I heard you wanted posts on “how I spend my money,” so… okay, after I started reading all of these Phryne Fisher mystery novels (I’m currently on #13, The Castlemaine Murders) I began to ask myself if I shouldn’t try to live a little more like Miss Fisher.

I mean, Phryne has Infinite Money thanks to Inheritance Magic and I… um… don’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in some of the finer things in life the way she does!

So here’s where some of my money has gone in the past month:

I started by buying a stack of Ghirardelli chocolate bars, so I could have a little chocolate now and then but also save money by not going to the fancy chocolate shop across the street every time I got the urge. I’ve spent $27.92 on grocery store Ghirardelli since the beginning of July ($13.96 on July’s chocolates and $13.96 on August’s). That turned out to be a worthwhile investment.

When I got to the whole “Lin Chung takes Phryne out for exquisite dumplings” section of whichever book that was in, I spent $34.09 on takeout dumplings that were neither exquisite nor indulgent. (Mostly they were greasy.) That was a waste of cash.

A few days later I told myself that Phryne Fisher would definitely support a restaurant that had just opened up, she’s all about supporting small businesses financially, so I went to this new restaurant and I’m not going to say much about it except that it was extremely unsanitary and there was human hair involved and it cost $21.99 and I decided that restaurant support would no longer be a part of my Phryne Fisher emulation strategy.

I spent $43 supporting my friends’ artistic endeavors, and I could be a little embarrassed that this number is lower than the money I spent on takeout dumplings and hair food, except I’m going to two more indie bookstore readings tonight and tomorrow which means I’ll quickly drop another $40 on books.

Then, after reading I don’t know how many pages in which Phryne spends her evenings (and/or mornings) in her glamour jammies while I’m wearing three-year-old pajamas with holes in them because, I mean, they’re 99% still good, I bought myself some new evening wear.

$98.43 worth.

This includes not only pajamas, but a cornflower-blue duster-style cardigan to wear over them (it has pockets!) because I wanted something that was comfortable and snuggly and lovely to look at (and had pockets!) that wasn’t, like, a robe. When you wrap a robe around a pair of pajamas, it’s bedtime-time. When you drape yourself in a cardigan so long that it flows out behind you, you’re ready to lounge.

NO, THERE SHALL BE NO PHOTOS

IF THIS WERE NOT ALSO MY PROFESSIONAL FREELANCING SITE THERE MIGHT BE

IT’S A VERY PRETTY CARDIGAN

Anyway, um… be careful what you read, because it could inspire you to spend a bunch of money on stuff you don’t really need but are very glad to have, because it’s a lot nicer to spend the last few hours of the day in soft pants that are not literally coming apart at the seams.

Also, at this point I’ve gotten through so many Phryne Fisher books, at just a chapter or two per day before I go to sleep, that they’ve stopped feeling like books where you remember everything that happens and more like life, where everything is mostly the same and then you’re like “oh, right, they took Phryne’s sister Eliza to the fair a week ago, how’d I forget that already?”

Which is nice kind of book to read, at the end of the day with all the lights out except for the one you’re reading with. A good way to quiet your mind, and curl up in your new clothes that have no unnecessary holes in them.

Dare I say—and you know I’m going to say it—cozy. ❤️

ALSO ALL THE MURDERS

HOW COULD I FORGET THAT EVERY BOOK INCLUDES AT LEAST ONE MURDER

I GET DISTRACTED BY ALL THE CHAPTERS ABOUT KISSING AND PIE AND REAL SILK DRESSES