I’m sticking to my guns regarding not buying (or keeping) clothing items that have a “but.” I really like this but… Last week I ordered this pleat front blouse with a red, burgundy and cream pattern from Banana Republic. (Currently out of stock online.) I loved the fit.

Cute, right? But upon closer inspection… the pattern is kind of weird. My husband remarked on it and the first thing that popped out of my mouth was, “Yeah, it looks like teeth yanked out with the bloody root still attached.” Um, what? So of course that is all I can see now. Don’t you see it?

Yep, this blouse has to be returned.

Shame on me for not thanking the gals over at Sarah Chloe jewelry. I’d been searching for a while for a necklace that would symbolize the baby. Do you know that the linden leaf is not a terribly popular flora for jewelry reproduction? Damn. I finally decided just to go with her name. But I didn’t want it to be so obvious. I found a charm/font I liked at Sarah Chloe, but the name was horizontal, with the chain attached at the “L” and “N.” I emailed to ask if they could instead hang it vertically, just from the “N.” “No problem!” they said. I was hoping that it would be less obvious, and look more like a squiggly pattern of sorts. I’m tres happy with it. I do want a longer chain though. It came with a 16″ chain. I really like the chain (not too shiny or a weird pattern) and am happy to report that I can buy an 18″ one directly from Sarah Chloe, which I’ll do soon. Thanks for the extra personalization, gals!

Sometimes I have a hard time saying “no” to an item of clothing I’ve tried on if I mostly like it and it fits. I fall into the trap of, “Well, it’s a good fit and it would work in my wardrobe…” Bad, Sharyn! While that may be technically true, it shouldn’t fit in my wardrobe if I don’t love it. Example: I ordered a ton of stuff from Banana Republic (and I’ve already returned 6 of the 9 things for various reasons; I love shopping from home) and initially planned to keep three (the third item being a black blazer, which I surprisingly do not already own). When I put on this cream blouse I thought, “Oh, I like the sleeve and it fits pretty well. It can’t hurt to have a cream-colored blouse for work or dressy-casual. Weird, the keyhole kind of makes it look like it’s on backward. <shrug>” When I put on the navy blouse, my reaction was, “Oh, hell yeah.” The lesson I should take away: return that damn cream blouse! My budget isn’t so expansive that I can keep the “mehs” and my closet ain’t so big either; and I don’t want to clutter it up with <shrugs>. This is the correct attitude, right?

L: BR Pleat-shoulder blouse, $69.50; R: BR Print silk-tie blouse, sale $59.99 (+ online code THANKYOU for 30-35% off purchase, ends 10/2).

I was still conflicted about the Coach purse situation when I went to the store to return the black purse. (I got a 25% off coupon through Gilt so I wasn’t going to miss out on that.) According to the Coach website, the colorblock purse wasn’t at the Pentagon City mall, but there it was. I was instantly less excited about it; it was so much better in the picture. So, that made my decision pretty easy. But there was still a choice to be made – silver or brass hardware on the black purse. I had originally purchased the silver. But when I went to to buy it (again) during a subsequent mall trip (this time, Tysons Corner), I opted for brass and I’m glad I did. Love it.

P.S. That Gilt coupon saved me $119. Sweet!