Golf Shorts and Perfect Flats

There are a lot of people who shop with a mission. In fact, I have tried to become one of those people many a time. If I know that I'm on the hunt for the perfect black skirt, in theory you're blinder will be on, and you will be better able to leave with only a black skirt in mind. There are some people who shop with a theme. Knowing that you are looking for the perfect nautical outfit for vacation, means that pieces that don't have a nautical feel will likely be left behind. I have tried all of these techniques and have found that while the mission changes each time, having a mission can really help you focus your attention and help you minimize your spending. My shopping trip yesterday was simple. I was hoping to find some great pieces that will help me get ready for spring. More importantly, I desperately wanted to find great flats that can help me not feel so stranded when it came to dressing each morning keeping the new dress code regulations in mind.

A friend and I are planning on spending our Friday evening searching for great dresses for the wedding season. I have 4 weddings in the next 2 months, and she has 2 as well. We are hoping to be able to trade some dresses to help up get through, but great timeless dresses are essentials that I don't yet have in my wardrobe. Keeping in mind that I had a shopping excursion coming up, I gave myself a budget for both trips. I set the rules, if I spend more today than I have budgeted for, than I will be forced to spend less on Friday. Because Friday I hope to pick up a few dresses, I know that it will be the more expensive of the two trips. I wanted to start at Target. They have been getting some great spring lines in, and I keep seeing such great summer looking outfits on the various blogs, that I couldn't help but to stop and see if I could find anything myself. I, as always, started with the clearance racks. I tend top shop a certain way, like I'm sure many do. Check the price tag first, than look at the style. Occasionally I will see a shirt that looks so great, but if the price tag doesn't agree with what I had hoped, I have to move on. I decided to skim through the racks. I had stopped by last week and found absolutely nothing of any worth to me in their clearance section, but I can't help but to look. I am surprised to say that within 20 minutes I had found almost 20 pieces that I was eager to try on. I do that a lot too. I find a great style item, at a great price and I decide to try it on. I will take 40 items with me to a dressing room, because I know that realistically most of them won't fit. This wasn't the case unfortunately. Almost everything fit, and it all fit well!! I narrowed it down to the items I only really need, and left $26 dollars poorer and ready to dress well.


The Goodwill is only a block away so I couldn't help but to stop by there as well. I usually can find a good piece here or there, but yesterday was a lucky day. I have been looking to increase my cardigan collection, and apparently the good people at the Goodwill knew I was coming, and kept all of the good cardigans hidden. Our Goodwill is largely donated items, sometimes directly from the store but mostly from families. It's for that reason that I almost never buy an item without giving it a thorough inspection and making sure it makes it's way from my shopping bag to the laundry directly following the purchase. Target however, must have dropped off their latest donation and I was able to scoop up some great pieces. The green cardigan is used, and is 100% cashmere. It fits amazingly and I love the bright color. It makes me think spring, even with the sun doing nothing to heat up the world outside my office windows. The blue cardigan is also used, and on the rack looks dingy. On however, it took on a whole new look. The pink one still had on it's Wal-mart tags and was a great find. The skirt I was slightly torn over. Will I really wear it a lot? It had the special tag on it however meaning for this week the item was 50% off. I knew at $2 it would get more than that in wear. The shoes were my final purchase. They aren't cute. They simply aren't. But they are flat, and so comfortable. If I have to follow guidelines at work, I may have to look outside of my normal guidelines in shopping to help me find great pieces. These shoes are an example of that. I left the Goodwill with $22 less than I had gone with, but with great shoes and cardigans, I knew it was money well spent.

As I got home and laid out my purchases to remove tags and put into the laundry I started to smile. Apparently I want to have the look of a country club wife this spring into summer! With all of the bright cardigans and boat shoes, I will never have to turn down an invitation to dinner with John's golfing buddies! We have a golf excursion planned for this weekend, our first time out this season and I can't help but think that maybe that was in the back of my head the whole time.

The shoes I was able to pick up, looked much different on they they did sitting on the racks and I am excited to be able to show them off!

From the top view these shoes made my feet look wider, and that made me nervous. But from the side they are so simple and going to be a life-saver this season.

I found these beauties last weekend at the Goodwill. I couldn't pass up their $5 price tag, of the words Nine West that is clearly written on their inside. They have just a little ware and will make a much needed addition to my flat collection.

Heels have always intrigued me and for that reason my collection of them is so varied. My flats have always been special pieces with bright patterns and bold statements. I always thought I had everything I could need in both collections, but I have discovered in the last few days that I don't have any simple, go with anything flat shoes. Besides 2 pairs of black, they all have distinct looks that has made it very hard to dress this week. With the addition of these 3 simple pairs, I think I will be able to be better prepared for the new rules. And with such great preppy shorts hanging in my closet, I will be even better prepared for golf season to officially start!!