I Gave In

I have been trying so hard not to purchase any clothes, shoes, make up, etc. in an effort to save money. Currently I'm saving for the wedding. Before Brad and I got engaged in July, I was doing this in an effort to make my final teaching paycheck (given to me on May 31, 2013) last as long as possible. Despite not spending money on extras, this paycheck was really dwindling by the time I started my new job. It's so much worse being unemployeed once you've actually had a real job than it was when I was straight out of college trying to find a teaching job (this is mostly attributed to actually having bills now).

Anyway, I had been doing a really good job since April, not buying anything unless I actually needed it, and only paying my bills and buying the essentials. I did buy a few new clothing pieces before I went to the beach but that was it. Yesterday though, I gave in. I had to purchase some new clothing items. I love shopping and I needed to have something new! I only bought two things though which is a testimate to how far I have come since high school/college and was a frivolous spender. Plus, I actually got these items because I needed them, not just to have them!

My parents have scheduled us an engagement party so I had to have a new dress. I blogged about my options, here, last week. I decided I did want to try one of those dresses (and the one I picked was on sale!) and I can't wait to see/show you what it looks like on. Hopefully as good as it looks on the model. I decided to go with this dress below and although Brad did buy it for me, I'm considering it one of my purchases since I know I will want to get a few accessories to go with it before the actual party. Plus, although we have separate accounts for now, we pretty much joint finance everything.

My second purchase may be considered a want, but it definitely feels like a need. I mentioned a while ago that my new job involves me standing all day long. I know I did this all the time when I was teaching, but the more I think about, there were actual several occassions to sit down (besides lunch, planning time, and recess) like when I was helping a student or when we were doing whole group instruction and I was in my rocking chair or on the floor with the kids. I really thought my little feet could handle actually standing up all day long (with only a 30 minute break) but they are practically crying when I get home. Although I do get to wear tennis shoes pretty frequently, they don't always go with my outfits and I wanted something a little more versatile. So I gave in again and bought my first pair of TOMS. I consider this my biggest cave because I have always thought TOMS were like the ugliest shoe ever, but they're starting to grow on me. I wanted this pair, but they didn't have it in my size so I settled for these little babies.

Now I'm just dying for my purchases to get here. Hurry up snail mail!