The Weather Outside is Weather

I woke up each morning this week in the early stages of gloomy January mornings. Yesterday in particular was a blustery one, and I not so secretly love waking up to the sound of rain. It tends to bring out the worst habits in me though, like taking a cab to work, or drinking one too many hot toddys. I'm a really big fan of being cozy all the time, but I feel that I am doomed to spend the rest of this winter and let's face it, half the cold San Francisco summer in the same stupid sweaters. I see people on the street who have awesome sweaters, and I am viciously jealous, because I want more sweaters. and I want to ask if they want to give it to me. I have a sweater obsession and I didn't think this plan through! I have resolution remorse.

My favorite days of the year are the days I get to wear my beloved christmas sweater with pride. 

I logged on to Facebook yesterday morning and saw that I wasn't alone in my desire to stay in and be warm and cozy- the east coast was hit with a bit of snow for the first time since the freak storm they got in October. I used to be a little bit jealous of the snow, and would wish it would snow here in SF, but after a few years of walking up those hills, I can't imagine, nor would I enjoy them as much if they were covered in snow.

It hit me with a little bit of sadness that I don't have the opportunity to wear my snow suit anymore in California, but I can always enjoy the memories.

January is national Get Your Sh*t Together month

While the resolution to write is mostly the first thing on my mind as of late, I have about 100 other items to cross off my mental to-do list. Over the holidays, even though they weren't filled with my usual hectic travel and last minute gifting, I certainly did imbibe in several indulgent nights and plenty of days, too. I guess I did what everyone does in December. I ditched the gym to dance on some tables, I swapped chicken and brussels sprouts for pizza and pasta (and candy and ice cream). My usual nights in on the couch with wine turned into a tequila fueled birthday and one christmas celebration after the next. I was ready to bring in the New Year quietly. I was feeling old, and oh so tired, yet happy and blissful all at once.

I am not really complaining, it was a fun, albeit untraditional way to enjoy the holidays. I spent the majority of 2011 trying to find a comfort zone, only to end the year totally outside of it. New Years resolutions can be pretty silly, if you don't set a plan in place. In the forefront, my plan to stop shopping is the biggest goal, but it's not the only one. January is our chance to figure out a new way to find balance, and for that there is no time but the present. 

Speaking of presents, mine finally arrived this week. The element of surprise at Christmas time really goes out the window when you're my age, and live 3000 miles from your family. I ask for specific things and I get them. Usually a few DVDs and books and other small spoils I won't go out and buy for myself. This year, I got a very generous gift card to spend at Target, and I was thrilled. I moved into my [amazing, perfect, beautiful] apartment this past August and had sold almost all of my furniture in order to simplify my move up the hill. I have been living like a gypsy ever since. I managed to get a new bed and make-do with other random items for quite a while, but it is time to buy some furniture again. If I am trying to be a grown up, the hand-me-down collapsable wicker baskets stacked neatly in the corner will no longer suffice.  I figured a real blogger needs to have a desk if she feels so inclined to sit at it and write, right? 

a very neatly organized pile of crap

So maybe I found a loophole- I can't buy clothes, but I can definitely spend money on anything else. If I am not defining myself with new fashion trends, you should be able to know who I am if you enter my bedroom. That's my justification for now, anyway. However, I'm still really freaking practical, and so off to Target I went. I employed the bargain shopping skills I use on clothing and translated them into useful items for making my house a home. Much like buying a top at Forever 21, I knew a few things about the furniture I could afford. It's not going to last forever, and if I don't want anyone to know how cheap it is, I had better figure out how to make it look good. The way I shop for clothing is similar to the way I decorate my home, and it's all a facade. I'm always surprised at the compliments I get on a 4 dollar shirt, imagine how I'll be able to present a 50 dollar desk!

It actually pained the habitual shopper in me to overlook the clothing section, to not linger up and down the aisles of shoes, to forego my usual peruse of cheap tank tops. When I think of how early in the year we are, I have to gulp down the thought of being somewhere next fall and still recycling the same sweaters, and thinking like that I feel instantly doomed. Focusing on creating the perfect space takes my mind off of my imperfect wardrobe, and thats all I need, for now.

The Rules

In order to do this right, I really have to put together a list of ground rules to follow for the year. My anxiety of failing myself in this and my desire to prove wrong the people who doubt me is enough to keep me going, as long as I have a list of guidelines. When people ask, it's important that I have a definite answer to their inquiries so I look like I know what I'm doing...

Rule #1- no purchasing for myself any items of clothing, shoes, or accessories in the year 2012.
Rule #2- everything in my closet must be worn once this year, or else it gets donated at the end of the year
Rule #3- try to blog weekly about my adventures in non shopping, plug myself relentlessly
Rule #4- Open a savings account and deposit monthly the amount of money spent on clothing in 2011- Basically I'll be tracking my spending from last year and trying to save that for next year


It is simple, but it won't be easy. This weekend was already a test to see how creative I could get with the clothes that I have. I had a friend visiting SF for a mini vacation and we were constantly on the go. I like to look cute when I go out in the city, especially when friends are around and photos will be captured, but by day 3 I hated all of my clothes. I have to learn to love the stuff in there, because I'm only 10 days in.

I suppose there are loopholes to this, if someone felt so inclined to buy me things, I would not necessarily need to say no to that! I also feel it's okay to borrow from friends and raid my roommates closet for inspiration. I don't do that too often, but in order to preserve my sanity for the next 350+ days, I have to have some flexibility right? The bottom line is I'm trying to learn to live my life differently, and not rely on the ease of filling my life with new things when I already have enough "things" to begin with. On a moral level, I feel that my spending is something I need to learn to control.

My goal in the end is to have spent the year learning to stretch myself creatively and also to save money. In 2013 I'd like to travel somewhere by myself, and the money that I save in this process will be going toward a trip! I'm currently leaning toward a Greek island trip. So the payoff is sweet, and that's all I need to keep me motivated.

My First Resolution Ever

It was the night before Christmas, in the wee hours of the morning, and the only thing stirring was my mouse. In my slightly inebriated state, I found myself staring at the screen of a familiar page. It was a routine I've gotten rapidly used to- I was late-night-online-shopping.

Not until days later when I got the confirmation emails-several of them- did I realize what I had done. I had justified that since I wasn't going home for Christmas this year I could certainly treat myself to a thing or two, right? This is where it starts. My addiction had me gambling with the little money I had and reasoning with myself over irrational decisions.


My name is Abby and I am addicted to new clothes.

When the packages finally arrived, my shame really set in. The things I ordered were cute, but nothing particularly special. Some of them though, were downright ridiculous. Someone even asked me "were you drunk when you bought that?" I knew I had gone too far this time. So I hung the things I wanted to keep, and packed up the things that needed to be exchanged and I made a promise to change my ways. What better a day than the first of the year to start a new project?

Everyone has their own resolution of sorts, some want to be healthier in 2012 (so do I but I love Froot Loops and I can't change that). So we set goals for ourselves that are often unattainable and by mid February we fall back into our old ways. I wanted to make this years resolution fun, because the fact is it is going to suck.

One year without shopping for new clothes. The next time I will be buying something new will be January 2013. Unless of course I fail miserably at all of this. I decided that starting a blog will help me keep myself on track, as well as get my feet wet in the world of blogging I've been wanting to dabble in for a while now.

This year is an experiment in many things. Patience for one, something everyone can improve on, while I wait for the reward at the end of it all. This will also force me to become more creative in my dress. If you know me, you know how much I love the Gap. It's also going to help me budget myself like never before. I've tracked my spending in the last year using Mint.com and let me tell you, it's life changing to look back at all the nonsense I've bought this year.

To me, there's nothing better than a plain white T shirt and some jeans. I have over 30 pairs of jeans. I have more than 10 different variations of a white T. The madness really needs to stop. This will also force me to think differently when I go downtown. I won't be able to peruse the stores or the sale racks because I DON'T NEED ANYTHING NEW.

Just to give you an idea of how little I need new clothing, I spent the day organizing my clothes. I gave away the things I will NOT ever wear again and was left with:
-Over 30 pairs of pants
-44 pairs of shoes
-about 100 tops
-15 sweaters
-over 15 jackets
-over 50 dresses

Needless to say, I have enough. My consumer ways are changing now. Follow me on this journey and join me in the highs and lows this will surely bring.