Oh boy. I'm in trouble!! Anthro trouble.

Just got word that Garden State Plaza is getting an Anthropologie!  It opens on 4/29 - a Tuesday - the markdown day.  Oh boy! (correction:  4/29 is a Friday, not sure where I got Tuesday from).

My mom and I will probably take personal days and meet up for shopping and lunch.  This could be very bad for my wallet, VERY BAD.  But I'm excited to have one so close (translation...to be so close to their infamous sale room that I can go in and check it out on a regular basis).  And by close I mean, I've walked to this mall from my home before.  It's just under a mile away.

I'm now toying with the idea of applying for a part-time position although I can't work Saturdays and retail is not open on Sundays in our county.  We'll see.

Anybody up for a shopping get together on the 29th?  Have you ever gotten excited over a store opening in your area?  Last time I did it was Whole Foods literally half a block from my house.  My husband and I hit "opening day" (with about 10,000 other people).

The New Wish List

Since I am now a better shopper (ahem...well, trying - really hard - to be), I keep a "wish list" in my purse at all times.  For the most part, if you're not on the list, you're not coming home with me (unless you are from Anthropologie or someone is having a 99% off sale on Burberry and Gucci).  The wish list is a result of my disecting my entire wardrobe and seeing what was needed to tie together the pieces i already own.  Polyvore has been really cool for this purpose too.  I just go to my home page, type in whatever is on my wish list and viola, a photo collage of the wants.  And then for each item I add to my list, I can see other user's collage's of how they'd style that piece.  Fun times.  Although after viewing some of those collages, that wish list could really grow.

Not that anybody should care, but I'm going to share my current wish list here.  Hey, you find any good deals on the items listed, lemme know and then we can be BFFs!  :)

As of today, I'm in the market for: a great black cloche, classic trench, dressy bow blouse, satiny flower neck halter top, motorcycle jacket, leather obi belt, longish denim tunic (to pair with said obi belt), cute dresses with a vintage-y feel, the perfect red shoes.

new wish list by BettyRay featuring a washed leather jacket

Do you keep a "wish" list?  Any other ways to keep your buying in check?

1/29 Update: ordered the blouse and obi today and a few cute retro dresses the other day (ModCloth is such a cute site).  Now I must STOP shopping!  The UPS man is going to think I have a problem and he may be right.

In 2011 I Will Be a Better Shopper!

While I don't do resolutions in the New Year, I do keep a mental list of some things I want to be more aware of in my day to day life and things I want to accomplish at some point in the foreseeable future.

For 2011 I want to be a more thoughtful shopper.  One of my bad habits is going shopping and not being satisfied unless I come home with bags and bags of god knows what that don't fit into my current wardrobe at all, resulting in even more shopping.  Going into the Gap outlet and stocking up on six sub-par sweaters just because they were cheap is something I no longer want to do.  My plan is to save up for some fabulous key pieces and to only purchase items I absolutely love.  Perhaps I won't be able to shop as often (this will be hard as hello, my name is Katrina, and I am a shop-a-holic), the UPS man won't be stopping at my house everyday and I will have to think about how I will wear something and what it will go with it that I already own before rushing to the checkout counter.

So, I will keep you posted on how this goes from time to time.  I'm hopeful it will work out!

Any other shopping obsessed people out there?  I believe there is a 12 step program for us.

My First Shopping Trip to Goodwill

Ever since I spotted the Goodwill store on Route 17 in Paramus about two months ago, I have been dying to get there.  I've seen so many great blog posts and articles about the wonderful scores at Goodwill, and a friend of mine always went to thrift stores and came out with awesome finds.  Now I'm not new to thrift store shopping, but I've only gotten items for myself there maybe once or twice before.  Back in the day, I put my son through private Pre-K and kindergarten by thrifting and ebaying children's clothing.  With ebay's new fees and the thrift stores getting a little more knowledgeable about pricing, that is no longer a decent money maker for me.

Ok, back on track.  I dreamt last night about what I might find at Goodwill.  I mean hey, I live in Bergen County, home of the infamous NJ "real" housewives.  Visions of Vince sweaters and Gucci heels danced in my head.  Well, in reality, it was nothing like my dreams.  I know these places are hit or miss, but I found it to be a pretty depressing shopping experience.  No music, it certainly didn't smell good in there, and I don't know, it was just kind of blah.  What do you expect though, right?  So I did browse all the women's racks.  It was nice that items were organized by color family.  What I found annoying though were the huge number of items that were obviously washed/dried incorrectly.  Cute sweaters labeled large that were shrunken up enough to fit my 7 year old daughter.  Seriously, there were hundreds of items like that.  Pilly sweaters, shrunken satin, pulled nylon, faded blacks and dingy whites.

That being said, I did grab a few items and spent $45.  Hopefully I'll find a way to use them all.  I have a few ideas already, but as we can see from my "dream" above, sometimes the reality doesn't match up with what's in my head.  I will keep you all posted though.  Now, on to the haul!

Denim skirt from the Gap ($6.99), Old Navy rose colored corduroy mini ($2.49), Unionbay army green corduroy shorts ($4.29)

Space dyed knit top from Design House ($6.99) - never heard of 'em, BCBG vneck tunic ($9.99)

Cute Free People argyle sweater ($4.99) - someone shrunk this, but it's a medium and I have an idea which may absolutely bomb, Free People tunic sweater ($4.99), Juicy Couture nautical cardigan ($6.99)
I don't plan on wearing any of these things together and I haven't tried anything on yet (although they will accept returns for store credit within five days), but I hope to play around this week.  Keep your fingers crossed please!!

Any success or failure stories from thrift shopping?  Have you had better luck at privately owned second hand stores versus places like Goodwill?