oh man, so much for saving money.

i swear to baby jesus that i will not spend another god damn dime on bullshit from here on out…until march, when i go to asia and have the time of my life.

anyway, today i was VERY bad.

i told myself that since i spent like $800 on xmas gifts for the family this year, i needed to spend $0 on myself for the next few months. unluckily for me, i went to the mall to buy some jeans for a friend, and ended up spending $450 on myself. how the fuck does that happen?

WELL, HERE’S HOW:

i was on my way into the mall but passed through nordstrom. noticed they were having a mega sale on wallets/handbags, so i decided to check it out. BAD FUCKING MISTAKE.

turns out they were having an EXTREMELY mega sale. that marc bag was only $200 something. the d&b bag was under $100.

i’m not having buyer’s remorse or anything, but i just feel so guilty for spending that much money on myself especially after my xmas shopping spree at best buy for my family. which bag should i return? or should i keep both and live like a monk for the next few months? also, my mom just bought me a bag at coach (yep, her favorite) for xmas that kind of resembles the d&b one. i kind of want to give back the coach bag to my mom and ask for money instead to pay for today’s indiscretions, but that would be such a bitchy thing to do.

i also spent like $100 at target and another $50 or so at forever21 and aldo respectively. all in a span of 2.5 hours. I HAVE AN ILLNESS. PLEASE, SOMEONE TAKE AWAY MY MONEY.

i am not a big fan on buying gifts for other people. i never know what to get, and it gives me mega amounts of anxiety. just thinking about getting shit for people at work (we’re given $75 to spend on people at the office) is giving me heart burn.

as a family we agree to never put that shit on each other. also, we’re always giving each other stuff throughout the year, so xmas is never a big deal for us.

anyway, my sister decided to fuck tradition this year and went shopping. so now i have to do the same! FUCK!!!

i’m going to buy my mom a tv, but it’s been so long since i did any comparison shopping that i’m not sure if i’m buying the right one. i may just go to best buy and get the prettiest one.

as for my siblings, i’m going to get them both digital cameras. is that too easy?

ugh, tomorrow will consist of more shopping. i can hear my wallet whining in pain already.

okay, just got back from ontario mills and didn’t really see anything, which is a good thing!

when i was at cabazon friday, i went into the cole haan store and saw this woven leather purse that i really wanted. $500 after 50% off, which was still too pricey for my tastes.

the ontario mills cole haan had NOTHING in it, but everything was 75% off original price. i found a tennis bag that looked awesome (yeah, i don’t play tennis, but it still looked cool!), and told myself that i would buy that fucker for $50. too bad it was still $175 after the 75% off. $550 for a bag made of recycled materials. yeah, not worth it.

as i was waiting for my mom to decide on a handbag, i moved towards the belts. 75% off, with a buy 1, get 1 free special. i bought 2 leather belts for $53. not bad at all.

overall, not a big fan of cole haan at ontario mills, but a mega one of the cabazon location. their deals aren’t as good, but the stuff is amazing.

okay, i am officially on shopping hiatus for another few months until i hit up asia in march. got to save up for that megadega shopping spree.

hands down, black friday is my most FAVORITE time of year. better than fucking christmas day when i don’t have to pay for my own gifts.

each year i am faced with topping the previous year’s black friday loot. last year was definitely my worst. i remember rushing to circuit city to get a world of warcraft bundle for $15. i managed to get the last one, but in retrospect, i lost at life big time—standing in line for 2.5 hours in the cold just for a $15 game? SAD. i did buy other things that i didn’t really want only because i felt like i had to make up for the time i stood outside.

later that afternoon, i went to ontario mills and ended up the happiest fucker ever with 3 pairs of shoes. it was at that moment i decided that i was never going to go electronics shopping on black friday. yep, i am an outlet girl.

this year i went to cabazon for the desert hills premium outlet black friday extravaganza. i went in 2007, and there really wasn’t a crowd around 11pm. i don’t think there was one until well after 1am. this year was CRAZY. we couldn’t even get off the freeway at 1030pm. we had to get off the freeway 3 exits later, get back on to exit from the other side and then PAY $10 for parking.

i waited 1.5 hours at calvin klein…to pay. seriously. i mean, i did spend like $150 on A LOT of shit, but at the same time i was kind of thinking that i would rather pay regular price than have to stand in line. i had some pipe dream about going to gucci for their 50% off discount, but the line going out that door was ridiculous. 4 hour wait! fuck you!

but it was still a lot of fun albeit all of the standing in line in the cold to get into a store, or standing in line under the burning lights to pay for my crap. overall, had a pretty decent night—spent about $500 on stuff. i’m going to keep a majority of it, but probably return maybe like $100 worth.

when i got home around 7am, i went ONLINE black friday shopping. okay, so UO has this free shipping code, which i never care for because when you spend over $150, you get free shipping anyway. i found a coupon for extra 15% off, and ended up spending like $170 on a bunch of 10 things. not too bad!

then i started browsing yesstyle. okay, it’s super risky to buy anything from this site because 1) no return policy—you only get “store” credit, which is LAME, and 2) the sizing is CRAZY. i was wary as i added things to my cart and made sure that it would fit either me or one of my sisters before i hit the order button. some bonuses: i found a $5 off coupon (whatevs), and you automatically get free express shipping (this is so LAME and pointless because they don’t ship out any of your shit until 2 weeks later). 7 things for about $160. not as good as uo, but i am really excited for the stuff i ordered.

now i play the waiting game for most of my crap. actually, i’m going to ontario mills in a few minutes to return the shit that i bought out of guilt. maybe i’ll walk away with more stuff. I LOVE AFTER THANKSGIVING SHOPPING SO MUCH!

thinking about gucci has made me remember that i misplaced my french purse wallet. FUCK!

dressing rooms are so tricky. i tried these on at urban last weekend and they looked pretty cool. i willingly spent $60 on them thinking that it would be TOTALLY worth it. yesterday afternoon as i was getting ready to go out to lunch, i put them on and to my dismay, my legs looked 2x bigger than usual. WTF. the fitting room lighting is SO sheisty like that.

i just can’t wear light-colored bottoms because i hate to say it, they make me look fat. i don’t want to get popsicle legs just to look awesome in a pair of pants, so i’m going to move on. besides, these muscular calves that i have aren’t going ANYWHERE.

since i’m not allowed to wear contacts anymore, i’ve decided to invest in some sweet frames.

i already have a pair of vintage guccis with oversized lenses, but i really can’t wear those everyday.

a few weeks ago, i bought a pair of vintage christian dior’s. the lenses are pretty large, and the bridge is pretty unique. i LOVE them, but they’re crazier than the gucci’s.

so i bought two pairs of cheap frames from urban outfitters that i’m going to get fitted with prescription lenses:

^this pair was only $10 on the uo site. i really want a pair of frames with round lenses, and hopefully they look dope because i had to pay for shipping this time.

^so this pair was also $10. i think it’s for dudes, but whatever. i think i could rock them. hopefully they fit my face though.

i thought i was over plastic frames, but i guess not. i’m going to the optometrist on saturday, so maybe i’ll see some nice metal frames.

is it weird that i want some navigator-style reading glasses, like an old asian uncle (or “napoleon dynamite”)? i’ve been feeling pretty crazy lately. i just got paid, so who knows what will happen!

actually, my main goal this weekend is to find a pair of acid wash jeans. i found a pair at h&m but they had an odd fit. i’m super excited for the weekend to get here already.

okay, i think i found two pairs of shoes on zappos that i really need right now and if i don’t have them i will die.

this marc by marc pair are AMAZING:

right?! and it’s on MEGA sale. used to be $334, now only $176!!! haha, okay, so not “mega” but it’s almost 50% off. i really love them to death.

and also these babies are exactly the same pair i saw at steve madden, but they’re not:

these are slightly more expensive at $65. i remember seeing them at steve madden and then DYING because i wanted to buy them but didn’t bring enough cash. SO MUCH REGRET HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.

i’ve had my eyes on booties recently. i don’t know why…it’s not like i would wear them that often as i do work in a low-key, uber casual tech company now. i just wouldn’t fit in as well.

aldo is having a sale on almost all of their shoes, and they’re throwing in a free shipping code! man, too bad i don’t have a million dollars to throw around at shoes i’ll only wear once a month.

anyway, SHOES I WANT:

i actually want pointy-toed lace-up flat heeled boots. i’ve seen some at madewell, but they are $100 more than i’d like to spend. i also want to find a pair of really neat oxfords, like jeffrey campbell cutout oxfords. i am uber picky about how they’re cut out though. i remember seeing a really awesome pair at steve madden when i was in ny in july, but i can’t seem to find them in their sale section or anywhere on their site in general. i’m kind of crazed right now for shoes. and acid wash jeans.

such a bad idea to want so many things i can’t have!!!

i have NOT been shopping for the past month and suddenly i have the URGE! it’s real bad.

so i told my sister to hold onto my wallet while i browse the uo site. unfortunately for me, my credit card info was saved! FUCK!

but have no fear, i couldn’t find any free shipping coupons or extra % discounts online so i have decided to hold off on buying anything until i see some major coupon codes in my inbox.

anyway, i am really digging acid wash denim lately. don’t know why, but i do know i want/need a pair.

here are some of the things that caught my eye:

i wanted some spanx to control my beer belly for funsies, but i found out that they were way too expensive.

so i learned about assets (the “cheap” spanx line for target) and finally got the camisole.

i asked my sister what she thinks about my posture/belly post-assets and she said that i didn’t look any different than pre-assets. i personally don’t feel it helps with shaping. it’s more like a rib crusher. i’ve read that after a while, you get used to it—but i think that is supposed to be read that it loses it’s elasticity.

i tried on the tank at target and also felt like it wasn’t doing anything for me; which is why i bought the camisole, thinking that since it looked tighter on the hangar, it would probably reel in the fat.

obviously i was wrong. my sister said she thinks this line of shapewear would be better for bigger people and that i should just exercise to get that flat belly. BOO.

target’s site lists the camisole for $20, but at my local target it was $26. i feel kind of gypped, so i may return it. however, before i do anything i might regret, i’m going to get a third and fourth opinion tomorrow.

—

assets by sara blakely fantastic firmers camisole, retails for $20-26
more info: target