or, why I’m not allowed to go shopping anymore …

Since She Likes Purple inquired about my shoe purchases … below you will find the footwear that entered my house during the month of January.

Before I cut myself off on January 15.

See, there are several ladies (the aforementioned She Likes Purple, and a couple others) that have sworn off unnecessary shopping for 30 or 60 days.

At first, I thought, “Good for them!,” but it wasn’t for me. Shopping is too much fun!

I never used to indulge myself … but as we’ve gotten more established, I realize I do deserve to have nice things, and have increased my (still somewhat cheap) budget accordingly.

Though, I’ve been on a bit of a shopping spree lately. After a string of large purchases, I decided I was on board too. At least for 30 days. I’d sort of like to make it until my birthday (March 29) — but yikes, that’s really far away!

On to the shoes …

I found these Ann Taylor satin peep-toe heels on sale for $39.99, which is actually higher than I usually spend on shoes (boot budget is a big higher!). I’m a bargain hunter; while I have a lot of nice shoes, I usually get killer deals. I figured since these are exactly what I’ve been looking for for years, and they were originally $118, I could make an exception.

Technically, these bronze Ann Taylor peep-toes entered my house on January 16, one day after I said I’d stop the unnecessary purchasing. But I had things to return to Ann Taylor, and still walked out with more money than I came in with (on my credit card statement).

Also, I decided these were destined to be mine. When I was in there days earlier (pre shopping ban), I saw them on the sale rack, in my size. I wanted them, but resisted for some reason. I figured if they were still there when I brought in my returns, they were meant to be.

I’ve had my eye on these Steve Madden wedges for a while over at Endless.com. When I thought they were sold out, it made me kind of sad … and then I looked again and found them. So I really had to buy them, right?

I’ve previously documented my love for the Keds Eleanor skimmers. I had seen the “Dove” style and when I finally found them marked down to $18, I had to buy. But I also fell in love with the wood button on the “Elephant” style and got those too.

And then, Ann Taylor LOFT had these on clearance for $9, and I couldn’t resist. Also, I realized I only have one other pair of black flats which are a little more casual, so this was a great purchase!

And you already know about the patent boots.

Were you counting? Did I actually buy seven pairs of shoes in two weeks?

So yeah, I’m officially cut off.

I joked with my husband that I had to build an addition to my shoe rack!
(Um, I really did. I’ll post an update later with “before” and “after” shots!)

I admit it, I have a problem.

Yes, of course I’ve always had a bit of a shoe habit. But lately, it seems it’s gotten harder to resist purchasing shoes that will have limited use.

Surely, I must have been more practical at some point?

I picked up these green and yellow sandals a few years ago. They were on sale, and while I loved them, I initially went home without them.

What would they possibly match?

Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I knew I had to go back — I figured if they had my size in stock, it was meant to be!

Surprisingly, I do get a lot of wear out of them. The colors are subtle, and I actually have a few light green tops that coordinate.

The pink sandals were a no-brainer since they were really cheap at Target. I have quite a few skirts and tops that work well well with them.

(Though, I think I bought the skirts specifically to go with the shoes … but, I really did need more skirts at the time!)

I didn’t buy anything else colorful for a while except for some purple pumps which I needed to go with a dress.
It was a striped dress, predominately purple, but also with some green (so the yellow/green sandals match as well). Since I was wearing the dress for a fall wedding, I wanted a closed toe. The dress has since gotten more use, but I have worn the sandals every other time.

This spring/summer has seen a lot of color!

It started with these cute sneaker flats that I had to have.

They’re the ‘Eleanor’ series by Keds. I liked a few of the prints and decided to purchase the blue owl version.

I do wear a lot of aqua blue, so I wear them a decent amount of time … but I haven’t found a way to coordinate them yet without being a close match.

I love them … so when I found one of the other styles I liked on sale at T.J. Maxx the other day, I couldn’t resist.

I wear a lot of green, too 🙂

I really tried to leave T.J. Maxx with just that one pair, but another impractical purchase was calling out to me.

They were very cute, and very comfortable, but I put them down and walked away. They’d be yet another pair of shoes that will be hard to coordinate.

Or would they?

I had to go back and take them home!

I wore them today, and my feet were very happy!