February 2018 Purchases

Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $550. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2200 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.

I feel like I bought a lot in February. Winter clearance sales were in full force.

Pants: Zara
Reg $35, on sale for $23
So... my workplace has now implemented a dress code. "Business Casual" with Casual Fridays. For someone who wore jeans a lot, I felt the impact. Once I took a closet inventory, I realized that I have plenty of things to wear that are dress code appropriate. Adding another pair of "pants that are not jeans" wasn't exactly necessary, but I really liked these and I was pouting.

Sweater: Zara
Reg $20, on sale for $8
I have this exact sweater in pink  from a few months back and when I saw it in black and on sale I picked it up. Kids 13/14 Zara sweaters will fit me depending on the style.

Infinity Scarf: Zara
Reg $20, on sale for $6
Another find in the kids section. I picture wearing this in the fall with a jean jacket.

Hat: Golden by TNA for Aritzia
Reg $28, on sale for $8
I own this hat already in burgundy. I adore Aritzia hats. I can't believe this was the only thing I bought myself in the Aritzia sale!

Boots: Zara
Reg $150, on sale for $80
I've finally found black ankle boots to replace my old Aldo ones that got hundreds of days of wear. I ordered a few from Browns as well. There was one pair that were beautiful but they were really delicate nubuck which just isn't practical for this climate for an everyday boot, which was what I was searching for. I love the stud details on these and that there are no zippers or laces.

Sweater: Gap
Reg $65, on sale for $17
I've been drawn to pink things lately which is a departure from my closet full of neutrals.

Cardigan: Gap
Reg $55, on sale for $7
This reminds me of the Wilfred Free Zlata cardi from Aritzia, which is my favourite. This came with a fabric belt but I don't like it so I will ditch that and cut off the little belt loops.

Sweater: H&M
Reg $30, on sale for $5
I wore this on Valentine's Day. It's too big but I don't care.

Necklace: RW & Co.
Reg $39, on sale for $7
I bought this to go with a black dress to a charity event. I could have worn a necklace I already owned but I felt like something new.

Blazer: H&M
Reg $40, used Conscious coupon and got it for $35
I have a thing for no-button blazers. This one is really soft and stretchy and long. Love it.

Original value of items: $482
Price I paid $196
I saved 60%

The past few years I've been shopping in California in March, which isn't happening this year. I have $208 left to spend for the quarter. I don't really have anything specific on my wish list. It's always so tempting to buy lots of spring clothes but in reality, it's still a long time before they can be worn.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

January 2018 Purchases

Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $550. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2200 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.

I came into 2018 with a slightly boosted budget from money not spent last year. My allowance for this quarter is $564. January is always a fabulous month for big sales.

Coat: Zara (only XL is left, now $50!)
Reg $170, on sale for $100
I saw this on the website when it first came out and loved it. Then I saw it on Allana Davidson and it looked so good I needed to own it. It’s a bit oversized and so super cozy. I feel like I’ve bought so many new coats in the past year, but honestly, they’re all you see of an outfit for many months here in Canada so I won’t let myself feel guilty about it. This one sheds a bit of the wooly stuff so I’ll have to be sure I have a lint roller with me if I’m wearing dark colors underneath.

Shirt: H&M
Reg $40, on sale for $15
I’ve been a long time fan of anything army green and I actually have a top similar to this one that is old and too big on me anyway. The material is really soft.

Shirt: RW&Co
Reg $70, on sale for $15
This is a really nice basic white shirt that would d look great for work or on the weekend with jeans.

Tops: RW&Co
Reg $36 each, on sale for $4.50 each
These are so perfect for work with cardigans or with shirts that are too low. I bought one in blue and one in grey. They had other colors but were sold out in my size.

Sweater: American Eagle Outfitters (no longer available)
Reg $60, on sale for $9
I’ve been obsessed with pink this winter, which is weird for me. It’s a nice change from all the black and grey that my closet is full of. I probably wouldn’t have looked at this sweater twice for the regular price, but for $9, even if I don’t reach for it often, it’s ok.

Hat: Babaton at Aritzia
Reg $35, on sale for $13
I needed a new black winter hat and I love the texture of this one and the floppy top.

Original value of items: $447
Price I paid: $161
I saved 64%

That leaves me with $404 for this quarter. On my wish list for February - black flat ankle booties to replace my ones from Aldo that are getting worn out. I'm actually doing an on-line order from DSW tonight for some hopefuls. There’s still lots of winter left for cold weather attire!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

December 2017 Purchases

Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $500. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2000 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.

December is always an interesting shopping month for me as I tend to get lured in by the shiny sparkly holiday wear and also by the Boxing Day sales. I stuck to my budget though and ended the year pretty much on par with where I wanted to be. I was gutted to have to work on Dec 27.  The past few years it's been a holiday in lieu so I had to wait til after work to hit the sales. Who knows what I missed out on?

Pants: H&M (no longer available)
Reg $60, on sale for $25, I paid $20 with an H&M Conscious coupon
I had my eyes on these pants when they first came out. I was in H&M a few weeks before Christmas and decided I wanted to buy them to wear on Christmas Eve. I'll also be able to wear them to work and for a night out too. They're really high waisted and look great with heeled ankle boots. It's hard to see from the photo, but they lace and tie at the bottom.

Top: H&M (no longer available)
Reg $40, on sale for $20
This top completed my Christmas Eve outfit. It's such a nice unique shade of blue.

Sweater: Old Navy (out of stock when this was published)
Reg $47, on sale for $29
I wanted another long sweater to wear with leggings and I don;t have a ton of brown/oatmeal in my closet right now.

Coat: RW&Co (no longer available)
Reg $150, on sale for $60
Finally! I've been searching for a black trench style coat since the spring. This one is actually water repellent and has a removable hood. I really like the leather-like details too. Perfect fall/winter staple piece.

Top: Club Monaco (available in black)
Reg $150, on sale for $25
Gorgeous, soft, stretchy off-the-shoulder piece than can be dressed up or down.

Top: Banana Republic
Reg $95, on sale for $30
Another beauty of a shirt. I've donated a few of my older polka-dot pieces lately so I loved finding this.

Sneakers: Converse via Browns
Reg $80, on sale for $40
Another pair of black Converse? Yes, because now I have canvas, leather, AND suede.

I also returned a $25 top from Zara (the one from last month that made me look like a Muppet) so that gave me an extra $25 to spend in December. My budget for the month was $238.

Original value of items: $622
Price I paid: $224
I saved 64%

I also received some clothes and jewelry for Christmas which I don't blog about unless it shows up later in an outfit post. I plan on doing my usual best style buys of the year and in that post I'll share my yearly total spend vs. save which is always fun to calculate. It's been a while since I've blogged anything beauty-related so I think I'll do a post soon to show you some of my recent loves in that department.

Happy New Year!
XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Cherry Blast

Our last night in Jamaica was spent at the Mexican restaurant, where I loaded up on their amazing guacamole. Wearing such a fitted dress probably wasn't a great idea! However, it was stretchy and comfortable and I was able to keep my food baby under control.

Details

Dress/tunic (it was really short!): Joe Fresh

Belt: RW&Co

Necklace: Gift

Shoes: Old Navy

Bracelet: Boutique in St. John's 

Bag: Coach

Some of the food highlights from Jamaica (besides the guac) were jerk everything (chicken, pork, fish), every kind of cheese you can imagine (I had gouda with each meal - not kidding), coconut ice cream, the best cheeseburger ever at the late night snack place, mango carrot juice every morning, and delicious wedding cake.

Cherry Blast

2 oz vodka

2 oz cranberry juice

4 oz soda water

Mix and serve in a tall glass on ice

I'm just realizing this drink doesn't even have cherry in it!

XOXO

Glitterary Girl