This Weekend: Baby Shower & a Busted Shoe

This weekend I went to my parents' house on Friday night after work, then to New York for my cousin's baby shower on Saturday; it's amazing to think that the next time I see her, she'll have a sweet little baby boy in tow. I can't wait! I did spend a little more on the gift than I'd budgeted (about $15 more), but that's okay. C and I don't really exchange Valentine's Day gifts, so I'm not anticipating taking any more money out of my fun fund this month.

The shower was nice, and it was fun to spend time with the extended family. The day was pretty exhausting, though, since my mom and I left her house pretty early in the morning to drive there, and I didn't get to sleep until almost 1. Staying up late is a challenge for me even on a Saturday night, but it was definitely worth it to stay up talking to my cousin and her husband, and watching several episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, one of quite a few shows they've gotten me into over the years.

On the way home today, mom and I stopped at the outlets. Knowing that we'll be doing quite a bit of outlet shopping in Florida later this month, we had no plans to even enter any of the stores we walked by in our search for the bathroom. However, as I exited the restroom, I noticed that my shoe's heel was loose.

Uh oh.

My shoe collection is pretty basic, when it comes to work-appropriate footwear: one pair of black pointed-toe heels, one pair of brown heels, and a few cheap pairs of ballet flats. That's it. I don't really do the whole shoe-crazy girl thing. I bought this particular pair of black shoes by Nine West at Marshall's in the spring of 2007, and they have served me well, but I think it might be time to replace them. Mom & I stopped in the Kenneth Cole Reaction store briefly on our way out, since I've always had good luck with their shoes, but the prices were insane. A pair of shoes I'd almost purchased in Florida last February (they didn't have my size or I would've bought them) was double the price they'd been a year ago. What on earth kind of business model is that - wait until there's a recession, then double your prices? Because we all have so much disposable income right now?? They had my size, too, but there was no way I was shelling out $80 for these shoes. Maybe I can pick them up in Florida for the "old" price. Weird.

2008: The Year in Savings

Though I haven't posted much about this, I'm a huge fan of clipping coupons and maximizing savings to get the best prices for items for groceries (at Stop & Shop) and personal items (at CVS). I just returned from my final shopping trip of the year -- let's see how the savings added up for 2008.

Stop & Shop
On average, I shop at Stop & Shop once a week. I buy a majority of my produce here, among other things, and then supplement with items from Trader Joe's. My typical grocery bill is between $20-$25 per week, so I probably spent around $1100 on groceries at Stop & Shop in 2008. According to my receipt this afternoon, I've saved $336.57 this year by purchasing sale items and clipping coupons -- an annual savings of about 30%!

CVS
I love shopping at CVS because I can pick up all of the tolietries and personal items I need for basically nothing. I often leave the store with $20 worth of merchandise for well under $5. If you're interested in learning the extremely valuable practice of shopping at CVS, I'd check out Money Saving Mom's post on CVS 101 here.

According to an email I received from CVS earlier this month, from October 2007 - October 2008, I saved $642.78 from a combination CVS coupons, sales, and Extra Bucks. This doesn't even take into account all of the manufacturer's coupons I used throughout the year. I don't have a record of what I spent out of pocket during that time out, but I know it was nowhere near what I saved. Estimating conservatively from CVS receipts, I usually spend about $50 out of pocket per season, so I'm guessing my spending was a maximum of about $200 per year, when manufacturer's coupons are taken into account -- that means I've saved over 300% in the past year!

Here's hoping for even greater savings in 2009!

Eww, cap sleeves

I purchased this dress from the Gap's new "European Collection" on sale. I tried it on and it fit like a glove, which is pretty much unheard of for me. Even the length was perfect (I'm 5'2" -- length is never perfect). But when I looked in the mirror...cap sleeves. I can't see what the point of cap sleeves is, unless you are blessed with perfectly toned (but not muscular) arms. Alas, I am not. Nor is the model in the picture, actually, but her airbrushed toothpick arms hide the fact that the sleeves are capped. I think I'm going to have to return the dress, which is a shame since it fits so well.

Do cap sleeves look good on anyone???