money can't buy you class

flashback to 35 days ago....

me: maybe i should give up something for lent just to see what it's like.
hubs: that's a good idea. what do you want to give up?
me: i don' know. what do you think?
hubs: how about sugar?
me: no way. i don't eat that much sugar but i already know my mom is baking next week and i want to eat sweets. so it would be one week of no sugar. and it's the one week that matters most. NEXT.
hubs: ok, how about caffeine?
me: no way in hell. i live off coffee.
hubs: yeah, that would be impossible for you.
me: what about shopping? 
hubs: wow, really? that's actually a good one. 
me: yeah, that would actually be giving up something that means the most. think of all the money i'd save. (sigh) i already regret this.

so to keep it legit, we made some rules. namely, we decided to differentiate the types of shopping - want vs. need.

for example, the cute dress on giltgroupe = want. groceries = need.

my hubs also informed me that asking my mom to buy something for me was a violation (good try, mom. but the hubs was on to us).

so the next month consisted of me going online, building up an enormous shopping bag/cart, and then exiting the site. this basically happened every. single. day. but, i didn't break (i know. i'm really surprised too.)

near the end it has been getting a little desperate. i think "what if i just buy nail polish? does that count?" (yes. the answer is yes). i actually look forward to going grocery shopping (more so than usual...who doesn't love to buy produce?) and probably, the most cruel and disturbing of them all - i took my hubs shopping for new clothes. nothing says i love you like watching a significant other try on clothes for 3 hours.

but in a few days, lent will come to an end and so will my hiatus from shopping. admittedly, the past month has taught me several valuable lessons -

1. i'm not catholic. lent is optional.
2. every item i've ever wanted went on sale in the past 30 days.
3. jcrew sends me coupons only when i can't use them.
4. my will and stubborn nature are stronger than my love for shopping. think of what i could do if i only applied myself?

so now the question is do i keep saving or do i buy the most expensive item on my wish list?

i don't know about you but i agree with carrie....

"i like my money right where i can see it - hanging in my closet."  - carrie bradshaw, satc

two tickets to paradise...

last month, my husband and i decided to ditch the city for paradise. no, we didn't decide to move, although that would actually make more sense. we just needed to get away. as much as i love the city, there are no palm trees here and my heart was longing for them. anyway, after throwing out a bunch of possible destinations, we finally decided late one night, as we were huddled over our mac, to book two tickets to maui....ah, palm trees, sunshine, and mai tais.

staring at my ticket in disbelief. this is really happening.

the next couple weeks pretty much consisted of me counting down the days, hours, minutes until our flight. i purchased my bikinis (yes, multiple), planned and styled my outfits (special thank you to my jcrew personal shopper), and lived at the gym (think full house episode with dj tanner passing out on the treadmill...am i the only one who remembers the episode when dj had to go to a pool party and decided she wouldn't eat and would run on the treadmill. until one day, she passed out at the gym and we all learned the moral of that episode...which escapes me at the moment).

alright, so the day finally arrived. per usual, my husband booked a super early morning flight. apparently i only travel when the rest of the planet is still sleeping. all was forgiven (this time) because the early flight meant we still could enjoy some final hours of the day in maui. after our million hour flight, we land and get to our hotel.  we make our way to our room which is about the size of our condo....except better...because it's in maui. exhausted from our trip, we decide to order room service that night and stay in. the vacation went a little like this:

• day 2 (sadly day 1 was our travel day) - we head to the beach bright and early. we go for a little swim in the ocean. i turn to tell my husband that i'm going to go back on the beach to lay out and i notice that he has an uh-oh expression on his face and just as i hear him say "watch out!" i'm slammed by a mega wave and dragged under water. as i am scraped along ocean floor for the next 10-12 seconds, clinging to my bikini top, sunglasses, and wedding ring, i find myself thinking "i've been in maui less than 12 hours and i'm going to die. well, it was worth it." the good news, i did not die, nor did i lose any of the things i was so dearly clinging to during my brush with death. i did, however, enjoy the ocean water that streamed out of my nose each time i bent over the rest of that day. my fellow beach goers also were able to enjoy that lovely show.
• day 3 - new plan, serenity pool. the adult only pool that includes being waited on nonstop - fresh muffins? ice pops anyone? how about a light spritz and cucumber slices for your eyes? care for a foot massage? basically, we decided we were coming here everyday.
• day 4 - i decide that my break up with the ocean was only temporary and we head to our windsurfing lessons.  we show up and discover that we're the only students so we basically get a private lesson. after 30 minutes, we get the hang of it and surf our laps in the "safe zone" our instructor has designated.  we're feeling good until the wind picks up and one of us (me) goes flying down the water until i execute my escape plan and jump off the board (and almost hit my head on the sail). so much for my pro-windsurfing dreams.

my husband trying to prove he's more of an athlete than me

• day 4, continued - the 2nd half of the day was our whale watching boat ride. we'd had the pleasure of seeing some whales from the comforts of the serenity pool but decided we needed to see these creatures up close. i will admit that at first, i thought that whale watching meant we'd be instant members of AARP but it was actually pretty amazing to see the whales up close. 

marine life, in town for mating season

• day 5 -  this was our death trip to hana. our valet suggested an alternate route to hana which consisted of a scenic ride through what looked like the outback, one lane dirt roads weaving around the edge of the mountain, and single lane bridges that you had to dart across before you encountered oncoming cars. it was one continuous game of chicken. death traps at every corner. hana was gorgeous - we climbed rocks, dipped in the lagoon, picnicked at the black sand beach. surviving the car trip was, however, the highlight of day 5.

death road. please note the "blow your horn" sign cuing us to honk in case there was an oncoming car.

the paradise part of hana.

• day 6 - i spent the morning at the serenity pool, laying under palm trees, reading my book, and tanning responsibly. my husband went golfing that morning and i'm sure played the best golf of his life while no one was there to witness it. that afternoon he met me at the serenity pool and drank about 5 mai tais. we got a little rain that early evening but how do you expect those palm trees to grow without rain? i'll take it.

my view from the pool. are you dying?

• day 7 - a little overcast so we decided to head to the nearby shops. fortunately, we booked a hotel within walking distance to a rolex dealer, louis vuitton, and gucci. unfortunately, i didn't purchase any items from said stores. oh well, nothing like picking out your future rolex to bring some imaginary sunshine to your cloudy skied reality.
• day 8 and 9 - serenity pool, serenity pool, serenity pool. if i could build my dream house, it would have this pool....minus the $30 lunch salads. 

i should mention, that our nights included some of the best meals of my life, as evidenced by my ordering the same dish from spago 3 of 7 nights. i'm a creature of habit.

but alas, the trip came to an end. early evening on day 9, we cleaned up and headed to the airport...back to the cold, harsh world of 50 degree days, long work days, non-spago meals, and our credit card bill.  oh serenity pool....i miss you so.