Ready for 2012

I went shopping the other day.
Antique shopping with my Mom. This has to be one of my favorite things to do with my Mom. I seriously love searching through the stalls in antique malls. You never know what treasures you may find. A Dukes of Hazzard lunch box? A candy dish that reminds you of your Grandmother's home?
This beauty?

No, I didn't buy it, but only because it was $125.

She would have looked hot on my dining table.

I didn't end up buying anything for myself. It was odd, normally I find more things than I can carry when I go to those places.
Was it just an off day?
Are my shopping habits really changing?

Well, I have 182 left days to figure it out.
That's right folks, we are almost halfway through the project.

I am packing up the Christmas decorations with less than I unpacked. I have already returned, regifted or donated the gifts that I recieved that I didn't have a use for. Plus, I have another six bags for the donation truck as soon as it comes through the neighborhood.
Yes friends, I am ready for 2012.

Christmas Carnage

I'm back.
I made it through the holidays. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't buy anything. I know I did. I actually stopped caring at some point. The consumption monster had me in it's teeth.
It started by buying gifts for people. Then I spent my gift card from my birthday. Oh, new clothes smell, how I had missed you!

Before long, I didn't even notice what had been bought for myself or for other people.

Now, I'm stuck with the carnage.

White elephant gifts.
Holiday cards and decorations.
Gifts from people who just didn't know what to get me, so they spun around with thier eyes closed in a store and bought whatever their finger landed on.
There is already a pile in the entry ready for the next donation truck. I'm overwhlemed, but not scared since I actually am only halfway through the project. I still have time to save myself.

If I had blogged regualrly during December, I probably would have stayed on track, but coulda, woulda, shoulda...

I'm back....to those three of you who read this! I haven't given up.

Black Friday

Dear faithful readers,

I apologize for my lack of posts. I have no excuse other than pure laziness. Each time I would sit down with the intention of blogging, I would be distracted by a shiny object.

I do have a confession to make.

I bought something.
Gasp
I do not feel guilty.
Double gasp

It's cool, I'll tell you the story.
I went Christmas shopping with my mom. I was doing so well, shopping for other people, admiring things that I would like but always reminding myself that I wasn't there to purchase things for myself.
Then I saw it. It was the cutest hat I think I had ever seen.
I tried it on, it looked great, I felt like a million bucks!
Then I looked at the price tag.

$25?!?!

I immediately put it back on the shelf and walked away.

Really? Why? I walked around for a while pondering what had just happened. I knew that I loved the hat. I knew that I would wear the hat. Why was $25 too much for me even to consider it?
Would I think twice about buying a perfect gift for someone else if it were $25?
If the hat had been $5, would it have been more acceptable for me to covet it? Why am I not worth $25!?

I am!

So I bought it. It was hard. It is still sitting in it's bag waiting for cooler weather. At first it sat there waiting to find out if I was going to take it's beautiful round bottom back to the store. I won't be taking it back. I love it.
This was a big step for me.
I am finally changing my thinking. What a change. I am learning the difference between quality and quantity. I've always heard that and thought that I understood it, but I don't think I did. I am learning that I don't have to buy every item that I see that I deem "a good deal".
It's a process.