My name is Whitney....

....and I have a shopping problem. This is my first time admitting it out loud.

-whew- I'm glad to get that off my chest!

Now I can go buy something else to put back on my chest.  I joke. I joke. Why go buy something else when I probably already own it?

However,with that intro I feel I should stress the fact that I am not a member of Shopaholics Anonymous.

Not yet.

I honestly didn't even know if it was really a thing until I googled it to see if it was real.

It is.

When I confessed my shopping problem to Aaron (a real shocker coming from someone otherwise flawless) he snorted and said, "You? A problem?!"

Real sarcasm at its finest, people.

It's like he knows me or something.

I guess of all people, he should know the truth.  After all, he sees the stacks of bags filled with clothes that I bring home and then he sees the stacks of bags filled with clothes that I get rid of.

What can I say in my defense?  I heart clothes.  Simple as that.

Maybe I should consider joining Shopaholics Anon.

Maybe.

But until I commit to anything else, I wanted to share with you some of the screamin' deals I came home with yesterday.  They are too exciting for me not to share with you!
TOO EXCITING!!

You see, even though I do love clothes and shopping, I don't really like paying a lot of money for them. By reading numerous fashion blogs, I've come to realize that you can still look fashionable with both new and new-to-you clothes, like this girl.  With that being said, I've learned that clothes come in all shapes, sizes and prices and to shop the sale/clearance racks at dept. stores, consignment shops or re-sale(with a few base rules: stainless, washable, no lingerie, etc.)

So yesterday I started at Goodwill.
Let the games begin!

Why Goodwill? I was looking for some vintage lace.  I've been cyber-stalking a lace blouse from Anthropologie for a while, but can't justify spending that much money on a shirt you can see through, or any shirt for that matter. I thought it would be cool to find the afore mentioned lace and make it on the cheap.

However, I did not find any suitable lace that resembled what I wanted.

 

This is what I wanted: the Wreathen Blouse - $78



I did find some other fun things that I couldn't resist.

First is this charcoal gray shell with a simple embellishment around the neck and arm holes.  I thought it was a good basic that could be dressed up or down, worn alone or layered.  At $2.99 I felt it would be foolish to leave it. I got it.

Up next is this kelly green wrap-skirt that had me at hello.  With the subtle wrap and slight drape, it kind of looked like something I would find at Anthro. Again, at $2.99 I made it mine, ALL MINE!



HELLO! 



Then I found this other skirt.  I wanted a long, light-weight skirt that would go with various tops for service and have been too lazy to sew one.  At $2.99 and being very neutral in color, I snagged it.

At that time, I also saw another top with dark blue stripes that would've complimented the green skirt so well, but it was 10 sizes too big and I wasn't so sure I could make anything new out of it, so I moved on. 

Due to the fact that we live in a small, low-income town, the shopping is limited.  I was still in search for the said lace top that may resemble the Anthro top.

So from Goodwill, I went to Ross, Fred Meyer and K-mart.

I know those aren't usually store names that leave people all hot and bothered, but you learn to not be a clothes snob and suck it up.....in the name of fashion of course.

At K-mart I found this retro, flowy, summery dress.  I thought it would be cute paired with either a baby blue or coral cardigan. 



Dress: originally $18 (still a deal)- on sale for $5.39



I found this at K-Mart too! 

I used to have a shirt this color in the 7th grade, but wore it out because I wore it so much.  I've been trying to replace it ever since.  So when I saw this color and cute keyhole cut out in the back I snatched it up.  It was originally $14, but I only paid $3.59. It is now the "official replacement shirt" and will be perfect for lazy days around the house.....or going out to eat.

That's how we roll here.



For some reason I couldn't get that big blue-striped shirt I mentioned seeing before at Goodwill out of my head.  All I could think was, "Maybe, just maybe I could do something with it."  I had to find out!

So I headed back.....

After all that it was a bust.  Upon closer inspection the shirt was still far too big and far too stained, breaking the no stain rule.

However, it did not stop there.  For some reason I had a little look-see around and landed on two more objects of interest.

First up:

this black/white polka dot shift dress. 

It's too short to wear alone, so I will  A) wear it over leggings or B) cut off the lower portion and make it a shell.  Either way, $3.99 for a shell/shift was worth it for me.  And I love me some black and white and polka dots, at that!

And last, but not least, I also found this breezy, summer top with vintage appeal at the bottom from Eddie Bauer at $1.99.

(it's a bit wrinkly because I forgot to hang it up...oh and by the way nothing is $1.99 at Eddie Bauer!)

Ahh!  What a (shopping) day it was!  I managed to score 3 tops, 2 dresses and 2 skirts for only $23.93!

There.  Now do you believe that:

A) I'm truly a shopaholic or

B) shopping on the cheap is flippin' awesome?!!

Me too(?)