Indulgence that is probably a waste.

Every year, I buy myself one serious THING and then usually one totally frivolous item.  This year, the THING was this:

The grill with side smoker box for the monkey serious about learning to tame the smoke.  Technically, it's Phenom's birthday gift . . . and the Phenom benefits from my experiments.  Oh, and brine is your friend .  .  . especially brine with beer.

My frivolous item was a subscription to BIRCHBOX .  Once I decided which sort of box would be more appropriate for a monkey . . . I set about ordering.  Once a month, you get a little box of samples.  They are totally random, although there is some attempt, supposedly, to match some of the samples to your preferences.

Beauty products for a monkey?!  I love samples, what can I say?  Plus, this is how I keep my travel bag stocked.  I don't know if the box I got today was really worth $10 . . . but there are several items I think will work beautifully while I travel this summer.  And, as the Old Woman would say . . . you don't know what your favorite thing is unless you try new things.