purchases: 2013

I know I haven't posted in months but I just wanted to reflect on the past year on the last day of 2013 and mull over the purchases (however impulsive) I've made in the last 365 days.

January was the month I spent the most money, spending approximately 25% of my annual spendings. It was in January that I purchased my first contemporary designer bag, Coach, and discovered, much to my surprise, that I am a purse addict.

February turned out to be another expensive month with the addition of suede flats.

In March, I told myself that I would try going on a shopping ban and was almost successful except my one in-store purchase at Zara (a dress for $9.99), which I am still proud of because online shopping is my vice.

April brought along (tempting) sales, mostly in the first half of the month, leading to the addition of a few jewelry pieces from Kate Spade and my first (and hopefully only) Longchamp tote.

May was a no shopping month as I was busy studying for finals and going back home for summer break.

June, July, and August passed by with an average of $60 spent for each of the three months.

With the start of school and being back in New York, it was almost too easy to spend more than $100 each month for the remaining four months. My credit card suffered the most in November with the addition of a bag that I desired previously on the blog, the Selma.

Even though I returned about half (51.87% kept), for some reason I feel like my fall purchases were very impulsive. At the end of 2013, I would think that I would have gained a better sense of budgeting wisely but instead, I feel the opposite.

My goals for 2014 would be to build my professional wardrobe and work on minimizing the number of clothes I own. I want to cut down on spontaneous purchases and end the year with a smaller yet precise amount of items that I wear often and that serve multiple functions. I dislike clothes that sit in the closet for months with tags still on them (dresses for me) or items that I can't wear on a daily basis (dresses again).

I apologize for the lack of posts and will try to post regularly next year. I'm not the type to expose my thoughts in public and mostly keep to myself, but I feel others may find what I have to say useful. Thank you for reading and see you in 2014!

lust: michael michael kors

Selma

Five words: You will be mine. Soon. 

I can't even express how beautiful this bag is.

lust: kate spade

I'm in love with Kate Spade and would be delighted if I could own every single item below, if not the whole store [;

bosie tea parlor macarons

Center: Vanilla Cheesecake
Clockwise from green: Pistachio,  Passionfruit Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Jasmine

I tried...

my best ]:

5

4 hehe

Hello there! I bought some macarons from Bosie Tea Parlor on Friday and oh my! It was my second time having macarons and I can't wait to try Ladurée on Madison some time in the near future.

My first macaron (blueberry) in Korea | Summer 2012
the yellow one is mango [:

I especially loved the variety of macarons available at Bosie's. There were about 15-20 different kinds and it made it that much harder to choose just six (sorry forgot to take a picture of the display while being so distracted with selecting). The packaging was so adorable as well. I was so tempted to keep it (I'm such a box hoarder), but the jasmine macaron cracked and broke, leaving crumbs on the box (and my bag, and my leather gloves). Other than having a hard time trying to focus my camerasmartphone and not being tempted to stuff one in my face for every second taking pictures, it was a delightful treat that I wouldn't mind having again.

For your information, each macaron is $2.25 I believe. I was able to "purchase" these for free because I had a $15 gift card from groupon and there was a $10 for 6 macaron deal. I couldn't say no to free macarons so I made the trip even though it was raining that day.

Do you like macarons? I feel like there's a lot of hype concerning them, but I still have to admit that they're good.

Thank you for visiting!


bosie tea parlor || 10 Morton St  New York, NY 10014

purchases: september - december 2012

Ever since the new year started, I've been mulling over my previous purchases. No matter how much I try to control my spending and budget wisely, it seems like money disappears left and right and I have no idea where and how. Therefore, I've decided to analyze my spending of the past few months since I came back to school and see what trouble I've caused while being in New York (note: this compilation is mostly for me to visually see what I've bought. This is in no way trying to flaunt/brag/show off. I try to spend my allowance and paychecks carefully, but sometimes my desires overwhelm my practical self... hence the more expensive purchases).

September

Gap Favorite Short-Sleeve V-neck Tee (optic white)
Orig. $14.95
Paid $11.21

Old Navy Vintage-Style V-neck Tee (white)
Orig. $9.50
Paid $6.80

Abercrombie & Fitch Brittan Cardigan (burgundy & charcoal grey [not pictured])
Orig. $58
Paid $26.10/each

Chloé Erine (Black)
Orig. $330
Paid $141.47

Spur-of-the-moment purchase. I've been admiring this pair of sunglasses from Chloé for a few months and when I saw it on Ideeli*, it was calling my name and before I knew it, I had clicked "Place your order."

Total: $211.68

 October

J. Crew Factory Perfect Shirt (faded chambray)
Orig. $62.50
Paid $25.88

Total: $72.68 

I also bought undergarments this month, but I'm not going to post them [:

November

eBay - Dooney & Bourke bag

$23.80

Gap Favorite Short-Sleeve Scoopneck Tee (charcoal)
Orig. $14.95
Paid $8.37

Gap Favorite Short-Sleeve V-neck T (heather gray)
Orig. $14.95
Paid $8.36

Sephora - Shiseido Eyelash Curler
Orig. $19
Paid $20.69

Gilt Groupe - Deborah Lippmann Nail Polishes
Orig. $168, $98 on Gilt
Paid $64.18

For those who are interested:

Top row (left to right): Umbrella top coat, Turn Back Time base coat, Stairway to Heaven, Glitter in the Air

Bottom row (left to right): 2 Second Nail Primer, Amazing Grace, Baby Love, P.Y.T., Fashion, Glamorous Life

This purchase was a splurge for me. I've never been into beauty products much less nail polishes, but once I saw this deal on Gilt* (especially since I also had a code for 50% off), I felt that maybe I should invest in some nail polish for the future. I reasoned that if I didn't like them, I could either eBay them off or give them as presents to my nail polish loving friend.

Total: $125.80

December

H&M Sweater (heather grey & white)

Orig. $29.99

Paid $23.96

I have a few more purchases that I made in December, but I'm still deciding if I should keep them or return them, so when I make up my mind, I will update this post with the remaining items. 

How do you control your spendings? Do you keep a budget or just buy as you go? I love reading about how others manage their money, so please leave a comment below. I would love to know what you think about the topic. 

Thank you as always for reading and may your bank account not suffer as much as mine has!

*Disclaimer: The links to Ideeli and Gilt are referral links. 

freedom at last

I hope this weekend has been relaxing for you so far. Lately, I have too much time on my hands and being the procrastinating human that I am, I've been behind on blog posts and have too many saved. I was planning to publish this in late October last year, but something happened and I forgot. I know it's strange for me to post twice in a day, but I thought the second part was interesting so I will publish it for those who are in the cupcake craze that I was in back then [:


October 26, 2012
So sorry for my hiatus. These past two weeks have been crazy for me with five midterms. I've been a total emotional wreck while trying to study hard to receive good grades. It was definitely not the best period of my life, and I wanted to break down and cry more than I'd like to admit. Here is a peek at what I studied:

Orgo <3

Thank goodness I'm done with midterms, for the time being. I don't think I can handle any more pressure for a couple more weeks, at least.

To cheer myself up from all this studying, I bought myself cupcakes one night, and then I went on a full-scale cupcake craze. 

Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery - red velvet (left) and vanilla (right)

Sweet Revenge

Sweet Revenge - Dirty (left) and Sweet Revenge (right)

For your information:

Dirty – Valrhona Cake with Dark Chocolate Truffle
Sweet Revenge®– Peanut Butter Cake, Ganache Center, Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

I also went to Georgetown Cupcake yesterday and today because if you didn't know, they offer free cupcakes every day on their twitter to the first 100 customers per location, one cupcake per person. I was hoping to get another free one today, but lucked out.

Georgetown Cupcake

first 100

free cupcake - Maple BOO-Berry

Red Velvet

But from the three places I've tried within the past week, Sweet Revenge > Magnolia Bakery > Georgetown Cupcakes. I mean, look at Dirty and Sweet Revenge!