only $2.79/pint. (you can mix/match with other stuff like toilet paper & kitchen cleaner if you don't want 5 pints of gelato in your freezer)


Luxuries:

Talienti gelato or sorbet (LOVE the sea salt caramel, roman raspberry, banana/caramel, double chocolate, Mediterranean mint...)

Spring water -- I only drink Whole Foods brand spring water or QFC spring water. The other brands just aren't as good. I don't drink tap water. Ever.

Never tried Talienti gelato, will have to look out for it since we don't have QVC in so. Cal.

It is so good! I've only found one I don't like (peanut butter cup ). The quality is really very good.

Talienti


QFC = grocery store (Kroger family of stores just like Fred Meyer)
QVC = TV shopping channel my grandmother loved to buy from (not sure if they have gelato or not!)

 

[movie zombie]

movies: i see almost everything.
today was a 3 movie day: Still Mine, Blue Jasmine, and Elysium.
art house and summer blockbuster.
not really a splurge in the true sense of it but given the 20 miles one way it takes me to get to a movie theatre even at matinee prices its costing......and given I see almost everything, well, it does add up.

 

[packrat]

Do Cappuccino Moolatte's from DQ count? Otherwise, I don't really do anything..hair cuts maybe? Our yard is the only luxury I can think of where little things cost-wise add up to a lot, that we get a lot out of for ourselves.

Um..tattoos! Those are splurges we don't really need that we enjoy.

 

[Laila619]

Well, I don't think it's a luxury per se, but I always get Diet Coke from McDonald's. It's much cheaper to buy a 24 pack of cans, but McDonald's Coke and Diet Coke is so much better! Most of the little things I treat myself to is food stuff: gourmet candies, fancy beverages, coffees, etc.

 

[rosetta]

I love movies.

I try and go every Wednesday with my hubs on a 2 for 1 deal. We are a ten min stroll away from a theatre so we can make time easily.

How was Elysium?

Other luxuries: the cleaner! Tom Ford and Burberry makeup. Niche perfume (£100+ a bottle and I have 53!)

ETA: forgot to quote you MZ!

 

[decodelighted]

I also love, love, love Fresh's sugar lip treatment. $22.50 for chapstick... what? yeah but it's awesome
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/fresh-sugar-lip-treatment-spf-15/3493001?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=60137760&fashionColor=&resultback=4079&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-searchresults-_-1_11_D

Agree. Worth it. Reminds me I need to order another Rose tinted one as mine is so low it's now an "innie".

Last weekend I bought my first Farmer's Market bunch of fresh flowers of the summer. That cheered me up all week for $7 so $1/day?

 

[ame]

La Mer Cleansing Gel (which is like liquid gold right now...since it's between twice yearly batches! My SA just called me that he had one for me and secured it for me knowing I was on a long flight back home!). It's one of the few facewashes that doesn't give me a massive rash, and no breakouts. My hair products...important to keep my hair up.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Organic food in general - grass fed beef ribeye steaks, these amazing raw vegan coconut oil based tarts, sustainable wild (expensive) sea food, marcona almonds, avocados...
Valet parking at my children's doctor's office is $3 more than the lot a block away. That's a luxury I love!
Weekly house cleaning.
I spend an absolute fortune on my son's half day preschool. But it is an incredible place, he is thriving there, and we can afford it. Definitely a luxury though!

Hmmm... I seem to have a lot of little (and big) luxuries!

I don't see organic foods as a luxury because some of the non-organic is too scary to even be called food, but with that in mind, quite boringly, mine would be organic chicken and beef. Since food is a necessity, I'll say my little luxuries are books (I buy more than I can ever possibly read) and candles. There are a bunch more...I enjoy the little things...I'll have to look around to see other things.

 

[missy]

I'm with the other PSers who spend a lot on the food they enjoy. Food is not a luxury ofc but being choosy about which food we buy certainly is. I buy lots of organic produce because I love fresh fruits and vegetables and it is good for you. When I am not being vegan (I fluctuate b/w vegan and pescetarian- I eat a vegan diet in the late autumn through the spring and eat an occasional pescetarian diet in the summer) I also buy sustainable wild seafood always making sure that it is not on the endangered list.

I cannot think of any other little luxuries (besides housecleaning services) as I loathe spending money on coffee or lunches outside the house and rarely do and I never get my nails done anymore. I get my hair cut only about 3x a year and never color it professionally. In fact I am trying to go grey gracefully now but not sure if I will be able to go through with it. Hoping I look OK with grey because there are some brunettes that look amazing with grey hair-just not sure I will be one of them. I wear minimal makeup and usually buy inexpensive drugstore brands when I do. I spend a lot on my sunscreen but do not consider that a luxury.

My dh spends money on top shelf liquor so that's one of his little luxuries and his books and he's the one that insists on the housecleaning services. All the rest of what he likes to spend money on isn't so little LOL and I guess that's what we have in common. Most of our passions can be expensive but the one we enjoy the most costs nothing and that's spending our free time together.

 

[lknvrb4]

I like to buy organic veggies/ fruit, hormone free animal products and stuff with highest quality grading. And when I'm in the mood, I'll buy whatever I'm craving and not care about the price, like a $3 pear. I notice most of my luxuries are food related.

I do exactly this as well. Having good quality food to put into our bodies is more important to me than other things.

 

[Smith1942]

Fun topic!

My little luxury is dinner at my favourite neighbourhood bar. Comfiest bar in the whole of Boston, with padded bar stools with backs, no "lip" on the edge of the bar - it's a huge granite thing. I'm friends with all the wait staff and I've met amazing people in there. Fishermen, make-up artists, detectives, you name it. I made two of my good friends from the neighbourhood in there, and one is a pharmacist at MGH which is hard-core as she goes to codes and is in the ER and the OR etc, and another neighbourhood friend from the bar is a hairdresser. I was friends with him for many months, and eventually we arranged that he would cut my hair. Only then did I Google him, and found that he trained at the Aveda Institute, does many magazine shoots including Playboy, and is the hairdresser of Lady Gaga and Jane Krakowski! And he charged me mates' rates of $50, which I objected to - don't want to stiff him just 'cos he's a mate.

But it IS expensive. Since I stay in there socialising for hours and I like New Zealand sauvignon, the bill always come to about $40. I go there too much - the owner said there should be a plaque on the bar with my name - but I love it. It totally relaxes me.

Once, there was a very tactile couple at the end of the bar. She was about 35, and he was about 60. Turns out they were marine scientists from a boat docked here, both married, and having an affair. They told the guy next to them, who promptly turned round and told the person next to him, and over the course of a few hours the news spread all the way down the bar!

 

[Meezermom]

My little luxuries are niche fragrances. Fragrances that are not mainstream or found in Department Stores.

 

[movie zombie]

rosetta, Elysium starts out good but seems to become formulaic towards the end.
but, hey, when you've seen as many movies as I have over the years its easy to become a "critic".....LOL.
not the best summer block buster out there but certainly not the worst either.
it is the director's first Hollywood film.

 

[charleston1]

Pedicure every month, 12 months of the year. Years ago I had an ingrown toenail on the big toe (big ouch) and since having a pedicure every month religiously have not had another ingrown toenail.

Other small luxuries I can think of: Don Julio tequila (life is too short for cheap tequila), mango salsa made in house at Whole Foods and Tortilla chips made in house at Whole Foods - cannot go back to the salsa in a jar and chips in the bag.

 

[minousbijoux]

You know, this is a dangerous thread for me; now I'm thinking that I should try more luxuries like perfume and monthly pedicures (hey, I've had ingrown toenails too ), and movies, and...

 

[VRBeauty]

497 black truffle and white cheddar popcorn. About a buck a handful, maybe a bit more. I can't be near a Cost Plus without buying a bag or two.

 

[JewelFreak]

Talenti gelato is heaven in a jar! I buy that too at our local supermarket. Double chocolate, straciatella (chocolate chip) & the vanilla bean, tdf!

I get my hair professionally colored & foiled once a month, at a salon where they give you a free neck & shoulder massage at the start of the appt. Cannot exist without it.

About 4 times/yr I buy filet mignon instead of sirloin or strip steak. Used to do it all the time but it got too expensive -- cut into my gem budget.

--- Laurie