spending hiatus: week one

well, as it turns out, starting a spending freeze on memorial day weekend is a recipe for failure. week one did not goes as well as i had hoped. but, i learned a lot about my habits and feel better prepared to face the next eleven weeks with a closed clutch. here's what happened. 

i was a little bored on friday after work and found myself at pottery barn/williams-sonoma. i knew what i was doing was dangerous, but it felt liberating to test the waters a bit. well, they were having mega sales. i perused the merchandise and [by the grace of God] walked out [both] doors empty handed. the only reason for that being my rule of the 48-72 hour sleep-on-it period. i [quickly] returned sunday and purchased [all] the items i had been eying just 48 hours earlier: shams that match the duvet i bought four months ago, a make-up bag that was on my christmas list, and the [perfect] williams-sonoma red band dinnerware. i am [as we speak] imaging these in a glass front cabinet next to my apron sink someday. yes, i have issues. the good news is that i love [obsessed with] my purchases. the bad news is that they all went directly into storage labeled future nest. let's hope that i like them as much when i pull them out of the box two years later.

culprits: all the pottery barn purchases were 50 percent off, one item an extra 25 percent off. if purchased on a regular ole day, my total would have been approximately $44.96. instead i paid $12.47. the four settings [dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, cup and saucer] were originally $216. i paid $64.72. sales, clearance and discounts get me. i know this about myself. i can sometimes walk away. but, this was too good to be true and it passed the 48 hour test.

lessons learned: it is better just to avoid stores at all cost. i should find something better to do with my time [like go to the gym, go outside, learn how to use my sewing maching] when i am bored. now i know and i will try to do better.

eye on the prize: at the end of all of this [if it goes well] i am hoping to purchase two [very large] items. a nikon d5000 and an apple [computer, not fruit]. it helps to turn my back on the little things when i remember these two really big things.

week one, you got the best [worst] of me. darn.