Saturday, April 17, 2010

the dangers of shopping

my wedding band, perched on the white hyacinth in my garden:

not only is there the much greater possibility of car damage, higher stress, waiting in lines, and overwhelming selections, there's the exponentially increased chance that you'll spend more than you intended.

take today, for instance - I went happily to the mall with a friend, planning to spend no more than $10. things were fine, with purchases totaling only $8. then we decided that our shopping trip would not be complete without a trip to t.j. maxx. this is possibly one of my favorite discount stores. two dresses, a pair of stockings, a scarf, and two cute card-holders later, my bill-for-the-day was a whopping $50. mind you, i love the dresses. the scarf is fabulous. the card holders are super cute and they clean up the interior of my purse. however, this is five times what i meant to spend.

bring on the Mary Kay tea party following the shopping excursion. it just feels wrong to attend a party like this and not buy something, especially if the hostess is a good friend. i was conservative though, only spending $10. only. ha. however, this means i've spent $60 in a day. not a good thing, considering i'm still technically unemployed. ouch. the damage is done.

purple dress, gray dress, scarf, tights, card holders:

regardless, I did have fun. I enjoyed being with my friends - and we haven't been able to get together for quite some time. i now own two fabulous, versatile dresses that can work in literally any season and almost any occasion, from teaching to weddings to nights out. I will soon have a lovely MK lip gloss to complete these new looks.

shopping is dangerous...i'm planning to take a hard look at the budget, muster some self control, and figure out how to make this work.

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