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artificialqueens · 3 years

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Galactica, Chapter 61 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet opened up, Alaska chickened out, and Courtney finally had her date with Bianca.

This Chapter: Trixie widens his search for Aiden’s replacement, and Courtney gets a taste of the good life.

***

Courtney doodled absentmindedly on her notepad during Miss Fame’s Monday conference call. She was getting an update from the company that ran her European stores, and discussing the upcoming marketing plan with Alyssa. Courtney knew that she was only there in case Miss Fame wanted to add anyone to the line; since Ivy and Laganja were both on the call, she didn’t really need to be paying attention. She probably should’ve been anyway, but this was a case where a little negligence would be forgiven.

Which was good, because she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering, daydreaming about how wonderful the weekend had been with Bianca. Adore had come over on Sunday for dinner, after which Courtney almost went home, but Bianca pulled her in for an embrace and insisted that she stay another night. When she’d worried about not having any appropriate work clothes, Bianca promised to find her something from her own closet, even excited at the notion of styling her for the office.

At first, Courtney was a bit concerned about whether the thigh-high black boots were too hookerish, but Bianca was adamant that they were fashion - and she should know, right? At least her luxurious knit dress was in Fame’s approved color palette, so she was pretty sure she wouldn’t get scolded like the time she dared to wear a lime green top.

She looked down at her notebook, realizing that it was absolutely covered in hearts, and quickly flipped the page, embarrassed.

She clicked on her mouse, waking up the computer to check her emails. If she was gonna space out, she may as well make at least a halfhearted attempt at productivity. She saw that there were a few unread DMs and clicked on the window.

ROXY: Package here for you

ROXY: A big-ass box from Neiman Marcus

ROXY: From the Marie Claire messenger again

ROXY: You gonna tell me who you’re dating over there now?

COURTNEY: LOL, sorry. It’s brand new, I don’t think we’re ready to go public

ROXY: Bitch it’s just me, I can keep a secret

COURTNEY: Since when?????

ROXY: Since always!!

COURTNEY: On Friday, you told me that Jaida is getting IVF and Alyssa’s son is in rehab again

ROXY: Yeah and yet you tell me NOTHING

COURTNEY: LOL. Okay well when we’re telling people, I’ll tell you first. Deal?

ROXY: WHATEVER

ROXY: Another major delivery came for Fame’s asst from MC today

SHANNEL: OMG. BDR just came into Nina’s office in the weirdest mood. She was all smiley and she approved this dumb spread that Nina’s been pitching for 3 months.

ROXY: 21 year old pussy is good for the soul

SHANNEL: APPARENTLY

The second she could get up, Courtney raced to reception to grab the package, wondering what it could be. They’d put together a bunch of outfits with the stylist this weekend, most of which were still at Bianca’s--except for her ensemble for the party tomorrow, which was hanging in a garment bag on the coat rack, partially covered by Courtney’s jacket so as not to be too conspicuous.

When Roxy said “a big-ass box,” she wasn’t lying. Courtney’s eyes widened as she spotted the box, quickly taking it back to her own office, peeking inside while Fame was occupied with Raja. She pulled out the note first.

Stay warm. XX, B PS Don’t worry, the fur is faux

Extra curious now, Courtney reached into the box, lifting the tissue paper to see what was inside and finally just pulling it out--a beautiful, full-length, raspberry-colored winter coat with a fur-trimmed hood. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as the utter extravagance of it all.

COURTNEY: OMG Bianca!

BIANCA: Do you like it?

COURTNEY: It’s beautiful! But it’s way too much. You’re spoiling me.

BIANCA: Get used to it ;)

Courtney smiled to herself, hiding the box under the table and standing to try on the coat, positively glowing with happiness. She glanced at herself in the mirror that Fame kept by the door for “last looks,” and saw that it fit her perfectly, even across her narrow shoulders, almost as if it was tailored to her body. Which...now that she thought about it, the stylist on Saturday had taken her measurements, so maybe it was.

Just then, the door to Fame’s office opened and Raja stepped out. Courtney whirled around, a guilty expression on her face.

“Oh are...are you done? I was, um...just going to get Miss Fame another coffee.”

“Yeah, we’re done for now, you should probably stick around. Nice coat,” Raja said, brushing past her on her way out. “I’ll be back at 2 to finish. Make sure she’s fed.”

“Okay, thank-” Courtney began, finishing with “-you,” just as Raja breezed from the room.

Courtney slowly removed her new coat, hanging it carefully on the rack before heading into Miss Fame’s office to ask what she wanted for lunch.

***

Bob closed the door to Trixie’s office behind him, making a beeline towards the coffee machine. It was mid afternoon, and while there still was a bit of a home stretch to go before the holiday break, the tough decisions ahead were out of his hands.

“All I’m saying Chachki,” Jovan smiled, the man leaning against the wall. He was wearing orange trumpet pants and a blue fuzzy sweater. “Is that I can totally bedazzle your crutches.”

“What an amazing offer,” Violet drawled, her tone completely dry.

“Hey guys!” Bob grinned, sliding in next to Maxwell, his boyfriend handing the cup he had just poured. “What are we talking about?”

“The Christmas Party,” Maxwell smiled, looking up at Bob who gave him a quick peck. He was wearing a pink shirt, the cotton stretched across his chest, the khakis he wore all year looking delicious on his pert little ass.

“Right!” Bob took a sip. The Galactica Christmas Party was one of the biggest fashion events in December, Miss Fame always going all out. Bob had heard rumors around town that there’d be gigantic ice sculptures, but Roxy had told him she had seen order confirmations for a forest of Christmas trees.

Some called him and Roxy the office gossip sluts, and if the name fit, Bob wasn’t going to complain.

“I haven’t decided what I’m wearing yet.” Violet was sitting on a chair, her curled hair fastened with a golden clip, her skirt just above her knees. “This is the first time I’m not going as Fame’s assistant and I don’t have to match her or blend into the background.”

That made sense, Bob really noticing how Violet’s wardrobe had shifted from the uptight prissy bitch who had first entered their floor, more color and sharp cuts showing up in Violet’s clothes as she got to express herself more and more.

“But since there’s a good chance she’ll actually look at me since I’m going with Sutan, I have to stay on theme without being flashy or cheap or one of the million other things she refuses to accept.”

“The bedazzling offer still stands,” Jovan smiled, taking the last bite of his afternoon muffin, and Violet rolled her eyes.

“How did you two meet anyway?” Maxwell took a sip of his coffee. “You and Sutan I mean.”

Bob perked up immediately, his stomach doing a happy flip.

“Oh?” Violet looked surprised, like she genuinely hadn’t expected them to be interested. “You want to hear about that?”

“Yes!” Bob grinned. “Yes yes yes yes.”

He and Maxwell had been discussing how to get Violet to spill the dirt the entire week, and now, the chance was finally here.

“Well.” Violet paused, tapping her fingers on the table, like she was trying to decide if she should share, and Bob was about to burst with curiosity.

“Spill it!”

“He bought me a drink at the Vogue Fashion Fund, and asked me on a date a few days later.”

Bob waited for a beat, but Violet was simply smiling.

“What?! That’s it?!”

Of all the things Bob had imagined, this was by far the most disappointing answer.

“Pretty much.” Violet shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee with a glint in her eyes.

***

IVY: okay so you know i hate gossip

ROXY: Oh yeah me too gurl

IVY: lol

IVY: No really

ROXY: Yeah yeah whatcha got?

IVY: The dress Courtney’s wearing today?

ROXY: Oh yeah, she’s really upping her game

IVY: Well...it’s familiar…

ROXY: Oh yeah?

IVY: I asked Laganja to run some photos. Here’s BDR at last year’s Monsoon Foundation Charity Luncheon

[Picture: Bianca wearing the dress]

ROXY: BITCH!!!!!!!!111

***

“So yeah, these are the ones I like...what do you think?” Trixie asked, chewing nervously on the inside of his cheek. “I really need to find someone that Fame will love, she was so annoyed at the last batch.”

As Pearl picked up one of the portfolios to glance through it, she couldn’t help but notice how rough her friend looked, like he hadn’t slept in a week. He probably hadn’t, she realized, the tension in the apartment so thick you could cut it with a knife. She’d been trying to give them both space, but maybe that wasn’t a good idea.

“So, um…” She looked through the first portfolio and then picked up the next one, pausing on pages she found interesting. “Is everything okay? How are you?”

“Uhh…” Trixie scratched his head, then finally said, “It’s been a hard week.”

“I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s okay,” Trixie sighed. “We’ve got our- She’s got an appointment with a doctor tomorrow. So I guess, after that, we’ll know for sure.”

“Right.”

He didn’t seem to want to talk about it any more, so Pearl dropped the subject for the moment. She pointed to one of the photos, a stunning blue piece with dramatic shoulders, exactly the type of shapes to which Fame was generally drawn.

“This is amazing.”

“Yeah, right? She seems super talented, although I worry that she’s only been out of school for less than a year. A little green, a little…” Trixie sighed again, “Over-confident sounds mean, but…over-confident.”

“Have you spoken to all of them yet?”

“Yeah, Rita checked all their references and I had Skype interviews with all the top candidates this morning. We’re trying to move quickly, I really need to get the ball rolling before we shut down for the holidays. And with the added bonus of getting them a visa...it could be a mess. Anyway, these are the very best, but I don’t want to put them in front of Fame unless they’re actually gonna impress her.”

“Uh huh. One question though…”

“Sure.”

“Are you looking for another sociopath, or are we moving in a new direction?” Pearl asked, a teasing smirk on her face.

“You’re hilarious,” Trixie deadpanned.

“I know.” Pearl tapped on the folder, saying, “I think this one is special. There’s a lot of range, and new ideas, but very classic and chic at the same time.”

***

“Ho...ly shit…” Bianca said, the door to her town car open, watching Courtney twirl in her new coat, then open it to give her a peek at the sexy sequined mini-dress underneath. Bianca pulled her into the car, giggling, a hand immediately sliding up her bare thigh.

She was mildly surprised when her fingers came into contact with soft cotton instead of the sexy lace she’d been wearing.

“Wow, these feel...breathable.”

Courtney laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m out of fancy underwear until my next trip to the laundromat. Sorry about it.”

“Nah, I like them. Reminds me of college.” She flashed a grin at Courtney, who was now straddling her on the leather seat, arms around her neck.

“Yeah?” Courtney tilted her head, teasingly evading a kiss as Bianca chased her lips.

“Mmm…” Bianca’s fingers slipped into the panties, squeezing her ass.

“I like this, too…” Bianca’s own coat was unbuttoned since the driver had the heat on full blast, and Courtney ran her thumb along the neckline of her blazer. “You look so sexy…”

Bianca said nothing, just gave her a wicked smirk, lips finally coming into contact with her neck, lingering there, hot breath against her pulse point making her whimper.

“We should probably wait until after the-” Courtney inhaled sharply, clutching Bianca’s shoulders. “-after the party.”

“Alright, alright…” Bianca acquiesced, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and removing her hands. “I can be good if you can.”

“Debatable,” Courtney responded, her eyes flashing with a naughty glint as she sat down beside Bianca, snuggling up against her.

“It’ll be a fun little experiment.”

***

Violet was standing in Sutan’s closet in her pajamas, flipping through her clothes, her lip between her teeth.

None of it looked right, and Violet had given up on even trying on the dress she had originally gotten to go as Fame’s assistant, the skirt's mermaid cut making it impossible to move in with her crutches.

If her foot hadn’t been broken, she would have trawled her preferred vintage shops weeks ago, or would even have made a dress herself, but the party was in two days, and because of Bianca’s birthday, she couldn’t even empty her savings account to get a dress that could live up to the expectations of a Galactica party.

She was completely, and utterly, fucked.

“Fuck,” Violet sighed, dumping down in the arm chair Sutan had been sweet enough to move to his closet so she could sit.

“Violet? Are you okay?”

Violet cursed to herself, Sutan naturally catching her at a moment where it absolutely did not suit her.

“I’m okay!”

But of course, it wasn’t in Sutan’s nature to leave her alone, her boyfriends head poking through the door seconds later, a concerned expression on his dumb face.

“What’s gotten into you?” Sutan was fresh from the shower, his black and grey hair in an unstyled cloud around his head.

“You’re going to laugh.” Violet crossed her arms, the annoyance still under her skin, rolling around her body.

“Try me.” Sutan stepped inside, a towel wrapped around his hips, his hand holding it in place.

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

Sutan snorted, and Violet pointed at him.

“See!” She exclaimed. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“Okay, okay, I admit that wasn’t my greatest moment,” Sutan chuckled, giving her a quick apology kiss, Violet sinking back into the chair as he walked over to his dresser. “but the good news is that your problem is easily fixable.”

“I can’t just go out and buy a new dress.” Violet tried not to roll her eyes, tried not to make this a fight, but it was like Sutan had decided to press every single button she had. “I can’t afford it.”

Sure, she had gotten a pay bump after moving to design, but she had already used her December budget on Christmas gifts for everyone, actually spending the day with people so much more expensive than what she usually did, which was a movie on her ancient laptop and wine by herself.

“Who says you have to pay for it?” Sutan pulled a pair of pajama pants out, throwing his towel to the side, now naked which would have been weird if Violet hadn’t been used to years of dressing rooms. “I’m planning on getting a new suit anyway,” Sutan balanced on one leg, pulling the pants on, “and the shoppers at Barney’s are great at what they do.”

“Are you serious?”

“What makes you think I’m not?” Violet watched as Sutan pulled a t-shirt on too, running a hand through the hair Violet knew he’d struggle to style in the morning, but that he was also done dealing with it for the night.

“I don’t want your money.” Violet sighed, sitting up in the chair, Sutan finally ready for bed.

She liked staying with Sutan, she really did, the man kinder and more generous than Violet could ever have imagined, but she was also longing to go back to her own place, to have her own space and to spend time completely alone.

She knew her apartment wasn’t much, that it didn’t have air condition or an elevator, that she didn’t have a memory foam mattress or a dishwasher or a housekeeper that came to clean, but it was hers.

Violet knew a psychiatrist would probably consider her need for independence a flaw, something she should work on, but she didn’t want to rely on anyone ever, not even Sutan.

“I can figure it out.”

“Oh that, I don’t doubt,” Sutan smiled, holding a hand out to help Violet out of the chair. “But there is a difference,” Sutan pulled, his hand finding her hip as soon as she was upright. “Between being prideful and being stubborn, lovely eyes.”

Violet shot him a look, and Sutan laughed, giving her nose a quick kiss.

“I’m offering to buy you dresses, not a penthouse.”

Violet opened her mouth to protest, but for once, Sutan was faster.

“You’re going to several parties for my sake. Let me spend money on you.” Sutan rubbed his thumb up and down, gently caressing Violet’s hip. “Please?”

“I’ll consider it.”

***

Being at this elite music industry party with Bianca was thrilling, and Courtney was on cloud nine. She was beside herself with excitement when she got to meet Charlie Hides, unable to stop herself from gushing about her work on Tove Lo’s album.

“Well thank you, darling,” Charlie said.

“Courtney’s a singer too,” Bianca added, and Charlie’s face perked up a bit.

“Oh yeah?”

“Well, aspiring,” Courtney couldn’t help admitting, immediately kicking herself for her inability to fake it.

“She’s incredibly talented,” Bianca said, a hand touching Courtney’s elbow, grounding her.

“You should send me your demo,” Charlie said, picking up two glasses of champagne from a passing tray and handing them over.

“Really? Thank you so much!” Courtney exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that she didn’t have a demo.

“Sure thing,” Charlie said with a grin, before excusing herself to greet another guest. Before she left, she gave Bianca a hug, muttering, “Very cute, B.”

After she walked away, Bianca turned to Courtney with a smirk. “She’s subtle, huh?”

“I think I’m gonna pass out,” Courtney said, and Bianca squeezed her hand.

“You’ll be fine. You’re doing great,” she assured her. “I see another producer I know, let’s say hello. Olivia!”

She waved across the party to a beautiful Black woman with the most fabulous hair Courtney had ever seen in her life. The woman looked up, sending Bianca a beaming smile as she crossed the room to greet her.

“Bianca!”

“Hey Liv, I haven’t seen you in forever!” Bianca said, giving her a hug.

“I know! I’ve been in L.A. for most of the year. Just decided to come back to New York in time for this delightful gray sleet we’ve been having,” Olivia said, that dazzling smile softening her words.

Bianca laughed, turning to Courtney.

“Court, Olivia Lux is an awesome producer. Liv, this my friend Courtney. She’s a singer.”

“Hi!” Courtney prepared for a handshake or some air kisses, only to be swept up into a warm hug. “So nice to meet you!”

“Charlie wants to hear a demo, but she hasn’t gotten the chance to record anything yet,” Bianca said. “Any chance you’re free? Or are you still booked up solid until the end of days?”

“No, I’ve got some time in January. What kind of music do you do, sweetie?” Olivia asked, turning to Courtney with that lovely smile.

“Um… Well, I guess it’s kind of like… Pop, but kind of folk?” Courtney said, trying to think on her feet. “Like Joni Mitchell meets Kylie Minogue?”

“Sounds absolutely glorious!” Olivia said, and Courtney felt her confidence grow. “I know what it’s like when you’re starting out. That shit is terrifying.”

“I’m gonna go grab us some drinks…You two have fun,” Bianca said, leaving Courtney Olivia to talk shop.

After a couple of minutes, Courtney found herself feeling like she was with an old friend. She was just so warm and open, telling Courtney about her own career as first a recording artist, then a producer and composer, making her feel completely at ease--and shockingly interested in Courtney’s own musical taste. When Bianca returned with three cocktails, Olivia put an arm around Courtney and told her, “I’m in love with your friend.”

“Oh yeah?” Bianca said, amused. She handed them both drinks, adding, “Glad you guys are getting along.”

“Getting along? We’re gonna elope,” Olivia said, and Courtney giggled, smiling brightly, happy to have found someone so kind and down to earth.

“Mazel Tov,” said Bianca, giving Courtney a wink.

“Seriously though,” Olivia said, turning to flash Courtney that megawatt smile again. “Why don’t you hit me up and we’ll arrange for you to come into the studio?”

“That would be amazing!” said Courtney. She was so happy, she had to fight an urge to kiss the bottom of Olivia’s glittery heels.

“Perfect!” Olivia said, leaving them both with another round of hugs.

“That went well,” Bianca said, smirking at Courtney over the top of her glass.

“Yeah!”

“Come on, I want you to meet my friend Derrick. She’s a choreographer…”

Later, after about the 20th intro, Courtney began to catch on to a troubling pattern.

“Hey guys! This is my friend Courtney…”

“Meet my friend Courtney…”

“Courtney’s a friend of my sister.”

Friend, friend, friend...

At no point, to anyone, did Bianca say (or even imply) that there was something going on between them-- and Courtney wasn’t sure what to make of it. It wasn’t like she expected for Bianca to call her “my girlfriend.”

They hadn’t had that conversation, and something told Courtney that after tonight, it was a long way off.

She tried to put it right out of her head, though, and focus on the positive. She was at a great party, meeting a ton of music industry professionals, and yeah, maybe Bianca called her “friend” about 800 times, but friends were good, right? Especially considering how much Bianca loved her friends.

She continued to enjoy herself, greeting people, trying her best to learn their names, and just being grateful that Bianca had even brought her through the door. So what if she didn’t want people to know about their relationship? Or if this was just a casual fling for her? She was still doing more for Courtney and being more supportive than anyone she’d ever known.

It was close to 2 am when Bianca put a hand on her lower back and leaned in close--the most intimate gesture since they’d walked in the door.

“You ready to take off?” Bianca whispered.

“Sure,” Courtney said, slightly relieved since she could feel her own energy fading, and knew that making it to work by 7:45 the next day would be a struggle.

They said goodbye to Charlie and grabbed their coats, making their way downstairs to the waiting towncar. It wasn’t until they were on their way that Courtney really let everything hit her, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I…” Courtney swallowed.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

“You sure about that? What’s wrong?”

Courtney shook her head vigorously as traitorous tears slipped down her cheek. “Nothing’s wrong, everything’s perfect.” She wiped her face, disgusted with herself.

“Then why are you crying, angel?”

“Because…” Courtney squeezed her eyes shut, positive that she was about to ruin everything. “Because you’re just…making all my dreams come true.”

“Okay. Yeah, I can see how that would be upsetting.”

“No, it’s just…I'm scared, that it’s all gonna disappear,” Courtney said, now unable to hold back the river of tears. “You’re gonna get bored, or meet someone else, and I…I’m falling for you so hard and I know it’s too fast and I-”

“Hey, look at me.”

Courtney turned to her, eyes liquid, sniffling.

“I have been having…the best time with you,” she said, taking one of Courtney’s hands in both of hers. “And I know that it’s still new, but I said that I’d help you with your career and I will. No matter what happens with us. I promise. And I don’t break promises. Okay?”

Courtney nodded slightly, then asked, “Why don’t you want people to know about us? Are you ashamed? Are you just...already looking for a way out?”

“What?”

“You just kept introducing me as your ‘friend’ all night, and I just thought that it meant you don’t care about us, or that-”

“No! I dunno, I guess we haven’t really talked about labels, and I wanted to make sure everyone took you seriously,” Bianca said. “Took your talent seriously.”

“Oh.” Courtney sniffled, feeling a little stupid for letting her insecurites get the better of her.

“Also…you know, a lot of the people there were…mutual friends of…”

“Of?”

Bianca sighed slightly, a sheepish smile on her face, then said, “I guess it’s time to come clean to Fame and Raja, huh?”

“Really?” Courtney looked at her with surprise.

“Well, yeah. I don’t want us to feel like we’re sneaking around. That shit gets old real fast.” Bianca kissed the back of her hand. “I’ve been selfish, I was trying to do this without getting them annoyed at me, but…It’s not worth it if it makes you feel like I don’t care. Because I do.”

Courtney bit her lip, feeling like she might burst into tears again, but this time from joy. She took a deep breath, trying to get her racing heart to calm down.

“When do you want to tell them?”

“Well…the Galactica party’s on Thursday. Wanna be my date?” Bianca asked, a sly smile deepening her dimples.

Of course, they’d both been planning to go to the party, but Courtney had resigned herself to the idea that they’d be there separately. She’d even asked Tati to come as her plus one, not believing for a second that going with Bianca was a possibility. After all, it was so soon.

“That’s in two days!” Courtney exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Yeah… Does that work for you?”

For a second, Courtney felt almost dizzy, imagining walking into the party on Bianca’s arm. There was no way in hell that it wouldn’t cause a stir...but the idea of everyone seeing them together, while a bit frightening, was also terribly exciting.

“Okay. Yeah, that sounds...perfect,” she said, eyes shining happily.

“Okay then,” Bianca said softly, pressing a kiss to Courtney’s cheek.

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apricot-kingdom · 4 years

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Yami Bakura’s Cafe Au

Bakura (Yami Bakura) is a fantastic cook, he actually fed Ryou a lot whilst sharing a body. He cooked things and put them in the fridge for Ryou to find and eat, it reminds him of when he cooked with his mother. He loves to learn new things about cooking, recipes, new inventions, everything. In Au’s more so, he owns a bakery or cafe and loves baking cakes and such, drinking his coffee its peaceful but he loves it

Bakura’s cafe is in a quieter part of town, he opened it and started it up as soon as he could. Renovations took a while to get it up and running but with others help its as done and it gave him time to hire staff, and start practicing more and more recipes and pastries to sell

Bakura loves to learn as many new recipes as possible and has a lot of books from all over, he plans to travel and learn more all over the globe. Plus he just wants to travel in general

He’s definitely the best cook among the gang and often pokes at Ryou because he really needs to learn how to cook a bit better. Ryou’s just too lazy he’ll eat anything mostly what others make him so he doesn’t bother physically learning himself past a few very basics that Bakura basically forced him into learning

if he’s short staffed sometimes one of his friends will come in if their free, mostly for taking orders and stuff

he has large open windows at the front so you can easily look outside and outside has a wall for regular customers and you can put your handprint up on it so you stay apart of the ‘family’ Also. No one dares graffiti on his property, anyone whose tried has regretted it. Everyone damn well knows not to mess with him

It's a warm homely shop

Between the lot of them (other characters eg, Yuugi, Ryou, Tau and such) no one allows Bakura to work holidays they always make sure he has plans or company. Even if they don’t celebrate the holiday or he doesn’t they make sure he has company and plans holiday or not holiday related one

Bakura makes them all new year dishes and watch fireworks together on his roof or at the park close to his cafe, sometimes during the day others come in and try to help on the dishes but it's mostly just keeping Bakura company as he cooks

Bakura bakes a lot of testing dishes at home and sometimes can get carried away so he’ll throw ‘surprise’ get togethers with Ryou, Malik, Yuugi’s gang everyone in his contact list basically to come eat all the food and they usually make a games, movie night or something similar out of it

Not that he’ll admit to it any more but at the beginning he did cringe at the thought of cooking, he seriously couldn’t have cared in the slightest. He just wasn’t bothered, it wasn’t until he actually just started to do it. Either from lack of other things to do or just because. In a lot of AU’s I have, where he’s Ryou’s younger twin. He starts it up more so when he starts getting suspensions from school, so he cooks with their mother on his ‘days off’. And they spent hours together just cooking different recipes, he kept them all and treasure they deeply. He misses her a lot but he loves seeing what he can make and likes to think she’d be proud of what he’s able to create now

his clothes often smell of things he’s cooked or coffee

He use to cook a lot of stews before he found his passion for pastries and cakes Other character related scenarios below the cut:

All these are sorta stand alone scenarios since some of the information may over lap. None of these are romantic, they’re just how different characters would interact with Yami Bakura and his cafe in this au Xp

Bakura and Mako Interaction in this au If Bakura owns a cafe, he’s the cook and Mako’s on smoothies and coffees he’s great with drinks anything to do with liquids and he’s the king. They work together, in a pun harmony. Most customers know they’ll probably get a pun with these two working. On quieter days they’ll have lunch out back together Mako makes drinks and Bakura the food. Mako teases Bakura a fair bit too loosen up and if food can talk, it’ll talk if he has a say. Bakura seriously just can’t take it seriously when he’s trying to be grumpy about something petty, and Mako’s using a fish to fight the argument or patterned oven mitts. Mako also is really good at helping Bakura to ensure he gets the freshest ingredients possible and on weekends they often go to food markets together. And Mako’s taken Bakura fishing his fair amount of times, Bakura’s helpless at fishing, but he’ll cook up anything and everything Mako catches. They kiss and release the rest. They both ensure to kiss every single one they’re releasing. Kiss it for luck.

Bakura and Malik Interaction in this au Malik’s one of his most common customers to get coffee before he headed off to the garage to start work and often comes in later covered in grease, towel often hanging off his hip hair tied back into a pigtail or sometimes he’ll have a late afternoon shower and wash his hair then come just before closing. Bakura usually has a coffee with him and maybe a muffin if they have any left over and it’s not too busy still. And if something’s broken, Malik can quite often come to help repair it in his spare time. He’s pretty good with most machines and only requests a vegan friendly cake to take home after his done. Plus Bakura doesn’t mind watching him work like when he helped fix the oven or when he took apart the toaster then decided he needed to take it home to put back together

Bakura and Ryou Interaction in this au Ryou often sits in his cafe writing his stories with a tea or hot chocolate, his tables always littered with papers of all his notes and he’s got at least five notebooks if not more and three of them are usually different sizes, typing and researching on his laptop, other research books with him too and Bakura sighs as he takes up his seats with his books, careful to not put the drinks on the papers. He puts Ryou’s things behind the counter if they roll off the table or he forgets them. And he always saves something sweet if possible at the end for Ryou and Ryou happily accepts

Bakura and Yuugi Interaction in this au Yuugi set up the unofficial games corner in his cafe and people come to play games with him, from cards to checkers and so on. Whilst ordering food and drink from Bakura and on his breaks Bakura will join in the games. Yuugi will often ‘forget’ his things that conveniently all have the sticker if found call me. Sometimes Bakura will get one of his other employees to call just to mess with Yuugi and Yuugi often pouts and thanks them politely. And Yuugi understands what it’s like to be really passionate over something so sometimes they’ll meet up and do a puzzle and chat about each other’s passions, Yuugi games and puzzles and Bakura cooking, they’ll show each other magazines books and whatever else and even if they don’t always understand what the heck the other is going on about they listen very intently and ask questions now and again

Bakura and Kaiba Interaction in this au Kaiba gives huge tips, and ensures nothing shuts down the cafe, he often sends in a customer to give an ‘anonymous’ tip to Bakura. And when it’s quieter he’ll come in himself and say he’s just doing some work or Mokuba said he needed to get out, he just really enjoys Bakura’s cooking and often buys out their stock since he’ll come later, then he takes it home to Mokuba. In saying that when Bakura and Kaiba get talking they can easily talk about business owning and Bakura’s more then interested in Kaiba’s less than friendly ways of business. Such as always ensuring you own 51% of all stock. Because then you have majority, they usually play chess or checkers during these chats. Bakura didn’t know chess but he picked it up pretty fast and he researched it at home so now they actually can get into quiet competitive games together

Bakura and Yami Marik (Tau) Interaction in this au Bakura has some of Tau’s art around his cafe and he actually helped design the cafe, he painted all the walls and any of the pictures painted on the physical walls was done by him. Tau sits in the window with a muffin and his sketch pad all day, he won’t admit to it or show him, but he has a lot of sketches of Bakura working around the cafe. Between him and Bakura they both forget pens behind their ears way too often they’d beat the world record, it’s only when they head home and stare in the mirror they notice they’d left one there and sometimes they’ve spent over an hour looking around the cafe for it after closing.

Bakura and Yami Yugi (Yami) Interaction in this au Yami kinda just shows up now and again, he doesn’t explain himself, but he always comes when its quiet he orders two of everything. He never asks but Bakura often does sit with him they don’t talk about it but they know what’s up. Sometimes they argue and bicker, others they have heated discussions, sometimes they sit in silence, or they have a casual conversation. They understand, its kinda just an unspoken understanding these days

Bakura and Ishizu Interaction in this au She comes in and gets her lunch during the working day, she doesn’t often actually stay but she always does leave little comments like I see the bright future of this cafe. Her and Bakura still don’t always see eye to eye and a lot of teasing can be involved, he literally went out of his way to make her fortune cookies just to see how she’d react. She gracefully accepted and ensured to tell him every fortune he’d written her in the first place, at first it was kinda just you know to tease but now he makes them if he wants to tell her something or invite her places, and it's kinda like an inside joke. He’ll just casually slip it in with her lunch to find when she goes back to her office at the museum. In a way he sees her as an odd older sister

Bakura, Mana and Mahado (Ian) Interaction in this au Mana and Mahado perform magic shows outside the cafe a lot and Bakura grins watching them through his window he eventually caved and put a small stage area for singers and such. But really he just wanted a better view of their magic acts. Honestly Ian doesn’t fully trust Bakura but he’s always happy to perform and the look he gets tells him Bakura truly enjoys it. Despite it all, simple street magic was kinda special in its own way. And Bakura always ensures they have fresh drinks ready and waiting to cool them down after a show. Bakura set up a talent night and held the cafe open and got, Yuugi, Ryou and Malik to judge a little contest. The winner got a cake. Mana won with her Magic act, he tries to hold a similar one yearly. Ian’s won a few since

Bakura Jonouchi Interaction in this au Despite we all know how spooked Jou can get, he always comes in around Halloween with Ryou and they all set up halloween decorations, or as Bakura likes to think. He’s a perfect tester to ensure Ryou doesn’t go over board and freak his customers all away, if Jou can handle it. Its safe to keep if not. Back to where ever Ryou scrounged it from. Otherwise Jou actually isn’t that bad of a cook himself having to be somewhat dependant from a young age he knows how to look after himself and helps back in the kitchen sometimes though Bakura will bonk him on the head if he tries to ‘taste test’ too many of their ingredients. But often follows suit regardless

Bakura and Mai Interaction in this au Mai’s like another older sister, and she’s really good at helping with Bakura’s people skills. Because honestly, he loves his cafe, he loves cooking, loves the smell, general chatter around him. But if he has to personally speak to customers he doesn’t really know, that can be an issue, they tend to irritate him easily especially if they ask him too what he considers personal questions. And he has been known to scare one or two off. So Mai coaches him in customer service, he’s amazed by how popular she gets so easy. Though he always makes her tie back her hair. So before the day begins they sit out back doing each others hair whilst she gives tips and they chat

Bakura Ryuji Interaction in this au Owning a game shop as well, Ryuji comes quite in handy doing stock take, and checking over all the new stock. Together they are able to easily and swiftly look through everything and figure out if they need to send any of it back, Bakura will help at his game shop occasionally but in return Ryuji helps him at his cafe with it. And Ryuji almost weekly on the dot comes in with a new set of dice which Bakura displays along the cash register, sometimes they have a game first depending on the role. Bakura might have to give a discount, or even give Ryuji free food for that day or in return he might get double the original price. So it's definitely a game of chance

Bakura and Pegasus Interaction in this au Pegasus always makes a dramatic entry to the shop, so now when ever he enters Bakura almost instantly gives him a broom and dustpan to clean up any and all the glitter and or confetti he used to make it dramatic. In saying that Pegasus always manages to get the entire shops attention and he often admires everything Bakura does and if he catches Bakura on break he shows him mock designs of pastry monster cards and such. Bakura snickers and makes up ridiculous abilities for them. And for April fools every year he makes a weird concoction, doesn’t care what’s inside as long as its red and drinkable. Then pours it into a wine glass for Pegasus to have so finally when he comes asking for it he’ll get something. Close enough to what he wants. Pegasus also helped design the uniforms with Tau and Bakura.

Bakura and Thief king Bakura (Thief) Interaction in this au Thief is kinda bouncy like a little kid and Bakura can’t really stop him from bringing his own crayons and trying to draw on his menus. He made them all easy to clean now, even though saying that. Thief is a really good cleaner and perfect for when a health inspectors coming he’ll be able to make the place pass with flying colours. Sometimes he’ll just clean regardless. Other then that him and Bakura kinda ensure their separate. But at the same time they do share a few hobbies in which once they get started on they both look crazy insane people but there’s no stopping them from spending hours babbling on, most times Bakura tries to wait til works over and they do clean up together and talk the entire time

Bakura and Hiroto Interaction in this au Hiroto helped with the security cameras in the shop, and setting up some monitory screens in Bakura’s office. Sometimes they both grab a croissant or sometime and sit back there watching. Kinda of like a real tv show, and they joke and give personalities to different customers and backstories and such. And if anyone rubs them the wrong way, by either ‘abusing’ Bakura’s employees verbally or otherwise they’ll go out and scare the life out of them and usually bump fists in sweet victory afterwards. He’s also good muscle if they have a large shipment of food coming in

Bakura and Rishid Interaction in this au Bakura and Rishid actually have a surprising large amount of respect for one another despite all that's happened. Through Malik, Rishid knows to appreciate watching a person grow and change themselves for the better, he still knows Bakura isn’t perfect and he steals things on odd occasions or gets on the wrong side of the law. But he does respect how far he’s come in life. And his passion for his cafe. And Bakura respects Rishid’s strength that’s held him together all these years, through everything he’s never given up, and Bakura looks to that, because even if one person truly believes in you you can thrive. When he comes into the shop he orders the same thing every time and they barely speak but do often give a slight knowing head nod to one another and a smirk or smile

Bakura and Kieth Interaction in this au No offence but together these two can be terrible, when it comes to scamming these two joining forces. Whelp your screwed. They often either get into quiet deep discussions that concern anyone who over hear, they make owning a cafe sound evil. And whilst Bakura and Kieth get in heated arguments over Kieth trying to scam him. At the same time he’s more than happy to let the other help try scamming anyone else, such as electricity, any repair costs, together they can always get the best deal possible and save a lot of money. If Keith stays late at the cafe sometimes they go home and play poker together with a few others

Bakura and Anzu Interaction in this au She helps with serving occasionally, Bakura’s always amazed no matter how many times he sees it. How effortlessly she’s able to move around the room like the dancer she is. Never dropping a thing or spilling anything, sure occasionally when Yuugi and such came in she could be a little over the top but honestly he just found it amusing and after a mini heart attack they did too. He could use a few less friendship speeches but all in all she’s very inclusive and will not hesitate to argue her point with him to protect her friends or stop him from trying to exclude himself from that category. He’s her friend whether he likes it or not

Bakura and Shizuka Interaction in this au Shizuka’s really good at making coffees too and can help if he’s really busy, but also she knows the best and cheapest places for the coffee beans to ensure quality and taste and happily shares her secrets about it with Bakura in return for some cooking lessons together. She loves the cafe because of the large open window, she loves looking out into life and Bakura doesn’t mind listening to her rambling on about what she’s seen recently and where she’s been as he works, truthfully as much as he enjoyed his shops music just listening to someone speak was a nice change of pace, and her chirpy output helps him stay on task and working

Bakura and Miho Interaction in this au Miho’s actually quiet determined, and is great at getting the word out about his cafe. Bakura’s not great with computers really so she basically made his website with Malik and Hiroto. The three of them helped set him up one and she’s also really popular online so saying this is my favourite cafe will get people from different parts of the world coming in. She’s a bit cheerful for his liking sometimes, but if anyone on the street says something bad about the cafe, he can trust her to change their mind or inform him so he can show them wrong. She also helps design the place for Valentines Day and helps judge designs for valentine day specials

Bakura and Mokuba Interaction in this au Mokuba whilst already having a job at Kaiba corp, he still finds it to be an important learning curve having another job. Like normal people whose older brothers have owned a million dollar company since they were a teen. So he’s actually a part time employee on the cash register, Bakura during Mokuba’s fluffy hair stages had a lot of fun in the beginning trying to figure out how to tie it back, pigtails it was still too fluffy, buns were too heavy on his head and fell out, he ended up plating the others hair. And Mokuba can help with any basic legal issues Bakura gets, they discuss them over coffee/hot chocolate and marshmallows

Bakura and Atemu Interaction in this au Like Yami they don’t speak a lot, they don’t overly talk about the past, but they sit at the window with their coffees and cakes when the suns setting sometimes and just sit there. Its surprisingly more peaceful then Bakura would often think in his own mind, and whilst Atemu almost has this urge to help people somewhat. He knows that there’s not really much he can do and Bakura doesn’t need fixing. Right now he’s doing well. And while they may never be friends or anything similar they can kinda just sit comfortably at each others sides now. And Atemu will often leave with a comment on Bakura’s food. Sometimes it’s just something nice and others its constructive criticism, either way Bakura doesn’t mind he almost always improves it by the next time he comes by anyway

Bakura and Rebecca Interaction in this au She may be young, but she’s still a genius. And goes to college already, so she often brings her study group into the cafe and they sit in the corner ordering cakes and drinks and usually when closing gets closer they order some to go and they take them home to have whilst studying. Sometimes if she comes alone and brings her teddy, he’ll set up a little thing for it too. A bit like that build a bear cafe in New York if that’s still going. He gives it an empty cup and puts her food on the table to share. She doesn’t have to ask but he can tell she’s pleased when he does it. Plus this look of disappointment always flashes on her face when he doesn’t

Bakura and Solomon -Grandpa Interaction in this au Solomon kinda reminds Bakura of a grandfather he never really had, and whilst the old man can be forgetful at times he often smirks at his adventurous stories he tells and the way he calls him grandson. And will always have a plate ready if he wanted to come visit for dinner, Bakura drives Solomon to his cafe for lunch sometimes and they just sit and chat its never serious sometimes he grins as Solomon tells him off for doing something stupid again like getting in trouble at the park and just sprinting off. And Bakura leaves him dinners in the fridge some times too just to ensure he’s eating properly

Bakura and Aigami Interaction in this au Aigami owns the fruit shop that Bakura orders from, so that’s their main interaction. But sometimes when making the order they get a little carried away chatting and have to make the order again. Aigami didn’t at first but eventually he started to bring the fruit himself when possible. And he’d come a little early so Bakura could give him some freshly baked goods in return and they’d ‘test’ the baked goods and put away the fruit whilst chatting

Bakura and Bonz Interaction in this au Whenever Bakura screws up on a pastry, cake or otherwise he’ll take a picture and text it to Bonz. Usually a few minutes later, he’ll have taken the image and drawn a face on it, creating a new zombie pastry. So Bakura takes more pictures of his new ‘zombified pastry’ and him, it supposedly ‘attacking’ him. And Bonz will edit those ones too. This only stops when one of them just can’t take it seriously any more and they usually both end up just laughing. However in saying that, if Bonz ever actually tried cooking something he managed to always make it was more horrific than anything Bakura had ever made, screw up or otherwise. Though, Bonz’s attempts were almost never edible but it was still fun to turn them into zombies too

Bakura and Amane Interaction in this au Amane doesn’t really come to the shop, not really. But sometimes he can feel her spirit around, through the wind and often leaves her a flower inside and the windows open, he writes to her often and burns the letters in his kitchen hoping to make the letter smell of the food he’d made that day, obviously she never responds to him but he’s certain she gets them. He writes one at least every month, if not more and he puts a lot of time and effort into it, updating her on the cafe and life and recipes and just things. Sometimes writing to her is actually when he gets some of his best idea for the cafe and he likes to think she’s trying to help him in her own way alongside his family and everyone he’s ever lost

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lanas-academics-blog · 5 years

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HAPPY SEPTEMPTER!

Hi guys! Just wanted to share an update, a bit of the work I’ve been doing for the past couple of days, and what I have planned to do for the upcoming holiday on Monday!

So first semester started, and I have officially completed my second week of Sophomore year! My classes are nice, but I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my online classes, which I can talk about later! Even though I only have two on-campus classes, I am taking 14 credits, so I’m very busy with schoolwork most of the time. Below I’ll start with a summary of my classes and how they’re going! I’ll then talk about my past and future work. Keep in mind this post is gonna be kinda lengthy so if that’s not your thing, probably don’t click below lol.

So, starting from my first class of the week every week! Human Relations.

To start off - my Human Relations class has a lot of notes. We take notes every class - which I like - but we haven’t really done any actual assignments. We did have a quiz over our book’s second chapter (that I missed because I mixed up a holiday and didn’t go to class - I’m dumb lmao) and we watch video clips, but there hasn’t been a big assignment or anything yet which I’m grateful for.

We do this thing in the class called a reading where we talk about a certain celebrity in a given book and what they have to say about surviving college / advice they have altogether, and I really like the vibe it brings to the class. We are going through each student and doing one every class, and it’s a really nice way to start class every day. We all discuss the advice and give our input, which I think is a good way to get everyone involved.

Over all the class is a bit slow as of late, but discussions make it worth it for sure. I’m excited to see what’s to come with this class!

Next is my Digital Communications class!

This class is entirely online, so we do weekly modules and have until Friday of that week to finish all the work, and it’s all very in-depth assignments. Videos, discussion boards, and quizzes are all major parts of our grades for this class. I love all the feedback and discussions we have over certain topics in this class, because it really opens you up and makes you see other’s POV on things!

It’s a very modern class, and I feel like I’m learning about things happening now in real time (just last week I learned about AI Cars and computers that mimic brain activity to work more efficiently) and it’s something I feel is really important when it comes to digital themed classes! Technology is moving fast, so it’s important we keep up.

Just this last week we learned about viral video trends and the era of “The YouTubers / Online Influencers” and it was so interesting! If anyone is interested in the video (which also talks about YouTube’s history and is a really educational video at its core) I will link it here: Viral Video : YouTube Marketing.

If I’m not using an online website to complete an assignment (just last week I had to look up my name and relatives names to see just how easy it is to find people’s information online), I’m usually writing a long reply to a video for a grade, or responding to other student’s replies for a grade as well. Even though it’s a grade it’s all very open and doesn’t feel too grade-ish. We all have great discussions.

The next class I’m not too fond of, just because I slept my way through high school Algebra, is of course: Algebra. Paired with the sleeping and my state just not caring about our education at all in the past, Algebra is really difficult for me this year. I have to re-teach myself everything from scratch and get the help of some of my friends who are good at Alg (u know who you are). It’s been really difficult, but I’ll get there. On the other hand, also been very rewarding when I understand it!

My book for this class was expensive ($103) and I’m trying to take really good care of it. I bought as apposed to rent because I was told to on the syllabus (it came with an online code which we ended up not even needing so hey! waste of money!) but now I’ll probably sell it back to the school library after this term ends to get some of that money back.

The number one thing that has helped me, funnily enough, is memes! My friends and I have made memes relating to rules for certain problems, and it’s really helped. I even went as far as printing off one of the memes and stapling it into my math notebook, just so I can see it when I’m studying! I’ll show it to you just because it makes me laugh:

( Any ARMY’s out there - HMU )

As you can see I rewrote my notes for Math just last night (which I plan on doing from now on) just to refresh my memory and study a bit more on the topics I knew I needed to. Figuring out how least common anything works has been literal hell for me, but I’m slowly starting to learn. It’s a work in progress, for sure.

Apart from that, my teacher never gives us set due dates, and we can take all our tests at home, which is a complete life saver for me. I’m about a week ahead in the class because of all the extra work I’ve been putting in trying to re-learn everything, and I plan to keep it that way. This class is challenging but rewarding. In class my professor lectures for about an hour and a half - two hours depending on how long the chapter is (which is usually maybe like 15 pages?) and we take notes the whole time.

The class is pretty silent so I’ve been trying to ask a lot of questions and talk to the people next to me to help the awkward atmosphere as well. I’m a shy person in general but I can be friendly and this class really needs that sort of attitude from the students. The professor is old and he’s really nice, but he’s not too keen on involving students, so I try and help.

Over all, I like the class. It’s challenging for sure, but that was expected. I’m excited to see where this class goes in the future though!

So to finish this off, I’ll talk about my last class, which has proved to be the most difficult regardless of me doing no work at all for it yet. Geology.

The reason I’ve had so many struggles with this class already is because the way it’s set up is just a big mess if I’m being totally honest.

To make things short (because I wrote this once and it literally deleted on me) I have to use three different websites for this one class, a giant textbook (that should have come with an access code to one of the websites, but didn’t), and the way my teacher creates assignments is Messy. It’s all stuff I’ll have to get used to I guess, so we’ll see how things play out. I really hope I like the material though because if I don’t I won’t hesitate to take a fat W on my manuscript (I’m kidding, but it’d be nice to be able to drop fml).

So, moving on from that, let’s talk about my weekend!

THURSDAY:

So my weekend started early because my HR class was cancelled for Friday, so I went ahead and did all of my Digital Comm. work on Thursday. It was all due that next day on Friday so it was a good thing that I finished it all (it took about four hours) but it was interesting so it wasn’t too bad to do. Apart from that I did a lot of misc. stuff like filled out paperwork for my college and tried writing a little bit. I didn’t do a lot of my homework on Thursday because I knew I had all weekend, so that was pretty much all I did academic wise that day.

FRIDAY:

God himself couldn’t tell you where I was or what I did on Friday. I had a really bad day I think so I kind of just slept the day away. I truly can’t remember. Oh well though, we’re all human, we have bad days!

SATURDAY:

So Saturday (last night) was when I actually got shit done. I finally found motivation to rewrite my Math and HR notes (coffee. coffee was the motivation), and I got them looking really pretty as well as put those memes in, haha. Here’s a picture of a couple pages I rewrote!

So on top of consuming two whole cups of coffee, and binging on MNM’s, I rewrote my notes and then wrote out some emails I needed to send to a couple of my professors. I got a lot done last night which means I’ll have more time to finish what I need to this week!

FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS:

SUNDAY:

So, today is going to be busy. I’m going to spend today doing all of my Geology work, which means catching up on Chapters 1-2, and then starting the work for this week (that is due on Thursday). I’m already a little behind because of getting my book late, so the work is piling slowly. I’ll have to work hard to finish it all by Thursday.

MONDAY:

Monday will be spent finishing any Geology work I didn’t finish today (Sunday), and then doing my Math test (due Wednesday), and all of my Digital Comm. work (due Friday). I want to finish all my work for this week in a big clump by Tuesday at least so I can finally just relax and spend a few days relaxing and then picking up my study routine again on Friday.

So it’s clear these last two weeks have been a mess, but I’m slowly starting to get into a routine. I want to plan a few trips to the library this week to get some work done, and then maybe to the gym on campus! Just so I can see if it’d be somewhere I wanna go in the future. I also want to make it a goal to make a few more friends, and possibly join a club.

I will for sure keep you guys updated, and if you’ve read this far, thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings, haha.

Happy September and happy studying!

-Lana.

#studying #study blog #studyblr #studyblr blog #comm major #communications major #college #university

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

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Christmas on a budget: How to save money on Christmas gifts (and still have fun)

HO HO HO! Just like that, the holiday season is upon us! This year, I intend to do most of my Christmas shopping during a three-week tour of Europe with my cousins. We're deliberately visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, so I hope to find a variety of interesting and unusual gifts for my family and friends. (They need to be small, though. I don't have much space to carry things home.) While I'm buying new (and possibly expensive) gifts this year, that's not normally my style. I'm a fan of keeping Christmas frugal. Being a frugal shopper doesn't mean you can't give thoughtful gifts though. In fact, my experience has shown that it's often more fun and rewarding to impose limits on gift-giving. These limits breed creativity and inspiration. Christmas on a budget doesn't have to mean Christmas without fun. This article contains some smart ways to save money on Christmas gifts while celebrating the season. (These tips are great for Christmas, for Hanukkah, for Kwanzaa, for Festivus, or for whatever feast you celebrate this time of year.) It's an amazing frugal Christmas savings spectacular!

What Kids Really Want for Christmas I have this idea in my head that kids become mercenaries at Christmas, demanding the newest, most popular toys. I'm not sure how I've arrived at this notion because that's certainly not how my brothers and I were when we were younger. Sure, we wanted cool stuff, but we never made demands. In fact, Dad used to tell the story of how ashamed he was one Christmas when he and Mom were going through a particularly rough patch. They were always poor and struggling with money, but this year was especially bad. They couldn't afford Christmas presents for us three boys. Rather than cry about it, we went through the toys we already had, wrapped them up, and gave them to each other. I have only a dim memory of this myself, but Dad used to talk about it often. This bit of personal family history reminds me of Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli. This book urges readers to escape the commercialism of the holiday season, to make it a joyful, stress-free time for the family. In a chapter entitled The Four Things Children Really Want for Christmas, the authors write: One concern voiced by most parents is that of shielding their children from the excesses of holiday commercialism. While adults can mute the TV when the ads get annoying, children are defenseless against the onslaught of ads. As early as the age of four or five, they can lose the ability to be delighted by the sights and sounds of Christmas, only to gain a two-month-long obsession with brand-name toys. Suddenly, all they seem to care about is how many presents they will be getting and how many days are left until they unwrap them. Many parents find it a challenge to create a simple value-centered Christmas in the midst of all the commercial pressure. But the task is made much easier when parents keep in mind the four things that children really want for Christmas. Robinson and Staeheli argue that children don't really want clothes and toys and games. The four things they actually want are: A relaxed and loving time with the family. Children need attention. During the holidays, normal family routines are temporarily set aside for parties, shopping, and special events. It's important to slow down and spend quality time with your kids.Realistic expectations about gifts. Kids enjoy looking forward to gifts and then having their expectations met. The key is to manage their expectations. You might try, for example, to educate your children about advertising in an attempt to mitigate its effects.An evenly paced holiday season. The modern Christmas season starts months before December 25th, when the first store displays go up, then things end with a bang on Christmas day. The authors suggest beginning the season late in the year. Get out the Christmas music on December 15th, then get the tree on the following weekend. Schedule some low-key family events during Christmas week. Stretch the season to New Years Day.Reliable family traditions. When I talk to my friends about what Christmas was like when we were children, it's not the gifts that we remember. We recall the things we did as a family. I remember sleeping next to the tree every Christmas eve, but never being able to catch Santa in the act. I remember seeing the cousins. I remember decorating the trailer house. Your kids will remember the traditions, not the gifts. Because I don't have kids, I don't have first-hand experience with their expectations around the holidays. Other folks in the GRS community do, though. A reader named PB, for instance, emailed some similar thoughts. She writes: We keep our children's expectations realistic by following an old tradition that Santa fills the stockings and only the stockings nothing under the tree. This limits the size and quantity of gifts. Plus, because they're all relatively sure what they can and cannot wheedle out of parents for tree presents, their expectations are kept in check. We buy one new outfit for each, usually a special piece of clothing that they really want, and spent only about $100 per child. I also shop all year long and get some real bargains. We also emphasize doing a lot of things with our church food delivery to the elderly, singing at nursing homes, and service to others. Our ongoing tradition is a big Christmas eve dinner with lots of friends and then the midnight service, where we all play an instrument or sing in the choir. This is what the kids talk about not about what they receive. It seems that the key to keeping kids happy at Christmas is to manage their expectations. But what about exchanging gifts with other adults?

Exchanging Gifts with Adults Gift-giving among adults can be awkward. If you spend too much on another person, they may feel uncomfortable. Worse and this has become more common the older I get what if you give something and the other person doesn't reciprocate? Or they get you something and you give nothing? Again: awkward! Many people welcome the idea of doing away with gift-giving completely. Some, like my family, establish specific rules. We've made a tradition of the $5 gift exchange. We give larger gifts to the kids and to my mother, but the rest of us exchange gifts that cost no more than $5. It's become a game to find interesting, thoughtful gifts for just five bucks. (Or to find amusing, tacky gifts for the same amount.) The first year we did this, the gifts were kind of lame. But with time, we've become more creative. Once in an antique store, I stumbled upon an old photograph that I recognized as depicting some of my sister-in-law's relatives, for example. Other years, I've discovered awesome gifts at garage sales. Some people practice a variation of this. They do a $100 holiday, where their entire budget for a particular group (family, circle of friends, etc.) is limited to $100, and that money is divided as needed. Others agree to only give presents to the children in the group. This relieves the adults of the pressure to buy gifts for each other while still allowing the children to experience the magic of Christmas. (Of course it could be argued that this isn't the sort of Christmas magic kids should be learning.) The goal here isn't to be cheap for the sake of cheapness it's to give thoughtful presents without breaking the bank. (And, for me, to not participate in the mad rush of consumerism during the holiday season.) One last important piece of advice: if your family (or circle of friends) agrees to gift-giving guidelines, don't be the person who breaks them. People feel resentful when one person takes it upon herself to give more than the agreed terms. Stay within the rules and have fun. Christmas Gifts That Don't Cost a Lot of Money For most people, Christmas gifts mean shopping at the mall. Or Amazon. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many of the best gifts aren't tangible items purchased from a store. Here are a few examples: Give the gift of experience. People are likely to forget about the things you give them. They're much more likely to remember gifts of doing. Examples: sky diving, scuba lessons, hot-air balloon rides, cooking school, lunch with a hero, etc.Personal gift certificates also make great gifts. In essence, these are gifts of time. Give new parents a gift certificate for a night of baby-sitting so that they can enjoy a night on the town. Are you good with computers? Give your brother-in-law a gift certificate for free computer repairs.Similarly, my ex-wife and I used to give each other love coupons. Sounds sappy, I know. But it was nice to be able to come home at the end of the day and redeem a coupon for a dinner out, or for a back rub, or for an evening watching a favorite movie. My favorite gifts tend to be those that people have made themselves. Homemade gifts demonstrate caring, creativity, and passion. I'm fortunate to have many crafty friends. Every year, I'm delighted to see what they create for Christmas gifts. In the past, I've given or received: A hand-assembled collection of gourmet salts, complete with written description of each.Ginger snaps.Art. (Do you dabble in photography? A framed print of your nephew is a great gift for your sister-in-law.)Chocolate-dipped hazelnuts (from a family with a filbert orchard).Home-made jams and jellies.Flavored liqueur brewed from vodka, sugar, and fresh herbs. The best-home made gift I've ever received? A couple of years ago, an old friend found a poem I had written for her when we were in high school. It was a silly ode to a teddy bear scribbled on notebook paper. She framed the page and gave me a cheap bear. Believe it or not, that meant a lot to me. (Yet it was, in essence, I gift I had given myself!) Homemade gifts are fun to produce, and are generally more valued by the recipient. I'd take a plate of PCCCs (plain chocolate-chip cookies) over some plastic gee-gaw any day.

Frugal Christmas Ideas from GRS Readers This is Get Rich Slowly's thirteenth Christmas. Over the years, GRS readers have shared tons of great tips for saving money during the holidays. Here are a few of my favorites. First up, Samuel suggests: Give your favorite things as gifts. Find items you love and use everyday, then share these with others. By giving favorite things, the focus is on sharing things you like rather than how much you spent. For example, my favorite thing gift this year is a pizza cutter. It's an unbelievably useful kitchen gadget! We use it to cut up everything, not just pizza. It costs about ten bucks! Like me, Pam prefers home-made gifts. She thinks it's even more fun when these home-made gifts can be personalized: Do crafts that require the same basic supplies but still remain customizable to the recipient. Homemade baking mixes are good for this, because with big bags of ingredients you have the bases for several different kinds of baked goods: Aunt Julie can get oatmeal-raisin and Cousin Larry can get peanut-butter chip with a minimum of tweaking and few extra ingredients. My all-time favorite, though, is marble magnets, which require absolutely minimal supply (florist's gems, silicon glue, a scissor or craft punch, old magazines), offer tons of opportunity for personalization (I do cartoon images for my boyfriend, the letters of their names for my little cousins, and flowers for a garden-crazy friend), look great packaged in tulle or an Altoids tin, and get much, much cheaper when you make them in bulk. RJ shares another creative way to keep costs down: Sometimes when my partner and I exchange cards at Christmas, we'll include a cut-out image or two of a really expensive gift that we might have liked to buy, but didn't. For example, a couple of years, he inserted a pic of a $175 bottle of scotch, but gave me a perfectly wonderful and less costly (~$25) bottle of a different kind of scotch instead. This year I'm giving him a matchbook from a very expensive restaurant in town, though our holiday dinner will actually be at a friend's house. It's our jesting way of reminding each other of the shopping insanity at this time of year, and it helps us appreciate what we do get for the little money we spend. By now, you probably know that buying experiences tends to make people happier than buying stuff. Does the same concept apply to gifts? Angie thinks it might. She writes: My husband and I have a tradition of giving each other experiences for Christmas, rather than more stuff. This doesn't always end up being the cheapest route, but it does keep our house from being cluttered up with extraneous stuff. For instance, my husband had always wanted to try blowing glass. An art glass studio opened up a few blocks from our house, and last year at Christmastime they held workshops where you could blow your own glass ornament. I gifted him two sequential half-hour workshops, at $25 apiece once so he could get the hang of it, and the second so he could better use his new skills. (He's that kinda guy.) He came home with two beautiful ornaments he made himself, and he absolutely raved about how much fun he'd had. I saw essentially identical blown-glass ornaments at the local art gallery for about $20 apiece. For a $10 premium, I fulfilled his longheld wish and gave him a really awesome memory. Now that's a bargain! Finally, Amberlynn says that the best gifts don't have to cost anything at all: My family draws names with a $20 limit, but we're phasing that out for something even better. We're writing a chapter of our family history each year. We pick a topic, and each family member will write about it. One person plays editor, collecting the stories together for Christmas. We've written about our favorite Christmas (seven differing perspectives on the same year), the house we grew up in, and this year we're writing about how we met our spouse. Last year, my Mom sent out her first draft of her entire life history. This gift costs nothing. It does take a little time if you want to contribute quality. It will, however, carry a lasting value unmatched by any tangible gifts we've exchanged, or even experiential gifts! Frugality doesn't take the joy out of Christmas. In many ways, it adds to it. It's a great feeling to find a perfect gift for only five bucks. Besides, when I think back to Christmases past, it's not the gifts I remember, but the time spent with friends and family.

Author: J.D. Roth In 2006, J.D. founded Get Rich Slowly to document his quest to get out of debt. Over time, he learned how to save and how to invest. Today, he's managed to reach early retirement! He wants to help you master your money and your life. No scams. No gimmicks. Just smart money advice to help you reach your goals. https://www.getrichslowly.org/christmas-on-a-budget/

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wayneooverton · 5 years

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A little family holiday down in Charleston, South Carolina

Growing up in the South in rural Virginia, my childhood memories are full of school field trips to historic plantations, playing in the leaves from big oak trees and summer thunderstorms that shake the house.

The older I get, I often find my thoughts drifting back to when I was a child, remembering the smells and sounds of being outside, of family holidays to the beach, of playing in the park with my mom. I find myself even dreaming about the first house I grew up in.

Now that I live a world away in New Zealand, where the environment is decidedly different than Virginia, there is something primal within me that yearns for those memories.

When I found out that I would be speaking at SXSW this year in Austin with Condé Nast Traveler, I knew I wanted to make time to see my mom over on the East Coast. But I don’t know about you guys, whenever I go home now to my family’s house, sleeping in my childhood twin bed, I slip straight back into childish behavior.

I mean, I’m 30 for christ’s sake and I find myself yelling at my mom about my laundry!

If anything it’s stressful. Going home is hard.

This time around, instead of the regular old pattern of flying to Dulles (my least favorite airport on earth) and slipping into old habits and teenage routines, I convinced my mom and stepdad to join me on a little adventure in the South – a family getaway to Charleston, South Carolina!

I originally wanted to go to Savannah, but by the time we went to book it, everything was booked out and what was left was crazy expensive! Who knew?

So instead we decided to stay in Charleston, which ended up being perfect.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been down that way. Once of my first flights I ever took was to visit my dad when he was working in South Carolina, and we used to occasionally rent a beach house at the Outer Banks or Virginia Beach.

But for the most part, my travels in my youth was limited around Virginia.

By the time I got to high school, all I could do was dream about escaping the South, which I did fleeing to university up in New England and then overseas to Spain. Ever since I was little I dreamed about seeing the world.

And now, 70 countries later, I yearn for the summer hum of the South of my childhood. Ironic, I know.

My parents rarely travel, though I surprised them with a trip to Ireland a few years ago, but with the quick and easy flight down to Charleston made it much easier for them.

And let me say, March in South Carolina was just glorious. The perfect temperature every day, with the flowers blooming and the soft sea breeze blowing in the wind made for the ideal setting.

Now I just need to find Rhett Butler. Any tips?

Since this was a real and proper vacation, and I wasn’t working, I decided to travel light and fast with my new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera (a mouthful, I know). A high-end mirrorless camera, it weighs significantly less than my old Canon kit, and is durable and compact.

Traveling with the Olympus completely changed how I photographed. Instead of becoming a chore of pulling out a massive camera, I found myself taking a lot more shots than I might have in the past, with the speed and ease that comes with carrying such a light kit.

I also love shooting with a live screen that’s also a touch screen, it really helps me frame and set up my shots with ease, and with an incredible scale of focal points, I’m hooked.

And honestly? It made it feel much more like a holiday than work, which it was!

So here is a random smattering of shots all taken with my Olympus of Charleston with my parents. We relaxed. We ate a lot. We went for walks. And we enjoyed being in a beautiful place together.

As my parents get older, I feel tremendously guilty about living so far away from them, and want to make the most of our time together when we can. This was a really special trip for me, and I feel so lucky to be able to travel with them.

Ok, I’m gonna stop now before I choke up. Here are my highlights from Charleston peppered in with some very random travel tips. Enjoy!

Have you been to Charleston before? Do you ever travel with your parents? Spill!

Go for a walk around South of Broad and pick out your future house

Ok, downtown Charleston is ridiculously charming. Full of old world grandeur and enormous mansions with carriage houses, colorful shutters and beautiful ivy galore, I quickly fell in love with this area.

South of Broad is located south of Broad Street, at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, and was my favorite spot to wander around with my mom.

We unashamedly peeked inside people’s gardens and marveled at the decadent houses. How I wish I could buy her one!

Pick your favorite porch or front door

The South does many things well, like manners and sweet tea, but something else they truly excel at are epic porches and beautiful front doors.

After all, there is nothing quite so southern like sitting out on a front porch swing late in the afternoon spinning yarns with old friends.

Eat all the seafood

Since Charleston is on the water, it’s no surprise that the seafood is to die for. Of course there are plenty of other dining options, but I made a point to eat as much seafood as possible while we were there.

The best shrimp and grits (a southern most do!) we had was at Fleet Landing, and we stumbled upon Mason’s Lobster for my New England lobster roll fix while wandering near the famous markets.

I tried twice to get a spot at 167 Raw for a meal, and both times the wait was over 2 hours long! What the fuck! I both hate it and love it in equal measure, I’ll be back for you.

But by far our best seafood meal was The Ordinary.

Actually, just eat everything

I was super surprised to hear that Charleston is a massive foodie scene, and amount of amazing foodie experiences there are to die for!

I was also equally annoyed to learn that for some of the best spots you have to make a reservation months in advance. We couldn’t even get in at some of the more well-known spots like Husk or Fig. Oh well, they missed out on us.

Luckily we stayed right next to a delightful cafe and lunch spot called Millers All Day which we frequented several times. Their fried chicken biscuit blew me away!

Prepare if you plan a trip to Charleston, book your dinners in advance!

Meander through White Point Garden

Right next to the water, this place is so cute. My mom and I loved it!

Take your mom for a walk in the French Quarter

More old charming houses and delightful cobblestone streets. And lots of cute shopping.

We didn’t ride in a horse and carriage because we all felt a bit sad for those horses.

Channel your inner Instagrammer at Rainbow Row

Man, I do love a pastel house!

Stay somewhere perfectly southern and charming

We only planned our trip to Charleston a month or so in advance, and being St. Patricks’s weekend many of the hotels were booked out.

Normally I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to choosing accommodation, but this time I relented my vice grip and let my parents chose.

We ended up staying in the carriage houses at the John Rutledge House Inn, and it was so cute and charming. In a beautiful old historic house, it was exactly the kind of place you picture for this city. My parents loved it, and I did too. Especially with breakfast outside and afternoon tea and evening drinks! And the location was divine!

Go on a little trip to Patriots Point

My stepdad served in the military long before he met my momma, and spent a bit of time stationed down in Charleston, and we were all keen to head out to Patriots Point, a naval museum.

Here you can walk onto the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier and take in some of the many exhibits.

Even I was frothing at the historic WWII planes.

Walk beneath the Spanish Moss at Boone Hall Plantation

And finally, what I was really dying to see on this trip was the plantations with the hanging moss. You know the ones: the old oak trees and big colonial houses (built on the backs of slaves).

It was hard to pick one to visit, but we settled on the iconic Boone Hall, which you might recognize from starring in many a movie and show, like the Notebook and Days of our Lives.

I really loved my time in the South with my family, and I know we’ll go back again soon!

The post A little family holiday down in Charleston, South Carolina appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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andrewdburton · 5 years

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Christmas on a budget: How to save money on Christmas gifts (and still have fun)

HO HO HO!

Just like that, the holiday season is upon us!

This year, I intend to do most of my Christmas shopping during a three-week tour of Europe with my cousins. We're deliberately visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, so I hope to find a variety of interesting and unusual gifts for my family and friends. (They need to be small, though. I don't have much space to carry things home.)

While I'm buying new (and possibly expensive) gifts this year, that's not normally my style. I'm a fan of keeping Christmas frugal.

Being a frugal shopper doesn't mean you can't give thoughtful gifts though. In fact, my experience has shown that it's often more fun and rewarding to impose limits on gift-giving. These limits breed creativity and inspiration. “Christmas on a budget” doesn't have to mean “Christmas without fun”.

This article contains some smart ways to save money on Christmas gifts while celebrating the season. (These tips are great for Christmas, for Hanukkah, for Kwanzaa, for Festivus, or for whatever feast you celebrate this time of year.)

It's an amazing frugal Christmas savings spectacular!

What Kids Really Want for Christmas

I have this idea in my head that kids become mercenaries at Christmas, demanding the newest, most popular toys. I'm not sure how I've arrived at this notion because that's certainly not how my brothers and I were when we were younger. Sure, we wanted cool stuff, but we never made demands.

In fact, Dad used to tell the story of how ashamed he was one Christmas when he and Mom were going through a particularly rough patch. They were always poor and struggling with money, but this year was especially bad. They couldn't afford Christmas presents for us three boys. Rather than cry about it, we went through the toys we already had, wrapped them up, and gave them to each other.

I have only a dim memory of this myself, but Dad used to talk about it often.

This bit of personal family history reminds me of Unplug the Christmas Machine by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli. This book urges readers to escape the commercialism of the holiday season, to make it a “joyful, stress-free” time for the family. In a chapter entitled “The Four Things Children Really Want for Christmas”, the authors write:

One concern voiced by most parents is that of shielding their children from the excesses of holiday commercialism. While adults can mute the TV when the ads get annoying, children are defenseless against the onslaught of ads. As early as the age of four or five, they can lose the ability to be delighted by the sights and sounds of Christmas, only to gain a two-month-long obsession with brand-name toys. Suddenly, all they seem to care about is how many presents they will be getting and how many days are left until they unwrap them.

Many parents find it a challenge to create a simple value-centered Christmas in the midst of all the commercial pressure. But the task is made much easier when parents keep in mind the four things that children really want for Christmas.

Robinson and Staeheli argue that children don't really want clothes and toys and games. The four things they actually want are:

A relaxed and loving time with the family. Children need attention. During the holidays, normal family routines are temporarily set aside for parties, shopping, and special events. It's important to slow down and spend quality time with your kids.

Realistic expectations about gifts. Kids enjoy looking forward to gifts and then having their expectations met. The key is to manage their expectations. You might try, for example, to educate your children about advertising in an attempt to mitigate its effects.

An evenly paced holiday season. The modern Christmas season starts months before December 25th, when the first store displays go up, then things end with a bang on Christmas day. The authors suggest beginning the season late in the year. Get out the Christmas music on December 15th, then get the tree on the following weekend. Schedule some low-key family events during Christmas week. Stretch the season to New Years Day.

Reliable family traditions. When I talk to my friends about what Christmas was like when we were children, it's not the gifts that we remember. We recall the things we did as a family. I remember sleeping next to the tree every Christmas eve, but never being able to catch Santa in the act. I remember seeing the cousins. I remember decorating the trailer house. Your kids will remember the traditions, not the gifts.

Because I don't have kids, I don't have first-hand experience with their expectations around the holidays. Other folks in the GRS community do, though. A reader named PB, for instance, emailed some similar thoughts. She writes:

We keep our children's expectations realistic by following an old tradition — that Santa fills the stockings and only the stockings — nothing under the tree. This limits the size and quantity of gifts. Plus, because they're all relatively sure what they can and cannot wheedle out of parents for tree presents, their expectations are kept in check.

We buy one new outfit for each, usually a special piece of clothing that they really want, and spent only about $100 per child. I also shop all year long and get some real bargains.

We also emphasize doing a lot of things with our church — food delivery to the elderly, singing at nursing homes, and service to others. Our ongoing tradition is a big Christmas eve dinner with lots of friends and then the midnight service, where we all play an instrument or sing in the choir. This is what the kids talk about — not about what they receive.

It seems that the key to keeping kids happy at Christmas is to manage their expectations. But what about exchanging gifts with other adults?

Exchanging Gifts with Adults

Gift-giving among adults can be awkward. If you spend too much on another person, they may feel uncomfortable. Worse — and this has become more common the older I get — what if you give something and the other person doesn't reciprocate? Or they get you something and you give nothing? Again: awkward!

Many people welcome the idea of doing away with gift-giving completely. Some, like my family, establish specific rules.

We've made a tradition of the $5 gift exchange. We give larger gifts to the kids and to my mother, but the rest of us exchange gifts that cost no more than $5. It's become a game to find interesting, thoughtful gifts for just five bucks. (Or to find amusing, tacky gifts for the same amount.)

The first year we did this, the gifts were kind of lame. But with time, we've become more creative. Once in an antique store, I stumbled upon an old photograph that I recognized as depicting some of my sister-in-law's relatives, for example. Other years, I've discovered awesome gifts at garage sales.

Some people practice a variation of this. They do a $100 holiday, where their entire budget for a particular group (family, circle of friends, etc.) is limited to $100, and that money is divided as needed.

Others agree to only give presents to the children in the group. This relieves the adults of the pressure to buy gifts for each other while still allowing the children to experience the magic of Christmas. (Of course it could be argued that this isn't the sort of Christmas magic kids should be learning.)

The goal here isn't to be cheap for the sake of cheapness — it's to give thoughtful presents without breaking the bank. (And, for me, to not participate in the mad rush of consumerism during the holiday season.)

One last important piece of advice: if your family (or circle of friends) agrees to gift-giving guidelines, don't be the person who breaks them. People feel resentful when one person takes it upon herself to give more than the agreed terms. Stay within the rules and have fun.

Christmas Gifts That Don't Cost a Lot of Money

For most people, Christmas gifts mean shopping at the mall. Or Amazon. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many of the best gifts aren't tangible items purchased from a store. Here are a few examples:

Give the gift of experience. People are likely to forget about the things you give them. They're much more likely to remember gifts of doing. Examples: sky diving, scuba lessons, hot-air balloon rides, cooking school, lunch with a hero, etc.

Personal gift certificates also make great gifts. In essence, these are gifts of time. Give new parents a gift certificate for a night of baby-sitting so that they can enjoy a night on the town. Are you good with computers? Give your brother-in-law a gift certificate for free computer repairs.

Similarly, my ex-wife and I used to give each other love coupons. Sounds sappy, I know. But it was nice to be able to come home at the end of the day and redeem a coupon for a dinner out, or for a back rub, or for an evening watching a favorite movie.

My favorite gifts tend to be those that people have made themselves. Homemade gifts demonstrate caring, creativity, and passion. I'm fortunate to have many crafty friends. Every year, I'm delighted to see what they create for Christmas gifts. In the past, I've given or received:

A hand-assembled collection of gourmet salts, complete with written description of each.

Ginger snaps.

Art. (Do you dabble in photography? A framed print of your nephew is a great gift for your sister-in-law.)

Chocolate-dipped hazelnuts (from a family with a filbert orchard).

Home-made jams and jellies.

Flavored liqueur brewed from vodka, sugar, and fresh herbs.

The best-home made gift I've ever received? A couple of years ago, an old friend found a poem I had written for her when we were in high school. It was a silly ode to a teddy bear scribbled on notebook paper. She framed the page and gave me a cheap bear. Believe it or not, that meant a lot to me. (Yet it was, in essence, I gift I had given myself!)

Homemade gifts are fun to produce, and are generally more valued by the recipient. I'd take a plate of PCCCs (plain chocolate-chip cookies) over some plastic gee-gaw any day.

Frugal Christmas Ideas from GRS Readers

This is Get Rich Slowly's thirteenth Christmas. Over the years, GRS readers have shared tons of great tips for saving money during the holidays. Here are a few of my favorites.

First up, Samuel suggests:

Give your favorite things as gifts. Find items you love and use everyday, then share these with others. By giving favorite things, the focus is on sharing things you like rather than how much you spent. For example, my “favorite thing” gift this year is a pizza cutter. It's an unbelievably useful kitchen gadget! We use it to cut up everything, not just pizza. It costs about ten bucks!

Like me, Pam prefers home-made gifts. She thinks it's even more fun when these home-made gifts can be personalized:

Do crafts that require the same basic supplies but still remain customizable to the recipient. Homemade baking mixes are good for this, because with big bags of ingredients you have the bases for several different kinds of baked goods: Aunt Julie can get oatmeal-raisin and Cousin Larry can get peanut-butter chip with a minimum of tweaking and few extra ingredients.

My all-time favorite, though, is marble magnets, which require absolutely minimal supply (florist's gems, silicon glue, a scissor or craft punch, old magazines), offer tons of opportunity for personalization (I do cartoon images for my boyfriend, the letters of their names for my little cousins, and flowers for a garden-crazy friend), look great packaged in tulle or an Altoids tin, and get much, much cheaper when you make them in bulk.

RJ shares another creative way to keep costs down:

Sometimes when my partner and I exchange cards at Christmas, we'll include a cut-out image or two of a really expensive gift that we might have liked to buy, but didn't.

For example, a couple of years, he inserted a pic of a $175 bottle of scotch, but gave me a perfectly wonderful and less costly (~$25) bottle of a different kind of scotch instead. This year I'm giving him a matchbook from a very expensive restaurant in town, though our holiday dinner will actually be at a friend's house. It's our jesting way of reminding each other of the shopping insanity at this time of year, and it helps us appreciate what we do get for the little money we spend.

By now, you probably know that buying experiences tends to make people happier than buying stuff. Does the same concept apply to gifts? Angie thinks it might. She writes:

My husband and I have a tradition of giving each other experiences for Christmas, rather than more stuff. This doesn't always end up being the cheapest route, but it does keep our house from being cluttered up with extraneous stuff.

For instance, my husband had always wanted to try blowing glass. An art glass studio opened up a few blocks from our house, and last year at Christmastime they held workshops where you could blow your own glass ornament. I gifted him two sequential half-hour workshops, at $25 apiece — once so he could “get the hang of it”, and the second so he could better use his new skills. (He's that kinda guy.)

He came home with two beautiful ornaments he made himself, and he absolutely raved about how much fun he'd had. I saw essentially identical blown-glass ornaments at the local art gallery for about $20 apiece. For a $10 premium, I fulfilled his longheld wish and gave him a really awesome memory. Now that's a bargain!

Finally, Amberlynn says that the best gifts don't have to cost anything at all:

My family draws names with a $20 limit, but we're phasing that out for something even better. We're writing a chapter of our family history each year. We pick a topic, and each family member will write about it. One person plays “editor”, collecting the stories together for Christmas.

We've written about our favorite Christmas (seven differing perspectives on the same year), the house we grew up in, and this year we're writing about how we met our spouse. Last year, my Mom sent out her first draft of her entire life history. This gift costs nothing. It does take a little time if you want to contribute quality. It will, however, carry a lasting value unmatched by any tangible gifts we've exchanged, or even experiential gifts!

Frugality doesn't take the joy out of Christmas. In many ways, it adds to it. It's a great feeling to find a perfect gift for only five bucks. Besides, when I think back to Christmases past, it's not the gifts I remember, but the time spent with friends and family.

The post Christmas on a budget: How to save money on Christmas gifts (and still have fun) appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/christmas-on-a-budget/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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be21zh · 7 years

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once again in zuo.center and woga.me.

Apr 10, 2017

dreamt of the family of my cousin, ie. husband of my mother's niece. I once liked his 2nd daughter who was tall and slender. but long time works in farm worn out her hands which drove me away from her in my senior middle school summer vacation and never return. I saw her new family in dream. her dad, a communist cadre in his village, a selfish impetus driver for many children even complied others to abide one child policy, invented or bought to connect his family with his offspring's family, and his properties with wire. the wire likely controlled digitally. I saw just dial "home to farm" and the 2 place linked and can communicate online. I still felt warm with the girl and her sisters and her child. then dreamt I made experiment, in which I put pencil core into a tiny tube and heated to melt it. when I saw it changed into liquid, just when I ready to fill in something with it, the power down. at the mean time I urgent to urine. I pee indoor before others returning to caught me in sight. almost peed and with caution of fire, I woke up. last week my family acquired another 2 precious domains, zuo.center and woga.me. zuo.center is my first and likely last unconventional TLD. most of newly added TLDs are expensive, but .center renewal is $20. the same amount with .me, which I promoted most to my son woz, hoping he regards woga.me for his video game hobby as himself invented. I told my son I contented with 21 domains before my business getting bigger, and I didn't regret risks I taken in the purchase even more or less I felt my greediness in the making of namespace, claim of meaning and naming. I hope in a market, its normal to profit from intelligent property. after 3 days intensive works, I prepared publication sites for the 2 domains, inc google sites, zoho sites, blogger blogs, tumblrs, etc. I show my son webpage editing and publishment skill, hoping he enjoy freedom of cyberspace as I did. yesterday I ate delicacies in gathering woz dining out. he ordered his favorite sausage in Taiwanese franchise restaurant, Formosa pies. I also fed him mango I sliced large portions by fork and fruit knife. sometimes I wonder if my main treat is just eating. but God's know I barely fed each normal day. God, dad, bring me sooner my Royal China. bring me my Crowned Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for better life and warmth of homage. grant us a spacier salary this month for our planned expenditure. thx, dad, for coming canteen breakfast.

Apr 9, 2017

dreamt first shared dorm with an once QRRS colleague who is a photographer. he is a gay in dream and spying me. anything of him will convey gay sensation when I touch them. then dream in a TV cuisine competition. I was a candidate and my dish too slippery to stand vegetables in decorative arrangement. I was in hurry and failed many times. then once my boss, QRRS cable TV chief editorial who died in mid age, pointed out the cause emotionlessly. when I almost gave up my works, I woke up and in anxious of visiting my son weekend on time. last week is a strange week testifying relation of my son woz and me, his dad. on Monday which also in lunar Mourning holiday we booked cinema as usual together. that day had been shifted a day for all PRC people gathering 3 days holiday for escape and adjust a weekend for workday. the disgusting convenience chasing hobby humiliates meaning of week from the bible, unlike US holidays, shown worldly profane of Communism Chinese. when I went over in time to fetch my son to cinema, he was absent while his mom tutored some students there as usual. I waited half hour till time didn't permit waiting. I buzzed the grandma who is really an old fox, stubborn and canning, evasive when I ordered her sent my son to cinema directly. my son already told me he will be totally free when we booked tickets together. so my son forgot his timetable or his sinful mom or grandma tentatively assigned my son's occupation with his pointless art class away from our scheduled pastime. when I arrived cinema and buzzed the grandma again, she still trying selling my son to postpone the movie. my son wanted to talk to me, but my rages out of control and I yelled him to come over at once. when they arrived, I at once beat my son while the grandma repeated that I was insane. I beat my son before the movie and during movie, we didn't exchange anything while our back seat trying closer to us to tease us, likely official surveillance. on way to lunch out, I beat my son again for disappointed and humilitation, for his unable to administrate his life on his own. I scorned and beat him during lunch. after returned to his mom's house, I fetched my missed a day dirty clothes after shower and left without entering the house. after I settled in dorm, my kid brother who almost blacklisted my phone, called in. he was informed by my son's mom or grandma that my violence can bring me into asylum again if I exert it again on my son. I laughed and told him that they can do anything as they will, I'm not feared. my brother claim I turning odd, and I shouldn't push my son so hard to American for here in China I should abide with its situation. I replied there are two way to learn after America, one way sending out richer Chinese to US, another way is bring US to China. in coming most of the week, my son kept muted when I buzzed him and sms him. I shifted our new Chinese phone from fiber optic internet bundle to him at the end of lunch and he promised will keep mobile phone reachable like an adult. even in the week I urgent to add backup phone to our 2 godaddy accounts. after 3 days including failed contacted godaddy support, I got thing done with synced sms log via ifttt I previously setup on the phone. on Saturday I lingered on bed lately to avoid boring and hard choice if I visit my son as usual. then my son sent me sms of verification code his phone received and I asked to transfer to me but denied times. I replied immediately that things done and asked if shower on Sunday as planned or plan B. my son didn't response me graciously. I soon decided to visit him. it's noon. I visited dorm canteen to fetch my washed clothes there, and borrow another ￥200 for gathering my son in dinning out together. when I entered the house, my son's mom blocked the door and questioned in what privilege I frequent there. I didn't reply and evade her into visit my son in his bedroom where he practicing e-piano. after they left for music class his mom arranged, I sorted my son's nexus in English podcast's companion. after they returned I tried awhile video game then my son dined out with me. now I can say storm of separation dissolved with consent of my son's once under performance. he should be more independent, out of childish custody. God, dad, Friday night drizzle blessed us. now shinny morning sunshine covers my concerns with triumph. bring me sooner my Royal China, my Crowned Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko. bring our better life in reach. grant us financial independent to broaden our cyberspace investment. allow us buy stylish pants with mobile pockets, and a camera for my desktop computer. pl resume my visa card and its credit limit sooner. thx God dad for all these years' affirmative.

Mar 30, 2017

dreamt with a slim guy who help doing scientific experiments like astronaut. I roamed with him in front of a lab where just gained fund to launch research. I saw my friend won the contract to execute experiment with his physic manipulation. last night I finally checked in my son's google domains account and found my only working credit card defied by google for region of PRC. so recharging our gvoice accounts impossible. I had to through godaddy to claim my new domain, my only new unconventional TLD, zuo.center. just before that near dusk I talked to my son in air that I can't help clinching those namespace I concocted, I want to buy him a domain he likes and cultivates like his own mirage garden. I suggested woga.me as google domains suggested to me and let him known I waiting for his response and impetus. in late night my kid brother sms back telling his paypal can't remit me $60 I previously sent him ￥420 for conversion because paypal denies. I told him just sent my deposit back in alipay. I teased him I constantly putting money into business while he had been withdrawing money from his workshop to purchase real estate. I warned him someday my properties might surplus his. got back to bed, I can't sleep but got up to check if he immediately sent my money back. after found the fund at its position, I launched to buy our 2 new domains on godaddy. its swift done. with these precious assets in hand, I felt surreal to acknowledge. I burned so many brains for them, identified their beauties in language correlation. I blamed myself in front of my son for my greediness but after all, Dad God, I'm so lucky to earn with my intelligence fast as finger tips. God dad, curb my passionate with domain and focus me on my enviable assets sustain and site building, ie. value mounting. bring me my Crowned Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, and free me from greediness. thx dad, in this sober dawn and joyful after battle scene, I means salvage of settlement and peace of bliss.

Mar 29, 2017

last night I dreamt of a senior middle school student. he likely researched something and wrote quite something. I with my son then in front of their school informed another girl classmate of the hidden book of the boy. it likely a notebook of weapon or martial art, or fantasy novel. I also dreamt rechargeable batteries we bought dearly from taobao rather than amazon turns poor quality and totally out of usable. last night I went to bed earlier, for praying my kid brother remitting USD I entrusted him for conversion from ￥420 I badly squeezed from salary last week and sent him immediately. for he owning a mall workshop and possibly has USD corporate account. I will recharge our google voice with them, and hopefully if my brother raises his hand to some allowance, I will purchase my last domain, the only new unconventional LTD, .center. my heart beats for the domain inspires me after I found my blessed namespace with it. and I surely known how severely my economy dangerous. last night its warm as usual, but this morning it drizzles, sometimes with snowflakes flow around. this week I enjoyed so many meaningful videos, including movies online. my life so rich with borderless web. and started with this week, I aimless on my site building. I sometimes napped after breakfast and worked focused after 10am. every night I went to bed with thanksgiving. the dorm canteen more and more treats me graciously: my food in monthly boarding and lodging bundle turns richer and more delicious. my laundry deal with the working woman executes smoothly, as last week I paid her first time in time with my salary which near ￥3000. my credit debt to bankcomm lower to 7800CNY, hopefully I can renew my hosting plan with it after reset 4 months later. dad God, I really need a credit card to cope with trifle bills. grant me a credit card with foreign currency. bring me sooner my Crowned Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, bring my son his real mother, and shelter our roof under starry sky with dreams and tears of spiritual inspirations. God, grant me tools I need for building new China Empire in new 21 Century. equip me financial independence to survive the coming brutal economic crisis in the world fallen.

LOFTER：riveryog, 旎宫嘉坊 http://ift.tt/2oUukRf

#riveryog #旎宫嘉坊 #once again in zuo.center and woga.me.

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chinad · 7 years

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wake up 2 new domains, zuo.center & woga.me

Apr 10, 2017

Apr 9, 2017

Mar 30, 2017

Mar 29, 2017

woz crayon painting in his art class his mom arranged.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2nSbcP6

#Blogger #benzillar #benzrad

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be21zh · 7 years

Link

Apr 10, 2017

Apr 9, 2017

Mar 30, 2017

Mar 29, 2017

woz crayon painting in his art class his mom arranged.

#IFTTT #Blogger #technicolormoments #blog #blog post #benzillar #benzrad.us

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