Retail Therapy

Some people eat emotionally.  I tend to shop emotionally.  So when I received panic-invoking news from one of my suppliers (No the coconut oil has not shipped yet.  So sorry you still can't make soap and won't have enough for the Christmas season) I first went to every Asian market in the area looking for coconut oil.  When that failed--and this was my back-up plan all along--I spent the rest of the afternoon in the Goodwill next to the Asian market in Groton. 

Before I go any further, I have to say that I have a lot of clothes.  A lot.  I love clothes and I love combining them and I love getting artfully dressed even if I'm home all day and nobody sees me.  And yet...I am also deeply drawn to the artist Andrea Zittel, who when she lived in a 200 square foot apartment in Brooklyn (where she also raised chickens!) pared her wardrobe down to one single dress that she sewed herself and wore daily for six months until she sewed another.

Someday I may also pare way down to see what it feels like to own as little as possible.  Would it feel liberating?  Or would it feel like a form of anorexia?  And if I didn't turn to thrifting when I needed some head-clearing, where would I turn? 

Yesterday my retail therapy did tamp down my anxiety, at least for a few hours.  I tried on various combinatins of black, gray, putty and brown; was wow'ed by a nubbly eggplant jacket, and asked several strangers if a certain camel-colored,  corduroy dress with a black collar and cuffs made me look like I was swimming in my Mommie's clothes. (It was a maternity dress, size large and I'm maybe a size 4.)  Despite the maternity dress's charms, in the end I limited myself to a black corduroy miniskirt, perfect for waitressing.  And it's only a little too big.

In other consumption news, before I went to Goodwill, I volunteered a few hours at Fiddleheads, where I also bought these:

Almonds, an avocado, barley flakes, a carrot, a pepper, whole dates, date pieces and some rice. With my volunteer discount they came to $16.05.

Daily Consumption Totals:
Food: $16.05
Clothing: (thrifted) $3.99
Miles Driven: 10.8