All Orbed out

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?

I went to South Delta to buy clothes

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