Shop-stinance: Day 11

Day 11: Last night I took a break from retrofitting my blog to return items at Nordstrom rack (30 day return policy). I had not realized that on most days they stay open till 9:30pm. It was surprisingly swamped at 8:45pm. The outfit below transported me to a world where I would need something to wear to Coachella and take pictures by the ferris wheel.

It was easy to brush these feelings off with reality. I won’t be going to Coachella any time in the near future, and Sunday will be spent with friends and family. Meanwhile all the fashion bloggers and celebrities I follow from Instagram have posted up a maelstrom of images from the event.

After dinner, I thought it would be safe to spend most of my night working on the blog again when I get an email from Madewell. “20% off select shoes and purses”. It winks at me. UGH! OK. IF YOU MUST, I WILL VISIT.

I have been lusting after the d’orsay flat in spot dot that look amazing in person, not to mention that once you break Madewell shoes in, they are like second skin for my feet. Absolutely must check if they are on sale.

Luckily they were not on sale, but you know, as long as I’m here I might as well check out the Sale section right? RIGHT?!

Navigation of a sale section is a sacred ritual in itself. The most efficient way to peruse an online store in mass when “window shopping” is a combination of two features for me, “see all” and “browser tabbing”.

Here’s the process:

• Open link to sale section.
• View in grid mode, big enough to get a general idea of what the item looks like.
• If there is a “see all” button employ it. Otherwise change the view to as many items as they will allow.
• Scroll by hitting spacebar through each screen.
• If you like something open it in a new window (command+click on a Mac).
• After the page is completed, go back to the individual tabs to read more details on the items and either add to cart or close the tab.

Utilizing browser tabs save page load time from going back and forth between the main sale landing page to each individual item. “See all” saves on needless additional clicks during pagination. E-commerce sites that don’t employ either of these I tend to visit less and I was CRUSHED when ideeli had an update where you could no longer easily open new tabs with the command+click control.

I hardly ever use search, unless I’m looking for something specific, nor do I filter for size first. Size filtering often takes out some items you could buy since sometimes you are between sizes for different brands. I employ the above techniques on most major online retailers that cater toward multiple category shopping experiences.

On Madewell I end up opening 32 tabs. Pin 13 items, and painstakingly tear myself away from the computer for a while. I breathe a sigh of relief as most of the items that would test my resolve are no longer available in my size.

Shortly after that I get sucked into emails I missed deleting from earlier. Do this same exact process as from Madewell on the William Sonoma when I see these serving bowls on sale.

Unsubscribe from dwell studio emails. While they have cute stuff my home is already complete with furniture needs.

Just as I really finished emails and am getting ready for bed, I see on Instagram a video about the Alexander Wang + H&M collaboration. Prayed that it wouldn’t come out before 40 days is up. Thankfully they have a press release this morning. November 6th. I mark this date in my calendar.

Toss and turn most of the night away, in between bouts of consciousness I turn to the computer and the warmth of an online shopping break to help me relax. This is the first moment in this journey that it’s truly felt hard. Hadn’t realized how much I rely on online shopping for comfort when I can’t sleep.

This morning I wake and need to get ready to meet Helen for lunch. I end up encountering the “I have nothing to wear” phenomenon and everything doesn’t seem to fit or feel right. Try on at least 8 different outfits before I settle on a plain white short sleeve blouse and Cotton On shorts paired with Michael Kors sandals and a Zara camel colored bag. I‘m still unsatisfied with my choice, but I need to leave before I’m late.

Lunch was a welcome distraction. We went to a relatively new restaurant in Los Altos called Forest on First. Not only does this place beautiful and has delicious food, it’s also kid friendly with a gigantic built in treehouse.

During lunch over a crab and baby fennel salad I boasted to Helen about my “trash is treasure” personal campaign to liquidate all my unneeded items on eBay, as well as my love for the ease of meal preparation using the Nomiku sous vide machine. These other hobbies help keep me grounded and not shopping.

Helen talked mostly about updating her house to faux grass for easy maintenance and preparations for the future. This day was a far cry from our post-college days of going to concerts and eating fast food, but still comforting. Our time today was a gentle reminder that while times and priorities have changed, our friendship still remains the same. We strolled along the cute streets and shops where if not on these 40 days I would have probably bought something or somethings plural. *cry*

Things I saw while meandering boutiques the “somethings” I wanted to buy:

• The below apothecary jars
• A set of key covers, so I can distinguish between my keys.
• 2 really pretty dresses
• Some jewelry, I say some because I always buy jewelry when I’m boutique shopping, but hardly ever wear any.

I’m sure there were more at the time, but now that I’m safe at home I’m forgetting what some of those things were. Second thought is a good thing.

After we parted I went to Nordstrom Rack yet again to return items. I was on the fence about returning a pair of shoes yesterday, but today I felt strongly that I should. Saw this that made me chuckle.

Still feeling in a funk. Not sure if it’s just from lack of sleep. Or maybe I just really need to buy things!? Have decided to take a nap and see if that corrects these feelings.

Bought: 0

Pinned: 28

Sold: 0

Returned: 3

Gifted: 0