Simple Living

Got into gardening thanks to Covid lockdown and have 7 plants so far in my home with a plan to increase it to a total of 8. My Sansaviera is my oldest plant at 3 years since I’ve had it and it’s grown so much I had to repot it to a larger 8 inch pot and also was able to propagate part of it in its original 5 inch pot. I’m keeping it simple and have them only in my living room and bedroom.  Most of my plants are 2-3 years old now so I’m repotting to larger pots and refreshing the soil. 8 inch Sansaviera Parlor Palm 6 inch Xanthosoma - Elephant’s Ear 5 inch Sansaviera x2 Epipremnum aureum - Golden Pothos Update - 1/13/24 - Xanthosoma Picked up my 7th plant for $14.99 at Lowe’s a Xanthasoma or Elephant’s ear.  I was debating that or a Monstera but wanted to try this one.  It’s quite nice and look forward to it growing to double its size; if that’s feasible. I’m going to reserve my 8th and final plant to be a larger 10-12 inch pot and really considering a parlor palm as I wait for my small

Another year, another review of my personal collections.  My last review was in 2021.  I've dropped the Whisky collection as I'll treat it as consumables. Headphones -- 8 -- $600 Tech -- 11 -- $3,000 Watches -- 6 -- $8,000 Swiss Army Knives -- 34 -- $500 Sneakers -- 7 -- $700 Fountain Pens -- 4 -- $400 I. Total Value ~ $13,200 The value of my collections is actually modest as only a few items make up the bulk of the monetary value primarly my Rolex, Omega and iPhone 14 Pro.  Remove those and its about ~$2,400 value of rest of my 'stuff'.   This may change as I'm contemplating a major purchase in 2025 and finally acquire either a Rolex Submariner 14060 or an Omega Speedmaster Professional budgeting ~$4,000 to $8,000 for such a major acquisition.  This would double the value of my collections.   II. Full Collection 1. Headphones -- 8 Decreased by -1 as I chucked the AKG’s and can’t find a 3rd pair of old Apple earbuds, while same time adding several wireless options a

I want to increase my cash on hand to $1,000.  I presently have $720.  This is separate from my regular savings and retirement accounts.  I just like having some physical cash on hand. I squirrel it away in several locations and rarely keep more than $150-200 in my wallet.  Most stashes are small about $40-60. Goal are 7 stashes: Wallet - $200 Safe - $400 Med Stash - $100 Med Stash - $100 Med Stash - $100 Small Stash - $50 Small Stash - $50 I like to grow them gradually about $20 per week so it’ll take me a year to reach $1,000. If this goes to plan, I’ll do this for 2 more years adding $500 per year until I max out at $2,000 physical cash by 2026 with: Wallet - $400 Safe - $1000 Med Stash - $200 Med Stash - $200 Med Stash - $100 Small Stash - $50 Small Stash - $50

I’ve tried enough wines to select a few for my revolving selection.  These are mostly fun, drinkable table wines for an affordable price.  Mostly from Trader Joe’s, Target and Costco. My tastes range from fruit forward slightly sweet reds to dry white wines.  Sometimes I like an earthy GSM or bourdeaux, but typically I prefer nothing too overtly of any taste profile.  I also like variety and mix things up. *BB - Bulk Buy Trader Joe’s Red Wines Rancho Viejo Reserva *BB La Sonriete - Garnache *BB Fruit forward. Campi  Rudi Appassimento Rosso Puglia IGT Passito   *BB Syrupy sweet.  Similar to Meiomi. B by Fonbadet Bourdeaux *BB Revelation - Cabernet Merlot Maison Barboulot - Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah Sweet. Patroferno Appassimento Puglia Primitivo Sweet. Javier San Pedro Randez - Tempranillo White Wines Revelation - Chardonnay Sweet with slight bitter aftertaste.  Drink first day only. Target Red Wines Meiomi - Pinot Noir Meiomi - Cabernet Sauvignon J Lohr - 7 Oaks - Cabernet Sauvi

Tried a new restaurant in Carrollton Dallas Texas called Saemaeul that specializes in BBQ Pork.  It’s quite good as it’s very tender and delicious.  They slice it thin and looks almost like beef tongue. The ban chan side dishes were excellent and I also tried the cheese & egg side dish, tasted amazing and was like a fluffy omelette with corn and cheese.

Embarking on a 3 night road trip to Waco, Austin and San Antonio.  Riding in the 2016 Toyota Highlander V6. Planned Itinerary: Day 1 - Monday - Waco, Austin 10:30 am - Dallas to Waco 1 pm - Waco (2.5 hrs drive) 1:15 pm - Magnolia Market 1:30 pm - Lunch - Club Sandwich Food Truck 2:30 pm - Waco to Austin (3 hrs drive) 5:40 pm - Austin 6 pm - Dinner - Ramen Tatsu-ya Day 2 - Tuesday - Austin, San Antonio 7:30 am - Breakfast Hotel 9 am - Umlauf & Downtown 11 am - Domain Shopping Center 12:30 pm - Lunch - Miyo Sushi 1:30 pm - Chi Cha Boba Tea 2:30 pm - Austin to San Antonio (2 hrs drive) 4:30 pm San Antonio 5 pm - Riverwalk Mall 5:30 pm - Dinner - Dave & Buster 6:30 pm - River Walk Day 3 - Wednesday - San Antonio 7:30 am - Breakfast Hotel 9:30 am - Alamo 11 am - River Walk Boat Tour 12:30 pm - Lunch - El Castillo 1:30 pm - River Walk Mall 4:30 pm - Dinner - Ostra 6 pm - River Walk Day 4 - Thursday - Austin, Dallas 7:30 am - Breakfast Hotel 9:30 am - San Antonio to New Braunfels - Bu

I have 7 jackets thus far: Track Jackets (60-70 degrees) Adidas - Red - DUO454 - 2019 Adidas - Navy - DUO461 - 2019 Adidas - Black - 2020 Light Jackets (50-60 degrees) North Face - Venture 2 Raincoat - Navy - 2021 Generic - Bomber - Green - 2023 Middle Jackets (40-50 degrees) Uniqlo - Puffer - Navy - 2021 Winter Jackets (0-40 degrees) North Face - Ski Jacket - Brown/Green - 2023 Temperature ratings also depend on other factors including if it’s raining, windy, sunny or overcast.  I could get away with a track jacket on a sunny day with no wind even if it’s 50 degrees. I typically layer and can wear a hoodie or sweater with my light jackets to add 10 degrees of warmth.  Winters don’t get colder than 0-10 degrees so I typically am fine with the puffer over a hoodie inner layer.  The North Face Ski jacket affords me options as it includes a puffer inner layer and a hard outer shell. Future Changes - 2025 After some thought.  I’m gonna hold off on purchasing new jackets until 2025.

Couldn’t resist and picked up a pair of Air Force 1 ‘07 in larger Size 10 on sale for $65.  These feel so much better on my feet than the cramp Size 9’s and the mid sole support is a lot better than the Air Jordan 1’s. I’d prefer all white AF1’s but these are fine and will become my daily wear rotation with the AJ1’s 10.5  Next year I’ll pick up another pair of AJ1’s in Size 10.5 to complete my rotation set and leaning towards a pair of black & white’s or another two colorway combo.

Enjoyed the 22 oz Cowboy Ribeye at Al Biernat’s Steakhouse in Dallas, Texas.  Ordered it medium rare and for $70 it was worth the price. Was cooked to perfection and every bite was phenomenal.

Practicing with more white wines and champagnes and picked up for New Years a bottle of Veuve Cliquot. Tasting - Dec 2023 This was my first real champagne I’ve enjoyed outside of a wedding or major celebration and I’m liking it.  I can see now why people love it. For me it was dry like a sake or Pinot Grigio, yet had enough sweetness to make it pleasant.  It has to be served cold and a bit faster on consumption to enjoy the bubbly. Still much to learn but will add more champagne’s into rotation.

I’m going to stick to a budget around $500 for 2024.  I’m getting better as I’m on track to hit $740 for 2023. My planned items will be mostly clothes and shoes: Shoes - $86 Air Jordan 1 Low 10.5M - $86 -  Done Stan Smith White/Green 10M - $100 Clothes - $310 Bomber Jacket - $200 Polo Letterman Navy - $160 -  Done Uniqlo T-Shirts 5x - $100 Blue Jeans - $50 Watches - $40 Casio A168WG - $40 -  Done Tech - $40 iPhone 16 -TBD Anker 10k - $40  -  Done That’s basically it.  I may kick it up a bit to $800 if I need to replace other clothing items, but don’t anticipate needing much more. The only unknown is I may upgrade to the iPhone 16, if it turns out to be worth a swap from my 14 Pro.  I kinda want to standardize to Type C. Future Budgets - $300 As I near completion of my wardrobe and finish upgrading to higher quality items, I can slow down my purchases to replacement items only.  I’ll consider $175 for clothing essentials like new shirts and $125 for a new pair of shoes each year. If n

Enjoying a nice coffee weekend and stopped by the newest Summer Moon location in North Texas.  It’s getting chillier and enjoyed a very decent cappuccino.  Giving it a 7 out of 10.  Nice to find something like this outside of Deep Ellum. Another good option is Pax & Beneficia in Plano near Alma.

Hit 100k miles today on my 2015 Camry.  Granted it had 88k miles when I bought it in 2022, so really I only added 12k miles in last 22 months or about 600 miles per month. I’m driving about half the rate of the previous owner who would have to hit 1k miles per month to reach 88k in 7 years. Decade more to go…2032 Ideally, I want this car to last me an additional 70-90k miles or 10-13 more years if I continue to drive 7k miles per year. 170-190k seems reasonable as I test drove another 2015 Camry before buying this one that had that much mileage and it drove effortlessly.  I opted for the 88k mile Camry for obvious reasons.  My greater concern is not the mileage, but the number of years and it’ll hit 8 years of age in 2023 and 15 years by 2030.  That seems to be the max age for a typical Camry…and that was about when I sold my Lexus (2007-2022) so it’s plausible. Maybe 2 Decades…2042 I’m willing to be ambitious and go for 20 years or 2042 with 233k miles.  The Camry would be pushing 27

Giving the $10 Taco Bell Pass a try and it’s supposed to allow me 1 Taco per day for 30 days.  Sounds like a deal as it includes Taco Supreme’s for basically 33 cents each. Day 2 - Confirmed it works Not that I doubted it as it’s from their official app and have enjoyed my second discounted Taco Supreme.  By Day 4, I’ll have broken even. Day 23 - This was such a good deal! I’ve eaten too many discounted tacos 🌮.  It’s point of ridiculous.  Entering final week. I also scored at least 6 more free tacos from welcome gifts and other events.  By my estimate I’ve spent $10 to get about $90 worth of Taco Bell… Day 30 - And it’s done. Kinda sad but also relieved it’s over.  Getting tired of eating Taco Bell everyday.  I got my money’s worth.