<p>I do my own gardening. I clean my own house. I have no hobbies. I buy no new house goods. Don’t even shop that much. I, um, eat a lot of vegetables and don’t eat fast food. I try to be a good friend.</p>
<p>Have I made up for my expensive clothing and shoe tendencies yet? :).</p>
<p>Alumother, I think you have ;)</p>
<p>I try to do all of the above and I also take the bus to work, which saves me $100-$200 a month (at least).</p>
<p>Window shopping for summery, floral shoes have been sooo much fun! NMinn, did you say “garden wedding”? Yikes, heels and lawns might not mix well.</p>
<p>The wedding is outside at a country club under a beautiful gazebo. I won’t be walking in grass! Whew! The seating is arranged on a patio. Heels will be just fine!! :)</p>
<p>Hoping to head back to shop downtown MPLS. Will hit Neiman, Saks and Off Saks. Stopped at Bloomies and Nordstrom’s again yesterday at MOA. Still not a lot of summery stock. Inventory is very low. Banana Republic was so low it almost looked like they were closing. Hoping new inventory will be out on the racks soon.</p>
<p>Oh, my! I love these shoes! Not for the wedding but just really liked them!
[Kate</a> Spade Chad Purple Suede/Leather - Jildor Shoes, Since 1949](<a href=“http://www.jildorshoes.com/product.cfm/hurl/chad-purple-suede-leather/PI=74665]Kate”>http://www.jildorshoes.com/product.cfm/hurl/chad-purple-suede-leather/PI=74665)</p>
<p>NMinn, I love Kate Spade’s shoes! The purple ones look lovely. Maybe you should get a pair - “just because” :)</p>
<p>It is a good thing that you do not have to walk on grass! That makes shoe selection less complicated. I was almost going to suggest something like this all terrain shoe:</p>
<p>[Prada</a> silver satin rosette slingback wedges at Bluefly](<a href=“http://www.bluefly.com/prada-silver-satin-rosette-slingback-wedges/PRODUCT_FEED/309177201/detail.fly?referer=criteo&cm_mmc=criteo-_-silver-satin-rosette-slingback-wedges-_-Prada-_-Shoes]Prada”>http://www.bluefly.com/prada-silver-satin-rosette-slingback-wedges/PRODUCT_FEED/309177201/detail.fly?referer=criteo&cm_mmc=criteo-_-silver-satin-rosette-slingback-wedges-_-Prada-_-Shoes)</p>
<p>oooh . . . those Prada silver satins are gorgeous. I could see those with the purple dress but not sure how it would all work with the orange and lime green.</p>
<p>Re: clothes purchases. I use to buy a lot of less expensive clothes. Now I buy fewer more expensive clothes. It evens out. Kind of like eating less but savoring the food more. At 52, I don’t really need lots of new jeans or tees or work clothes. I can splurge on a fun dress or terrific pair of shoes every now and then.</p>
<p>That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!</p>
<p>Here’s a blush satin pair from Payless.</p>
<p>[Payless</a> ShoeSource - Womens Evening Shoes](<a href=“http://www.payless.com/store/catalog/subsubcategory.jsp?trail=1016%3Acat70032&pageSize=20&subCatId=cat70032&catId=cat10088&changedFacetValue=&brandId=&categoryType=&addFacet=1006%3APink]Payless”>http://www.payless.com/store/catalog/subsubcategory.jsp?trail=1016%3Acat70032&pageSize=20&subCatId=cat70032&catId=cat10088&changedFacetValue=&brandId=&categoryType=&addFacet=1006%3APink)</p>
<p>Cute!</p>
<p>Just getting caught up and haven’t read further, so please forgive any redundancy.</p>
<p>NorthMN- That is a nice dress and if your posse tells you that you are killer in it, I say go for it! Find great shoes.(Orange-ish might be cool) Find great earrings. And rock the look.</p>
<p>Love the floral Manolo shoes…unfortunately neither is available in my size!!! 
Will scour to find more.</p>
<p>NMinn, you can call a NM or a BG store and see if they can locate the shoes for you. The stock online and the stock available in the stores comes from two separate pools, as I was told by a sales person at NM. Also, Barneys NY or Net a Porter might have these floral shoes. I will take a look. I found that Manolos usually run small, although these are fabric shoes and might be more stretchy than their leather cousins. </p>
<p>Nordstrom is going to have their women’s sale next week, so there might be some nice sale bargains (although with a side effect - huge crowds). Keepan eye on their website - the online sale sometimes starts a couple of days earlier than the announced date.</p>
<p>Swimsuits!
I think I am going to bite the bullet and look for a new swimsuit. I have lost some weight in the past year and I think it is time to update my “look”. I remember seeing some cute Tommy Bahama links earlier in this thread. I am headed to a larger city tomorrow for business. I thought I would try to hit a bigger mall and look for a Tommy Bahama store or a Bloomingdales. I also noticed that Tommy Bahama has an outlet on my drive home. Would the outlet have sufficient options or is it worth stopping earlier in my drive. Is it worth stopping at a mall with a Tommy Bahama store or would a mall with a Nordstrom or Bloomingdales be enough. I am probably passing 10 different malls on my drive plus an outlet mall. Obviously I would like to just make one stop so want it to be worth my time. Plus D has requested I stop at the tack store. All this needs to be done after my meetings. Wish the day could just be shopping.</p>
<p>mom60, I was at the flagship Nordstrom and noticed that their swimsuit section has been pretty picked through. Only larger bottoms and size 36D and up tops were hanging on the T/B rack. T/B stores usually have much bigger selection and more choices of different suit styles, as well as matching coverups and dresses. I’ve never shopped at their outlet stores, since we don’t have any in my neck of the woods. I would call the outlet to ask how much inventory they have.</p>
<p>If you prefer to try suits on in the comfort and privacy of your own home, Zappos has a large selection of all things Tommy Bahama and ships clothes overnight at no charge. Good luck! Swimsuit shopping is an adventure.</p>
<p>I am definitely not a 36D! I might just try on a few suits for style and fit in a store and order from Zappos for more selection.</p>
<p>Found the cutest pair of casual floral wedge sandals today at TJ Maxx. I bought them for D2 but I may be able to wear them too! 
They are a pretty coral/pink/teal floral print. Makes me excited to find a nice pair for the wedding!</p>
<p>This is probably too matchy-match for NMinn’s dress but it’s a lower heel and festive:</p>
<p>[Kate</a> Spade New York Bloom Eggplant Suede - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways](<a href=“Kate spade new york bloom eggplant suede kate + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com”>Kate spade new york bloom eggplant suede + FREE SHIPPING | Zappos.com)</p>
<p>I’m always on the hunt for great flip flops, so I have to share a good find. I bought this cute Diane von Furstenberg flip flop a couple of weeks ago and have been wearing them constantly. They are very comfortable and waterproof, even though the footbed is leather. I’ve had loads of complements on them.</p>
<p>[Diane</a> von Furstenberg Lush Love Knot Jelly Flip Flops](<a href=“Shopbop Designers - Fashion Designer Category Index”>Shopbop Designers - Fashion Designer Category Index)</p>
<p>Like the lower heel on the Kate Spade shoes–as much as I love the higher heels (like the glittery ones), I just can’t wear them. I broke my ankle skiing about ten years ago and have a plate and pins in my ankle–which means that there are just shoes that don’t work for me anymore. I can do wedges, but the high heels just kill my feet. When D1 got married two years ago, I wore shoes similar to the Kate Spade heels Sewhappy linked in her post. As the evening wore on–I changed to flip flops so I could continue dancing.</p>
<p>Talking about dressing young, just bought a pair of Fluevogs, in red to honor a boardie (latetoschool)</p>
<p>[Fluevog</a> Shoes - Item detail: Zaza](<a href=“http://www.fluevog.com/code/?pp=1&view=detail&p=76&colourID=2998]Fluevog”>http://www.fluevog.com/code/?pp=1&view=detail&p=76&colourID=2998)</p>
<p>I would want a pair of boots too but they are out of my size</p>
<p>[Fluevog</a> Shoes - Item detail: Vibe](<a href=“http://www.fluevog.com/code/?pp=1&view=detail&p=203&colourID=2593]Fluevog”>http://www.fluevog.com/code/?pp=1&view=detail&p=203&colourID=2593)</p>
<p>I am also in the market for a 2.55 as they call it, all those young Chinese girls carrying them around make me want one too. :o</p>
<p>Fluevog, and Chie Mihara, are the shining lights of academic/indie shoe style:). Also Think!, but less so.</p>
<p>Ooh . . . I like clunky shoes with attitude.</p>