Down with Downton

I daresay I am hooked on "Downton Abbey." I know I'm late to the party, but better late than never! I just signed up for a free week of HuluPlus just to see DA. I have watched the first four episodes of Season 1. I doubt I can cram in the rest of Season 1 and all of Seasons 2 & 3 before my free week of HuluPlus is up, but I sure will try! After the free-week trial period is up, Hulu will cost $7.99 a month. If I have to pay just one month, it'll be worth it. NetFlix is about the same cost, but they only send out one DVD at a time -- and last time I was a member their streaming service wasn't so great (could be updated by now, but I'm really not into looking into it) -- and episodes on iTunes cost more than $7.99 for a Season, so I think I'm getting the best deal.

I love the way the women dress on the show. It's 1912. I was born waaaaay too late! I used to think I would have loved to be an adult in the 50s with all the full-skirted June Cleaver outfits, but now I'm thinking the early 1900s would have suited me well.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

My name is Ann and I'm a shopaholic.

No disrespect to those that have serious addictions to alcohol and drugs, but I do think I have more than a slight inclination toward shopping, buying, spending. I really try to curb it, but some days I just can't. This week for instance. On Wednesday, my mother asked me my plans for the rest of the week and I said, oh not much, I'm trying to stay at home, not shop, trying to save some money. That was Wednesday. Know what I did yesterday? I went shopping. I bought some jeans at Macy's. In my defense, I got to use a $20 off coupon so instead of spending $69, I only spent $49 (I will always defend myself with my bargain shopping acumen!). Know what I did today? I went shopping. Online. At Macy's. The internet is gonna be the death of my savings account (and quite possibly my marriage if I'm not careful!).

See, here's the thing: As I said, I'm a bargain shopper so I can't resist a good sale or a good coupon/discount opportunity. When I was at Macy's yesterday, I tried on a sweater that was $108. No way was I going to pay that much for it (it was on a sale rack, but when I scanned it, the full price showed up). But, today, when I got an email from Macy's offering 25% that very department that the sweater is in (the "Impulse" department, which is one of the exclusions on the back of EVERY Macy's coupon ever published -- and, of course, the one department that I really like), I couldn't resist checking out the online offerings. And, really, it was meant to be because when I saw the sweater online, it was on sale for $79.99! And, woo hoo, I have in my hot little hands, a coupon code for 25% off that. And free shipping. I couldn't resist. Quantity: 1, add to cart, click and done. Sold.

Did I need the sweater? Hell no. Most of what I buy I do not NEED. But, I do get a little shopper's high when I get a good deal. I sometimes get a little buyer's remorse afterward too. Especially when we are having a lean month and I really shouldn't be buying clothes or accessories that aren't necessities. Do I need an intervention? Not yet. I think. Will I regret some of my purchases when we suck it up and get the exterior of our house painted and have to splurge for new carpets this Spring? Yeah, most likely I will. But, I will look really cute in that sweater . . . with those jeans . . . oh, and the necklace that I bought last week . . . . Sigh.

Orange you glad . . .

I remember a knock-knock joke from when I was a kid that goes like:

Knock-knock. Who's there?
Orange. Orange who?
Knock-knock. Who's there?
Orange. Orange who?
Knock-knock. Who's there?
Banana. Orange you glad I didn't say orange again?

Totally inane. But, I love orange - the color, not the fruit - so I guess that's why it has stuck with me. As much as I love the color, I do think I'm rather subtle about my use, for a lack of a better word, of it. I have a few things in the house that have orange accents, like a small painting of a pumpkin and a framed photograph of the poppies posted above (proud to say I took that picture myself). I also have a really cool long, rectangular, block candle on my kitchen island that is orange (darned if I could find a picture of it on Google Images - I thought everything was on the internet?!) that nicely accents the black and green marble countertops. Anyway, after Pinning (have you checked out Pinterest.com yet? Be warned, it's a time killer!) a couple of orange eye-catchers, I decided to add them here. They make me happy. Here's a few orange bits of joy:

I just bought these for myself and already have received compliments on them at the gym. They are more vibrant in person. I think they sorta glow!

I got these in the Spring from Kate Spade. I didn't wear them nearly enough (the orange ones, obviously!).

I found this ring on the Sundance Catalog site. I so wanted to add it to my Christmas list because it is on sale, but sadly, they don't have my size. Still makes me happy to look at though.



And, I found this fun purse on Etsy.com. The seller is Teddy out of Thailand, if you are interested (gotta give Teddy credit, right?!).



I think these Tory Burch flats are pretty cool. Might have to save my pennies for a Spring purchase  . . . .

And, my dream purse is anything by Hermes in their signature orange. I mean, even their packaging is a gorgeous shade of orange!

Clearly, I'm a fan of orange. I know I posted about it in October in regards to Halloween decorating. Guess I must be missing it a little now that the house is decked out for Christmas in reds and greens! I might just make this a regular feature - maybe a little monthly pick-me-up. Glad that just a bit of color really does brighten up my day.

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

Trolling the few blogs I follow, I found this neat, little Fill-in-the-Blank questionnaire thingy. First, to give credit where it's due, I found it at: RED locks & BOLD frames (http://katerees711.blogspot.com/). And from there I found that it originated at: the little things we do (http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/). I am amazed at how many people have posted it on their blogs. Add me to the list! Here goes:

1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is being able to wear my new boots today! My husband bought me a most extravagant and totally fun pair of Jimmy Choo motorcycle boots in July (July!!) and I am finally getting to wear them today! I have trouble with boots -- my calves are too big for my size 6.5 feet. I can NEVER get boots to zip. Never. These fun little kicks only come up to mid-calf so I am finally, FINALLY, sportin' some boots. Kick ass ones, to boot (ha, to boot!).

2.   Colder weather makes me cold! But I do love a new sweater. In fact, in honor of my upcoming birthday, I treated myself to two new sweaters at the yearly Women's sale at Nordstrom on Wednesday. I never shop at Nordstrom, but I can't resist a good sale. The sweaters were both half off! Woo hoo. Bring on the nip in the air!

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are  no re-runs (I'm pretty much addicted to TV); money in our checking account (sigh of relief when there is money left over after paying the mortgage, with room to spare for above-mentioned sales and such); the thought of getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend when we turn the clocks back for daylight savings.

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose  flip flops. I also choose to live in a climate that allows for year-round flip-flop wearing. I know I just waxed poetic about my snazzy new boots, but put a gun to my head, and I am going with flippers.

5.  My personality type is a weird mix of introverted and extroverted. I was incredibly shy when I was little -- I wouldn't talk to men (probably should have hung on to that personality quirk in my 20s), wouldn't speak out loud in class (got over that around 3rd grade and quite made up for it by 6th grade when I drove my teacher, Mr. Anderson, CRAZY). And on the flip side, I have had extreme moments of being extroverted in high school, college and in present day. But, I still revert back to the shy girl sometimes. I don't like to go to a party where I only know the host but I'll talk to anybody in Target or at the gym. Go figure.

6.  I have a serious problem resisting  a sale! I can justify the purchase of most anything if it is bargain priced! 

 

7.  My favorite color to wear is  a toss up between grey and purple (for the record, my all time favorite color is orange, but it's not the top choice of most fashion designers -- I do own some fun orange clothes, but it doesn't make a regular appearance). Purple was my favorite color as a kid. So much that I would actually NOT use the purple crayon because I wanted to make it last. Grey can be kinda dull, but I have some really cute sweaters in various shades of grey, from light, oyster grey to warm, cozy, charcoal grey. 

Does size matter?

The concept of whether size matters is always associated with men. But, really, I think women are more concerned about size. Their size. Their clothes size.

Yesterday, the female radio host of the morning program I listen to in the car reported on a story about Kirstie Alley. Kirstie claims that she has lost so much weight from her stint on Dancing with the Stars, that she went from being a size 14 to now being a size 4. No doubt she has lost weight (she claims 100 pounds - kudos to her; that is fantastic) but I've seen pictures of her lately and she doesn't look like a size 4. Which is EXACTLY what the radio host said! Is she smaller? Yes. Is she smaller than a 14? Yes. Is she a size 4? No. I know, I know: the camera adds pounds. Well, in her case, it's adding dress sizes too! She looks more like an 8 or a 10. Which are still sizes to be proud of, I might add!

So later in the day, I was shopping. And I realized that in my closet, I have clothes in sizes Small, Medium and Large and skirts and pants in sizes 6, 8 and 10. They all fit right now. In fact, while shopping, I bought a sweater at Macy's in size Small, then bought one in J.Jill in size Medium, then tried one on at another store in size Large that was too tight!!

Size matters. If you want to get dressed in the morning it does. But why are we so size obsessed? Well, why are we Women so size obsessed? Why does Kirstie Alley feel compelled to tell us her size and to pick one that is so small? And, why do we care what our size is or what other women's sizes are? No one can see the labels!!! Trust me, I love that I have a couple of skirts in my closet in a size 6! I'm also perfectly happy with my size 8 clothes. But, it does bum me out that when I shop in J. Crew, I have to buy size 10 pants.

It makes shopping so much more of a challenge. I like the challenge of finding a bargain. I don't like the challenge of guessing what size I am in every brand! I really hate HAVING to try clothes on at the store - it's a hassle and it takes too much time (and the lighting is always bad!). I envy my husband. When he needs pants, he goes to the rack, picks out a pair based on his waist and inseam measurements and he's done. It's not fair.

Funny, I remember being excited about  buying new clothes in smaller sizes when I lost a lot of weight last year. I still enjoy being smaller, but I still can't go in and just buy right off the rack (and speaking of racks - shirt and bra sizes are a whole other issue since I'm a woman who has breasts larger than the barely-there A-cup models for whom clothes are designed - that's a whole other blog!). So, yeah, I guess size matters. I'm just not sure why.