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Yes, I'm still here, and I'm still not shopping...I've just been a bit lazy from a blogging perspective these past few weeks (since Labor Day). The week of Labor Day was very laid back and involved work from home - so not all that much from a closet depletion standpoint. That Friday, I went to a spa in Cleveland with a co-worker to get pampered, and then came back to be "wifey" to my husband at his Psychology Department annual social. I churned through probably what I would consider my last "going out" black top and a balloon skirt that I've used mainly for Holiday events but felt it was appropriate for the occassion.
That Saturday and Sunday we went out to dinner with Mike and Lyn (who were visiting from Detroit) and hit up the annual arts festival in Bowling Green - which is something we look forward to every year. Mike and I purchased a console to put at the front of our house - which is why you see something covered in white styrofoam for some of the pictures.
The following week was a normal work week, complete with an overnight office visit in Detroit. That weekend, we headed into Peoria, IL to visit Mike's family. There was a German American festival going on, so we made a stop there, danced to traditional German music, and drank lots of beer. I managed to stub my toe on my way back into Mike's brothers' house and thought for all of Sunday that my toenail was coming off - so was psyching myself out and thinking how painful it would be to deal with my toe. You can imagine my relief when we got home, I removed the bandage, and saw that my toenail was perfectly fine. It's amazing how pain is mostly construed in the mind! While "injured," I kept thinking of how I'd be unable to wear my Christian Louboutins during my client meeting in Dallas (when I'd be in front of a group of well-dressed New Yorkers) and also not be able to wear them during my nights out in the city - thankfully, all with the toe was well by Monday evening!
Tuesday through Thursday was spent in Dallas for a client meeting. Ironically, the hotel at which the meeting was to take place was sold out, so the nearest hotel to this destination was the Westing at the Dallas Galleria. For those who aren't familiar with Dallas, it has just about as much shopping at New York City, and the Galleria is the largest mall in the Dallas area. My hotel was adjacent to a 4 story Saks, a 4 story Banana Republic, and I'm sure many many other wonderful stores that I would not even allow myself be cognizant of as I am still holding true to this challenge! The purpose of the meeting was to prepare for our presentation in Dubai (a trip that is becoming less daunting by the minute). On Wednesday and Thursday, I burned through another set of work attire - a couple button down blouses, pair of suit pants, and a skirt that was also part of a suit. Dressing for client functions such as this one is always a challenge as you never know if you can get away with a dress, separates, or need to wear a full on suit. Of course, I was the most business dressed person in the room - which is always a good thing - you never want to be dressed more casually than your client! I had all of Thursday evening to kill, so I ended up jumping on the treadmill - in hopes of de-bloating myself from eating all that food served up during the client meetings, ate a light dinner in the hotel restaurant, and then drove to the nearest movie theatre to catch Eat, Pray, Love - it's the best I could do to avoid the mall and pass time.
Friday morning was spent traveling from Dallas into New Jersey where Mike and our dear friend Soni came to pick me up from the EWR airport. We then hung out at Soni's wonderful apartment in Hoboken before getting dressed for a night out in the city. We headed to a trendy bar called Eo for a pre-dinner drink, and then headed to a restaurant in Little Italy (I think) called Travertine. Within 10 minute of being there (waiting at the bar to be seated), Mukund, Soni's husband, leaned over to us and said in a low voice "Jim Carrey has just entered the restaurant." We all, as best as we could, slowly turned our heads to see him sitting at the table, and marveled at how cool it is to be in NYC and be dining within 10 feet of a celebrity! Hardly anyone interrupted him, except for one idiot who planted him down in the booth next to Mr. Carrey and tried to strike up a conversation. We were sitting at a table right next to the street and were able to see the paparazzi and fan club representatives waiting outside to get his autograph or snap a pic. Being all too familiar with this, upon finishing his dinner, Jim got up, slipped through the kitchen, and out the back door. We ended our exciting evening eating some dessert, walking through a street fair taking place in Little Italy (where Mike was cheated out of $20 trying to win me a stuffed animal through a ball in the basket kind of game) and then catching a train back into Hoboken to arrive at Soni and Mukund's tired enough to hit the hay after a round of waters in their living room.
On Friday afternoon, Mike revealed to me during our first glass of wine that my birthday gift this year was $400 in cash that I could spend on clothing - so as to stay true to this challenge (some of you may disagree) but still be able to buy a few things given that I'd be surrounded by amazing clothes all weekend. I also received a thank you gift of $100 from a co-worker of mine in Dallas, so I decided to add that to the mix and indulge in a mini-shopping spree. So...as you can imagine, my head was swimming with ideas of what I wanted to buy with my "free cash." I had my mind set on a classic work dress - like a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap. Soni, Mukund, Mike and I all headed into the city again to meet up with Julie and Jason (Mike and I's hosts for Saturday night) in the Meat Packing district near Chelsea Market and had brunch. Then we walked through the market and then the ladies split off from the guys to do a little shopping - or to help me find my birthday purchase. Well, rather unfortunately, I did go to the DVF store and tried on multiple dresses, only to feel very dejected due to how tight and un-flattering I found the dresses. The week of eating high-sodium foods, and mindlessly eating the crazy spread of food during my business meetings certainly caught up with me and left me feeling a least a size larger than normal - and this became evident as I tried to shimmy in and out of the form-fitting dresses. To add greater injury to insult, all the dresses I was trying on were 2 sizes larger than what I would normally wear...so, perhaps it's been a good thing that I haven't been shopping - as I have been shielded from the fact that my waistline has grown and that I am no longer the size I used to be! Needless to say, I did not make a purchase Saturday and spent the rest of the day feeling very fat.
Saturday afternoon and evening were filled with good conversation with Julie and Jason, first over some wine, cheese, and crackers at their Upper West Side apartment, a stroll in Central Park, and then at dinner back again in Little Italy at a restaurant called Peasant. The very rustic and minimalist Italian food was terrific and very different from the swankier experience we had the night before - but as much like New York City dining as Travertine - sans Celebrity sighting. By the time we got back to J&J's apartment, we were all spent from the long day and called is a relatively early night.
Sunday began with an relaxing breakfast at J&J's with some awesome New York bagels, scrambled eggs, and great coffee. We then headed out and did another split off where the ladies shopped and the boys went to the Met to get in some art and culture. It was then that I finally started getting my body image back in a positive state and found a great jacket for $80, a red sheath dress and a black blazer, and a pair of earrings to take me right up to the $500 spending mark. Though not outrageously expensive, these items are what I deem to be classic and will (hopefully) get a great deal of use in the future. Yesterday was really my first chance to test out my reformed spending mentality as it's the first true shopping that I've done since February. Fortunately, I did find myself being much more selective and critical of the clothes that I tried on making sure that the items I was purchasing where not trendy, could be used in multiple contexts (business meeting, going out, casually) if paired with the right accessories and shoes, and were different enough from anything else in my wardrobe to justify adding. I feel like I did meet these criteria and am looking forward to being able to take these new clothes out for a spin during my Dubai trip. Hopefully, by then, I'll have truly gone through my entire wardrobe and will be able to pack favorites that make me feel good about myself again!
So, yes, I have had a brief stint of being back in the world of shopping, but can already tell that my crazy shopping-frenzy days are over. I must admit that there is a pang of guilt that I am feeling right now by giving in and allowing myself to spend $500 in the midst of this challenge. I'll let you decide whether this is cheating or is a reasonable concession so as to keep me going until next February - you decide!
That Saturday and Sunday we went out to dinner with Mike and Lyn (who were visiting from Detroit) and hit up the annual arts festival in Bowling Green - which is something we look forward to every year. Mike and I purchased a console to put at the front of our house - which is why you see something covered in white styrofoam for some of the pictures.
The following week was a normal work week, complete with an overnight office visit in Detroit. That weekend, we headed into Peoria, IL to visit Mike's family. There was a German American festival going on, so we made a stop there, danced to traditional German music, and drank lots of beer. I managed to stub my toe on my way back into Mike's brothers' house and thought for all of Sunday that my toenail was coming off - so was psyching myself out and thinking how painful it would be to deal with my toe. You can imagine my relief when we got home, I removed the bandage, and saw that my toenail was perfectly fine. It's amazing how pain is mostly construed in the mind! While "injured," I kept thinking of how I'd be unable to wear my Christian Louboutins during my client meeting in Dallas (when I'd be in front of a group of well-dressed New Yorkers) and also not be able to wear them during my nights out in the city - thankfully, all with the toe was well by Monday evening!
Tuesday through Thursday was spent in Dallas for a client meeting. Ironically, the hotel at which the meeting was to take place was sold out, so the nearest hotel to this destination was the Westing at the Dallas Galleria. For those who aren't familiar with Dallas, it has just about as much shopping at New York City, and the Galleria is the largest mall in the Dallas area. My hotel was adjacent to a 4 story Saks, a 4 story Banana Republic, and I'm sure many many other wonderful stores that I would not even allow myself be cognizant of as I am still holding true to this challenge! The purpose of the meeting was to prepare for our presentation in Dubai (a trip that is becoming less daunting by the minute). On Wednesday and Thursday, I burned through another set of work attire - a couple button down blouses, pair of suit pants, and a skirt that was also part of a suit. Dressing for client functions such as this one is always a challenge as you never know if you can get away with a dress, separates, or need to wear a full on suit. Of course, I was the most business dressed person in the room - which is always a good thing - you never want to be dressed more casually than your client! I had all of Thursday evening to kill, so I ended up jumping on the treadmill - in hopes of de-bloating myself from eating all that food served up during the client meetings, ate a light dinner in the hotel restaurant, and then drove to the nearest movie theatre to catch Eat, Pray, Love - it's the best I could do to avoid the mall and pass time.
Friday morning was spent traveling from Dallas into New Jersey where Mike and our dear friend Soni came to pick me up from the EWR airport. We then hung out at Soni's wonderful apartment in Hoboken before getting dressed for a night out in the city. We headed to a trendy bar called Eo for a pre-dinner drink, and then headed to a restaurant in Little Italy (I think) called Travertine. Within 10 minute of being there (waiting at the bar to be seated), Mukund, Soni's husband, leaned over to us and said in a low voice "Jim Carrey has just entered the restaurant." We all, as best as we could, slowly turned our heads to see him sitting at the table, and marveled at how cool it is to be in NYC and be dining within 10 feet of a celebrity! Hardly anyone interrupted him, except for one idiot who planted him down in the booth next to Mr. Carrey and tried to strike up a conversation. We were sitting at a table right next to the street and were able to see the paparazzi and fan club representatives waiting outside to get his autograph or snap a pic. Being all too familiar with this, upon finishing his dinner, Jim got up, slipped through the kitchen, and out the back door. We ended our exciting evening eating some dessert, walking through a street fair taking place in Little Italy (where Mike was cheated out of $20 trying to win me a stuffed animal through a ball in the basket kind of game) and then catching a train back into Hoboken to arrive at Soni and Mukund's tired enough to hit the hay after a round of waters in their living room.
On Friday afternoon, Mike revealed to me during our first glass of wine that my birthday gift this year was $400 in cash that I could spend on clothing - so as to stay true to this challenge (some of you may disagree) but still be able to buy a few things given that I'd be surrounded by amazing clothes all weekend. I also received a thank you gift of $100 from a co-worker of mine in Dallas, so I decided to add that to the mix and indulge in a mini-shopping spree. So...as you can imagine, my head was swimming with ideas of what I wanted to buy with my "free cash." I had my mind set on a classic work dress - like a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap. Soni, Mukund, Mike and I all headed into the city again to meet up with Julie and Jason (Mike and I's hosts for Saturday night) in the Meat Packing district near Chelsea Market and had brunch. Then we walked through the market and then the ladies split off from the guys to do a little shopping - or to help me find my birthday purchase. Well, rather unfortunately, I did go to the DVF store and tried on multiple dresses, only to feel very dejected due to how tight and un-flattering I found the dresses. The week of eating high-sodium foods, and mindlessly eating the crazy spread of food during my business meetings certainly caught up with me and left me feeling a least a size larger than normal - and this became evident as I tried to shimmy in and out of the form-fitting dresses. To add greater injury to insult, all the dresses I was trying on were 2 sizes larger than what I would normally wear...so, perhaps it's been a good thing that I haven't been shopping - as I have been shielded from the fact that my waistline has grown and that I am no longer the size I used to be! Needless to say, I did not make a purchase Saturday and spent the rest of the day feeling very fat.
Saturday afternoon and evening were filled with good conversation with Julie and Jason, first over some wine, cheese, and crackers at their Upper West Side apartment, a stroll in Central Park, and then at dinner back again in Little Italy at a restaurant called Peasant. The very rustic and minimalist Italian food was terrific and very different from the swankier experience we had the night before - but as much like New York City dining as Travertine - sans Celebrity sighting. By the time we got back to J&J's apartment, we were all spent from the long day and called is a relatively early night.
Sunday began with an relaxing breakfast at J&J's with some awesome New York bagels, scrambled eggs, and great coffee. We then headed out and did another split off where the ladies shopped and the boys went to the Met to get in some art and culture. It was then that I finally started getting my body image back in a positive state and found a great jacket for $80, a red sheath dress and a black blazer, and a pair of earrings to take me right up to the $500 spending mark. Though not outrageously expensive, these items are what I deem to be classic and will (hopefully) get a great deal of use in the future. Yesterday was really my first chance to test out my reformed spending mentality as it's the first true shopping that I've done since February. Fortunately, I did find myself being much more selective and critical of the clothes that I tried on making sure that the items I was purchasing where not trendy, could be used in multiple contexts (business meeting, going out, casually) if paired with the right accessories and shoes, and were different enough from anything else in my wardrobe to justify adding. I feel like I did meet these criteria and am looking forward to being able to take these new clothes out for a spin during my Dubai trip. Hopefully, by then, I'll have truly gone through my entire wardrobe and will be able to pack favorites that make me feel good about myself again!
So, yes, I have had a brief stint of being back in the world of shopping, but can already tell that my crazy shopping-frenzy days are over. I must admit that there is a pang of guilt that I am feeling right now by giving in and allowing myself to spend $500 in the midst of this challenge. I'll let you decide whether this is cheating or is a reasonable concession so as to keep me going until next February - you decide!
