October 30th - Ann Taylor Loft sweater, BR brown dress - small Halloween gathering with friends - quite close to the last of the casual stuff (hence the dress and shawl).
October 29th - White House Black Market jacket (one of my faves!), Target skirt - very loose and big in the back (which I why I had to donate it) - Friday errands and a trip to Vino100 to say hello - probably one of my last glam shots before running out of clothes!
October 28th - Suit for a client meeting (all BR, of course) - one I haven't worn in awhile and that used to be loose - darn that food in Dubai (or the food on the plane in first class on my way there and back!)
October 27th - Ann Taylor Loft red cowl neck sweater, Favorite "fat" jeans (BR) - I can't remember - errands, maybe?
October 26th - brown ribbed v-neck sweater, belt from a boutique, BR boyfriend jeans (I swear our washer shrank them - or not!)
October 23rd - White BR tie-neck sweater, BR camel wool sheath dress (another favorite), Nine West boots - Saturday speaker in Bowling Green
October 21 - Ann Taylor jacket, Ann Taylor Loft brown suit pantsClient meeting in Providence, RI - starting to scrape the barrell for work-related attire and had to rely on pants from a suit.
October 20th - BR 3/4 sleeve shirt with sequin detailing at top (funny, I don't remember this beingn so tight or short!), BR fat jeans
BR black button down top, BR khaki skirt
Ann Taylor Loft button down (yuck, this one's going to the donation pile), BR pencil skirt (recycled to go with this skirt!)
Ann Taylor Loft poncho, BR black tights, Lovely People wedges - starting to run out of clothes!
So, Dubai ended up being totally amazing! After my post that first morning in the Middle East, I did end up going skiing in the indoor ski slope (which is appended to one of the outrageous malls they have in Dubai). It's funny that my first time skiing in 10 years was actually in the middle of the dessert - INDOORS! My client and I managed to get 2 good hours of skiing in, and then shed our ski gear and stepped back outside into 80+ temperatures with high humidity - yes, humidity! Dubai, because of it's enormous amounts of man-made ponds and lakes, is subject to humidity because the hot sun evaporates the water, but the heat forms a shield on the atmosphere making you feel like a plant in a greenhouse. This gives a whole new meaning to "greenhouse effect!"
The rest of my stay in Dubai was great and consisted of a visit to the largest mall in the world (yes, just my luck), the purchase of a piece of gold jewelry (I had to - I was in the gold capitol of the world), a couple of dinners with the client (one that came with belly-dancing entertainment delivered by a Brazilian model - interesting), and the actual reason I was there, a meeting with the client - a meeting of which I only contributed about 15 minutes. Good thing they flew me all the way out there - for 15 minutes! I also managed to get in a little spa time at the resort that I was staying at - an amazing spa, I might add, and went to the top (well, 2/3rds up) of the world's tallest building. Clearly, Dubai does not understand the concept of understatement with everything being the biggest, tallest, richest...etc.
My flight back from the Middle East was less enjoyable than my flight there, as I was extremely tired from sleep deprivation (not being able to sleep when it's supposed to be 2pm in the U.S.). Nonetheless, I rode back in style in Business Class and ate every single meal offered to me - which left me feeling the size of a cow when I got home from my 2 days of traveling in the air. Nonetheless, this trip goes down as the best business trip ever! I doubt I'll be able to top this one!
So, since my trip to the Middle East (gosh, I feel so worldly typing this), I have eased back into the daily grind. I did have one overnight trip to Providence, RI which was fun, especially this time of year. The air was brisk, the buildings were beautiful, and the food was farm-fresh. Yummy! Aside from that trip, my days have mostly been spent doing the usual - working from home or putting in an office visit in Detroit. Similar to my return back from Belgium, I have been trying to fight the number on the scale after my debauchery in another country - so I am once again depressed about the fact that the clothes remaining in my closet to wear (yes, I still have not exhausted my wardrobe) are too tight. I have had to make a trip upstairs to find a shirt to go with the last skirt or pair of work pants so as to truly go through every item of my closet. I have decided to give myself some slack for this upcoming week - which will be spent in Western PA for our annual company conference. We're allowed to wear jeans all but one day, so I need to dust off my best looking sweaters to parade around in during the conference. I also will be wearing my Louboutins and the red sheath dress that I bought during my quick NYC reprieve (when Mike gave me spending money for some new articles of clothing) as I am in charge of playing a Heidi Klum like character during one of the sessions at this conference. I must say, proudly, that had it not been for this "assignment," I would try to wait until February 7th (when my challenge ends) to wear the pieces of clothing I purchased so as to legitimize this challenge.
Refraining from shopping at the world's largest mall (in Dubai) and then again in Providence (when I accompanied a co-worker to buy a new work outfit as she spilled water on the one she had packed) has not been even close to difficult. I did start getting a slight urge to try things on when in Providence as the holiday stuff is coming out (always a weakness for me in the past). The shiny sleeveless tops with sequins and made of satin are have historically beckoned for me to try them on. However, this year, a little, but not so much that I grabbed them and made a mad dash for the dressing room. Mina, the co-worker with me in Providence, was sporting an awesome Louis Vuitton bag which did get the shopping juices flowing again...so, I've decided that at the end of this challenge, I am going to plunker down a good number of Ben Franklins to buy my "bitch bag" - a bag that says to everyone "I have arrived!" I am in need of a new bag, as my orange Kate Spade is starting to show major signs of wear and is getting a little dirty on the handles and edges.
During spinning this morning, one fellow spinner that has been MIA due to some health issues showed up today and asked me if I was still not shopping. I let her know that I was still holding true (for the most part) and she came back asking how much money I've saved. Sadly, I had to answer - hardly any! Although I originally noticed a big savings when I first started this challenge, surprisingly these savings have not really been adding up. My thought is that most of this extra cash has been allocated elsewhere - like to all the spa treatments I have been indulging in, trips that Mike and I have been taking, and home-related stuff. So, sadly, though I've managed to kick one addiction, other smaller money sucking activities have happily stepped in to take shopping's place! Sigh - oh well, at least I have been able to prove to myself that I can give up shopping and that I won't die without it - who knows though, I still have 3 months to go!
The rest of my stay in Dubai was great and consisted of a visit to the largest mall in the world (yes, just my luck), the purchase of a piece of gold jewelry (I had to - I was in the gold capitol of the world), a couple of dinners with the client (one that came with belly-dancing entertainment delivered by a Brazilian model - interesting), and the actual reason I was there, a meeting with the client - a meeting of which I only contributed about 15 minutes. Good thing they flew me all the way out there - for 15 minutes! I also managed to get in a little spa time at the resort that I was staying at - an amazing spa, I might add, and went to the top (well, 2/3rds up) of the world's tallest building. Clearly, Dubai does not understand the concept of understatement with everything being the biggest, tallest, richest...etc.
My flight back from the Middle East was less enjoyable than my flight there, as I was extremely tired from sleep deprivation (not being able to sleep when it's supposed to be 2pm in the U.S.). Nonetheless, I rode back in style in Business Class and ate every single meal offered to me - which left me feeling the size of a cow when I got home from my 2 days of traveling in the air. Nonetheless, this trip goes down as the best business trip ever! I doubt I'll be able to top this one!
So, since my trip to the Middle East (gosh, I feel so worldly typing this), I have eased back into the daily grind. I did have one overnight trip to Providence, RI which was fun, especially this time of year. The air was brisk, the buildings were beautiful, and the food was farm-fresh. Yummy! Aside from that trip, my days have mostly been spent doing the usual - working from home or putting in an office visit in Detroit. Similar to my return back from Belgium, I have been trying to fight the number on the scale after my debauchery in another country - so I am once again depressed about the fact that the clothes remaining in my closet to wear (yes, I still have not exhausted my wardrobe) are too tight. I have had to make a trip upstairs to find a shirt to go with the last skirt or pair of work pants so as to truly go through every item of my closet. I have decided to give myself some slack for this upcoming week - which will be spent in Western PA for our annual company conference. We're allowed to wear jeans all but one day, so I need to dust off my best looking sweaters to parade around in during the conference. I also will be wearing my Louboutins and the red sheath dress that I bought during my quick NYC reprieve (when Mike gave me spending money for some new articles of clothing) as I am in charge of playing a Heidi Klum like character during one of the sessions at this conference. I must say, proudly, that had it not been for this "assignment," I would try to wait until February 7th (when my challenge ends) to wear the pieces of clothing I purchased so as to legitimize this challenge.
Refraining from shopping at the world's largest mall (in Dubai) and then again in Providence (when I accompanied a co-worker to buy a new work outfit as she spilled water on the one she had packed) has not been even close to difficult. I did start getting a slight urge to try things on when in Providence as the holiday stuff is coming out (always a weakness for me in the past). The shiny sleeveless tops with sequins and made of satin are have historically beckoned for me to try them on. However, this year, a little, but not so much that I grabbed them and made a mad dash for the dressing room. Mina, the co-worker with me in Providence, was sporting an awesome Louis Vuitton bag which did get the shopping juices flowing again...so, I've decided that at the end of this challenge, I am going to plunker down a good number of Ben Franklins to buy my "bitch bag" - a bag that says to everyone "I have arrived!" I am in need of a new bag, as my orange Kate Spade is starting to show major signs of wear and is getting a little dirty on the handles and edges.
During spinning this morning, one fellow spinner that has been MIA due to some health issues showed up today and asked me if I was still not shopping. I let her know that I was still holding true (for the most part) and she came back asking how much money I've saved. Sadly, I had to answer - hardly any! Although I originally noticed a big savings when I first started this challenge, surprisingly these savings have not really been adding up. My thought is that most of this extra cash has been allocated elsewhere - like to all the spa treatments I have been indulging in, trips that Mike and I have been taking, and home-related stuff. So, sadly, though I've managed to kick one addiction, other smaller money sucking activities have happily stepped in to take shopping's place! Sigh - oh well, at least I have been able to prove to myself that I can give up shopping and that I won't die without it - who knows though, I still have 3 months to go!
No comments:
Post a Comment