Building and Budgeting

It is true that I was attempting to build an igloo last week. After I traveled to see family and friends on the East Coast and researched for a week, I arrived at my in-laws' in New England and was hit with all that snow that began on Boxing Day. SME and I attempted to build an igloo by making large ice bricks out of a Rubbermade storage bin. This is not the way you should build an igloo and contradicted all of the research (YouTube and Wikipedia) I did on the topic. After a few hours we abandoned our valiant effort and settled on "fort" rather than "failed igloo." My research was a more productive effort.

*Shakespeare's Masculine Ending shores up our igloo/snow fort*

Had I posted on what the traveling scholar/amateur igloo builder wears, it would have all been repeats. I left my home on the 7 December and didn't return until the New Year. I was inspired by all of the 30 for 30 outfits and packed even lighter. It was like 15 for 30. You have already seen a lot of the outfits I put together: Orange sweater & black skirt, black sweater dress, gray pants & black sweater (wow, I missed that purple sweatercoat!), red sweater dress. I also had a tendency to wear black skirt, black leggings, and black wellies with a sweater and a scarf. The weather and the lack of wardrobe brought that on. In fact, here I was in my "uniform" on the 27th in the dressing room of Ann Taylor LOFT:

sweater coat - ATL * skirt - H&M (remixed) * leggings - ATL wellingtons - Capelli via Marshalls (remixed)

Which brings me to my next topic: I've acquired an aversion/weariness of making purchases and though I liked this sweater, I passed on it. SME and I sat down and made a budget in the fall and I had not been sticking to it. I've been staying within the overall budget, but regularly exceeding the clothing, shoes, and accessories "line item." And I refused to accept that necessities counted, which irked SME (who happens to do the budget for the NGO he works for and they stretch and use each and every cent). Take the Lands End coat I legitimately needed: That was well over budget for the month of December and SME told me so. Let me be clear: he did not tell me not to buy the coat, only that we were, once again, over budget. While I was traveling I realized that I was spending more on restaurants/bars and would go over budget in that category and so even though I was in DC, Baltimore, Philly, New York and Boston, the only thing I purchased for myself were sock inserts from Aldo. After exercising that much restraint I've grown almost suspicious of spending money right now.

I do not plan to go on the Great American Apparel Diet, as LHdM, Rad, and Cynthia are, but I am not making any purchases until I figure out a few things and decide how I might incorporate a reward system to get this dissertation, some grant applications, and articles out and on their way. One thing is for sure though: I need to unpack, do laundry, pare down, and start remixing lest I stay clad in black skirt, leggings, and boots all winter. Here's me yesterday, my first day back in the Midwest in nearly a month:

bottom - uniform (see above) * sweater - gap
tank - ATL * scarf - boutique

Are any of the rest of you retreating to a winter "uniform"? If not, is there another season in which you find yourself in one?

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Lastly, we do have a budget friendly announcement for our readers: During the month of January you can take 15% off purchases at Buttons N Baubles during the month of January by entering the code "fashionable15".