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.

I Love a Good Sale!

I have a bit of a shopping problem. I shop. A lot. BUT, I pride myself in being a bargain shopper. That being said, I love a good sale! However, I did NOT venture out at midnight on Thanksgiving to partake in Black Friday madness. No way! Instead, I sat in the comfort of my home the day before Thanksgiving and today, Cyber Monday, to do some sale shopping.

I somehow managed to buy a couple of things for myself while buying Christmas gifts. A little bit of "one for you, one for me"! Is that wrong? I mean, it (er, they) were on sale!  I did get some great bargains for the Christmas gifts I bought. Old Navy and the Gap had sale prices on Wednesday, with an additional 15% off and free shipping over $50. Granted to get over the $50 I did have to add a little something for myself. I was already buying four gifts for a little over $40 so I had to bump it up to $50 for that free shipping. I actually love free shipping more than a sale price. Combine them and I'm over the moon.

Anyway, I bought a couple of gifts for my husband online today using a coupon and free shipping (now if I could just get rid of the darn sales tax . . . ). And, I, um, bought myself something too. It was 30% off! I couldn't NOT buy it. Right? I mean, if I told my husband to buy it for me for Christmas, he wouldn't buy it today and he'd pay full price. I'm saving us money!

(Sometimes, I actually think I could be a shut-in. Just give me access to the internet, TV and grocery delivery [for the record, I haven't tried this . . . yet] and I'd be all set.)

I think the gifts I bought will bring smiles to the recipients' faces. I do actually put a lot of thought into my shopping and gift giving. In fact, I think I wouldn't have actually found a couple of these gifts if it weren't for the internet.

I still have a few small things to get, like stocking stuffers for my husband and parents. But the bulk of my shopping is done. And it's not even December! Woo hoo. Aside from the gifts for my husband - and myself - the majority of the gifts have to be shipped to friends in other states. So, now I just have to wait for all my packages to arrive, wrap them up and then go wait in line at the post office!

Another Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

I've just got home after spending nine days in Arizona. I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head to jot down, but right now, after paying bills and catching up on mail and email and Internet trolling, I'm too foggy to to put down any individual thoughts. So, it's time to borrow from http://thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com/ for another Fill-in-the-Blank Friday. Here goes:

1.   A nervous habit I have is  picking my left thumbnail. I don't bite it, but I will tussle with its ridges which always leads to it breaking. I do put it between my teeth, which is weird, I know. I don't bite it, just sort of push on it. That also leads to it breaking. Poor nail, there is not much hope for it. Unless I splurge for a manicure, then I'll leave it alone. Until the nail polish starts to chip. Then, it's history.

2.   Something that makes me sad is the puppies I saw in the mall in a store in AZ. So freakin' cute, but it's really sad to see them cooped up in their glass-fronted cages. It looks like it smells inside those little boxes. Most of the puppies were asleep, and while I know pups sleep a lot in general, I just couldn't help thinking that maybe they were drugged. I hope the store owners truly care about and care for the dogs, but it's just so sad. 

3.  Today I am thankful for my husband's patience and ability to put up with my moods; money in our bank accounts; just the thought about sleeping in on Sunday!

4. My favorite room in my house is, based on color alone, the powder room! It's only a toilet and a sink, but the color is the color of Sedona (I was just there on Tuesday, so I can really attest to the likeness!). We had a guest bathroom in our FL house that was the same color. It's this great terra cotta orange. Now that I think of it, I think our guest bath in MA was this color too! We call it the Arizona bathroom, for the color and because we have pictures of a cactus and the red rocks of Sedona on white shelves in there. Corny, I know. But for comfort, my favorite room is our den/great room. We have a huge sectional couch in there; the fireplace is in there; and we have to softest, coziest throw on that big ole couch that we bought last year at Pottery Barn. I snuggle under it every night. Even in the summer, when the a/c is cranking away. Check it out at: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/faux-sheepskin-throw/?pkey=cdecorative-throws

5.  I can't stand a lot of things! But, I can't focus on one particular thing right now. In an effort to be positive, I'm just going to let this go! Big step for me!

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would treat myself to some new sweaters. It's getting cold now (well, it's in the 50s and 60s, and to me, that's cold!), so I'm wanting to stock up on warm and comfy clothes. And, since I had a birthday last week, and since my parents and my in-laws were generous with cash gifts (the all live in MA, so I really don't mind getting a birthday check - no sense in them buying and shipping a gift), I technically do have $100 to spend on myself. But, then again, I did splurge on a pair of Tory Burch flats while I was in AZ. So, that $100 really should go into the checking account. It should. But, we'll see . . . 

Here are my cute new flats:

7.  The last person I hung out with was my husband Jim. This is par for the course. We laugh at ourselves about how much time we spend together. We are a bit inseparable! Comes with having moved to CA and not knowing anyone when we got here. Sadly, we've been here a while and still don't have regular friends to hang out with. Thankfully, we enjoy each others' company and we like doing things together. We did spend time with friends in AZ though, so other than Jim, the last person I hung out with was Megan. And Mark, her husband. And Taiya and Alexa, her amazing 6-year-old twins. Back up to number 3, I'm thankful for them too. They are kind and they make me laugh and they make me feel loved. 

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.