Back after an unintentioned hiatus!

I am living in Georgetown now which is dangerous for my bank account. There is a lot of shopping here in DC in general, but the convenience of being able to walk to Barneys Coop, a plethora of cool bookstores, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Sephora, to name just a few is really all-consuming. It is hard enough trying to resist spending Speck's college fund at Trader Joe's and CVS which are only blocks away. I don't need any temptations! I have a house to buy in a week!

But I have managed to manage my money well here, bolstered by the multiple unexplained deposits from my predoctoral fellowship (which, as it turns out are all legitimate), and the generosity of the couple with whom I am staying, rent free.

I did have to spend a decent chunk of change on acquiring reliable internet access. I was misinformed about the iPhone's tethering capabilities. And I found out about the misinformation AFTER I bought matching iphones for Chris and me. We didn't intend to match, but we both wanted the white ones.


Although I could do some internet-ing via the iphone, I had to pursue other options. So I found a way, via the sierra wireless aircard.


And if I cancel the At&t data plan and return the sierra wireless aircard within a month, I am off scott free. Even if I don't, I can pay the $175 early termination fee and sell the aircard for about that on ebay. I also get to give my dad my Razr which he technically bought for me a few years ago and is excited to use as his phone. :)

I am very close to being debt free for the first time in a while. Other than my small, interest and payment-deferred student loan, I have no debt. I need to be debt free if I am going to sign on for the risks associated with buying and owning a home.

That said, I haven't been entirely spendthrift. I have made a few careful purchases in addition to the iphones.

These dresses were all on major sale.

Theory Dilia dress from Bloomingdales
A.P.C. dress bought at Barney's Coop but blogged about earlier!

Marc by Marc Jacobs velvet Mochachino dress (part of the fall of 90s grunge):
I also have some photos of myself in a few other new dresses from Zara and Saks.

I hate finding knockoffs of my recent purchases

Today I was browsing around and saw this crappy knock off of my new marc by marc jacobs alessandra dress. Thankfully, the ochre colorway I selected wasn't available on the site.


But still, this is annoying. The poor quality of the knockoff is apparent, even in the e-tailer's best-case-scenario photos. I can't believe anyone would pay $70-some for it... especially when Forever 21 tends to do it for a third of that price. I guess $70 is around a third of original dress's sale price. :(

Consuming me: Bunny dress by With Hearts In Our Eyes

How cute is this dress by With Hearts In Our Eyes? Oh man... I am in love with it. Especially in Purple.

Available at bonadrag.com.

It only comes in small and medium so I am not sure it will fit my hambody. But if I can determine that it will, she will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

I worry when most of the dresses I covet look like pjs or muu muus...

I LOVE A.P.C. dresses on sale from Creatures of Comfort:








I guess it makes sense that I would want to dress for bed all the time since I have been so exhausted lately!

Soon to be homeowner

So we decided to buy, put an offer on a place, after further negotiations, it was accepted. Now we
will be consumed by homeownership. And all of the financial stability and uncertainty that come with it.

Since I last posted, I've moved out of my home in Pittsburgh. I wrapped up the grading for my two summer courses. I became ABD (all-but-dissertation... aka advanced to candidacy with an accepted project proposal). I moved my things into a garage in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. I found a lender for my mortgage and signed the appropriate papers. I scheduled a closing date and began planning for how to decorate my new home with my partner. And I've moved myself to DC for a Smithsonian predoc. Things have been hectic. And stressful. Retail therapy was kept to a minimum but I did manage to buy a dress to reward/console myself for surviving all the changes. I am not unscathed... and I got into many stress-fueled arguments with loved ones over the speed of the changes (which were largely out of my control anyway). I wasn't going to keep the dress. But I really really like it. So much so that I posted about it a few weeks ago, here. It magically popped up on the website the other day.

Cute, right? Marc by Marc Jacobs Alessandra dress in Ochre. Shown with a gap cardigan, volatile shoes, and my mbmj softy max tote. I also want to keep one of the ones I was supposed to return.



Now that I am somewhat settled... sort of, anyway... I will be able to post regularly again!