Retail Therapy

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to shop.  I love a good deal, I love using coupons, I love browsing online retail sites, I love just about every aspect of shopping.  I don't even mind grocery shopping.  Grocery shopping is like a game for me.  I study all the sales, figure out where I can get my stuff the cheapest, find every coupon available for the things that I need, and watch the dollars drop off the total bill as the cashier scans my many, many, many coupons that I've dug out of my pockets.

My favorite thing to shop for is not groceries though.  It's clothes.  I love buying clothes for everyone in my family, but I love buying them for me most of all.  I just love that feeling when you try on a new item and instantly feel like it was made for you.  I feel that my shopping addiction is a healthy one though, in that I have never splurged on an item that I really didn't think we could afford.  I do not keep clothes that I will not wear (i.e. clothes in the closet with tags still attached), and 99% of the time I will not buy something that is not either: a) on sale, or b) that I do not have a coupon for, or c) both.

Most of my clothing purchases are limited to standard mom stuff: clothes for kids, shoes for kids, clothes for husband, and practical, sensible, comfortable mom-clothes for me.  Sadly, my current wardrobe consists mostly of capris, tank tops, tee shirts, and jeans when it's not 1000 degrees outside.  Not a lot of special-occasion dresses or fancy outfits find their way out of my closet very often.

Ron's best friend is finally getting married in a few weeks, and my hubby is the best man. (don't mention the words 'best man speech' to him though, he may just punch you...)  Last week the White House Black Market Store flyer arrived in my mailbox with impeccable timing.  I have only shopped at this store a handful of times, and I've only ever made 2 purchases there.  One of which I returned after not wearing, leaving me with a sizable store credit.  If we could afford it (we can't) I would buy my entire wardrobe from this store.  Their clothes just speak to me.  But I save my trips there for only very special occasions, and the upcoming wedding that we will be attending seemed to be a good reason.  On Friday night, I grabbed my most trusted critic (mom), my 15% off your entire purchase coupon, my store credit, and headed off to the mall.  Shopping there is the most pleasant experience.  The sales associates are super nice, honest, helpful, and even brought me a stunning pair of $88 heels to try on with the dresses.

The minute I zipped up the first dress I knew it was "The One."  I haven't worn a strapless dress since my junior prom in 1998, and really didn't anticipate ever wearing one again.  In all honesty, I just haven't felt that I could pull off the strapless look with any grace since having kids.  But this dress worked in every way possible.  I looked at the price tag.  Gulp.  I factored in my store credit minus 15% off coupon.  Smaller gulp.  "How often to I buy myself a new dress?" I thought to myself.  "Why not go all out," I further rationalized.  So I committed to spending a little more than I normally would.  I also committed to not feel guilty about it.  How could I?  Look at this gorgeous dress:

I contemplated whether or not I should even try on the other dresses that "Jackie" (adorable, helpful sales associate) hung in the dressing room for me.  Sure, why not?  How often do I get to try on beautiful clothing without someone crying, drooling, yelling, or asking me for fishy crackers in the stroller next to me?  Um... never.  So I was taking full advantage of my evening of shopping and bonding with my momma.

Fast forward to next dress.  Uh oh.  Equally fabulous.  Flattering even my less than perfect mom-of-three shape, flow-y, summery, super sexy, gloriously silky soft, this dress had it all.  A very close match in price to the first, I couldn't even make my decision based on that.  I ended up trying on both dresses 2 more times, modeling them each for all 3 of the people who worked in the store, and in the end I bought them both.  Yes, I said both.  It has been a very long time since any piece of clothing made me feel that beautiful, and I technically need two different outfits for the wedding weekend (rehearsal dinner), so that was that.  As I said, I don't ever splurge on something that we can not afford. And I didn't. Being in tune with our finances lets me know just what we can afford at any given moment. While I wouldn't normally go and spend a whole bunch of money on dresses at the mall, I know that I can and my children will still be fed, clothed, bathed, and able to watch their DVR cable TV shows. So we're good.  Kids have Nick Jr., momma has a hot new dress:

I came home and modeled my selections for my husband.  His jaw-dropping reaction made me feel that I had made the right choices, and these two pieces of clothing were well worth it.  He always makes me feel good about myself, but he hadn't looked at me in that way in quite a while.

And that, my friends is where I will leave you from this long-winded post about my most recent shopping experience.  Retail-therapy at it's finest.

What have you shopped for lately?