To Hell with Hits...Let's Go Shopping!

No mourning over the death of my latest H&H article, although I thought for sure somebody would find "...fitting your dainty foot into a glass slipper held by a prince has nothing on learning you have special powers that can stop a werewolf in high dudgeon in his tracks" out and out hilarious. Instead, let's go shopping.

Like every other young woman, my daughter is totally into Vera Bradley. To me her stuff is very hippy dippy, Calico Corner peasant skirty—not something that would appeal to a 2011 audience. But for girls living in dorms, who need their ID, key, and phone handy, they really are just the thing. So when we wandered into the Vera Bradley store so she could buy a larger wallet/wristlet thingie because her new phone is bigger than the old one, I kinda cringed. They were having a sale, though, and the "one for the money" she bought was actually cute.

The more I thought about it, though, the more the idea of not having to figure out what to do with a phone, keys, money, I.D., credit card, and key ring reward cards while running out for a quick errand in the hot summer heat or going to the gym appealed to me. The sale continued when we next visited the store, and we both ended up with purchases, although nothing we bought this time was on sale. She bought the "one for the money" in the print she liked, along with a lanyard to sorta turn it into a shoulder bag, and I bought a "one for the money" I liked, in the same print as the only sunglass case I've found that can fit this pair of sunglasses I have with enormous hinges. She also gave me the "one for the money" she'd been using this past month, and asked me why I ended up with two. The answer well and true? I wanted the wallet thingie to match the sunglass case and her cast-off didn't have a sunglass case to match. Also, I've been on a buying binge, the first in years and years, for the past couple of months, and saw no reason to deny myself.

The binge, thankfully, is over now. My husband asked how it felt to be able to buy whatever I wanted (more or less); he's been on his own binge as well. I told him I loved everything I bought...nothing was a regretful purchase...but that I did not like feeling as though I needed things I clearly did not need. He, on the other hand, was just happy to be able to buy whatever he wanted to buy.

Let's tally it up now, shall we?

• White topaz earrings—25% off—from the amazing @GottaHaveBling (Ross-Simons) because I wanted needed a pair of day-to-day earrings that were substantial, and real (white topaz is not expensive, but it looks like diamonds; the real cost is the white gold setting).
• Two Brighton discontinued watches from e-Bay; I've hungered for the chronograph for years (it goes without saying both brand new watches, with tags and boxes, were both less expensive than originally priced at Brighton).
• A multi-gem bracelet, also 25% off, and also from Ross-Simons. Ever since I first saw that David Yurman Confetti Cuff I wrote about last month, I've wanted to find a more reasonably priced alternative. This cuff is amazing, and according to my jeweler, hand made.
• Re-set a very large blue topaz yellow gold ring into a white gold pendant on sterling silver chain. I've owned this gorgeous blue topaz for more than 20 years, but what worked when I worked in an office setting no longer fits my lifestyle. My jeweler re-set it as a white gold pendant, used the gold from the ring to off-set some of the cost, and we picked out a very modern sterling chain to go with it. I saw no reason to buy a white gold chain at five times the price. Please excuse the photo; it's blurry, but it manages to display the gem's color quite nicely.

I splurged on a bag for Rachael as well (this bag, on the right, in this color—on your left)...she still can't believe I stopped being austere, but it's fabulous and she now "gets" why fabulous bags are fabulous. We're also doing major work on the house, but I'm not including any of that, because not only are we going to enjoy it, it'll help when the market returns and we can get the hell out of Dallas!

And so ends the Great 2011 Shopping Spree for things I craved, but did not need. When I add it all up—thanks to the terrific sales prices—it's not all that bad, but it's the craving aspect that scared the hell out of me. May I embark on no further sprees for years to come.

To Hell with Hits...Let's Go Shopping!