$15 Happiness: Glass Pumpkin Purchase

I'm not really into spooky Halloween decorations.  I think it's a much better idea to decorate with items that can carry you through Thanksgiving because it saves money and limits your decoration storage needs.  I've restricted myself to a few items that work from September to November, which include this really pretty new gold painted glass pumpkin from Home Goods which cost a whopping $12.99!

Isn't she pretty?  I put out a couple fall decorations this past weekend and I love this new addition!  This pumpkin perks me up for a few minutes every time I walk through the door, even after a long day at work!  If that isn't a $15 Happiness, I don't know what is. 

Free Happiness: Instagram

Melinda has been rocking the instagram account this weekend. Despite all the fun she was having, she was able to share a lot of her experiences with us. It was almost as if I was there with her, which makes instagram my free happiness inspiration.

While she recovers from her travels, I thought I would share my favorite pictures from her weekend.






I'm so happy Melinda was able to take time off to enjoy the Kentucky Derby and Tennessee. But I am also so happy for myself that Melinda will be back to her normal schedule so we can go back to our favorite past time: gchatting away!

Want to read about our other happiness inspirations? The idea is that we can find little things that bring us happiness without spending more than $15. Sometimes it is material, sometimes it is an experience. Either way, we try to take time and enjoy life the Posh Purpose way.

$10 Happiness: Firefly Tram Tour

A few weeks ago my sister Bekah invited J and I to go along on a firefly tram tour at our local state park. Up until then, I didn't even realize Florida had fireflies! I loved chasing and catching them when visiting Kentucky family so of course I was up for going on the tour.

We all rode around on a tram (think Disney transportation between parking and park) with a park ranger tour guide, who explained all kinds of things about the Florida scrub and stopped where the fireflies were more abundant. We also stopped to see other wildlife that started roaming around dusk.

The adult tickets were $5 each and totally worth it. Well I thought so. J grew up with Ohio fireflies so our little bunches of Florida fireflies were not so impressive to him. He had a good time holding baby J and eventually putting her to sleep.

Sadly our firefly season has already come to an end due to summer starting waaaaay early. But I will keep an eye out next year for more tram tours! What kind of fun nature outings do y'all enjoy? And check out our other $15 happiness posts!

$8 Happiness: Coral Nail Polish

I absolutely love our new series $15 Happiness! It was entirely Melinda's idea and I think it really captures an aspect of our Posh Purpose approach to living glamorously within our means. In Melinda's first post in this series, she wrote a great description which you should totally check out if you missed it the first time around.

Now I don't normally wear coral, or really any shade that looks even remotely orange. However, I was drawn in by Essie tart deco at the drugstore by the pinky tangerine color. It is definitely a shade of orange but I was encouraged to try it out because I have a pair of bathing suit bottoms from H&M that is a similar color. 

I am so thrilled that I took a coral risk! I have been admiring my self administered pedicure for over a week. Essie is typically durable on toenails, although I always manage to chip my fingernails very quickly. But no worries there, I don't see myself wearing this polish on my hands. 

Does anyone else have a new favorite summer polish? Melinda and I are always up for a new color. And check out our other $15 happiness posts!

$13 Happiness: Jam, Honey, & Butter

I've done a few posts on little upgrades that I've put in around my apartment, but we are starting a new series called $15 Happiness.  If you've read our post on what the Purpose of Posh Purpose is, you know that one of our beliefs is incorporating little bits of luxury into your daily life (you choose how to define what is luxurious to you).  While little upgrades are focused on improvements in housing or decor, $15 Happiness is dedicated to things or experiences $15 or less that make you feel pampered, less stressed...or simply make you smile like this jam jar, honey pot, and butter keeper from Crate and Barrel for $13 that I purchased over the weekend while shopping for a friend's wedding present.

I love the way this cute dishes look together and while they are all useful items, they weren't absolute necessities.  BUT they make me immensely happy and I plan to use them quite a bit for future brunches.  The butter keeper is getting put out immediately at my upcoming Easter Potluck this Sunday (be sure to check in next week for a How to Host post).

Isn't this jam jar sweet?  It makes me happy on the inside every time I look at it.

The honey jar has a removable silicone dipper, which will put a bright pop of yellow on the table.

I just love how cheerful the dishes look together!  While this post focused on material items (although useful!), not all of our $15 Happiness posts will be about items we purchased...for example, when D.C. is blowing nasty sideways rain a $10 cab ride would certainly bring me a lot of happiness over walking. Aaaaand although our Thrift Store Finds are definitely below the $15 mark, we will not be including them as a part of this series.

PS - If you are wondering where I picked up that pretty placemat, you can read about it here and here.