long over due..

As you know, I was searching for winter boots for a long while! WELL..I finally found them (sorry I didn't post about this earlier lol). I found them a little before Christmas; I desperately needed to find them asap due to the abnormal amount of snow we had this year in Toronto. Sadly to say, I kind of settled for this pair; it is not the "perfect" pair, but I still really like them (slightly less fashionable & practical!)

1. these are the boots I purchased! Hush Puppies

2. more fashionable, less practical!

Both can be found at Feet First. The first pair are 'Hush Puppies': 100% leather & thinsulate inside, rubber sole. The second pair: also leather, however, the quality was not as good as the Hush Puppies, but they LOOKED great! It was not well insulated and the grip on the sole would not cut it in Canada's winter. Both prices were comparable.
I semi-regret not buying the second pair. However, I chose practicality over fashion! Knowing that I could only buy ONE pair this winter forced me into a dilemma. I had such a hard time to decide which kind. I wanted both: one for days where it's absolutely unbearable cold weather & minus 40 degrees, and then days where I can get away with the less insulated, but stylish boot. Why can't they make beautiful, stylish AND practical boots?! 
Normally, I probably would have bought BOTH pairs...in the end; basically I would buy what I wanted (& needed), and justify buying MORE; there are always "reasons" to buy more! Hopefully, after this year is up, I will learn to not buy everything I merely WANT, but really decide on items that I really NEED!

That's it for now. 
Love, 
T.

Ah NO! (New Obsession): Food Frenzy

My desire to shop has now translated into an obsession with FOOD.  I guess when you can't shop you have to find another hobby as T says.  Unfortunately, my new hobby may result in a need for new clothes if I keep this up.


On the weekend I bought a bag of flour and have been baking goodies ever since. My housemate and I made Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies using this recipe.

These cookies were so simple to make and were done in less than 10 mins!!  I'm surprised we didn't demolished them all, but that's probably because we also made TWO batches of butter popovers yummy! The name doesn't do it justice.  These little golden puffs of goodness are soooo easy to make and are outstanding on their own or with jam and peanut butter.  We used the recipe found here with a few modifications.  We only had margarine and all purpose flour on hand so we just used that.  However if that's the case then you'll need to refrigerate the batter for at least 15 mins.  Also we found that take less time to cook, but that could be due to our crazy oven.  So just keep an eye on them, you don't want burnt popovers!

MMMMmmm just writing about food makes me hungry.  Good thing I still have some cookies and popovers left.  Bon Appetiit  =)


Love,
A

What shall I do?

SO, it is now just about four & a half months that ‘A’ and I have been on this journey of NO SHOPPING, and I think we are really starting to change our perspective on things [even If we DO plan to go on a shopping spree right after this is done. Maybe?] I am not 100% sure about ‘A’, but for myself, when I walk into a store it just doesn’t feel good anymore. Knowing that I can’t buy anything makes me not want to buy or even really LOOK at anything anymore. I try so hard to just go window shopping, because shopping would usually make me feel better if I am feeling upset, angry or if I am just in that mood. Lately, I have needed my retail therapy so badly with everything going on in my life!  But I can’t have it; it actually makes me so sad. Not because I desperately need anything more than what I already have, but shopping to me is moments of escape from things that are happening in my life that I don’t feel like dealing with at the time. Most people may find it strange, but shopping by myself is usually my best shopping times. It’s just me & anything I want; no distractions, no obligations, no responsibilities. JUST ME! It is MY time. It used to make me happy. Can I say it was like a hobby? 

 

 hob·by [hob-ee]  –noun, plural -bies.

1. an activity or interest pursued in spare time

for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.

I want to know what it’s like to WANT to shop again; what it feels like to wear that new sweater for the first time, to walk in that new pair of shoes, and to transfer all your stuff in to a brand new purse. I feel like I am losing my desire to shop.  I want my hobby back!! I could find a new one…but it just wouldn’t be the same!  

Love,

T

'Tis the Season!

I definitely should have written a long while ago.. But, after some things have settled, now here I go…We have survived the Christmas Season! I spent lots of quality time with family & friends throughout this holiday at home. And although the times spent with family & friends is great, the Christmas holidays can be pretty hectic & can feel like there’s so much to do in so little time!! Plan/Organize gatherings & hang outs (because with all of our busy lives, it’s hard to find time for that anymore), Christmas Dinner preparations, Christmas gift, meetings, other commitments or obligations (personal & business related), etc.This didn’t leave much time for just ME. I get so frazzled when things just keep piling up; there is much needed relaxation!
 

During the Christmas Season, whenever I leave the house I just feel so rushed & stressed. Everyone around is trying to find that perfect gift for someone, or even for themselves! ! All anyone wants to do is BUY, BUY, BUY! [It’s not even like the deals are as amazing as they used to be, they’re just meh] I love shopping, but I feel like shopping over the holidays almost isn’t worth the frustrations & craziness that comes with it. Crowds are my least favourite thing when shopping. I am the type to just enjoy the time; leisurely walking around, and at the same time casually looking for the things that I like. So, walking in constant herds of people is not an ideal situation for me. 

What was really cool this year is that I hardly had any desire to buy anything for myself. It was kind of nice to know that each time I went into a mall or a store, it would not be for myself, but I was searching for gifts for others. I feel like I was much more focused & put more thought into what the most suitable gifts would be for the people in my life; it put more meaning behind each gift. I think it was a great success!! Everyone was happy, and even though I didn’t buy anything for myself, I was happy that they were happy! (& also just the personal fulfillment of purchasing successful gifts). Starting to realize that buying for others can be just as satisfying. Just like in some of our previous posts, I really do love it when SOMEONE gets the “good stuff”; it feels wonderful.

Love,

T  

We SURVIVED the Holidays...

It's 2011 and we're already more than 1/3 into the year of no shopping.  Can you believe it?!

Some of you may be wondering if we received any items on our no shopping list for Christmas.  And the answer is yes...

I got the the 1st item on my wishlist, the beautiful Talulah boyfriend blazer courtesy of V, an amazing scarf (similar to the one shown here), and small gold hoop earrings (thanks Mom!).  I can't wait to wear all of these items :) and none of them will ever go out of style!!

On another note the Holidays were a tough time to avoid shopping, especially when you constantly saw signs like this:

I could only take solace in the fact that others were able to take advantage of all the good bargains this year.  I admit it was hard, really hard...there were a few deals that I just couldn't stopping thinking about,

1)  Additional 50% off on Boxing day at Banana Republic - in past years I would have gone to the mall early and bought a bunch of sweaters that I didn't really need

2) All the good shoe deals....like the one shown above.  For some reason I have become obsessed with shoes, especially with suede platform pumps as shown in my wishlist.   This may be my first purchase once our year of no shopping is up!

Besides lusting over winter deals, I have become pre-occupied with fashion blogs.  I don't know what took me so long to discover some of these blogs, but have honestly been spending a little too much time browsing through these sites.

Here a few that you guys should check out if you have time:

http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/

http://www.thecherryblossomgirl.com/

http://ashley-ringmybell.blogspot.com/

http://oh-so-coco.tumblr.com/

Did you go a little overboard on your spending during the holidays?  what items are on your radar for the upcoming year?

Love,

A