Officially Christmas

With the passing of Thanksgiving, I find myself overwhelmed by an urge to send Christmas cards right away. I love sending them and receiving them. I like sending them the week after thanksgiving so that they can sit on the mantle of one's fireplace for a whole month possibly infecting an entire household with the Christmas spirit. While it may seem like I have lots of holiday spirit to spare, trust me it runs out about the second week of December, after I've gone shopping for gifts numerous times unsuccessfully, and can no longer take the holiday commercials or packed malls, or even a Christmas tune.
I know a lot of people like to put up lists for gift ideas, and I know a lot of people like to get these hints to avoid defeat at the malls. While I generally like the idea of buying someone something you think they'll like, even if they don't (been there), I'm going to put up some things that can give a person an idea of my style at the moment, and potential starting points.
The long/loose cardigan:
The vest:
The flannel shirt:


The if-I-had-boobs shirt:
Other tops that I like:


And of course socks and stockings:


Maybe this gives you a peek into what Mary might want this Christmas. More peeks to come.

Poor Toe

Last night I went to a Karaoke birthday party for someone I hadn't seen in 5 years. It turned out to be more fun than awkward, even when I sang (and I can't sing) Kelly Clarkson. What does a toe have to do with this story? Well...I decided to wear my new patent leather heels to the event to dress up an otherwise casual outfit. The moment I got out of the car and my sole hit the pavement a tingling overcame my right foot. This tingling turned into a numbing of my big toe. People, my toe is still numb! I learned a few things last night:
1) Karaoke parties are fun
2) I should keep in touch with Eunice
and 3) I'm doomed to wear flats forever

AAArrrGH

Where are my scissors!?!

Mission Accomplished

While I may not have accomplished any professional goals over this break, I managed to find the three must haves of the season (according to Mary). I got my black bag, and today at Nordie's I got the last two on the list. The shoes may not be suede, but patent will do. I have actually been eying them for quite some time. But my size was never there. I just happened to peruse the Macy's sale rack and tahdah! Fate.
Check 'em out:

Love it.
And after about a year of hunting for skinny jeans, I finally found them. And you'll never believe the price. My well-known dilemma of having short legs has stunted my search for the perfect skinny jean. Apparently only model sized women are supposed to wear them. So imagine my surprise when my visit to the b.p. section ended with a pair that actually fit. But these jeans had no price tag, and I was worried I'd have to pay the price for the perfect pant. I looked around aimlessly trying to find where I had found them. Finally a sales woman saw me searching frantically and said she'd check with her manager for the price. Drumroll please....I paid a whole 10$ for my amazing fit pant! (apparently they were a return that was supposed to be sent to the Rack. What are the chances!?! Looks like the shopping gods were definitely on my side today.

On Vacation=Spending Problem

Being on vacation I have learned 3 things. 1) I am addicted to television (mainly reality tv, if it stars a washed up has been or has anything to do with dramatic competition, I'll watch it.) 2) I need human contact 3) I like to shop WAY too much. With all those realizations, #3 is the most dangerous. For it has caused me to spend, spend, spend. October's paycheck is a fading memory by now. "What does she spend her money on?" you might be asking. Well when I'm on vacation I take up things like cooking and think I need a spice rack, new kitchen utensils, a spoon rest, new pot holders.... I like to clean the apartment which means I need all new cleaning supplies of course. Oh and I need to get a cut and color to feel fabulous on vacation. Some new makeup couldn't hurt either. And after watching all those reality shows about what not to wear, I naturally need a new wardrobe. naturally. While a new wardrobe may be out of my fast fading budget right now. I still have some change left over and it's ready to be spent on a few essential pieces that will help me become "Fashionista Mary." Here are some pieces I'm keeping my eyes peeled for:
1) black suede heels
2)dark skinny jeans (for short legged folk)
3)new bag

Of these three items, I have finally found one...a new bag.
Here it is:
It's cute, practical, and black. perfect. (In my hunt for a bag I found that after my first real leather bag I can no longer purchase pleather, it just feels wrong. Hence my dilemma in trying to find a real leather bag that was affordable and yet still chic. It was tough, do you know how much bags are these days!?!)
Now for those shoes and pants.

A Woman Can Never Have Too Many Shoes

Or can she? I've fallen victim to the ole saying and now I have a closet full of shoes and not enough shoe caddies for all the footwear. I think I've purchased an average of a pair a month for the past year. That would bring me to about 8 new shoes this year. September's pair is pending. Here's what I'm considering:
As the salesman at Lorin said, "They don't look that special on the shelf, but they look great on." I've tried them and can testify his words are true. I want...
I can't remember who asked me, but they asked if I shopped a lot. I said, "yea, I'm probably trying to fill some sort of void I'm not aware of." While I haven't figured out what exactly I'm trying to satisfy, Lord knows the void is not in my closet. Still, I could make room for these.

I have no self control

I think I have a problem with self control. Yesterday I admired the perfumed scent of my friend Pam. I inquired which of the bottled concoctions she was wearing. I got the name of the perfume, and decided I would buy it. So, this afternoon I could not concentrate on anything but buying that perfume; until finally I gave in and dragged Kiyomi to Sephora so I could own it. Now that I've thoroughly intrigued you with the mystery of this fabulous scent. Tadah!
It is Burberry London.

I know, I know, how dark side can I be? Even the perfume is bougie, I mean it won't even let you see it's bottle, it's all covered up like a prim and proper lady.
I Love It!

I can't wait

for my birthday!!! for vacation in Argentina and Brazil!!! for no more work and for sleeping in everyday!!! (at least for a month)
I think I need a few new outfits to lead this laid back, fun, exciting, adventurous newfound life of mine.
I think these items might help:


I can't wait for summer weather. After a taste of it today, I'm ready!

On SALE!

Now that I've got a raise, perhaps I want to save the extra cash. and perhaps I want to spend it. Here's some things I just might consider. (Lucky for me, it's on sale too)


I guess I'm in a delicate mood.

My face is a mess

With sensitive, easily scarred, and blemished skin, finding products that don't irritate my skin is hard. But I can't escape the thought that maybe more products will help. More products like these:


I've been watching too much QVC. I got stuck on the special beauty hour. Everytime I see a new product I want to buy it. The addiction to buying beauty products stems from the delusion that the next product I buy just might be the one magic product that will give me that little nudge I need to push me into supermodel status. (little nudge is an understatement)

I want I want I want

Out of sheer boredom tonight I decided to surf the web in hopes to find something to purchase, despite the fact that I HATE shopping online. (Don't get me started on the ridiculousness of UPS.) Lo and behold I find three things on SALE with FREE shipping!
I'm not quite sure if I should get all three or a combination of two.



Could it be I like brown? I can't tell if any of these pieces would actually ever get used.

please help me

decide which of these lamps should replace the big green lamp in my room.
choice A:

Choice B:


Choice C:

Choice D:

I think choice D is most interesting. but maybe interesting is not the way to go.
Thanks to discover's cash back, Pier 1 store credit is waiting to be used.

Uh Oh

It seems the holiday spirit has taken a toll on my credit cards. You know it's going to be a hard month when you get stressed out about finances on pay day. I woke up this morning with the intent of going to Target to try and find a dark wicker storage stool/box. I decided to check my credit card and checking statements first. Needless to say if I'm going to get a haircut this week, I can't buy ANYTHING. Here's what I want, but can't have...at least until the new year.

I admit it

I have an obsession with shoes. I wish I could have a special account just for the purchase of shoes. Here are some shoes I would buy with that imaginary fund:

Love the wedge.


Couldn't you just see me wearing these with some tight jeans and cute top?

If only I was a secretary.

i love me some gold

My desire for gold jewelry has yet to be fulfilled. If anyone wants to help me fill that void, this might help:


Love it!
Imagine "Mary"


I realize gold is expensive. sigh...

I want

Since it is officially Christmas shopping season, my eyes have been peeled for deals. With that comes an incidental list of my own. I'm off to the mall for Black Friday tomorrow, which I can tell my aunt and sister and cousin don't really want to suffer through. I'm not sure I want to either, but I sort of already committed myself to it. I'm hoping to get most of my christmas shopping done tomorrow. And perhaps buy myself some treats too. Here are some of the items I'll be looking for. for me :) I Really want these boots!!!I also like these shoes my sister has:
Throw in some skinny jeans, that fit short legged folk like myself:

If on my trip to hell (the mall) tomorrow I find something else that catches my eye, I'll be sure to post.

New Watch

I've decided it's okay to spend a lot of money on one nice item each paycheck. Leaving me unable to afford any other nice material object. Seeing how the band of my cute watch from Korea has already ripped, a new watch was a must for this month. I've been wanting a big metal watch for years. I've finally found one that is big enough, light enough, and just feminine enough. Check it out:


You can't see the mother of pearl face as much, but I love it.
I wonder what I'll get next month!?!

bathroom quandary

I'm one of those that likes to buy new things instead of cleaning old ones. Yes, I'm a wasteful consumer. But it gives one a chance to reinvent their habitat every once in a while. Today's focus: the bathroom. Out with the blue bathmat stained with hair dye.
In with the new:




I then realize that my new bath mat does not match the tumbler, jar, and wastebin of yore. In fact the seashell and seagrass embossed bath ensemble MUST go. What follows is an exhaustive search of Bed Bath and Beyond, Ross, Marshalls, Target, and Cost Plus to find the right bathroom accessories.
I've got it narrowed down to two possibly three options, maybe four.


Option 1: medium wood paired with glass jars
Option 2: latte bamboo set from West Elm
Option 3: espresso bamboo set from West Elm
I can't decide.