Cardigan overload: A tale of my May spending

I bought five cardigans in May. I'm beginning to think that I need cardigan rehab. I even flipped out a little bit in Gap Outlet when I saw that their cardigans were 70% off. Somehow I only bought one that day. Maybe that's the first step in my rehab process.

Here's what else I bought in May:

Balloon cardigan, Target, $12

Black capris (same brand but not exact), Burke's Outlet, $10

Nest Boutique Cardigans- Black and Mint, $9/each

Not pictured:
Goodwill (2 skirts and a cardigan)- $15

Purple Cardigan, Gap Outlet- $12

2 White Camisoles, Gap Outlet- $5/each

Yard sale treasures- $12 (seriously, there's a lady in my parents' neighborhood that has some of the best yard sale clothes I've ever seen!)

I spent $89 in May, but the cardigans were worth it. ;-)

Linking up with Budgeting Bloggers

So much for no new clothes in April...

Remember when I said in my awkwardly titled March budgeting bloggers post that I was going to work on inventorying my closet and not buying new things in April?

Yeah, that failed.

I'm not sure what happened; it might have been letting my guard down and buying that first item. It might have been winning a $50 Target gift card on Jen's blog (Librarian for Life and Style) and deciding to buy a couple of cardigans with it. It might have been going to the mall with my husband one Friday night. Whatever it was, I fell hard.

I spent around $140 this month NOT counting the $50 Target card. Gulp. 

Bicycle button down, Target, $16

Anchor print dress, Old Navy, $10

Nautical sweater #1, Old Navy, $7

Nautical sweater #2, Old Navy, $7

Nautical Sweater #3, Old Navy, $7

Sleeveless top, Old Navy, $21

Shorts, Old Navy, $15

Little Mermaid shirt, Rue 21, $20

Sandals, Skechers Outlet, $35

Here's what I got with the Target gift card:

Cocoon cardigan, Target, $22

Dot cardigan, Target, $12

Navy canvas flats, Target, $16

Not pictured (since I forgot about buying them. Oops!): Black and white Walmart chevron tank top (seen here)- $10 and green Walmart capris- $3

On the plus side, I did go for a few colorful items. Evidently, I really wanted blue and green and nautical items this month. Hmm, I didn't realize what a theme I had going, down to the Little Mermaid shirt. Maybe my shopping habits are secretly wishing I had a beach vacation planned this summer...

Linking with Budgeting Bloggers.

March Yourself Out Of That Store Right Now!

Wow. That's the best title I could think of? ;-P

March was a rather spend-y month in our house. I don't know why but sometimes we just completely disregard our budget and spend like crazy! As you'll see from my list below, I contributed a lot to the crazy spending! Our first anniversary was in March (woo hoo!!!), and my generous husband gave me a $100 Old Navy card as an anniversary gift. I was so excited!! I shared a little of it with him, and he bought two new pairs of shorts. I'm a giver...

Outside of the gift card, I spent $148. That may not be a lot for some people's budgets, but that's way too much for me to spend on clothes in a month! To be fair, some of it was workout related and a couple of items were replacement items, but the rest were complete impulse buys. To top that off, my mom also cleaned out her closet and had eight bags of clothes for me to look through! I should be clothes rich for the next couple of months at least (ha!). 

Enough talking, let's see what that $248 brought home last month:

Nice light sweater that should work well into Spring

Men's workout shorts- love them because they're not super short!

Replacement shirt for one I decided to try to "modify"

Why don't I own more button downs?

Replacement flats- Burke's Outlet

Pink princess skirt!!

Not pictured: brown flats from Burke's Outlet, red and black hooded sweater from Burke's Outlet, black and orange workout pants from Burke's Outlet, light denim shirt from Walmart, black and white wrap dress from Walmart, purple Reeboks to replace workout shoes, and a black and pink polka dot shirt I bought at the Southern Women's Show. Phew!

The pink princess skirt was also from a booth at the Southern Women's Show. The store is called At Jollys, and the girl working in the booth (who I believe is in the picture too) was adorable! When my mom and I walked by it, the skirt caught my eye, and I just kept standing there and trying to justify paying $42 for it. I'm pretty cheap frugal, so that's a lot for one item of clothing! After talking to my mom and the employee, I realized that I usually spend that much on junk at the SWS, so I may as well spend wisely and get something I love. I also thought of at least five different combinations for it, so it wouldn't be unloved. I'm going to wear it on Easter and for a conference presentation in May too, so it's already going to have two outings. Also, I did spend way too much time thinking about a skirt! I guess that's better than just grabbing things without any thought!

I'm going to take a clothes shopping break in April and work on getting all of my other stuff organized, inventoried (idea from brynnash's blog), and cleaned out. I might even wear "the skirt" while I organize! Ha!

Linking up with Budgeting Bloggers!

Slowly Coming Back To Life

I've lost 6 pounds.

That may not seem like a lot or like a big deal, but when you're 5'3, and you've gained 30 pounds (on top of the 25-30 you were overweight anyway), then it becomes a cause for celebration.

Even better than the 6 pounds is the 12 (!) overall inches that I've lost in the five weeks that I've been concentrating on eating cleaner and regular workouts.

The physical changes are great, but the mental ones are even better! I was stuck in a getting dressed rut/funk. I felt like I constantly wore dark colors and the same couple of things all of the time, partially because they were all that fit me. Now, I'm starting to take a few more risks with my outfits again. I'll have a couple of pictures in my next post.

Also, I've bought a couple of new items. My jeans were getting way too loose, but the other ones I still have are a little too snug, so we went to Old Navy last weekend to take advantage of the jeans sale and for me to use the rest of my Christmas gift card. Here's what I got for $32 out of pocket:

(Not the exact same shirt, but it was a gray Star Wars t-shirt)

Rockstar skinny jeans with holes

Rockstar skinny jeans with ankle zippers

Linking up with Franish/Budgeting Bloggers series.