Day 10 - Must have

I have been looking for a new "office" chair for my room for THE longest time...well...since my last chair's leg broke. You may remember if you sat in this chair over the last year. It's the one that if you sat on it and moved the wrong way it felt like the chair was going to crumble under you? Yeah, well since then I have had the oogliest oldest wooden chair (circa 1980's, if not 1970's!).

I dunno if it's just a shopping itch...maybe? But here I was, minding my own damn business, walking across the street from work and I see it...it's the One, the one that I dreamt of finding but couldn't find anywhere. I looked at Eq3, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and even Ikea!


It's a dining room chair - showcased in from of the display window.

http://1212decor.com/

I didn't go in to check how much, but seriously, if it's not there in May, I will cry. This entire store epitimizes how I want to decorate my future home. There's a picture of the chair on the website. If you go to "products" and keep looking for a photo of a staged dining room. Crystal Chandelier. Chanel perfume bottle lithograph prints hanging in the background. It's the one with blue/cream upholstery, backed with covered wood and silver studs. Love! *muah*

I can't wait to get it. Watch me go in, check the price, and faint. This is Rosedale after all. ;) Even worse, if they only let you buy the set and not just 1 chair. sigh*

Day 9 - Olympic Spirit

I feel like I need to get some HBC Vancouver 2010 Canada gear to appropriately cheer for Team Canada...esp when watching Men's Hockey!!!! Go Canada! :D

Is it just me or does her coat look a million times too damn big!

http://www.laineygossip.com/Hayden_Christensen_and_Rachel_Bilson_in_HBC_Olympic_clothing_after_leaving_gifting_suite.aspx?CatID=0&CelID=0

Day 8 - how ironic

I just received my free prize that I won at a conference: a LG blu ray player. Value $150 CAD (before taxes).

Now, I just looked on Best Buy and saw the matching LG tv - 47 inch HDTV 1080 is on sale - save $300. Value $899 (before taxes).

This stupid free gift is going to end up making me spend hundreds in order to get a TV that plays it properly. Oh! The irony!!!

Day 7 - 1 week!

Week One: no withdrawal symptoms yet. I was probably too busy dealing with my lovely monthly symptoms to notice anything BUT how fat I felt, how much I wanted to keep eating, and how annoyed I was.

I avoided shopping this past weekend only to spending all my cash on alcohol! Hmm...alcohol vs. shopping. Not sure that was the best investment of my money (literally pissed it all away!) I should have just shopped and been left with something in return. ;) Like a new top or maybe even something useful like dry cleaning all my clothes.

The next week should be a breeze! Other then the fact that I need a helmet for boarding though...hrm...anyone have one I can borrow until I can buy my own? ;)

Day 3

I have been duly warned, my upcoming trip to ATL will have a trip to an outlet mall. That will be an accomplishment which I am pretty sure most of you couldn't come up against. It's like Lindsay Lohan going to a club and not drinking a lick of alchy! Oh c'mon, you say...it's not THAT hard. Chew on this: insanely cheap (insert item of desire), that is oh so perfect for you AND will match everything currently in your closet AND you know you will never find it in Toronto AND (here's the kicker)...it's 70% off!?

Ek*

My plan of defense is to play with the yet unborn "K" the whole time and shove all my favorite foods into my mouth so my seratonin levels are high. BTW, Gifts don't count...I can get stuff for the baby! ;)

So I did a bit of research on what an "addiction" is clinically defined as. Wiki says:

A positive addiction is a beneficial habit--where the benefits outweigh the costs. A negative addiction is a detrimental habit--where the benefits are not worth the costs. A neutral addiction is a habit in which it is not clear if the organism (or species) benefits from the activity.

At this point, I think my shopping habit as I like to refer to it, is mostly...?

I'm not exactly suffering from debt issues, but at the same time, it's not exactly helping build my funds either. Hence, let's go for NEUTRAL! Neutral Addiction* that has a nice ring to it.

Further reading on addiction makes me a bit nervous. I see where this is leading..."FP is not only dependent and compulsive when it comes to shopping, but also with eating and food, writing things down in her agenda..." (you get my drift). Really now, I am making myself sound crazy or something.

On a different note: watched Carmen (opera) last night...THE BEST I've seen to date! Seriously.

Day 2

Dum dee dum - at work, obviously NOT doing what I should be (which is figuring out some insanely complex excel formula "IF AND cell, cell + cell , IF AND, etc ERROR!"). I think I need a break. Interesting, so I sent you all a link to my new blog. I have officially become a blogger! Ha! In addition to all my addictions - maybe this one will also catch on.

My friends' reactions ranged from:
1. OMG, you gave up shopping?! How?!
2. You are so gay!
3. That is a great idea!

Either way, I hope you guys find this amusing. :) Luckily, some of you have committed to keeping me on track. So just so everyone is clear...this is only shopping (like pants, skirts, bags, shoes, etc). I can still eat out to my hearts desire and spend money on necessities like gas, groceries, necessary toilettries, etc. Not spending money would be a miracle that I don't think ANYONE who lives in Toronto could accomplish. How would one live???

So Today is Ash Wednesday. I'm not Catholic, but I don't mind giving up something for Lent...SHOPPING! Only Lent is 40 days, and I want to go approximately 70 days. So afterwards if I succeed, I will not only be richer, but also feeling a tad holy.

At lunch today, I was waiting for my friend at St. Clair and walked into Town Shoes. I saw a big "40-60% off selected items" sign. :P I was a good girl, I think I took about 10 steps inside and thought to myself...hmm...I don't think this would help. But, I did find something cool that made me think of Donna. I don't remember the brand name, but they had shoe clips! Like brooches for shoes. (I thought of your Miu Miu or Prada shoes that you lost the shoe brooch on. You can go there, get a pair and replace it so your shoes are wearable again). There were a couple cute ones. Only $15 bucks! :)

Anyways, off to the Opera with my mom. No worries there as there is absolutely nothing to buy. ;)

Day 1 - The Goal

After repeatedly, year after year, setting the seemingly impossible goal of reducing my shopping habit, I have decided to blog it. Firstly to put it out there what I am going through and partly to motivate me; as I know that people can see this public declaration of resolution. Also, hopefully to get a few encouraging comments in the darkest moments when the stores beckon me. To date, in all my years (29) to be exact, I have yet to go over 1.5 months without shopping. That is the extent of all my "control" or lack thereof.

So...I will start from today...as I shopped just yesterday and feel major guilt pangs. After repeated "New Year's resolutions" on the Jewish New Year, the Jan 1 New Year and most recently the Lunar New Year, I will succeed!

First, baby steps! My friend and I made a small bet. No shopping for 2 months and 1 week. We built in a buffer for her so she can get some last minute "must have" items (nude stockings and flat tall boots). ;)

If we both succeed...well, more power to our piggy banks. Whoever falls first - treats the other for a delish Italian dinner.

My unofficial goal is to go as long as I can. If I can go until the end of the year...well...I might just treat myself to a Chanel bag. All the months of not shopping would probably afford me a very nice one indeed!

So at the end of Day 1 - so far so good. All my purchases this weekend still aren't even showing up on my credit card and the shopping itch is calm.