The other day, I wore a pair of jeans that had a hole in the crotch. Even though I knew they had a hole in the crotch. Because I couldn’t find any other pants. That was kind of a fail. Right now, I may or may not be wearing leggings as pants. I’m not sure which is worse. Where can I buy a good pair of pants?
In my last post, I talked about how I went to the I am downtown shopping event at Pacific Centre last Wednesday night. But I haven’t yet told you about the best part of the night. After getting our photos taken, sampling cookies and smoothies, and spinning the prize wheel again, we went back upstairs to where the fashion show had been, where they were now holding what they called the Pretty Penny Contest. There were two mannequins, one male, and one female, and they were both decked out in fabulous outfits. It was our job to guess how much each outfit was worth. The person who got the closest to the actual amount, would win $1000 shopping spree at Pacific Centre. Who wouldn’t want that?! We knew we had to enter.
If there’s a shopping spree to be won, you know I’ll be there.
I’ve never thought myself to be very good at guessing these types of things. When I would go grocery shopping with my dad, he would sometimes tell me to guess the amount of the groceries and offer to give me ten bucks if I guessed within ten dollars or something. I often failed. And watching The Price is Right, I would always think about how much I would suck if I were to compete on that show. And when it comes to fashion, I am always in awe of how much things cost in certain stores, because I’m the type of person who will always buy stuff on sale. How was I supposed to know how much these clothes were worth, when clearly, they were far too fancy for my taste?
But a contest is a contest, and I had to try. A couple people got yelled at for touching the clothes. Apparently that wasn’t allowed, but there was no sign there to indicate that. It felt like we were in a museum and we weren’t allowed to touch the art. We were trying to figure out where the clothes on the male mannequin were from. This guy who was there was like “I’ll give you a hint, guess where the clothes are from. You need to guess where the clothes are from.” So yeah, he was basically hinting at the fact that most of the outfit was from GUESS. But that didn’t help me, since I don’t shop there. Especially not for guys clothes. But I made my guess and submitted my ballot.
You got to enter one ballot for the male, and one for the female and there were two shopping sprees to be won. They would then read through all the submissions and determine which answers were closest to the exact amounts. The winners would be announced at 8:45, and you had to be present at that time in order to win. So we walked around some more and waited for the time to finally arrive.
We lingered by the stage and counted down the minutes until the winners would be announced. Then we stood off to the side, as security urged everyone to step away from the stage. This was a serious matter. As we waited, we noticed this one guy had a piece of paper in his hand with a bunch of calculations. He had taken this whole thing very seriously. Apparently he had actually spent time going around the mall to the various stores and finding the actual items, and then adding up and calculating the costs. Way to take the fun out of a contest. The rest of us just pulled numbers out of our ass.
That mannequin sure has expensive taste.
They started with the male outfit. The total cost of his outfit was $618. I know, that mannequin has really expensive taste. At first I thought they said the winner was a man. But I think they were actually saying that the person’s name was Aman. But whoever he was, was nowhere to be found. And so they went to the second closest guess. Which was $622. I know, only $4 off! What genius was able to guess so accurately? Was it the guy who painstakingly calculated everything? Was it some expert on men’s fashion? Was it someone with high class and expensive taste? Nope. It was me!
I went up to the stage to claim my prize.
That’s right, I won! I won $1000 shop card. Well, two $500 shop cards if you want to get technical about it. But yes. Biggest prize I’ve ever won ever! I got to go up to the stage and accept my prize while a photographer took a picture of me next to the mannequin. I thought we made a great couple.
Don’t we make such a great couple?
As I went back to where my friends were, the guy with the calculations stopped me and angrily said “What was your bid?”. And so I told him. Apparently he had guessed $630 or something like that. And apparently the whole time I was up onstage, he was swearing, muttering, and complaining about the whole thing. He was so angry. I was actually kind of scared that he might hunt me down and mug me for the gift cards that he thought should be rightfully his. At the end of it all, he actually went up to the people in charge and complained. He showed them his calculations and complained about how he’d wasted his time. I’m not sure how they resolved that but I’m wondering if security might have had to get involved at some point.
I almost felt like a celebrity as I posed onstage while people took photos and congratulated me.
For the women’s outfit, there seemed to be a bit of confusion, because they wrote down the person’s name wrong at first. I forget what her name was anyway. But another girl won the shop cards for that one. I wasn’t paying much attention at that point, since I was still in shock that I had actually won. And for the men’s outfit! I know nothing whatsoever about men’s fashion. But I did estimate random amounts in my head for each piece of clothing he was wearing. I’m not sure how I arrived at such a close guess. But I was feeling pretty good about it. I think maybe I should go on The Price is Right or something. Why waste such a superb guessing ability?
Pretty Penny Contest winner right here
When I got home that night, I was really excited. I told my mom about how I won and showed her all the free swag I got in my VIP bag. She warned me not to lose my gift cards. At one point she told me to calm down because I was being hyper and I would just respond with “But I won a thousand dollars!”.
I’ve yet to use any of my winnings yet. I’m not sure what I should do. I was thinking I would use it towards my Christmas shopping. It’s Cadillac Fairview, so it works at Pacific Centre and Richmond Centre so I’m pretty much set. My friend was saying I could just go to the Apple Store and finally get an iPhone. But that would use up the whole card. And I’ve been wanting to buy a new laptop, so my dad said I should just get a Mac from the Apple store. But that would cost even more than the card. And then he said “Well you don’t need anymore shoes, and you don’t need anymore clothes…” He’s right. But then I don’t need an iPhone or a Mac either. But we shall see. I’m really glad I went to this event because it was a lot of fun. I may fail often in life, but at least that night I got to feel like a winner.
I love outfits that are convertible. Versatility and convertibility are amazing qualities for a garment to have. I remember when I watched Fashion Star, one of my favourite pieces was the convertible skirt that Orly made. The model walked down the runway, and then undid the zipper around the waist to remove the top part of the skirt, creating a whole different look. Unfortunately that was the first thing she made, and everything she made thereafter just wasn’t as good. But the skirt was awesome.
I remember watching an episode of Dragons’ Den where this woman had created a convertible dress. It was a while ago, so I don’t remember exactly what the styles looked like, but I remember that I thought it was a brilliant idea. To be able to buy one dress and wear it multiple ways to achieve multiple different looks, who wouldn’t want one of those?
There is also a company called Wrap Magic Skirts which does the same thing. They have various skirts and dresses which can be worn over 100 different ways. Their newest creation is the convertible dress, which is the same idea as what I saw on Dragons’ Den, except it’s a different company. The convertible dress looks amazing. The website has videos which demonstrate the various ways you can change the look. They retail for $250.
But as luck would have it, there’s an online deal. Two actually, one on SwarmJam and one on Deal Getters. The deal lets you order one for $49. Taxes and shipping are not included though. But it’s still a significant reduction from the full retail price. I am so tempted to buy one. I can justify it by saying that I’m not paying a lot for just one dress, I’m paying a lot essentially to get multiple dresses. And a skirt. Yes, it can also be transformed to be worn as a skirt.
But I’m still debating as to whether I should get it. I mean I don’t really have an event or occasion that I need it for. I never really NEED these things. But I’m sure I’d make good use of it somehow. Chances are I’d probably find one way of wearing it that I like the most and then constantly wear it that way, defeating the purpose of its versatility. Or even more likely, I would screw it up somehow, trying desperately to follow the steps from the video but ultimately being unable to achieve the desired look. Then maybe I’d end up just wearing it as a skirt, unable to figure out the dress styles. Because I tend to fail at fashion. But it’s worth a try, right?
My main problem is I’m indecisive. If I do in fact buy one, I have no idea which colour to get. How do I decide? If they had a convertible dress that also changes colour, now that would really be something. That would be the ultimate in versatility. But alas, there is no such thing. It would make sense to get black, since a little black dress is an essential part of any wardrobe. But I think I should get something colourful. I think I look good in purple. But I have a couple purple dresses already. Though none like this. The blue is really nice too. Maybe the blue? But what about the red? Or the other shade of blue? Or the green even? I want them all!
Also, there are two different styles of the dress you can choose from to order. The first one is really nice, but a lot of the styles are backless, which poses the problem of finding the right bra. So perhaps the second style would be better. But I like them both. Chances are, by the time I make up my mind as to whether to buy it and which one to buy, the deal will have expired or sold out. And then I will be left with non-buyer’s remorse, which is really an awful feeling. Because I’m only going to buy one with the deal. I can’t afford a $250 dress.
What do you think? Should I get one? And if so, which colour?
So I sort of went to another Orb clothing sale. I very nearly didn’t. But I did. Don’t give me that look. You knew I would. But this time it was better than last time. Did I spend considerably less money? No, of course not. In fact I think I spent more. But trust me, it really was better.
I went there during the final hour, so as not to give myself ample time to shop. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was a rack of flojos flip flops. Funny how after the shoe sale, I was like I’m done with shoes, and that’s the first thing I go for at the Orb sale. Go figure. They were 3 for $25. I considered buying 6, but felt that would be too excessive. See, better.
What was different about this sale, was that I wasn’t seeing many things I really wanted. Maybe, as my friend would say, I was all orbed out. Usually I would grab 10 different tops to try on. But I didn’t. I tried on some pants and some shorts, which I am in desperate need of right now. But they didn’t fit right. I wasn’t expecting them too. Oh well.
They did have some great jackets there though. Go figure, jackets when it’s now summer. Although it doesn’t feel like summer, so maybe jackets weren’t such a bad idea. I bought this awesome jean jacket that I absolutely love. I’ve worn it twice already. And I plan to wear it many more times.
So all I bought for myself were 2 jackets and some flip flops. Not bad, right? The other jacket is waterproof and can withstand 2000mm of rain, according to the waterproof rating. That’ll come in handy, right? So how did I spend more than the last time? Well this time, I wasn’t selfish.
It was Father’s Day. And I felt badly about buying things for myself. So I bought a couple shirts for my dad. And my brother had been complaining about how he needed a new backpack. So I bought him one, and one for my sister who needed one too. And I got her a waterproof jacket too, since I didn’t really get her anything for her birthday, although apparently it’s the wrong size. I could keep it for myself, but I don’t need another one. Hopefully my friend will buy it off me.
And I also bought some scarves for my mom since she likes scarves and I didn’t want to not get her anything. Also I can borrow the scarves. For my twin brothers, I didn’t get them anything. Because there was really nothing there for eleven year olds. And I don’t think they have that much homework that they needed big, good quality backpacks. Not yet anyway. Dakine makes good backpacks, and they were 50% off at the sale.
But here’s the part where I failed majorly. I. Forgot. My. Visa. Yeah. What the fuck, right? What kind of idiot forgets their visa when they’re going to a sale? That’s pretty much like the equivalent of forgetting my phone. Which is of course unheard of. But I had my debit card. But I didn’t have enough money in my account. Fail!
Luckily, my friend was kind enough to put it on her card & lend me the money. I am so grateful, because not everyone would do that. I can think of other people who if I’d gone shopping with them would have just been like that’s too bad or just told me off for being stupid. I am so thankful that my shopping buddy is not like that. I feel like sometimes we enable each other with our shopping addictions, but we can also be a good voice of reason for each other as well. It’s okay, the shopping habit is under control. Although Orb is having another sale next weekend in White Rock… But that’s way too far to drive to be worth it… Right?
So you if you’ve been following my posts, you may know that I’ve been overspending lately. Although how do you define overspending? It’s really a subjective thing, isn’t it? Each individual defines it in whatever way they want, based upon overall income, necessary expenses, savings, and their own personal values regarding money and possessions. To some people, I may be overspending. To others, maybe it’s not that bad? But I think the majority agree that I’m overspending. But I’m not in debt and I have a job and I do have limits. I only overdo it once in a while. Those times just happened to all occur recently as opposed to being more spread out.
What was it this time? No, I did not go back to Army & Navy a third time. That would be excessive. You know, even more excessive than buying thirteen pairs of shoes. But as it turned out, there was another big sale I was made aware of recently. The Orb warehouse sale. They had one back in the fall, at the River Rock Casino, where I got good deals on hoodies and tops. This time, it was at the Delta Town and Country Inn. Not as close to home, but as luck would have it, my friend not only informed me of the sale, but took me with her when she went.
We stopped by McDonald’s prior to the sale, as it happens to be another one of our vices. If we’re going to be judged for indulging, may as well indulge in food as well. There were great deals at this sale as well. Tops were 6 for $60. Obviously I knew I would be buying me some of those. Dresses were 3 for $50. I had to have those too. Hoodies were 4 for $120. But I passed on the hoodies. I got enough of those the last time around. Like I said, I do have limits. The first thing I looked at was these small boxes that said 2 for $10. There wasn’t much in them, but I did manage to get a top and a dress in my size.
Top & a dress at 2 for $10
As for fitting rooms, there were none, but there was a space for changing. It was a space behind a curtain with long mirrors put up inside. That’s how we do it at warehouse sales. It’s one open area back there, however crowded. It’s pretty much room for one person to a mirror and a box with which to discard any unwanted items. So you do still have to line up and wait a few minutes at times when there are too many people back there.
Now in the past, I would have hated this and possibly not wanted to go. I really do hate it when stores don’t have mirrors on the inside of their fitting rooms, forcing you to step outside if you want to see how something looks. And then everyone else can see it too. That’s nothing compared to this, where you’re just changing next to and in front of other people. But it’s the only way. Some are self conscious, and try things on over top of their pants and their tank tops in order to maintain at least some level of privacy.
I love Orb
I’m at a point where I’m comfortable and it doesn’t really phase me anymore. If other people are willing to undress back there, then so am I. I need to know how these clothes look on me before I buy them, as I can’t return them afterwards, since it’s a warehouse sale. And really, no one’s looking at you or judging, their all focused on their own items and how they look themselves. And even if they were to judge you, who cares? You gotta do what you gotta do.
They give you bags when you walk in, which came in handy as I threw many items in there. My strategy is often pick out as many things as you can that you like, and then try them on and eliminate after. You never know until you try it. I felt kind of bad because my friend was done before I was. I knew that was going to happen. I take a while to deliberate and make sure that I won’t have buyer’s remorse and that I won’t miss out on anything either.
I think I need a bigger closet for all my clothes
The problem with deals like 6 for $60 is that you have to get 6 items. I always end up with too few or too many. In this case, too many. And then you have to decide whether to eliminate some, or go find some for. I didn’t realize until I went to pay that once you have 6, any items over that amount would automatically be $10 each, so you didn’t have to go in increments of 6 each time.
The tops I got at $10 each
I also saw this small rack with dresses that were 3 for $30. But there were really only 3 different dresses on that rack. And there was no way they would all look good on me. But there was one that I really liked. I tried to make the others work too, but it was a lost cause. They were really baggy and unshapely. I thought maybe with a belt they might just work, but my friend assured me that it looked like I was wearing an apron. I was grateful to have her there for her honest opinion.
Got the one dress for $15 since the others didn’t work out
There was another dress that I tried on that was black and my friend informed me that I looked like Morticia Addams. These types of things are good to know, and had she not been there I may have been blind to this fact. It’s not like there’s any time where I would want to look like Morticia Addams. Not even Halloween, as I’m not pale enough to pull it off anyway. I love black dresses, but that one just wasn’t meant to be.
3 dresses for $50
If you spend $200, you get $20 off. So naturally that’s what I aspired to do. The first time I tried my Visa, the connection failed. But that was the connection, not my card. My friend remarked that perhaps it was some sort of sign warning me not to do it, giving me a chance to reconsider. But I still made my purchase. When I expressed my excitement on having it go through, the cashier asked me if it was a new card. To which I replied, “No, I’ve just been spending a lot of money lately…”.
I spent slightly more than my friend. But this was her second time at the sale. So she still beat me. But she didn’t buy shoes at Army & Navy like I did. Not that it’s a competition or anything. But I think we sort of enabled each other. Apparently, having me accompany her to the sale made her spend less than she would of had she gone alone, because when she’s alone, there’s no one there to judge her. To which I replied, “You’re worried about ME judging YOU?”. Because clearly I have no right to judge anyone.
Got 2 reusable bags with my purchases
So I’ve been talking about the Army & Navy Shoe Sale for a while now. You’re probably sick of it. But oh well. There’s still more where those posts came from. Seeing as it hasn’t even started yet. So I didn’t win that contest on Facebook. Heather from Surrey had over 400 votes. She’s a lucky girl, lots of shoes and lots of friends. But she deserved to win, her photo was pretty awesome.
I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t win a VIP party at the Roxy and $500 worth of shoes. But I still win, because I got the second most votes. So I still get VIP access for the sale & $100 towards shoes, which is pretty sweet. I’m supposed to be there at 7:30 am. Still figuring out the details. Damn that’s early. But I guess it’s worth it? For first dibs on shoes?
What shoes would be best to wear to a shoe sale?
I need to figure out what shoes I should wear tomorrow. I mean comfort trumps all in this case. I read advice that you should wear flip flops, as they are easy to remove and then you can quickly try on other pairs. But I feel like if I wear flip flops, I could easily lose one, or maybe both. Plus someone might step on them, and what if I need to run? Or at least fast walk, towards a shoe rack? I feel like it might make for a dangerous situation.
So I’m thinking maybe runners? Cause then I can move quickly and easily. And I can wear a comfortable pair where I can slip them on and off without having to untie and retie the laces every time. I’m thinking maybe a skate shoe style, so it doesn’t look like I’m going to the gym. Not that it matters where it looks like I’m going. But yeah. The problem is, most of the shoes that I own like that are at least partly suede, and it’s going to be raining tomorrow.
So maybe just regular flats? That I can slip on and off with ease? Better than flip flops, because they’ll be less dangerous in a frenzy. And my feet won’t get totally wet in the rain. But then what if I want to try on boots or shoes that I would want to wear socks with? Maybe I should just wear flats and then bring a pair of socks with me, just in case?
One would think that since it’s going to rain, I should wear my red rain boots. But no. Boots are not appropriate footwear when shoe shopping at a massive event. Because I’ll have to carry them around with me as I try on shoes, or leave them aside as I make my way through the aisles. Plus those boots, I’m actually afraid someone might steal or mistake for a current sale item.
Basically I guess I just need a good shoe that can get me there. Once there, I’ll likely forget about what shoes I came there in. But I don’t want someone to try on my shoes by mistake. That’s happened to me before. I will be gaining new pairs of shoes, but I don’t want to accidentally lose an old pair in the process. When did shoe shopping become such an ordeal?
I suppose I will figure it out. I should probably go to bed soon, seeing as I will have to be up super early tomorrow in order to make it down there before the sale starts. But I probably won’t. I’ll just be tired tomorrow. Oh well. The excitement and determination to find awesome shoes will give me the energy that I need to get past my sleep deprivation. I may not know yet what shoes I’ll wear to the sale tomorrow, but I know for sure what shirt I’m going to wear. It couldn’t get more perfect than this one…
The perfect shirt to wear to a legendary shoe sale
I love socks. But I don’t know why they hate me. I always treat them well, but still they run and hide from me and some never return. I know I’m not the only one who has this problem. Every time I do laundry, socks go missing. And it’s never pairs of socks that go missing. No, that would be too easy. It’s always one sock of a pair. And then I’m left with 15 socks, all of them odd. Where did the rest of them go? I don’t understand!
I’ve had this problem for years. I guess lately I’ve been even more of a mess. Yeah, I didn’t think it was possible to be even more unorganized than I previously had been. I guess anything is possible. I even bought new socks not too long ago. Not sure what happened to them. It’s always such a struggle to find pairs. The worst is when I search and search, and finally find a pair, only to realize that one has a hole in it. Why?
It’s gotten to the point where it’s affecting my home life. I begin to accuse my mom and my sister of stealing my socks. Or blame other people for moving the laundry basket. And then I just get frustrated at everyone because it’s such a nuisance. When I can’t find socks in the morning, everyone suffers. The four words my mom hates hearing from me that I ask on most days are “Do you have socks?”. And then she’ll tell me to look in the laundry or in the drawer or wherever and I’ll get mad and say that they’re not in there and that I already looked. And then she’ll get mad at me for yelling at her and then nobody’s happy. And I’m still without socks.
The other day I woke my sister up from what was apparently a nice dream, in order to ask her for socks. Because they had just bought some, but I didn’t know where she had put them. So what was I supposed to do? It was a valid reason for waking her up, right? In the spring and summer, I would just wear flats or flip flops, or whatever footwear would allow me to go sockless. But in the middle of winter, that’s not an option. It’s also annoying that I hate ankle socks. But sometimes that’s all I can find.
I’m pretty sure there have been many mornings where I’ve missed my bus because I’ve had to waste time trying to find socks. Lucky for me, my mom does help me find them, on the occasions where I ask nicely and refrain from yelling. But little things like these are incredibly frustrating for me. Especially things that don’t make any sense. Where do the socks go? They have to be somewhere. They can’t just disappear. After all these years I still have no leads and no theories on the matter. Am I crazy? Do I sleepwalk and retrieve odd socks and dispose of them without realizing? What the hell is going on? Someone give me an answer.
Yes, that’s right. I know what you’re thinking, how does a 23 year old woman fail at clothes? Little girls can start dressing themselves from around the age of 3, maybe not well, but good enough. So what the hell is my problem? It’s not like I’ve ever forgotten to wear them or anything, it hasn’t quite come to that just yet. Maybe when I’m older and senile. But nevertheless, I do have problems with clothes, other than my obsession with buying them.
Rarely do I ever dress weather appropriate. It’s not like I do it on purpose. Well, maybe sometimes. But generally I try really hard to be compatible with the weather but 90% of the time I fail miserably. The weather and I were just not meant to be. I thought maybe we could try to make it work but this relationship was just doomed from the start. I can’t trust it anymore, it’s lied to me too many times and is just too crazy and bipolar for me. I refuse to make an effort to cooperate with the weather when it doesn’t treat me right.
A couple days ago, it rained. And it was cold. Very fall weather. While I was on my way to work, the girl ahead of me had on jeans, boots, and a jacket. She was dressed perfectly for the weather. And what was I wearing? Shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops. Because I somehow thought that that would make sense. I did have a sweater, but it was very light. I don’t like dressing for cold weather. People always ask if I’m cold because I don’t have a jacket on but I tell them that I don’t get cold. I mean sometimes I do, but for some reason I like to fight it.
The weather is not my only enemy when it comes to clothes. Sometimes I guess I’m my own enemy? Or maybe it’s the clothes themselves that are against me? Not quite sure. Sometimes I would wear a thin t-shirt, only to realize after leaving the house that it’s see through and that you can see my bra. Or the shirt I’m wearing is too big for me which causes it to fall too low in the neckline. Or my leggings have holes in them. Or the outfit I’ve put together doesn’t exactly match. Well, you get the idea.
My most recent clothing fail occurred last night. I have this skirt that has a zipper in the front that goes all the way down to the bottom of the skirt. I love zippers. But apparently they don’t love me. While at Kerkis Greek Taverna for our bookstore rush party, I got up to get a drink. And it was brought to my attention that my zipper was broken, causing the skirt to be open at the bottom. Brought to my attention by laughing and pointing and inappropriate jokes. Luckily, I was wearing spandex shorts underneath. I’ve totally worn that skirt to work without the shorts before and had it broken at that time, I’m not sure what I would have done. I’ve also worn that skirt in other public places before, including church. That would’ve been bad. At least if it had to happen, it happened in a dark restaurant. I tried to fix it but to no avail. Someone asked the waitress for a safety pin but she never came back with one. Eventually, I just took off the skirt altogether. It was just easier that way.
I didn’t go home last night because I live in Richmond, it was late, and my skirt was broken. All a bad combination. Having crashed at my friend’s place, I had to make my way home today. In my spandex. Apparently walking around without pants is less socially acceptable during the day than it is at night. I can’t imagine why. It would have helped if my sweater was just a bit longer, but sadly it was not. It also would have helped if it was a hot day today, then short shorts wouldn’t have been so bad. It’s too bad it wasn’t the day of the underwear affair run or something. The shorts weren’t that bad, but I didn’t fit in with all the people wearing long pants. As I made my way home, I could sense people giving me looks but I pretended not to notice. I pretended as if I was one of them, my pants wearing companions.
So what have I learned from this? Nothing really. I will continue to fail at clothes. That’s just the way it is and I have come to accept it. I really loved that skirt and it being broken has caused me to feel broken. I never have any luck with zippers but this will not stop me from continuing to wear things with them that could easily break. If I were a celebrity, my wardrobe malfunctions would be caught on camera by the paparazzi. But since I’m not famous and no one knows who I am, I will just blog about it.
Well, I have a lot of problems. But let’s just focus on one at a time, shall we? One affliction that I have is something that affects many people: compulsive shopping. Now, don’t go thinking it’s anything like Confessions of a Shopaholic or anything. It’s nowhere near that. I’m not in debt or anything, and I don’t care at all about brand names and designers. I love a good bargain and am thrilled when I purchase things that are on sale. On occasion, it does get a bit out of hand. I love buying clothes and I fear that one day I will be on an episode of Hoarders.
On Saturday, a couple of my friends and I went down to the States to do some shopping. This was my first cross boarder shopping day trip and I was thrilled. We hit up Bellis Fair Mall in the morning, full of energy and ready to shop. My friends had specific things they were looking to buy, while I, rather naively, said that I didn’t really need anything and didn’t plan on buying that many things. Hah! I would definitely eat those words later on…
My friend suggested we go to Charlotte Russe, where she found two dresses on sale that were perfect for work. I managed to get 3 tops for $5 each, and then got $5 off with an in-store coupon. 3 things for $10. What a start, I was sticking to what I said and not spending a lot of money. Well, it was all downhill from there…
Next stop, JC Penney. We found a corner of the store that was totally our style. I of course, tried on the most things, as I often tend to do. Came out with 2 tops and 2 jackets. One I loved but wasn’t sure of because of the price, but my friends insisted that it looked amazing and so my decision to buy it was justified. These purchases resulted in a $5 coupon towards any bra, shapewear, or panty. Obviously, I had to buy a panty, couldn’t let the coupon go to waste.
After this, was my oh so exciting first time at Target, where we went straight for the food. I bought “smarties”. I say “smarties”, because I do not mean candy coated chocolate, similar to m&ms. I mean those sweet, chalk like candies that come in a roll that we refer to here as “rockets”. They are exactly the same, but the name is different. But I had to buy them just to be sure. I also bought some chocolate Special K cereal, as we do not seem to have it here anymore. We did at one point, but now when I do groceries, I search in vain, only to find fruit or grain Special K, but never the chocolate. I also picked up some Fruity Pebbles cereal for fun. I realized how awesome this cereal was when I went to the PNE and tried deep fried pop tarts, which were covered with said cereal. It’s always so exciting to bring back something that cannot be found here.
Bellis Fair was great. But what really did me in, was Ross. It was not even my first time, but it was my first time at that particular location. My friend was the one who really wanted to go and told me that you really need to look around in order to find stuff. Within 5 minutes of getting there and her telling me that, I already had 10 things to go try on. They made me get a cart since it was busy and there was an 8 item limit in the fitting room. As I continued to shop and try things on, my cart began to fill up, and I began to realize I had a problem. At one point my friends left to go get Starbucks, while I remained shopping in Ross. It was like leaving a kid in a candy store.
When they came back and found me by my cart, I was I wreck. I was done with trying on new things, but I was at a loss as to how to narrow down which things to buy. They tried to help me narrow it down but to no avail. I would hold up a top and one would say I had something similar, while the other would say it was different enough that it was okay. Then another top was something I didn’t need, but then it was a really good price. It doesn’t help much to shop with someone who is an enabler. After I very trying time, I ended up buying 10 things, all tops. I did not have the patience to shop for pants.
As we totaled our receipts on our way back, I was shocked and ashamed at my result. $290. How the hell did that happen? I never splurge like that! Good thing I increased the credit limit on my visa card. Or maybe it was a bad thing… But I mean, it’s not like I plan to do something like that again at all anytime soon. Not that I had planned it this time. But I can justify it by the fact that I had a rough week. And what am I working hard for if not to spend the money I earn and indulge every now and then? At least my addiction isn’t to something serious or dangerous like hard drugs. Although I can totally see myself dying in a Ross store one day…
