February Budget

It's funny, I thought I'd been doing good this month until I sat down to write this post, but that is just how it's been going as of late. I followed my usually crazy person shopping habit of buying the same pair of boots five times in four different sizes from three different retailers until I found the right fit for my foot and budget. Well, I use that term loosely - the Aquatalia Karen boots were originally $659, marked down to $264, plus there was a sale over President's Day weekend for an additional 30% off, taking them down to a more palatable $185. However the boot shaft was too high for my short legs and my cobbler charged $60 to shorten them.

If you are particularly observant, you may have noted a similar pair of black boots in last month's budget post, and they were a much more affordable $40 (technically $80 before coupons) - but they were also too tall and would have cost $70 to shorten, and by my logic, investing in a pricey alteration for inexpensive pair of faux leather boots made less sense than spending over four times as much on boots which would need the same alteration. The boots were definitely a splurge, so lets hope they will be with me for a very long time.

I also made a few secondhand purchases this month, a fun round bag by Mark Cross I spotted at one of my favorite thrift stores, which I then patiently waited for it to get its first price reduction and scooped up for $35. (eBay is literally ruining thrift shopping, they just love printing out the pages of similar listed items so they can charge more.) Also mine doesn't have the chevron pattern, I just used the image because it was close enough!

Next I got a pair of the Target sherpa mules from Poshmark - I'd gotten a pair for my sister for Christmas and tried and tried to convince myself I didn't want them too, but clearly that didn't work!

I also broke my strict rule of only one case per iPhone and grabbed this cute Kate Spade case at TJMaxx - even though my phone was paid off in December, I decided not to get a new one to save the $52 a month, so a $14 case seemed completely justifiable.

I also had to grab the cardigan dress from J.Crew when it finally went on sale, plus when it arrived without the belt I contacted customer service and they offered to ship out a new dress or give me an additional 35% off - I took the discount.

J.Crew Pointelle Cable Sweater, $35
Mango Brown Cami, $32
J.Crew Belted Cardigan Dress, $40
Mark Cross Brown Round Canteen Bag, $35 thrifted
Target Sherpa Mules, $24 via Poshmark
Banana Republic Sweater Tank, $32
French Kande Petite Annecy Pendant Necklace, $88 via Von Maur
Aquatalia Karen Croc Embossed Boots, $245
Halogen Cashmere Sweaters in Black and Oatmeal, $50 via Nordstrom
Kate Spade iPhone Case, $14 via TJMaxx
Ann Taylor Lace Hem Pants, $36