It's getting harder and harder to not shop, but I'm staying strong!  Spring is pretty difficult, because skirts and dresses are so appealing and I never feel like I really have the right dresses for every occasion.  This one ideal - classy, fun, knee length...but also $350.00.  Maybe someday.  

Real Simple

I think I could make something like this (read: I think my mom could sew me something like this.)  In addition to sewing new clothes, I've decided that trading for clothing is okay, too.  I'm drooling over this dress too, which I think would be a little harder to recreate, but a girl can dream!

Polli Says

Yesterday four other girls and I got together for a clothes swap.  I wish I'd taken a picture of the all the pieces that were up for grabs.  It was a pretty good pile!  We split everything into dresses, skirts, pants, tops, and accessories and went through one pile at a time.  I came away with 2 skirts, 2 dresses, and a new top.  I can't even remember what I took to contribute now (which just goes to show they were probably pieces I should have gotten rid of years ago) but I know that what I got rid of was easily three times what I took home, so I feel good about that.  I'm wearing one of the little dresses at work right now with leggings and my trusty dusty blue Minnetonka mocs and there's a good chance I'll be wearing this exact outfit at least once a week until it gets too hot to have even this much clothing on.  All in all, it was a really nice, restful weekend. 

Mmmm with a side of oh my, that's good

I think the mindset from which I've been attacking the idea of clothing is beginning to show itself in other money-spending areas, as well.  By far, my biggest weakness where spending is concerned is food.  Not eating out or drinking necessarily, but grocery shopping.  The best things are so expensive - cheese, fancy meats (prosciutto and salami, for example) good cereals, frozen veggies and fruits - and I simply can't force myself to buy certain staple items off brand.  I see good food like I see good shoes or handbags - if it's not expensive, it's not good and therefore not worth it.  There may be some serious flaws in this statement, but I can't figure it out.  To illustrate, here is a pretty good sampling of a quick shopping trip for me:

OJ, Horizon chocolate milk, mushrooms, neufchatel, whole grain english muffins, peppers, and soyjoy

I have plans for all these things in the next two days.  I bought them because I know I will use them and that they are mostly on my side, as far as nutrition goes.

Here's another food example which I do feel supports my new outlook on clothes shopping.  Today I had errands to run at lunch so I didn't have time to go home to make something.  I thought "I'll go through the ridiculously fast Jimmy John's drive through, get a sandwich, chips and a coke, and have time to get back to work and eat it."  Well, I took a wrong turn and there was no way I'd get to JJ without backtracking, so I pulled into The Merc, our local (used to be cooperative) health food store.  The lunch buffet there is always amazing, so I bypassed the cold pre-made sandwiches (all organic and local, of course) and headed for the hot stuff.  Oh my god.  Today they had goat cheese polenta, beef lasagna, penne pasta with artichoke hearts, and the best green beans ever.  I loaded up a box with a little bit of everything, grabbed a cookie and an apple, and $10.48 later I was munching on green beans in my car like they were french fries.

I thought about feeling guilty for a minute about how much I had just spent on lunch, but then I thought about the alternative I had considered and turned down.  One sandwich (with white bread, limp lettuce, pathetic tomatoes and tons of mayo) and chips (sodium, anyone?) and a coke (no comment, I love it) probably would have cost me barely under $10, but with those few extra dollars I not only supported a local business, I also supported local farmers, ate so many healthy things, and didn't have a ton of trash in the form of wrappers at the end.  Who has two thumbs and won at lunch today? This girl.

Moral: buy thoughtfully, buy morally, buy smart.