size matters

when my sister was here to visit we went to the beach.  i’m normally happy wearing jeans and a tank top on any 80 degree day but when i go to the beach i refuse to wear jeans.  it just feels wrong.  so that morning i pulled out my capris, and started to try them on.  one by one they didn’t fit.  then i found my trusty jean skirt.  i figured i’d just wear that.  i don’t even own shorts (and i refuse to wear them) so this skirt is what i would typically wear on an unbearably hot day if i opted to not wear a dress.  as i began pulling the skirt up i almost broke into tears.  i couldn’t get it past my thighs.  just like every pair of pants i’d tried on.  nothing fit me at all.  it’s ridiculous!  i mean it’s been less than a year since i’ve worn these items and now i can’t get this stuff past my thighs.  if i’d had the energy i would have cried.

i’ve gained weight in the last few months, yes.  but in total about 8 pounds only.  i found this lovely drawn lady to demonstrate where i’m picking up the fat (keep in mind she and i don’t share the same boob ratio)  it just all seems to gather in the space between the red lines:

so i decided that on my next shopping trip my goal was bottoms.  i buy tops all the time, that’s easyeasier.  i need skirts and capris.  so when M was out of town this weekend i used my fallback time filler -  shopping at the outlets!  after spending 2 hours there i couldn’t find much of what i needed.  it was a total bummer.  i ended up with one great pair of capris and the onlky jean skirt i could find in the entire outlet center (we have 120 store so that’s kinda sad… am i that out of style?  are jean skirts really out?).  and the guy at true religion was a total jerk about it.  i walked in and asked the first employee i saw “do you guys have any jean skirts?”  to which he quickly retorted “DENIM skirts?  no, we don’t have any DENIM skirts right now.”.  get off your high horse kid.  i know that jeans are pants made of denim and a jean skirt isn’t an actual thing but get over it.  i was speaking in layman’s terms so take your well manicured attitude elsewhere.

so i did eventually find one denimskirt in the KC outlet and i bought it.  it is actually a great fit.  but i’m just so surprised that there weren’t more options.  i also bought a pair of python flats… i’m not really sure why, i guess just to round out my animal print collection.  they’re super cute though.  while i was in KC i tried on a few pairs of jeans along with this skirt.  i grabbed size 2s when i walked in the door.  when the nice lady came back to check on me in the dressing room i asked her to bring me 4s.  she did.  the skirt now fit, but the jeans still did not.  she told me i might be a 6 or an 8.  WHAT?!?  i’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these sizes, but i was a 0-2 last year and have been for most of my life.  actually a majority of my life i’ve been happy to find a size 0 that wasn’t baggy on me.  when i started being able ot fit into 2s i was elated.  when i found 4s that fit, i was ecstatic.  i felt like a normal human being.  but now you’re telling me that i could be 3-4x bigger than i was a year ago?  i don’t care what size you are, that type of increase is not cool!  now i’m not a 6 across the board, my banana items prove that to me.  but it’s still thrown me for a loop.  as i look down at my ever-expanding stomach it makes me sad.  i guess i never realized that skinny girls can be fat at the same time.  i’m going to have to step up my pilates classes.

anyway when i got home and balanced my checkbook i wanted to cry.  yes, i need bottoms for the warm weather.  but i also didn’t needthe 5 tops and pair of shoes i bought.  i decided to take on the task of pulling out, and trying on, every past summer item from the big tupperware tubs that were hiding in my closet.  after a few hours i ended up with an enormous pile of items to take to salvation army and a burn behind my thighs from trying to pull things on that weren’t willing. 

stupid clothes.

 

 

~ today i learned… every once in a while you should put 1/2 cup of baking soda in with your towels.  it will make them fresher than you thought possible : )    ~

retail ridiculousness

when we were in DC the other week i ran into a make-up problem.  as i was lining my lips the crayon fell out of the pencil, what was left of it anyway.  it was such a tiny bit but i began searching for it to shove it back in.  i must tell you that this wasn’t the first time i’ve put this back in, so maybe i should have remedied this earlier.  but anyway i never found it so i suddenly found myself without lip liner.  i went ahead with just chapstick for the rest of the weekend.  you see i don’t wear lipstick.  for me it’s only for fancy events, ones where i wear perfume and tons of hairspray and even sometimes earrings.  so anyway, i’m a clinique girl and while i’ve bought many things at cvs there are certain things i love about clinique.  my lip liner is one of them.  not long after we got back into town i received a flyer from clinique and macy*s in the mail.  it’s bonus time!  and what perfect timing.  i usually restock on whatever i may need during these times because that crap never goes on sale and if i’m going to pay a stupid price for makeup i’m gonna’ get some free stuff out of it.  so when i was out shopping the other night i got excited about replenishing my makeup and went into macy*s to cash in on the bonus.  when i was checking out the counter girl asked me if i wanted the purple bag or the pink.  i didn’t really care because i have so many bags that i wasn’t going to use it anyway.  it would most likely end up as a crayon/pencil bag for my niece.  after she handed me my receipt she told me i could come back on wednesday.  what??  it’s friday!  and i need lip liner… now.  as it turns out it wasn’t actually bonus time yet, but they had started giving them away.  what they do is send you a flyer to reel you in ans sell you make-up and then you have to come back on the first day of the promotion to get your free gift and purchases.  this is absurd.  with my heavy retail background, i totally get that they want to drive traffic on a wednesday, a typically slow business day.  i get that, i appreciate that.  what i don’t get is why they’re holding my makeup hostage.  she gave me a claim ticket to bring back with me.  why can’t i have my make-up and just come back with my ticket on wednesday?  this makes so much more sense!  because then people can take their purchase home, and many will return for their free gift.  but you’ll also see a breakage on the redemptions, which makes them just like a regular sale and therefore only saves clinique money by having to put out less free bags.  or even better yet, maybe they should just not address the free gifts until the day they can actually give them out!  because then people would just come back on the days of hte free offer anyway.  i don’t really get who decided this was the way to do it.    i’m frustrated about this whole thing.  and i still can’t get my lip liner until tomorrow.  grr clinique.

i went through the wendy’s drive thru the other night because i was already out, and dreading having to make myself dinner when i got home.  so as i’m sitting there, waiting for them to take my money and give me my dinner, i was looking around inside through the window.  i saw a sign that looked like a stop sign, you know, a red octagon with white border.  it said “Hand Washing Station STOP and wash your hands”.  umm, isn’t that just a sink?  and are the little signs posted everywhere about washing your hands not enough?  then the girl finally finished the process and when she handed me the last thing i said “thank you” only to receive a “umm.hmm.” and a slam of the window.  wtf?  what is up with fast food workers?  i know it’s not the most glamorous job, but why are they allowed to get away with such attitudes?  if i ever gave a client attitude like i get at fast food places i would be fired in an instant.  i realize that 9-5 corporate jobs are not entirely comparable to jobs in the fast food industry, but no one is forcing them to work there.  there are so many places to get a job.  why not take one where you don’t have to interact with people?  and i know it’s not everyone, i’ve run into some friendly and  efficient workers in fast food or even (what i would consider) less ideal jobs.  but i have to say the majority of them i’ve dealt with are not happy campers.  it’s like they’re made at me for ordering fries.

even though i’ve been in the retail industry as long as i care to remember, i’m confused by it’s acceptance of such ridiculous things and i’m disappointed that it does not demand more.  if i lived in the midwest i would apply to macy*s as a favor to help them out.  because i don’t know if i can take being teased into thinking sales are actually happening again.

  

  

~ today i learned…  the term “balls to the wall” did not stem from some guys talking about how they had big ones and were awesome.  it’s actually began from fighter planes. the “balls” are knobs atop the plane’s throttle control.  pushing the throttle all the way forward, to the wall of the cockpit, is to apply full throttle.  hence “balls to the wall” ~

 

i think i heard my wallet cry

i seriously have no self control… when it comes to my wallet.  i can’t control my spending.  i like to fool myself into thinking i can, or by justifying the things i buy, but when things are on sale i just can’t help myself.  i’m the retail industry’s wet dream.  i’m a sucker for a sale sign!

on friday night E’s husband was out of town so we set out to shop.  she was out to teach him a lesson about leaving her alone with a credit card, and me?  well i just buy things to feel better.  the first store we went into (which should have been our last) was banana.  everything was on sale!  everything!  besides the regular clearance section, which is my usual destination, everything full price was 20% off.  it was their promotion to celebrate their new london store.  i could care less about that, all i cared about was that it was a sale.  i immediately set an amount in my head, which was higher than i’d intended before i knew there was a sale.  i ended up buying more than i wanted to.  about 60% more.  but i got lots of tops, and i loved them all.  my main concern, when i walked out with my full bags, was whether i should still go to the outlets the next day as planned. 

even though the weather was terrible the next morning, i headed to the outlets.  my entire purpose for going is always the BR outlet.  but with all the money i’d spent the day before i couldn’t imagine how this was going to turn out well.  after trying on everything in the store i put the things i didn’t LOVE away and took the rest to the register.  again, i’d decided i would set a limit and try to stick to it.  apparently i’m terrible at simple math because even though i tried to figure it all out in the dressing room (thank heavens for calculators on cell phones), i was shocked when the total showed up on the register.  over 2x more than i’d decided to spend.  as i swiped my card, i realized that i was going to have to return some things.  to either BR or the BRO.  when i got home and laid everything out on my bed, i was sad.  i loved so much of it.  i ended up sectioning out a couple of pairs of pants and a top that i can bring back and still live with the decision.  i’m upset with how much money i did spend, because i should be saving.  but i’m proud that i am going to return some of it.  and now i can’t wait until the weather picks up so i can start wearing all my new fun tops!

i’ve also decided that i am going to return a bag that i bought a couple of weeks ago that’s been sitting in the store bag on  my floor ever since.  i’m pretty proud of that decision.  but i also know i need shoes.  when i was trying my new stuff on i realized that i don’t have many shoes for this season.  okay, i take that back.  i have lots of shoes.  but apparently not many shoes i’m over the moon about.  so i’m kinda worried that i’m going to spend money with L this week.  i really hope she doesn’t want to go shopping.  but even if she doesn’t i have to load up on groceries and that’s never cheap.

i just shouldn’t be spending money like this.  it’s such a vicious cycle.  i get sad because i’m broke.  i go shopping to feel better.  i get sad because i spent money and am even more broke.  so i go shopping to feel better.  anyone know how to break the cycle??

  

  

~ today i learned… hornets release an alarm pheromone that can tell an entire nest to sting in defense.  for this reason, you should not kill a hornet near it’s nest as the entire nest may come out immediately after to sting. ~

spending=bad saving=good

*warning: this post is almost incoherent*

i met a friend for lunch today.  when we were finished eating (and after treating ourselves to ice cream!) we wandered into the bed bath & beyond across the parking lot.  i found a set of sheets i like on sale, and i had one of my coupons with me, so i bought them.  of course, these aren’t the ones i love, but those are $89 and not on sale, so no dice today.  anyway, after purchasing them i thought about what i was going to do now.  you see, we had lunch on the other side of town.  during my drive there, i decided i would swing by tj maxx and macy*s out there to see what they might have.  i’ve been looking for this specific pair of nine west flats and i was keeping my fingers crossed i’d find them.  *side note: i first saw these shoes a couple of months ago in macy*s but decided not to buy them because i thought i could get them cheaper than $50… needless to say i began searching for them everywhere and couldn’t find them for less than $73 and by the time i went back to the mall i’d seen them at, they were long gone.*  i decided i’d still take a swing by at least tj maxx since if they were going to be cheap, they’d be there.  i was also still stressed out about this whole applying for jobs thing, so i knew i would feel better buying a pair of shoes.  well, to my surprise as i approached the store, i saw that it’s dress week!  and they weren’t kidding.  but, the awesome part was that they had Maggy London!  my favorite!!  so i grabbed a handful of dresses and headed for the dressing room.  i swung by shoes, but didn’t see anything i liked (phew).  i did grab some bathing suits and a couple of tops on my way in.  and the fact that i can only take 8 items in is dumb.  there’s no one else here, and you have an 8 and a 6 sign, why can’t i just take both and take all my stuff in at once?!?  anyway, after trying everything on i came out successful.  i think.  i ended up purchasing a top, a dress, and a bathing suit.  oh yah, and i saw a cute small bag on the way to the register so i decided to have that too.  i felt better walking out of there.  i debated whether i should go to macy*s or not.  afterall, the whole point of this shopping (besides therapy) was to find a pair of black flats.  specifically a pair of black flats with cow print.  so i vowed to not stop in any other departments so i could go to macy*s.  i went straight for the clearance rack.  9.  8 1/2.  8.  ah ha, 7 1/2, there it is.  oh look, here’s a similar pair, but in brown.  i’ll hold onto those.  and.. can it be?  really?  there they are!  awww… they’re a 6 1/2.  someone put them back in the wrong place and it really got my hopes up.  so the wonderful shoe helper searched the computer to see if they had them anyway.  no luck.  i bought the brown and figured they’d have to do.  then she did my favorite thing.  she printed out a piece of paper that tells me every store that has them in my size, how many they have, and their phone number.  this is one thing i LOVE about macy*s.  i’ve used this ALOT.  as soon as i got out to my car i picked up the phone.  i skipped over the one store in my state because it only had 1.  and i know how retail is and how wrong the inventory systems are.  i went straight to the store in TX with 13 pairs.  i called.  i waited on hold.  they finally came back to tell me they didn’t have any.  what??  it says you have 13!  that’s not even close to zero.  you have a huge shrinkage problem.  thanks anyway.  i called a couple more stores with high inventory (or so the paper says) but either they were busy, or no one answered.  so i sucked it up and called the one in state location.  she found it.  well, she found the right one.  i held for about a half hour while she searched for the left one.  i was convinced that’s how they still had a pair… because they only had one shoe.  but lo and behold, she found it!  i was so excited.  coincidentally, this is the same location that searched and searched and found my black pumps the other month.  i’m loving this store!!  i feel like i should drive down there some day and hug their shoe department employees!   so now i have these on the way to my front door, and i can’t decide if i want to return the brown ones.  i kinda like em.  we’ll see.  i’ve never been a huge flats fan, but somehow i now own (once the new ones arrive) 5 pairs.  i guess they’re just the best alternative to flip flops (which i choose to only wear on the beach) and it’s great because i can wear jeans that aren’t long enough for my legs AND pumps.

so here’s the picture of my purchases (it makes me happy to see it all in one place before it gets put away).  oh yah, the little yellow shoes and green flats are somethings i bought with my mom this weekend.  who knew payless had such cute shoes?!

i love the smocking on the shirt, and the pintucks on the dress… i guess you can’t really see the details on it, so let me show you…

i’m still not sure about these types of dresses on me, but i’m trying to branch out and do cute stuff.  we’ll see if i wear it much… or ever. 

oh, and here are the shoes that are on their way…

in summary here are the highlights:

• i bought all of these things and still only spent half of what S did on ONE purse!
• i saved 67% off the total retail prices on these items
• extra 20% off at macy*s … i don’t know for how long, or if it’s just on clearance shoes.  i didn’t ask questions, i just happily accepted it (on both purchases!)
• dress week at tj maxx is exactly that.  and it’s awesome.  if you like CK, Maggy London, etc. for $39 you’re in luck!

now i’m going to try things on and figure out what looks good with what.  i’m thinking the red pumps i bought last month with the blue dress… we’ll see

** funny update: i just got off the phone with my sister.  she went to tj maxx today too… and she was telling me about the dress she liked.  it’s dark blue with a tie at the neck and pintucking.  it’s the dress i bought!  what are the odds that sisters who live in different states find the same one dress in a store full of dresses?!  i think it’s great! **

dress up

i just saw these dresses and am in love…

how friggin cute are they?  i have no idea where i’d wear them, but last year i decided to buy more dresses and incorporate them into my wardrobe more instead of just saving them for special events.  i think these would be great for the summer.  they’re not every day dresses, but how nice to go to dinner in them or something.  and there were alot more dresses that i fell in love with but these are within my budget.  okay, not so much in my i’m-broke-i-gots-no-money budget, but i can afford them if i really wanted to spend the money.  i’m torn.

i also really like these shoes… they look like a crossword puzzle. 

coulda’ shoulda’ woulda’

today i…

… could have gone running.  it was gorgeous out for quite a few hours in the middle of the day.  and it was about 70 degrees out so it would have been a relaxing run.  but i’m still a little too sore from pilates to run just yet.  i also need to update my mp3 player with some tunes.  the last time i put music on there was about 2 years ago… so, yah, definitely time for an update.

… should have worked harder.  i’ve done the work necessary of me for today, but there’s always more i can be doing.  but the way i see it is that i’m working backwards into my bonus… or lack thereof.  i also should have taken my trash out before the rain started.  and i should have been saving money for M’s birthday gift, and my sister’s birthday gifts, and our little weekend trip we’re going to be taking some time soon. 

… would have watched movies, except i really wanted to get outside and soak up some of that sun.  and i would’ve filled up my gas tank but i forgot while i was out.  i also would have shipped my mom’s electronics to her but i took a wrong turn and wasn’t headed towards kinkos anymore so i said funk it.  i would have washed dishes but i just feel like i’m going to dirty more tonight, so i’ll wash them all later.

so if you didn’t do all of those things, what did you to today, you ask?  well… i went shopping!  actually, first i dropped off some of the leftovers from last night’s dinner into M’s fridge as a little surprise for when he gets home.  it’s not that often i come up with something that M really likes to eat so i wanted him to get more of it.  but then i went shopping.  it’s amazing how the sunny warm days make you want to get out and shop.  especially when you have open air malls around.  here’s my shopping agenda and outcome from today…

tj maxx - goal = look at prices of pilates mats to compare with other places
- at tj maxx i found 2 pairs of shoes… one i loved, the other was alright but it was $5.  i took a look at the price of mats and also browsed through the bathing suits and dresses only to find quite a few things that caught my eye.  i decided not to buy anything since i could compare with other places and then stop here on the way home… on my way out i made a list of the things i wanted to try on when i got back there

target - goal = birthday gift for my sister
- at target i finally found what i was looking for.  i’m not thrilled with it, but the options were slim so it was the best of the group.  i heard the bag section calling my name but was able to successfully avoid touching them, and in turn avoid buying one.  though i did get sucked in by the easter candy they were putting out… who canresist robin’s eggs?  and i looked at the pilates mat prices… too expensive and kinda ugly.

macy*s - goal = black pumps i saw about a week ago that were now 40% off
- at macy*s i went straight to the shoe, handed it to the sales person and she went off looking for my size.  she came back empty handed… they didn’t have it!  she pulled the details of all the local stores and no one had it in my size.  i was very close to crying.  i knew this was going to happen, i waited 2 weeks thinking about it and decided i really wanted them and now it’s too late.  even though she said no one had them, i asked her for the printout anyway.  there was a store a few hours away at the bottom of the list.  i called to see if they could ship them to me.  they couldn’t find them.  the lady on the phone had me on hold for about 20 minutes looking for them.  she kept having me spell the model name.  then, in a last ditch effort, i told her that the system said they had three and maybe one of them was the model on display.  she put me on hold to check the table.  TA DA!  they had it!  i was so relieved and happy.  i thought my day couldn’t get much better.  so these great pumps are on their way to me right now.

marshall’s - goal = compare pilates mat prices, possibly look at bathing suits
- at marshall’s i found some dresses to try on… a bunch.  i loved one of them and decided that i’ll need to buy a belt for it, but it’s worth the low price.  i love almost every dress that bcbg max azria makes.  on my way to find the pilates mats i saw them… holy crap!  it’s them!  it’s them!!  my giraffe shoes!!  they put them away when i had come looking for them last week… and now they pulled them back out!  they didn’t have many so i had to buy them a half size too small, so what… they’re open toe, it won’t matter too much.  but the $60 i saved matters alot!  i couldn’t believe they had them… man, what a day… and i still had to go back to tj maxx!

tj maxx - goal = purchase both sets of shoes and try on the bathing suits and dresses
- one of the dresses fit alright, but it was going to need a bit of altering.  and the price point wasn’t quite low enough to add to the altering cost to make it worth it.  i’ll keep an eye on it to see if they mark them down.  nothing else looked so hot on.  i grabbed the shoes before anyone else did.  as i looked closer at the $5 pair i realized what was up… they were two different sizes.  that wasn’t going to work for me.  so i left there with a nice cushy pilates mat that didn’t break the bank and the same shoes as the giraffe ones but in red.

so here are my goodies… i’m very excited!!  (i didn’t buy the gold shoes, i got these last fall on a whim and LOVE them… i’ve gotten so much use out of them, and compliments every time i wear them… but they’re the place holder for the black pumps that are on the way to me since it’s the exact same shoe just in a different color.  you can’t see the details of the dress, but it’s total pleats.  and it isn’t something i would usually buy since potato sack isn’t a flattering shape on me, but i’m going to put  a belt around it… now i need to shop for a belt!)

and a gratuitous close-up … i think when shopping excites me this much, it may be a problem

  

  

~ today i learned… that not matter how good of a job i did getting out of debt, and i thought i had overcome my shopping problem, i still need to keep an eye on myself.  i need to be reeled in every so often or else i’ll be pennyless once again ~