Recent Wardrobe Additions

How I'm preparing for Fall 2012...

Willow riding boot

Finally replacing my long-faithful cognac boots (see them here) with these beauties from Banana Republic.

Terry dress

Figuring out that sheath dresses are really the best for my shape, and sticking with them for every season. (See the below example, too.)

Brown leather sheath

Investing in a luxurious piece like this dress. Yes, it's leather. I know, I know. But I feel totally awesome in it.

Women's Lightweight Button-Front Sleeveless Tops

Picking up as many of these tops from Old Navy as I can. They're perfect for several reasons: They're cheap, they come in lots of fun colors, and the sleeveless factor makes them perfect for wearing under cardigans.

Women's The Rockstar Super Skinny Jeans

Sticking with some old faithfuls, like the Old Navy Rockstar jeans. I've worn my black ones so many times that I've had to replace them thrice. (Examples here and here.) And now I have a blue pair to wear into the ground.

Which Fall pieces are you stocking up on or investing in?

NYC Goodies

from Aritzia

from Topshop

from Gap (they're selvage!)

I brought a few things back with me from NYC.

"Lent is NOT a behavior modification program."

Old Navy top, Urban Outfitters cardigan, Gap jeans, Dolce Vita loafers, F21 locket

I didn't grow up practicing Lent. It's not something I participated in until probably graduate school. This year I was thinking of doing one of the typical "elimination" doo-hickies during Lent, when I stumbled upon Chuck's post, in which he says (and rightly so), "Lent is not a behavior modification program."

Whoa, boy.

I mean, I knew that. I did. But it hadn't kept me from considering it as such. I've been using Lent as an excuse to try to make myself a better person (by not doing something or another). Oh, sure, I would feign the heightened spirituality amid my elimination practices, but not much will have changed.

This year, I'm still going to "eliminate." But I'm going to consider and plan out what I can do in place of the eliminated practice.

Have I built up enough suspense yet? Yes? Ok, I'll tell you.

This year, I'm giving up clothes (and accessory and shoe) shopping. Shocked? Probably not. But let me take a minute to talk about how I'm going to do it (trust me, it's a challenge) and what I'm going to do instead.

• Unsubscribe from emails. I subscribe to quite a few flash sale sites. (That's where I got these loafers--love them.) It's a great way to save money on clothes and accessories, but also a good way to spend money I don't need to.
• Divert my path. When I walk home from work, I either walk by Banana Republic or Old Navy. (For those of you who know me, you know where my husband works, and where I get discounts.) I'm planning on redirecting my path to not walk by those stores.
• Redirect my money. Sweet! I'll have more expendable income! Well, let's do something with that income, shall we? I'm going to research two places to direct my extra cash: Kiva, a micro-lending site for funding entrepreneurs, and some local charity or cause (I know of lots, just need to narrow it down).
• Increase my savings. I currently have a SmartyPig account to save for a digital SLR, and I contribute a little each paycheck. I want to increase my savings by at least 50 percent to this fund.
• Set aside time to read through one of Chuck's recommended Lent resources.

What else should I do to help me keep my shop fast?

(And apologies for the lack of Music Monday this week. I'll try to be back on it next week.)

Birthday bag

I'm sure you missed my non-in-HD ramblings on Thursday. (See here and here.) On Wednesday I was home sick all day. And I'm not just talking a cough-cough, sneeze-sneeze, pass-me-the-Nyquil sick. I'm talking a bucket-by-the-bed, saltine-crackers-and-gatorade kind of sick. (No, you didn't ask, but it's my blog and I'll go into detail if I want to.) I was in no state to film a video. Oddly enough, the last time I was sick like that I did film a video out of sheer boredom of having nothing else to do but sit in bed.

Maybe I'll show it to you sometime.

Other than Wednesday's mishap where I had to eat white carbs and sugar to make sure my body didn't fall apart, I've been doing rather great on my slow-carb diet. By yesterday I wasn't even that hungry come meal time and didn't really have any cravings for a sugary or salty snack. Today is "cheat day," though, which means I get to eat whatever I want.

I made the dh* roll out of bed before 8 o'clock this morning so we could go to our favorite breakfast joint and I could get some of the most delicious carbs out there. Oh. Man. So. Good.

I haven't been able to eat anything else since, but I predict some apples and peanut butter or maybe some cheese in my future (oooooh, I'm a wild one).

Target top, Gap jeggings, Old Navy booties and coat, American Eagle necklace, Banana Republic satchel

Now, on to more important things! My bag!

As you may know, my birthday was ages ago. What I wanted was some new boots. But after looking and looking I decided that no boots (except maybe these) were really piquing my interest.

So I moved on. To this:

Ever since receiving an iPad for Christmas from my in-laws, I've been searching for a structured satchel to keep it safe. But it also had to have a cross-body strap to please this scooter gal. And so this bag became my birthday gift. To myself. From myself. A couple of months late.

Ok, lovelies, it's time for me to rush off to eat more carbs and dairy products. Yum!

*I finally learned what this means in Internet-talk: Dear husband. Thanks, Google!

How to buy a coffee maker

A couple of weeks ago, the hubs and I set off on a grand adventure to purchase a coffee maker amid all of the post-holiday sales. Not only did we come home with a great new coffee maker, but we also got an education in how to choose the right one from our neighbor who works at Bloomingdale's (and, conveniently, specializes in coffee makers).

Here are a few helpful hints for any one you out there in the market for a new brewer.

The showerhead is important. I didn't even know that coffee makers had showerheads. Did you? It's basically where the water pours over the grounds. The wider it is, the more evenly your coffee will brew. You know how sometimes your grounds will end up with a giant well in the middle after a brew? Well, not so with our new coffee maker.

A built-in grinder is a bad idea. Because the steam from the brewing coffee will ruin the beans. True story.

Old Navy sweater, vest, jeans, boots and bag, F21 scarf, TKO watch

A thermal carafe is fine, if you don't mind waiting the extra few minutes for it to warm up. We ended up with a classic glass carafe, but I realize the extra few minutes to let the thermal carafe get hot isn't really that big of a deal, particularly since I especially wanted a new coffee maker so we could program it to brew in the morning.

Is that it? Is that all we learned? I guess so. Oh, well, it's still helpful stuff. Also, our new fancy-schmancy coffee maker has a water filter and everything.

Also, check out these bracelets I made at the craft party my friend and I hosted in November. True, they were supposed to be gifts. (Hey, they might still be... eventually. Maybe.) But I just had to test them out. Here's how to make 'em.

How much did you spend on clothes this year?

I wanted to write a riveting data-filled post about how much I spent on clothing during 2011 and how I would try to curb my crazy spending ways. After all, I write about personal finance on a daily basis; why not on my own personal blog?

So I crunched the numbers: I tallied up each and every clothing and accessory purchase for the year (so far) and averaged it out by month. I thought for sure I'd find it an appalling number. I would be horrified with myself.

"Bethy!" I'd say (out loud). "How could you spend so much money on clothes?!" Then, I would have a small fainting spell before coming to and vowing to fast from shopping for a year.

You know what I actually found out? I spent an average of $140.38 each month on clothing and accessories. That's it. When you look at the 11-month total of $1,544.15, it seems like a lot. But $140.38 per month for someone who loves clothing as much as I do is surprising.

To give you a couple more fun numbers (because that's what I do!), my spendiest month was May, with $202.94 in clothing and accessories. I'm not sure what I bought that month, but I know that there were several trips to Old Navy and Gap and one big trip to Target involved.

My thriftiest month was March with $40.89 total spent on clothing and accessories. I must've been saving my cash for my trip back home that month.

So what does this all tell me? Not a whole lot, to be honest. Until I took a look at individual purchases. Basically, it follows along the same lines as what I wrote on my work blog last week: I buy clothing like I'm buying lots of cheap cheese. Instead of saving to indulge in one high-quality item (a.k.a. Manchego cheese or designer denim), I buy a lot of little things, just because they're on sale (like cheddar cheese or sale tops at the Gap). You get it? No? Well, read the blog post, then maybe you will.

Bottom line is that I keep forgetting what I really want as soon as I'm in front of a sale rack. The madness has got to stop. So maybe that's one thing I'll work on in the new year. Instead of setting myself a budget (I already have one of those), I'll set myself some savings goals. Now, what to save for first?

If you were me (let's pretend!), what would you save for?

P.S. Don't forget about the Blogiversary & Holiday Giveaway!

Gap top, Old Navy cardigan, jeans and flats, F21 bangels

Help me shop.

And Dress Week continues.

I do realize that by the time I finish posting, it'll be a new week. Maybe even Pants Week. Watch out.

So, I need y'alls help. (Don't worry; it's not serious. Just a matter of life and fashion.)

I got a Refinery29 (woot!) deal for Shop Sosie because they have this dress, which I've been eyeing ever since Kendi wore it. I know. There's a trend forming. I see a blogger wear something, so I want it. But at least I'm frugal about it. I mean, the last blogger-inspired purchase I made set me back just $10.

Gap dress, Urban cardigan & flats

So why do I need your help? Well, the price of the dress takes up less than half of what my deal coupon is worth, so I want some help picking my second item. I've even made a poll to make it super simple.

In addition to the dress, should I buy this tribal maxi dress or this red blazer or something else all together?

Why don't we vote on it? If you vote for something else, leave your suggestions in the comments, por favor!

What should be my second pick?
	Tribal maxi dress
	Red blazer
	Somethin' else
Web Polls

Day 6: Shop

Now before you get all worried, no, I haven't been shopping. Well, not exactly. My wonderful husband bought me a coupon from Refinery 29 to a boutique in Hayes Valley. So... technically it was a gift. I'm pretty stoked about what I bought.

I think it'll become my 30 piece for the challenge.

We had a lovely day heading to the movies (our Saturday morning tradition), and then to Hayes Valley for lunch, a quick shopping trip, and ice cream at Smitten.

And then we returned home, and I immediately put my pajamas back on. Is that weird?

 Old Navy T-shirt, jacket, earrings, and bag, Gap cords, Converse shoes

Blue Wall & June's Give Up/Take On

Yes, that title is about as creative as I feel right now. I've stuffed myself full of food today (much of it deep fried), and I think it's slowed my brain function down.

Yesterday, my friend and I went to IKEA and Target. She had her roommate's car to borrow, so we decided to go on a little shopping adventure.

You don't understand.

This is really exciting for me.

I wanted to buy everything in sight at IKEA, but I settled on a salad bowl, salad spinner, picture frame, and some lovely napkins. (Whoa, big spender!) At Target I scored some pretty sweet shoes, which will make an appearance later this week.

 Gap top (I got it on clearance) and flats, Old Navy jeggings, earrings and jacket, Banana Republic bag

And now for Give Up/Take on.

For May, I found giving up soda a little too easy. Which I guess is a good thing. When it came to picking some standard recipes, I didn't do so well. I did manage to make one enchilada recipe (this one) twice, once for a work party and once for some girlfriends (last night), and I think I could manage it without a recipe now. I guess little by little I'll find recipes that I want to repeat, but I don't have to force it in one month.

As for June, I'm going to make it a little more difficult for myself.

Give Up: Clothes shopping. After reading some of this blog--the blog of a woman giving up shopping for a whole year--I figured I can give up shopping for 30 days.* Plus, I need to chill out on the shopping anyway. I can use the moolah I save for a special surprise I'm cooking up.

Take On: Exercising every day. I was going to challenge myself to run every day, but I think my knees will need a break. I've had a hard time being motivated lately. In fact, I've gained a few pounds. I know that probably doesn't seem like much, but when you've stayed the same weight for five years or so, it makes a difference. So I'm challenging myself to exercise each and every day, whether that's running, strength training, group classes, or yoga. Starting tomorrow. Here we go.


* I reserve the right to buy a Giants t-shirt or something orange to wear to the Giants game with my company.