Blow-out Weekend

Tough weekend. Financially that is. Otherwise, it was great. The Guy's birthday was a lot of fun! Birthday dinner, double massages with a chocolate scrub, a night out after a Pats victory. A very sweet breakfast at the same place we had one of our first dates. But, I totalled up all of the gifts and expenses and I figured that everything came to over $800 (framing art for him, several dinners, a concert, a wine tasting, covering the bill for all those birthday shots at the bar, those massages). Gifts, especially for a significant other, have always been my weakness. I just want to give him something that he'll love and something that will convey his level of importance in my life. But I really can't afford what he can (he makes twice what I do). It's hard because I don't think all of the little things like buying less expensive groceries and taking my lunch to work are going to "make up" for $800. I hate having to think about money this much, and big blow-out weekends like this one make me do it. I'm going to try not to be a Scrooge for V-day, but I'll just have to set a b-u-d-g-e-t this time. Ick.