One Hundred Dollars a Month

Other than obsessively checking the Realtor.com website daily for houses I’ll never buy, and planning out everything I want to include in the kick-arse garden I’m going to have someday, there is really only one other thing I swoon over these days…

The Sundance catalog.

A few years ago I filled out an opt out form online to reduce the junk mail and catalogs that seemed to be filling our mailbox on a daily basis. And since then, it’s rare that I find a catalog in there when I go to check the mail.

These days the only things the mail carrier leaves for us are stupid credit card offers {which no matter how hard I try I can never seem to get rid of} the weekly grocery store flyer, and an occasional bill.

One thing we still get though, is the Sundance catalog. And I totally don’t mind.

If money didn’t matter, and I had to choose one store to shop at for all my clothing for the next 25 years, I’d HANDS DOWN pick the Sundance catalog. Which, really, is kind of weird because I’ve never actually owned a piece of clothing from their catalog before. And honestly, I’m not sure why I still get their catalog since the only thing we’ve ever ordered from them has been a set of glass blown hurricanes we bought like 15 years ago and a beaded tree the HH bought me {which I adore} one year for Christmas 10 + years ago.

But their clothes…. or rather the complete outfits the models wear make me stop in my tracks every time the catalog comes in the mail. It’s like getting a letter from an old friend. I see it in the mail box, smile as I pull it out and then quickly run inside, make a cup of tea and settle in on the couch before opening it.

This Victoria Cardigan caught my eye.  It’s begging to be worn in fall with tall boots and jeans don’t you think? I don’t know why I like the cardigan so much. I like crew-neck sweaters and sweaters that button up the front. Wearing a sweater that was open like that and hanging down the sides of my chair as I sat would make me a little crazy after about 2 seconds.

And yet, still love the look.

This sweet juniper dress in navy blue. I loved it. It’s pretty and feminine and I think it would look good on me. But then I remember I like fitted dresses and although the necklaces help make the outfit I realize I don’t own any, and if I did, I probably wouldn’t wear them because what if they got caught on something? Wouldn’t the constant shifting of the necklaces bother me as I walked? And if I wore my hair down {which I rarely do} wouldn’t the necklaces get caught in my hair?

It’s like I LOVE the outfits… but then after a moment or two I break them down and rationalize why I wouldn’t/couldn’t/shouldn’t buy them.

This cira henley, isn’t it cute? The sleeves are pretty fantastic, don’t you think? I want it. But don’t you think because the sleeves are thicker/a different texture than the rest of the shirt it might wash weird?

Okay, so this totally doesn’t look like something I’d wear, but I like the overall look {minus the lace on the bottom of the tank top}. The lime green is fun and I adore dark wash jeans {they last so much longer!!!}. The flowing waters scarf though…. I’m not a scarf girl, but I want to be. But tell me something, what about when you want to eat? Do you take off the scarf first? Wouldn’t the little balls on the ends of the scarf fall into your food? Am I over thinking this? Do people eat with their scarves on? Do they take them off?

Am I the only one who thinks about these sort of things? Am I really that socially awkward? What is wrong with me? Gaaaaa! Why can’t I be someone who wears scarves!? I want to be someone who wears scarves!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bird of song long sleeved tee-shirt. No necklace, no scarf, just a tee-shirt and jeans. I could pull that off. The brown leather belt adds a nice touch. I like that too. Although it would have to be a plain one, because HELLO…. the whole where does the metal prong thing go on the belt would just be too much for me to handle.

And last but not least… these calendula boots. If I was the type of person who paid $318 for a pair of boots, they’d be on my feet faster than you could say Bob’s your uncle Fanny’s your aunt. But I’m not. So no fancy well made boots for me.

Being a plain Jane can be so hard sometimes. Easy, yes, but boring at the same time. I wish I could do it. I wish I could wear something other than jeans and black tee’s and feel comfortable. The thought of having to pick out an outfit though {like every single day} is just so overwhelming to me..

What is my problem? I know what I like, what I think would look good on me, but still, I just can’t do it.

Please tell me I’m not the only one out there who’s like this. Or if you like clothes, as in putting together outfits, what is your secret? I’d love to know.

~Mavis