happy 2009

I'm going to Baltimore today to visit a friend from nerd camp, so I leave you with lots of love! I'll be back on Sunday to blog. (and belatedly list my New Year's Resolutions)

wishlist

Here's what I'm gonna buy within the next few weeks with the weekly allowance:

1. new opaque black tights (the ones I have now are awful) [$5]
2. subscription to Glamour (been meaning to do this for a while). [$15]
3. 2009 Shoes gallery calendar (I had the 2008 one and I LOVE IT, and I might just buy this today so that I'll have it for Jan 1) [$8 on sale at Borders]
...i think i'll go buy the shoes calendar right now.

couple o' questions

This Shopping Ban has so many kinks.

1. Gift cards. How should I handle spending these? Should I just spend them as if it's free money? Should I apply my saving/spending rules? Should I sell the gift cards for cash, and then apply my saving/spending rules? Should I just never spend them? What?! Also, what about gift cards for food vs. gift cards for clothes? What about gift cards to Starbucks? (one of my rules was very clearly, NO STARBUCKS).

2. I owe the public library a large sum of money*. whoopsyyyy. Should this money come out of my weekly $10 or should I just deal with it asap and then fuggedaboutit?

*ahem, $24.50.

proof of my clean room

Look! I have a FLOOR. oooooohhhhhh shiiiinnnnnnnyyyy.
More CLEAN floor (pre throw rug) and cluttered-but-not-super-awful shelves.
AND NOTICE THE DRESSER ON THE LEFT -- it no longer has random crap falling off it due to overflowing surface area!
Little Roomba hard at work! (Yes my family is too lazy to vacuum on their own, I am ashamed to admit.)
A wall of scarves, jewelry, some bags, some fabric!
And finally -- the best part -- I COLOR-CODED MY SWEATERS:
(note to self: there is a distinct lack of purple sweaters.)SEE I REALLY DID CLEAN IT!

alert the media

MY.
ROOM.
IS.
CLEAN.

whoa.

Presents!

Well, my Christmas was pretty fun, and I hope yours was too!

Presents I've received so far (some present exchanges have yet to occur!):
SUPERAWESOME math mug and BUBBLE machine! From one-a my bffs.
Anyway. Shopping Ban update:

I spent $45 out of the allotted $55 today, so that's ten more going into Savings.

EXCEPT. Not all of that money was spent on gift materials like it was supposed to be. I bought a pair of brown leather boots at the Salvation Army for $5....ooppssy. BOO me. So that money is counted towards next week's $10.

have a holly jolly christmas

I hope everyone is having a happy Christmas! (or an awesome day eating Chinese food!) -- Hey lookame, I'm having Chinese food AND celebrating Christmas! :] Although I shouldn't even be celebrating Christmas....I'm a phony :[

Last night, my Jewish friend and I went to a midnight mass, spontaneously. It was exciting, I suppose. When it came to choosing a church, we picked the prettiest one, but had no idea what denomination it was. Turns out, it was an Evangelist Catholic church...kinda intense. But interesting, when I understood what was happening. (Can you tell I'm not much of a church person?)

Happy Holidays!
Lots of reworn clothing...too lazy to go through my closet for other clothes, why not wear the ones that are right there? :]
Cardigan, H&M. Tank, Old Navy. Belt, Thrifted. Skirt, H&M. Tights, F21.

update on The Shopping Ban

A couple of revisions:

- The $10 limit applies to every thing that I have to buy. This includes eating out, random Target runs, Auntie Anne's cravings (SO DELICIOUS), etc, as well as the regular clothes/shoes/crap. Still no Starbucks though. And no buying new clothes and shoes. Thrifted and handmade only.

-Spending for Christmas break will go as follows:

• $15 + $15 + $10 + $15 = money for (late) Christmakkuh gift materials = $55

-The above $55 will be taken out of whatever money I get on Christmas (I'm kind of counting on this...) If I don't actually get any money....well then I'm screwed. The rest will be saved in The Secret Savings.

-I also have an additional $5 from Lemon! :] thankssss, and your awesome rainbow thing will be arriving eventually.

christmas is here!

merry christmas everyone!

Last day of school in 2008!

I look ridiculous in this hat. Hahaha.
I love these tights! My old pair of red tights ripped badly, and I had been searching EVERYWHERE for a replacement pair that didn't cost more than tights should (as many tights sold these days do). Everyone needs a good pair of red tights. This is a fact.

CHRISTMAS EVE IS TOMORROW! Can ya believe it? Because I certainly cannot.

Shoes, Payless. Tights, F21. Skirt, thrifted. Belt, thrifted. Tank, American Rag. Cardigan, H&M. Hat, streets of NYC.

Christmastime Outfit Number 1

Dressing up as if I am the holiday is one of my favorite things ever. That's what I plan on doing aaaallllll week :]

Day 1:Sequins!!!!
Oh and I painted my nails too!

Left to right: Dollar store nailpolish, Loreal Bijou Gems in B. Strong This reminds me of the Stink Eye face from Juno :] (click to enlarge)

That's all folks!

Oh wait:
Polo, Steve and Barry's. Red sweater, Old Navy. Skirt, Express. Tights, Charlotte Russe. Shoes, thrifted.

New hair

I was in desperate need of SOME change. It's different, but it's only new bangs. My mom did it, which is why it's kind of awful looking....but it's not that bad...right? (keep in mind, I only chose the best-looking pics, so it could be much worse in real life.)
Freakish in the last one, eh?

100th post

I was going to make a vlog for my 100th post. But my parents are home, and that's annoying. And I have more important fish to fry.

I have officially diagnosed myself with shopaholism. BAD ME. So, since I am in debt (to my parents, and probably some friends too), I need to FIX THIS NOW.

With the help of randomly googled websites, my friend Emily, and Sal I have devised a personal Shopping Ban, very similar to Sal's.

I should have started this a loooong time ago, but you know what they say, mieux vaut tard que jamais! (Better late than never).

My 12 step plan to recovery:

1. Commit to the plan for 6 months. December 21, 2009 - June 21, 2009. [holycrap that's like....when i graduate. BUT I CAN DO IT; i have faith.]

2. Record ALL purchases and current balances. This includes purchases of food, clothing, accessories, online purchases, gifts, starbucks, st. ive's apricot scrub, etc...i.e., EVERYTHING.

3. Give the next paycheck I receive to my dad. I'll be getting this tomorrow, it'll be $153 and I owe that much and more to my parents. Give any money I receive from relatives for Christmas to my dad, to put away in a place that I can't access it (Secret Savings Stash). The money is still mine, but I won't spend it. [Pocket $30 of it for myself - I still need to get fabric because I'm making gifts for people].

4. All future paychecks and babysitting cash: at least 50% must be saved in the Secret Savings Stash. The rest will go towards: my Gym membership ($30 a month); the $10/week limit (see #5).

5. $10 spending limit: Applicable only on thrifted items and sewing supplies. Unused money rolls over.

6. Notify ALL friends, family, and blog readers of said Shopping Ban. Moral support helps!

7. No Starbucks.

8. Bring lunch to school, when necessary. DO NOT EAT OUT, ever. (or use $10 limit towards it.)

9. Savings goals:

• $600 by March 30, 2009 - for French Club trip to Quebec City
• $500 by Graduation - for any and all senior trips
  
• $600 by August 15, 2009 - owed to Mom and Dad for Car insurance
• holy bejeebers, i need to make more money

10. If the situation presents itself where I ABSOLUTELY MUST buy something, like it is a LIFE OR DEATH (not really) situation...well, I can't buy it. Luckily, there is nothing I have an extreme dire need for. If it is, my parents will buy it. This rarely ever happens, and I don't think that will change.

11. Get rid of the things that are crowding my room.

• Fabric - use it up. Make lots of things, and give them away or sell them. Send packages to blogger friends! :]
• Unwanted clothing/accessories - sell it or donate it. (anyone wanna buy anything?) no swapping.
  
• Other crap - trash it. (this has nothing to do with the Shopping Ban, I realize. Whatevs.)

12. Come up with other things to do instead of shopping.

• Craft/sew/draw/paint/blog.
• Scrapbook!
• Go to the gym.
• Read...what a novel idea. (no pun intended! haha)
• Clean my room. (This will never get old.)
• Watch every single episode of Friends ever.
• Become a master at Scrabble.
• Learn how to play Chess.
• Do nonstop sudoku and crossword puzzles.
  

Alright so. There's my 12 step plan. More like 12 rules/guidelines, but whatevz.

Phew. I'm feeling overwhelmed already. BUT I HAVE FAITH.

What I've spent today:
$31.xx at Target....the money was not even mine, so this is part of what I owe my dad.
We'll say my current balance is -$153 for counting purposes. Once I give tomorrow's paycheck over to my dad, my balance will be $0.

i am never procrastinating on christmas shopping again.

The title there? That is a total lie. But right now, I am pooped. I spent like, the entire day at the mall, lugging around bags and bags, and am now left with little energy and little money.

I did buy this for myself though! So soft and ridiculous. Perfect for wearing with those purple fuzzy bootie slippers I bought! (see previous post)
Crazy-ass robe, Wet Seal.

ALSO: this is my NINETY-NINTH POST. I wanted to do a vlog for the 100th, but I have NO idea what the hell I'm supposed to talk about....so ideas? questions? comments? anything? PLEASE?!

scarves and fuzzy feet!

If you remember, I went to NYC last Saturday. Wellll. I bought a lot of scarves. Six, to be exact. And adding that to the four pashminas I already had...well now I have ten. So obvs, I needed a place to put them. Thanks to this, I now have a place to hang all my scarves!


All of them were bought in NYC's Chinatown, with the exception of the...fifth from the left, which was a gift from a friend.

OH and, I bought these AWESOME SLIPPERS. ahahahha, they make me laugh every time I look down at my feet!
Slippers, Macy's.

counting down until christmas!

Can you believe there's only a week left? Because I sure as hell cannot. Where did December go? Granted, the last week of my life was a total blur because of a) college decisions coming out, and b) not living in my house for a week, and c) not really paying any attention whatsoever to school and homework.

Anyway, today:



Skirt, H&M. Tank, Target. Cardigan, Old Navy. Belt, thrifted. Shoes, Charlotte Russe. Scarf, chinatown.

In other news, we're gonna get mad snow tomorrow so I'm expecting a go-home-early-due-to-awful-road-conditions day. YAY!

YES MY COMPUTER!

MY POWER IS BACKKKK. Thank the universe. I'm definitely one of the last people in my county to get their power back and it was dreadful, but I am finally at home. The last time I slept in my own bed was last Thursday, which was A WEEK AGO. HELLO BED AND COMFORT WITHDRAWAL. My thoughts and loves to those who still don't have power! (And I'm praying for these coming storms to not totally take us back to the middle ages again).

ANYWAY.

Catch up time! (this may or may not be very boring, so I'll try to use pictures).

On Thursday, the FATEFUL college admissions day, we got let out of school 2 hours early because of the Winter Weather Advisory thing, so a bunch of friends and I went to my house to play Guitar Hero World Tour (best game ever). And then, my crazy spontaneous and impulsive friends went out, braving the storm, just to buy Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on DVD. (So maybe they shouldn't have driven in the snow, but PRINCE CASPIAN IS A HOTTIE AND HE IS WORTH IT.) We watched that, but I fell asleep (insomnia the night before) and they woke me up at 5 o clock SO THAT I COULD CHECK IF I GOT INTO COLLEGE OR NOT.

Anyway, I didn't. I was deferred from Columbia. BUT IT IS ALL GOOD. It's better than being rejected.

So basically, I really dislike my mother, mostly when she talks about college, which is ALL THE FREAKING TIME, so I really dislike her all the freaking time. So I had to get out of the house. Another friend of mine was deferred from Brown, so we had an awesome rant-party/chill-sesh/ping-pong-playing/jolly-good-time/nerd-fest. Then I got home, decided there would be a snow day (ie, I didn't do my calculus hwk) and chilled out. And the power flickered for a while around midnight, and eventually just went out.

The next day was a snow day, as I predicted. And it should have been awesome. BUT THERE WAS NO POWER. And you know how dependent the world is on electricity. IE, tv, computer, internet, a phone charger (just my luck that my phone would die literally five minutes before the power went out), a microwave, the wii. ya know, seriously vital-to-life-and-survival things. So since we had none-a that, we went to -- where else? -- the mall!


THE ICE STORM (super gorgeous on the outside, ugly-no-power-ness on the inside):
The outfit (super comfy):

Crew sweatpants, some regatta. Vest, random bike shop. Sweater, Urban Behavior. Scarf, chinatown. EARMUFFS <33333,Target. Boots, my sister's. Gloves, Target.
The mall was a good time, but we unfortunately had to leave early. So anyway, one of my bff's DID have power because she's a lucky duck, so we had a crazy girly time at her house.

I was going to NYC the next day with a friend, so I stayed at his house Friday and Saturday night. (HE HAD POWER!)
I love Christmastime in New York.

I also bought tonsssss of stuff, sorta, and I'll be showin' that off soon enough.

After NYC, I pretty much lived at a friend's for three nights. Crazyness. I honestly hadn't spent more than five minutes with the rest of my family for a week. (They were INSANE and willingly camped out on our family room floor, EVEN WHEN there were SEVERAL invitations to stay elsewhere. SO WEIRD.)

I also got deferred from MIT. But that's cool because I was completely expecting nothing more than a simple rejection.

Tomorrow I'm wearing a REAL OUTFIT and I'm really excited. This past week has been absolute insanity.

MUCH LOVE <3