108 October Obsessions

1. Love, Bonito Adel Dress in Blue; 2. InStyle October issue; 3. A for Arcade Tammy Lace Top in Indigo; 4. Strayedheart Jamie Playsuit (photo credit to Oasis)

So my fiscal month for September 21- October 21 ends today, and I was punching in the keys for my expenses, adding it all up, when I realized with a sinking feeling (as I was wont to do quite often this month) that I had drastically overspent on my 'Others' section (my budget is split into 'Food', 'School', and 'Others'-- the latter covers clothes, accessories, books, presents, etc.). At first I attributed it to the whopping 7 birthdays I celebrated during this period --excluding my own, natch-- (birthdays are lovely) (but not when you're calculating how much money you spent on presents) (if it's only the thought that counts...), but when I tallied it up again, I realized I'd overspent on clothes as well.

Every month, I attempt to come up with reasons for my overspending (and, no doubt, reasons for my wandering italics and parentheses) so as to come up with a solution, some months more reluctantly than others. This month: (1) I need to ask Mum for her opinion more often before purchasing items, as more often than not the items I've purchased without consulting her first have turned out disastrous (I count 4 from recent memory alone)*; (2) I do not need to go shopping when tired, as it's a recipe for disaster, particularly when Mum says, "Pay up, dear, we need to go"; (3) I should really break down my 'Others' into more specific categories, so as to narrow down the focus and plan for each one. I used to split up 'Clothes' and 'Books', for instance, but stopped when I *attempted* to join the two together in order to spend less (ahem, ahem). Perhaps I should reinstate the division next month starting from tomorrow, as I plan to get Jo Baker's Longbourn and InStyle's November issue (with T-swizzle on the cover, no less!).

The above collage is just some of the items that I splurged on this month. The LB Adel Dress has a really exquisite print and beautiful material, but my problem is its fit; I had to get the PTP altered and even so, the waist isn't very flattering, even with a belt. Nevertheless, I'm in love with the print (which reminds me of paint and the sea simultaneously! and maybe mermaids) and hope that as long as I don't look in a mirror when I'm out wearing it (or, crossed fingers, that people don't look askance at me as if to think, "Who is that poor girl in that unflattering dress?!"), I'll be fine. The A for Arcade crop top was a quick buy at KissJane Vivo, but one that I still love: thank goodness for fitting rooms! It's got me slowly edging into the crop top trend.*

More unfortunate were the Strayedheart playsuit (which I'm letting go on A&M if you're keen), which despite its lovely prints is really too big for me waist up (though of course my love of rompers might still push me to wear it out if nobody buys it) and these Rubi wedges that I totally bought on impulse, wanting to look like Kate Middleton when shopping. I consequently wore them shopping on my second trip to Vivo and had to massage my toes afterwards (I kid, but they did hurt pretty badly). On the up side, the pain may wear off after a few trips, as it did with my previous Rubi pairs!

Pretty long post just to say I've overspent and Ooooops and I'll try to be better next month. I've already refrained from shopping for almost two weeks!

*This lesson has backfired. I wanted to buy Thread Theory's lace crop top, but my mum took one look at it and said, "IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS BEEN THROUGH A SHREDDER," and refused to change her mind no matter how often I rhapsodied about it. So. So much for edging into the crop top trend, and asking my mum for her opinions.