On Spending

From the editorial, "The Haimish Line" by David Brooks:

"Buy experiences instead of things; buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones; pay now for things you can look forward to and enjoy later."

I am at a loss what some of those things could be. I think I get the first part - spend where you are experiencing something and or with someone (such as sky diving, a meal at a nice restaurant for a special occasion, going on vacation with family, friends or significant other, etc.). But aren't those things "big pleasures"? What is the difference between big pleasures and small pleasures? Is the thinking more for the affluent - Don't buy that Ferrari, but use that money for experiences and small pleasures? But then what are things that you can look forward to and enjoy later? The experiences? I guess this is all relative (aside from the experience part). I do get the main point which is to spend where you can get that sense of community, "warmth," and memories with cherished people.

Random

-I suffer from severe procrastination, aka laziness. I think this started in college and it has not left. What happened to my hard-working, efficient high school self? Today will be the day to hit the history books and textbooks (I hope) as I have been reading other books and doing online shopping to procrastinate.
-That purple Brooks Brothers dress? I received it yesterday and will have to return it. It is beyond matronly that it left me speechless. I also returned the other Brooks Brothers shirt dress. Actually most items from Brooks Brothers aside from button down shirts and some sweaters are very matronly. Lesson learned. I do have to say that the quality is still very good. Their cashmere sweaters that are made in Scotland are much better than J. Crew cashmere sweaters (made in China).
-I ordered a bunch of stuff from J. Crew since I had a 20% discount and have a feeling some stuff will have to be returned as well. I ordered one pullover sweater, one purple merino wool cardigan, and four dresses (two of which are the same style/color but different sizes; petite sizes usually fit better). I haven't tried on any of the items just yet. As always, we shall see.
*I will keep the purple eden cardigan and the bonnie floral dress. Return the two memo dresses (v-neck is too low and don't feel like wearing a tank top with it) and shimmermist sweater (too heavy and just not flattering). Still waiting for another dress since it's back-ordered. Yay, I've kept two items!

The End of August!

I can't believe that we are nearing the end of August!! What does that mean? School will start soon!! Daylight savings and shorter days!! Where does the time go? Hindsight is always 20/20 but I realize that with all the time I did have, I should have used it wisely since it does not ever come back (duh) but I am always realizing the obvious. I think it is also a reflection of how I value myself too. In a number of ways I don't think I do and I am trying to get out of that rut.

One way I have been doing that is by making a commitment to be more active in my life - socially, physically, and spiritually - and I do see that changing those facets makes a big difference in one's quality of life and therefore better use of one's time! Meeting new people is not that bad or scary! Exercising is good for you and makes you feel better! Spending time with God is necessary!! DUH!! All of these things in turn has helped me emotionally as well. Now I just have to get myself ready mentally though studying/prepping for the upcoming year.

The shopping lists and records still will be posted - I have found it does keep me accountable in however an embarrassing way it makes me look. I haven't bought any clothes recently but my parents did take me on a shopping trip to buy "better clothes" and I must say their taste is so much more different than mine! They're into buying blazers, suit jackets, and very form-fitting dresses. I realize that my style is conservative grandma/little girl preppy. Even a student said to me, "Ms. Random Particulars, you dress like an Asian mom!!" I ignored the comment, because I did not want to engage, but my reply would have been, "I am not here to attract high school students!"

Generally what happens on these trips is that we speed shop and my dad insists that I buy xyz. We buy xyz and then I return at least y and z. This time around, I ended up with two form-fitting dresses which I don't think I will have to return. My brother gave his approval too which reassured me.

Return. . .

I will return the Emerson Made red twill skirt and J. Crew shirtdress. The Emerson Made skirt was too small - I ordered a size 0 and should have ordered a size 2 or maybe even a 4. Also I am wondering what I would wear with the skirt aside from white, black, or blue tops. I don't want to go through the trouble of going to the post office too often so I will just forget about it. I felt the shirtdress was just a very long shirt. The description said it would be a straight cut but I did not realize how unflattering a straight cut can be. I even tried to wear a belt with it and it just does not look good belted (well on me). I also ordered a pair of Trina Turk red pants. Will be returning those too. It would just make sense to go to a mall, right?

All this writing about clothes, it is really showing me how much time and money I've been spending! I peruse through a bunch of these style/clothing blogs and my goodness, I wonder how much time and money those people spend! Then again, they make their money off of their style and blogs.