i am a clothes… make-up… and jewelry lover. it’s the part of me that bought traditional fabrics and clothes at the-more-local-the-better markets in asia (with my soul-sistah shay lee)… the part that enjoys seeing all the chic people and wants to find vintage-treasures here in paris. it is human nature to decorate oneself (which is essentially what clothes, jewelry, make-up, hair, piercings, nails is…) but of course the things that are actually important are not things you can find in stores…… family, friends and experiences…

i am not saying, don’t buy yourself pretty clothes and treat yourself to expensive lipstick or having your nails done. all that fun stuff (i post on ‘the outside”, on this little blog of mine…) but since (at least for meeee) money is a limited resource…. i tend to spend my moola on experiences. and this article “the science on why you should spend your money on experiences, not things” confirmed my resolution.

here are some essential quotes.

 “We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.”

– to this i would just like to add, that when i spent a ridiculous amount on these sunglasses for example… i do it without regret. it was not as much about haaaaving them, but the fact that i had earned the money myself, to spend it on whatever iiii wanted, and the feeling i had when i bought them and how seeexay i felt wearing them. so in a way this was actually an “experience”… that i love remembering. (good because they were actually stolen from me…. so there you have it. haha) also… when i buy makeup products (can’t remember the last time i did), but i will definitely be replacing these babies, that currently occupy my makeup bag. even though they are “superficial” items… i suppose, with their purchase, i actually pay for the fun i will have using and wearing them.

“…while the happiness from material purchases diminishes over time, experiences become an ingrained part of our identity.”

– like the time i went “deep water soloing” at tonsai beach in thailand…  which basically means free-climbing up the sandstone rocks and then jumping into the open water. damn… i still can’t believe i actually did that!

“shared experiences connect us more to other people than shared consumption.”

– i think we can all agree on that, without question. even though i have spent a short amount of time with some of the people i met during my time in asia, we have a deep connection that will never fade (like leanna… to just name one). traveling with my parents in myanmar and all of the things we experienced… all the food we ate…  and all the beauty we saw together, are some of the most precious moments of my life.

i am really curious to hear about the “best” thing / experience you have ever spent money on!