new shoes

The shopping fast is over.

I've had my eye on these for months. I'd seen them in magazines before they even hit the stores. I don't even know what I'm going to wear with them ... but I'll figure something out.

I saved money by waiting, too -- originally $19.50, they're on sale at Old Navy now for $11.70!

Of course, I spent that saved money by buying a second pair.

I couldn't resist. I love this pattern, too!

Over the weekend I picked up a few items at Ann Taylor LOFT -- I had $100 in savings cards that I had to use! And Banana Republic sent me an email today to take an extra 20% off their sale items.

I know, it seems like the fast just made me explode back into my old shopping habits. Well, I had some birthday money to spend! And, yes, it was a little pent-up.

I did learn some things I needed during my fast. I guess when you're not buying things, you pay more attention to the flaws in what you do have.

Most of my pants are too short, even with flats. And I only have one pair of jeans I can wear with the majority of my heels (2-3 inch). I need to find some longer pants!

I can use a casual pair of brown flats and possibly black boots that are flat enough for my barely-long-enough pants. (They're not all hopeless!)

I also need some neutral sandals to wear with my beach dresses in Jamaica. And a one-piece bathing suit for triathlon training, but that doesn't count. It's something I actually need!

Before I buy anything else, I should really go through my closet again. If the weather would make up its mind, I could rotate my clothes and shoes for spring/summer!

list day 4: wardrobe essentials

According to Oprah, (and nicely summarized by Susan at Friday Style), every woman needs the following items:

1. Trench coat.
2. Black (or white) turtleneck.
3. Black trousers.
4. Tunic.
5. White jeans.
6. Dark jeans.
7. Black dress.
8. White denim jacket.
9. Black skirt.
10. Timeless cashmere sweater.

This has spawned a discussion, since this wardrobe doesn't really work for every woman. Susan has asked us to create our own lists, and that fits very neatly into this month's list theme.

I agree with some of these, and do own most of them. Here are my edits:

1. Trench coat.
   While I do have a long raincoat, it's not at the top of my must-have list. A nice coat for winter, and a denim blazer for warmer weather get a lot more use.


2. Black (or white) turtleneck.
   Yes, I do often wear a black turtleneck under a cardigan. But a black top with an interesting neckline is much more flattering.


3. Black trousers.
   Agreed. Though, I mostly wear my black pants as part of my choir uniform, they make it into work wear occasionally as well.


4. Tunic.
   Long tops generally don't look good over my curvy butt. But I'm always on the lookout for cute patterned tops that add more interest than solids.


5. White jeans.
   The only reason I have a pair is because they were $15 on the Gap sale rack. I like them, but am terrified that I'm going to spill something dark on them, so I don't wear them often. More useful to me is a nice pair of jeans, hemmed for flats.


6. Dark jeans.
   Agreed. I know I just said jeans above, but I wear jeans several times a week. Also, I need another pair hemmed for heels!


7. Black dress.
   Agreed. I have several in a variety of styles.


8. White denim jacket.
   I have a white cotton jacket that I love. I think it gives a cleaner look than white denim. I also have lightweight jackets in off white and olive green.


9. Black skirt.
   My office is very casual, I would feel too dressy in a black skirts. Again, I have black skirts for choir concerts, but otherwise I never wear them. I'd rather see a denim skirt on this list.


10. Timeless cashmere sweater.
    I acquired three this year. Love.

Thanks for the list idea, Susan. Also, thanks for making me take photos of all my outfits so I have examples!

Now, notice all of these items are clothes. Does Oprah think we don't need shoes?

I think tomorrow, I will be posting a must-have list of shoes!

january shoe review

or, why I'm not allowed to go shopping anymore ...

Since She Likes Purple inquired about my shoe purchases ... below you will find the footwear that entered my house during the month of January.

Before I cut myself off on January 15.

See, there are several ladies (the aforementioned She Likes Purple, and a couple others) that have sworn off unnecessary shopping for 30 or 60 days.

At first, I thought, "Good for them!," but it wasn't for me. Shopping is too much fun!

I never used to indulge myself ... but as we've gotten more established, I realize I do deserve to have nice things, and have increased my (still somewhat cheap) budget accordingly.

Though, I've been on a bit of a shopping spree lately. After a string of large purchases, I decided I was on board too. At least for 30 days. I'd sort of like to make it until my birthday (March 29) -- but yikes, that's really far away!

On to the shoes ...

I found these Ann Taylor satin peep-toe heels on sale for $39.99, which is actually higher than I usually spend on shoes (boot budget is a big higher!). I'm a bargain hunter; while I have a lot of nice shoes, I usually get killer deals. I figured since these are exactly what I've been looking for for years, and they were originally $118, I could make an exception.


Technically, these bronze Ann Taylor peep-toes entered my house on January 16, one day after I said I'd stop the unnecessary purchasing. But I had things to return to Ann Taylor, and still walked out with more money than I came in with (on my credit card statement).

Also, I decided these were destined to be mine. When I was in there days earlier (pre shopping ban), I saw them on the sale rack, in my size. I wanted them, but resisted for some reason. I figured if they were still there when I brought in my returns, they were meant to be.

I've had my eye on these Steve Madden wedges for a while over at Endless.com. When I thought they were sold out, it made me kind of sad ... and then I looked again and found them. So I really had to buy them, right?

I've previously documented my love for the Keds Eleanor skimmers. I had seen the "Dove" style and when I finally found them marked down to $18, I had to buy. But I also fell in love with the wood button on the "Elephant" style and got those too.

And then, Ann Taylor LOFT had these on clearance for $9, and I couldn't resist. Also, I realized I only have one other pair of black flats which are a little more casual, so this was a great purchase!

And you already know about the patent boots.

Were you counting? Did I actually buy seven pairs of shoes in two weeks?

So yeah, I'm officially cut off.

I joked with my husband that I had to build an addition to my shoe rack!
(Um, I really did. I'll post an update later with "before" and "after" shots!)

tonight i went to the mall

I went shopping for my husband's birthday, which is next week.

The result?

Yes, of course I went shopping for myself as well. But actually, only one bag is for me. The other two are for him. I think it's pretty obvious which is which.

Sorry, ladies that aren't shopping for a month or two! I only bought a skirt and a sweater. And I promise not to tell you how many pairs of shoes I bought last week!

Though ... I have been on a bit of a shopping spree lately. I might have to cut myself off, too!

my shoes are red and yellow and green and brown and purple and white and pink and orange ...

I admit it, I have a problem.

Yes, of course I've always had a bit of a shoe habit. But lately, it seems it's gotten harder to resist purchasing shoes that will have limited use.

Surely, I must have been more practical at some point?

I picked up these green and yellow sandals a few years ago. They were on sale, and while I loved them, I initially went home without them.

What would they possibly match?

Still, I couldn't stop thinking about them. I knew I had to go back -- I figured if they had my size in stock, it was meant to be!

Surprisingly, I do get a lot of wear out of them. The colors are subtle, and I actually have a few light green tops that coordinate.

The pink sandals were a no-brainer since they were really cheap at Target. I have quite a few skirts and tops that work well well with them.

(Though, I think I bought the skirts specifically to go with the shoes ... but, I really did need more skirts at the time!)

I didn't buy anything else colorful for a while except for some purple pumps which I needed to go with a dress.
It was a striped dress, predominately purple, but also with some green (so the yellow/green sandals match as well). Since I was wearing the dress for a fall wedding, I wanted a closed toe. The dress has since gotten more use, but I have worn the sandals every other time.

This spring/summer has seen a lot of color!

It started with these cute sneaker flats that I had to have.

They're the 'Eleanor' series by Keds. I liked a few of the prints and decided to purchase the blue owl version.

I do wear a lot of aqua blue, so I wear them a decent amount of time ... but I haven't found a way to coordinate them yet without being a close match.

I love them ... so when I found one of the other styles I liked on sale at T.J. Maxx the other day, I couldn't resist.

I wear a lot of green, too :)

I really tried to leave T.J. Maxx with just that one pair, but another impractical purchase was calling out to me.

They were very cute, and very comfortable, but I put them down and walked away. They'd be yet another pair of shoes that will be hard to coordinate.

Or would they?

I had to go back and take them home!

I wore them today, and my feet were very happy!