Truthful Tuesday: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday edition...

 

Oh man. You guys. I was being SO GOOD about Black Friday shopping. SO GOOD. I was all, "I'm just buying gifts for others, no presents for me!" Really. I was! And I did so well. But. Alas. I fell victim at the last minute. It started off innocently. I just wanted to grab the blue pieces for my helmet...

And then it spiraled into me buying a second helmet. To be fair, it makes sense to have one at each barn. So now I will. (And it's from a small business! I'm doing my part.)

But then it got worse. This same shop had the Mountain Horse Sovereign Lux boots on sale for even cheaper than any of the European shops. Well, that's misleading. The same price, but with free shipping so it worked out to be cheaper. I've been kind of drooling at them for a long while, but they wouldn't have fit me before. Now that I've dropped a few LBS and my other Mt Horse boots fit great, I just couldn't resist the temptation. I grabbed the brown ones.

I mean, I still have a black pair of boots with croc accents, but not brown! I was toying with my next pair of Celeris being brown, but this is cheaper. So I feel it's justified as I'm saving money. Right? Right. (Shut up.)

So I thought, okay self, that's enough. You just dropped a lot of money here. And I didn't buy anything for me on Sunday! Nothing at all! But oh man. Cyber Monday took an additional turn. I'm not even sure how I stumbled across these... but when I did, I needed them. 

I'm sure you understand. Warm weather clothes that are essentially my barn colors. It would be irresponsible not to get them. Besides, it's getting cold out.

I really thought I was done. But Big Dee's kept emailing me about their great deals. And finally I accidentally clicked through. And you know what was on sale? The Equiband system! I've heard such great things about it, and I think it will be GREAT for Miss Shiny who likes to not use her bum... So yeah. I own that now.

Obviously there was also a fair amount of treat buying, but those are like essentials, so they don't really count. On the bright side, I am 90% done with gifts for the family. So, that's good? Oh man. Someone take away my internet.

So... what did you all buy? And don't pretend you didn't. I know that's lies.

Truthful Tuesday

Oh man. I fell off the no shopping wagon. No. No I didn't fall off of it. I JUMPED off. With reckless abandon. Hey, I had a good two weeks of no shopping.

Since I actually got to enjoy my equine this weekend, I realized that I was lacking a few things for the newest boys. Namely, front boots for wearing to ride at home. Rio and Jamp have been using their same two pairs for well, longer than I've had Jamp, so I figured if I was going to get for some I would get for all. Which lead to a real dilemma. Jamp wears brown boots, and Rio wears black. So what colors would the new horses wear? (#firstworldproblems) I like to keep them different so it's easy to grab the correct ones quickly, but most boots come in black, brown, or white. If I'm lucky. And I don't really like white boots.

And then I remembered seeing some ridiculous patent, faux leather, washable front boots on Instagram awhile back. After a quick internet search I discovered they are mostly only available in Europe. So obviously I headed over to Ebay. $212.00 later, these are shipping to me from the UK.

GTO (who we have started calling Pusgly since he looks like a pug) will wear the gold ones (duh, since he's golden), Romey gets the silver, brown for Jampy, and black for Rio.
Now I'm jealous that they all have new boots and I want these:

I think I may order the black ones. Because I have no self control. And then probably the brown ones... because same reason.

How about all of you? Make any regrettable purchases lately? Have anything you need to confess? Let me know in the comments!

Vacation Post!

I dunno about all of you, but life has been all kinds of busy and mildly stressful the last few weeks. And I was soooo ready for a nice relaxing long weekend. What better way to get one of those than to leave town for a few days and spend them on Nantucket Island? No better way. No better way at all!
I went with my dad, stepmom, brother, sister-in-law, niece, and puppy-sister. I have to be honest, we didn't do anything too wild and crazy, but that's what this trip was all about! (I'm even breaking my rule of not posting other people's children... Get ready for the adorableness that is my niece!)
Friday:
We left around 2:15 on Friday afternoon, but I took the whole day off work so I could play with my ponies before hand. I even got some photos with my bestie:

I then dropped off the short kids at grandma's. I couldn't get them to hold still for a photo... this was all I got:

Finally it was time to leave!

It's been awhile since I've flown in a tiny plane. Thankfully the trip was clear and uneventful! I even got to see my farm from above.

That's my farm down there!

I was excited to finally see the home my dad and step mom bought last year on the island. Here's a tour!

 

The rest of Friday consisted of dinner, a walk down town, ice cream, and a movie at home! Ahhhh relaxation!

Satruday:

I got up around 8 on Saturday morning (sleeping in is AWESOME!) and had coffee while my niece had some breakfast. I was super excited to go out for a run in a new place! The streets of Nantucket are narrow and busy, so I opted to run on the bike path which starts in our neighborhood. It wasn't as pretty as I was hoping (as in I never did come across a beach view) but it was still new and different! I ran 3.2 miles which was great given my horrible inconsistency lately.

that lady biking up ahead is my step mom!

In an effort to balance out all that activity (wink, wink) the rest of the day was spent heading out to the beach and enjoying a picnic lunch.

Rough day! We were back at the house around 4 and my sister-in-law and I walked into town for some shopping. We didn't get much done as it's the off season and stores close up early. We headed home to drop off our loot and then the whole family headed back to town for dinner and a little walk. We followed that up by another movie at home and an early bed time. I really love vacation!

Sunday:

Sunday morning was leisurely. We enjoyed the sunshine and abnormally warm temps, walked up and down (and up and down and up and down) the driveway with my niece. And then wandered town and did a little more shopping. We enjoyed a quick lunch and then it was time to head back to the airport.

Have you ever been to Nantucket? Did you do anything special this weekend? Tell me all about it below!

Truthful Tuesday

Confession: I've filled all the closet space. ALL THE CLOSET SPACE. And the dresser too. I didn't fully realize it until I went to put away the laundry and couldn't... I think my recent online shopping binges are to blame... partially at least. So amidst my Tuesday confession, I will show you all the items I've wasted money on in the last couple weeks that have caused my closet to explode.

First, I finally caved and became a VIP at Fabletics.com. It's a the sportswear division of fab.com and is the brainchild of Kate Hudson (you know, the actress) supposedly. I've resisted because I REALLY don't need more workout clothes. Especially given my lengthy running hiatus... But then again, I'm back at it, and new outfits do help motivate me ;) Also, they were offering a special deal of an entire outfit at 75% off. That meant for $18.00 I could have the running skirt I'd had my eye one, a sports bra, and a tank. That's pretty tough to pass up. Of course I had to also add on the items I'd been coveting that were still in stock too... Here's what I ordered:

running skirt

 Love this skirt! I was afraid it might be small, but it actually fits pretty well.

sports bra

 I got this in an XS because, well..., I have an XS chest! But it's really tiny. I'm too lazy to send it back though, I think I'm just going to give it to my coworkers daughter.

tank

 LOVE THIS TANK! Yes that much. It's so soft, and fits perfectly. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

capri length sweatpants

 I like to call these weekend pants. They are great for lounging around and can double as jammy pants. So long day of horse showing, running, whatever... Take your evening shower, hop into the weekend pants! No need to change to jammies after, just head straight to bed! Best pants ever.

capri length wind pants

 I honestly had no specific need for these. But I really really wanted them. They are the best fabric, it's really soft, but still wind proof. I have no idea what I'll wear them for... but they are fantastic!

full length wind pants

This is a terrible photo. They're navy blue with a pink waist band. These are the same amazing material as the green pair above, but full length. They're actually a tiny bit too long for me, but I think with sneakers on they'll be fine. These will be great for morning runs in the fall, when it's a little too cool for shorts, but not so cold you need tights.

After spending a total of $115.00 on clothes I didn't need at Fabletics (so much for the $17.00 outfit right? I'm such a sucker), I then stumbled on the HUGE end of season clearance sale at TJ Maxx online. And yes, I bought more workout clothes. Seriously, I think there's something wrong with me. Here's what I got there:

Pink and blue capris

 Most of my leggings are black... so obviously I needed a blue pair. Duh.

pink and black leggings

 I honestly can't even justify these. But they were only 9.99.

Hind Tank Tops

 These I can totally justify. I love this brand. I love the fabric. So much love!

Sports bra

 Hey the Fabletics one didn't fit...

Tank

 

 Um... I just like it. A lot. Stop judging.

Umbro 2-in-1 shorts pink

Umbro 2-in-1 shorts black

 I actually really did need shorts. I'm a little... ahem... chubby for the ones I have currently. And I have fallen in love with 2-in-1 shorts. So therefore I had a need. They actually make my butt look weird, they kind of bubble out. But they're so comfy I don't even care. I've already worn them both!

work top!

 I loved this so much I wore it right away. You can see it on Thursday's Threads last week.

Neon yellow striped tank

 It's neon. Clearly I needed that.

Cotton Dress

 I got this to wear as a beach cover up. It's perfect for that job!

macrame slip ons from Esprit

I've been searching my house for these shoes, but apparently I didn't actually own them. Now I do! Which leads to confession number two... I bought another pair the same day from Deb.com without realizing it. Thankfully they're a slightly different style... SLIGHTLY.

I initially went to Deb.com just to get a sunflower infinity scarf to go with my adorable sunflower sunnies. But then they had a giant clearance sale and $5.00 shirts. It was all downhill from there.

 So I mean I DID accomplish the goal of getting the scarf. But then I also found some cute bracelets and neon sunnies. Of course I need neon sunnies, especially for 4.99!

These would be the second pair of macrame shoes... See, they're different! (a little)

 And $5.00 sweatshirts... You don't pass that up! Especially when they are neon or reference cowboys. The top middle one with the stripes I am passing on to someone younger. It's cropped which I didn't realize. I'm too old for that nonsense!

 Panda bear bikini in mint? What about this would lead you to NOT buy it? I couldn't find a reason.

Pants... So as a runner who runs solely to be less fat, I HAD to get french fry leggings. HAD TO. Believe it or not, I have a tank top that matches the kitty/pug pair already. The sunflower ones I am giving away. I thought they were leggings, but they're more like MC Hammer pants. I'm not sure I can pull that off. And sadly the neon pants are too small for me. It would cost me more to ship the items back than I paid for them, so I'm just going to pass along the things that didn't work for me to my coworker's daughter.

 Tanks! I think the My Little Pony one goes without saying... The white one is really cute, it has a muted flower design throughout. The peach top is REALLY cute, it has a ruffly bottom. The mint one is just a cute lacey tank. Love the color!

Cami's! I wear cami's under everything and have a bunch that are getting threadbare. So these are replacements.

I was hoping this would be adorable with my matching sunnies. But alas, it's a bit too cropped for my liking. I'll pass this along too.

 Long sleeve t-'s! I love these. They are SO SOFT! And cute colors too!

Neon pansy dress. I had figured this would be cute at the beach, but it's actually really nice and heavy duty and not made for beach wear. Also the top is too big for me. I would really like to have it made into a skirt though... Going to see if I know anyone who's capable of doing that...

I thought this dress was so cute when I saw it! But once I got it home I realized I saw a pre-teen wearing it at the awards banquet last year, and decided I'm probably too old for it? I still really like it though, so I'm keeping it for now. It fits great, and looks nice... Just not sure. Thoughts?

So... that's my confession for today. I'm a shopaholic with no more space. Once I have a free weekend, I'm going to have to go through the closets and drawers and make up some goody bags for all my friends' kids!

Anything on your mind today? Find any good deals lately?