a thank you, and you and you.

I love to read blogs- if you look to the right you'll see a list of my favorites.  I have a very hard time leaving a comment or reply.... especially for the posts I love the most.  The ones that make me smile.  The ones that make me cry.  The ones that make me so thankful that some one else seems to get what I'm feeling, and that they are able to put into words what I'm unable to write, even on my most eloquent days.  So thank you... thank you for continuing to write- something I've struggled with lately.  Thank you for posting pictures of happy and notes about your world.  thank you for the mundane and the amazing- the miracles and the heart aches.

Cheap Thrills #13- Gray Dress - Gap Outlet, $19.99 clearance + coupon, paper beads seed beads - $20.00, and flower for my hair- $8.99 at Bergners, on sale of course.  You can't see my feet- I'm wearing some cute black embellished sandals that cost $13.99 at Kmart- grand total= $62.97

Here's a little bit of silly for you- I just enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my Vandy girls at Rosemary Beach--- actually Inlet, Rosemary's less chi chi cousin, and I have some serious thoughts about bargains and self and life and love that came from time spent with my girls- but! Notice my sun burnt self- all with the exception of one swipe down my left arm??? Who knows- seriously, I put spf 30 on EVERYTHING... yet my left arm is the only uncrispy part of my entire body :-)  Tam, who used spf 70, and reapplied faithfully every hour or two, looks her gorgeous pale self. I'd love to tell you that it's faded evenly, but that would be false- I have an equally interesting rectangle across my throat and chest- maybe from where I held my book up to read on the beach??  oh well- it was amazing, and I loved it, and was so thankful to spend time with women who all have such trials and joys and lives filled ups and downs- I didn't have to explain every little bit- they know all my ugly, my heart aches, my happy.  thank you girls, thank you, thank you, thank you. xoxoxoxo 

What, Really, is a Bargain?

My faithful friend(s) Merriam-Webster (MW) defines Bargain as 'an advantageous purchase' or 'an transaction, situation, or event regarded in the light of its results'. Umhmmm... remember back years (ok, just weeks, really, possibly just days as this blog is not so old) ago when I mentioned that we would discuss the pros and cons of buying one quality item vs a cheap thrill or multiple 'bargain' items? Remember how I stated (typed, whatever) that this was not a 'buy all you can bonanza', but a concentrated effort to spend less while still meeting your needs, still (most of the time...when you get some sleep and fix your hair) looking fabulous, while putting your money and time towards things that matter?

It's all come to a head- my fantastic cheap thrill $13.00 Bongo jeans from Walmart have a hole on the seam... right outer thigh, about an inch long. I'm sufficiently able with a needle and a thread (as long as it's on a seam, i.e. brown tiered skirt) to fix this little annoyance, but is this a sign of things to come?

They say (I don't know who 'they' are, but we all know them and have heard what 'they say' our entire life) that you can determine the actual price of an item- dress, tool, appliance- by dividing the cost by the number of wears or uses. I purchased the $13.00 jeans on December 10th... in the ensuing 18 days I wore them AT LEAST 5 times that I can remember, not always all day, but at least a few hours each time... and that might be a conservative estimate. Using our 'what they say' equation, the actual cost of the jeans at this point in time is $2.60... and extrapolating (whoa!!! math!!!) those numbers to a 1 year span with an average of 101 wears in that 365 day period, the 'cost' of the jeans would be $0.13 cents.

You might be thinking... well, a little time, effort, needle and thread- not such a big deal! Surely worth it to continue wearing the jeans, prolonging their life span and decreasing their total cost... yes?

We must have a control item (boy oh boy!!! Science and Math both!!! Together in one little blog about STYLE!!!!) Let's take my Silver brand jeans that I purchased in March of 2008- I spent $67.00 on them- a happy birthday to me splurge!!! and have worn them at least 2 times a week for the last 3, almost 4 years (minus the last 6 months of pregnancy and 15 more months of getting back to my 'normal' size). So ( more math, deep breath) Let's say that we had 46 months (march to march of 3 years=36 + march to december of this year =10) minus 15 too big months= 31 months with an average of 4 weeks each/ 2 wears per month for a total of 248 wears. $67.00 divided by 248 leads us to a 'cost' of $0.27 cents for my favorite, faithful denim pal, with nary a rip nor tear.

Sooooo (more math... in through the nose, out through the mouth) already using only 1 years time we can tell that the 'cost' of the cheap thrill is less than the 'cost' of the premium denim, and when you figure the 'cost' per year average of my Silver jeans (12 months, 4 wks/month, 2 wears/week) the 'cost' is $0.70 for premium denim compared to $0.13 for my cheap thrill.

TA-DAH!!!! But... but, but, but will my $13.00 jeans last 3 almost 4 years? if I'm already mending after 18 days will they make it through my rough and tumble wrestling/tackling crazy boys life? What about the repeated washing to remove smashed goldfish, squished grapes, and chewed then chucked chicken pot pie that, if I had to guess, is the cause (the repeated washing, not the well masticated meats) of the hole on the seam of my cheap thrill denim.

We'll have to wait and see... remember, MW, states that you can't really call an item a bargain until you've 'regarded it in the light of it's results'. Come talk to me in 2015 and we'll know for sure. Until then- What item have you worn for YEARS??? Was it a splurge or a steal? Do you think that price reflects quality or are you really just paying for the brand and all it's advertising? hmmm?