So as many of you know, I have had a shopping addiction for many, many years. I’m not talking about someone who shops once a month. Or once a week. I prefer to shop every single day of my life. But since I stopped working, I’ve had to kick that bad habit and start watching where my money goes. I wish I had been doing this all along, because I would’ve saved so much dough!!! But some things I will still learn the hard way.

One thing I found out about myself by quitting, is that I honestly shopped to fill a void in my life. It was a self-esteem booster. It just made me feel good to have all that nice stuff. And I wanted to “reward” myself for all the hard work I was doing. Now that I don’t have the option, I’ve had to fill my time with other activities and not rely on THINGS to make me feel good about myself. I truly think focusing more on my photography has helped a lot. It gives me an outlet and is something to that I really enjoy.

Anyway, this wasn’t supposed to be a speech about addiction, I just wanted to mention that I went shopping for the first time in a couple months with one of my girlfriends. Every year we attend the Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out. It’s basically a huge warehouse filled with booths and vendors who sell everything from spa treatments to jewelry to purses. You pay $12 to get in, you get a bag full of goodies and then you get to shop around. It’s always a pretty fun time. This year they didn’t have as many clothing options, but I found some great jewelry. And it made it all the more special since it was a treat and not just fulfilling a habit!