A little clarity

Yesterday I talked about giving up clothes shopping.

I thought I should clarify something. I'm not an over spender. I don't buy a ton of clothes and I don't have credit card debt. (I pay off my balance every month.)

I mean, come on, I write about personal finance, credit, and frugality every day. And I write a lot from experience, both good and bad.

I've had my stumbles with credit in the past, but never anything extreme. And I love a good clothing bargain.

And now that I'm married and share finances with the hubs, I'm held accountable for any excessive spending. (Don't worry, he is too.)

The hubs is a budget genius and has an elaborate spreadsheet, complete with lots of macros. He keeps up with our budget that way, because we can adjust it any way we want, unlike some of the online budgeting software. Like, now that I have a cell phone with a data plan, we'll add a new category to our budget.

Exciting stuff.

One of our budget categories is called "fun money" and another is "miscellaneous." Our fun money is money we have to spend on whatever (like clothes), and miscellaneous is money to spend on individual incidentals (like toiletries, drinks with friends, etc.). And we have a third incidental fund that we share, called "together fun money."

It's quite complicated, you see.

All that to say that my clothing purchases are always well within my allotted fun money fund.

 Gifted top, Urban cardi, J. Brand jeans, Mossimo shoes, Old Navy necklace

So why am I giving up shopping for a month?

I want to save up some of my fun cash toward something awesome (secret secret), plus I'd like to spend some of it on other fun things. Like a guitar pick.

Also, I need to start repeat-wearing and remixing the pieces I've purchased recently. (Anyone know when the next "30 for 30" challenge is??)

By the way, these are my new shoes from Target. They're pretty wonderful. And surprisingly comfortable. I walked two miles in them after work, and my feet felt mighty fine!

Tomorrow is National Running Day. Guess I know how I'll be kicking off my month of exercising!

"It's Business Time"

 Gap top, J. Brand jeans, Urban cardigan, Madden boots, H&M necklace

Blog, meet chambray shirt. Chambray shirt, blog. When I put on this outfit, husband said I looked very "business-like." When I defensively asked what he meant, he said he meant it in a good way. I'm digging it, too. So that last pose is my business pose. Apparently I mean business when looking at my watchless wrist.

And I got a compliment at work, too, so I'd say this outfit wins. I can't wait to see what else I can do with the chambray top.

Yesterday was husband's last day before his Hong Kong trip, so we had a spontaneous happy hour date. Here's to happy hours with cheap appetizers that we make into our dinner. Yum!




* Ten points if you know where I got the blog title.

26 of 30: What's With the Door?

 Gap top and scarf, J. Brand jeans, Converse vest, husband's belt, Madden shoes, Old Navy bag

I just don't know. This door is literally one door down from my apartment building and it is so bizarre. I don't know what this place is/what it used to be, but it sure makes a fun door to pose in front of.

This was my last 30 for 30 outfit before I started my new job. At first I was nervous about making my 30 pieces work in this new office. True, I only had four more remixes after this one, but you just never know what the atmosphere is going to be in a new office.

Fortunately, it's totally casual. I work with a lot of guys (engineers and programmers) and a few women, and they all dress really casual. Which is great.

Slowly catching up with these posts, people!

Thanks to Steph for taking the photos!

15 of 30: There's a Fine Fine Line

 Banana Republic top, J. Brand jeans, Gap jacket and cardigan, thrifted scarf, husband's belt, Madden boots

Why, yes, that is a swiffer sweeper. Thanks for asking.

Tonight was wonderful. We went to opening night of "Avenue Q" at the Orpheum Theater after dinner with Chip's coworker and his partner at the Grove (the new one on Hayes and Franklin). A lovely night indeed. Until the walk home. It was windy and rainy. Typically I don't mind rain. Neither do I mind wind. But together, they're just brutal. A deadly combo for those of us walking home from the theater.

Oh, but it's too late (a.k.a. past my bedtime) for me to write more. Good night, all!

8 of 30: New Favorite Blouse

Blouse: Gap    Jeans: J. Brand    Cardigan: Target    Boots: Madden    Scarf: gifted    Belt: F21

Well, it's not so new. I bought it before Christmas but have only worn it a couple of times. Beats me why. I love it. I loved it so much that I actually stalked it at Gap before buying it. I waited for it to go on sale and, when it did, they were having one of those crazy percentage off sale items days. So I grabbed it. Glad I did. I need more blouses.

Enough about the blouse.

How bout that belt? I bought it to wear to my Masters thesis defense along with a pencil skirt and blazer. I suppose it was successful, 'cause I passed with minor alterations. That was after I successfully deleted my whole thesis. It was right before the department "Congrats Masters Graduates" party and I was scrambling to finish some edits.

I grabbed my jump drive out of the computer to dash over to the party (one door over form the office) and, when I returned to finish my edits, it was gone. The whole thing. Wiped from my jump drive.

I had to go back to the party to ask my advisor to lend me the hard copy I had given to her. Fortunately, I had the few extra pages I had written saved separately. But I did have to retype all 50-something pages. 

In Spanish. 

In just a few hours. 

Whew.

Ok, I think two random stories for the night just about does it, don't you?

(As a side note, the wind joined in the photo shoot today. Can you tell?)

Finding the Right Angle

It took me a while to find the right shot when I was taking these photos. In the end, this first one was my favorite. Welcome to where I park my scooter while I'm at work! 

In fact, she's got a brief cameo in this first shot. And yes, I do ride the scooter with my super wide-leg jeans on. Sometimes it proves challenging and I have to swing my leg out wide before putting it on the little scooter platform, to avoid snagging the cuff on any scooter parts. 

But that was more than you needed to know. I'm going to shut up now and just let you see what I wore this day.

Striped top: Gap    Cardigan: Banana Republic    Blazer: Mango (from my semester in Spain)    Jeans: J. Brand    Boots: Madden    Scarf: gift (Thanks, Syd!)    Tiny flower pin: from a boutique in Savannah, GA with crafts from SCAD students

This blazer is possibly the best article of clothing I own. I bought it way back in Spring of 2004 while I was studying in Madrid, Spain. I bought it at the Mango outlet (YES those exist over there) for something like 10 Euros. And it's been with me all these years. I think it'll make an appearance in the 30 for 30...