Anthro-Love

I stopped into Anthropologie at lunch today....BAD idea!  There were at least 10 things that I HAD to have and another 20 or so that I could definitely wear/use with pride. To be honest, I want to move into the store after wandering around for only 5 minutes.  Everything is just designed and staged so perfectly.  I love the styling, both clothing and home wares.  I always leave there with a million ideas and a ton of inspiration to infuse in my house.  The problem is that I just can't afford it all.  In fact, I walked around with this one top the entire time, but I just couldn't bite the bullet on the $39.95 price tag.  Granted...it was originally $68.00...but still!!  Occasionally I will treat myself to a cute top or a cute dress, but only if I know that I will be able to wear it A LOT in order to get my moneys worth.  I just couldn't justify that with this shirt.  It's a little too casual for work (although a cardigan or suit coat might dress it up enough) and I'm not sure how appropriate it will be in the fall/winter season.  See...I'm talking myself out of it even MORE now!!  Welcome to my internal battle.  I'm always reasoning with myself.  Does that make me crazy??

But at least this shirt was on sale.  Most of the other items that were on my "had to have" list were full price....which made it IMPOSSIBLE to stomach.  Here are a few of the gorgeous pieces that I was drooling over...

Don't you love all of it?  My favorite is the ivory belted cardigan.  It is such a great versatile fall piece.  It is $98.....which is not my favorite number when it comes to shopping.....but when its a good wardrobe staple, I SOMETIMES make an exception.  I'm going to sleep on it tonight and see how I feel in the morning. 

Not only do they have great clothes, though...their housewares are amazing as well!!!  I fell in love with a few of the items while browsing around.  Now that I'm back in the office and its all sinking in, I can't believe I walked away from some of the deals....

These sea grass coasters were only $7.95 for the set!!  I love the colors!!

The colors are AMAZING in this rug.  It was pretty pricey though....

This rug would look perfect in my dining room.....but it was a little pricey as well... boo!!

And these gorgeous glass knobs were only $2.95!!!!  They would look great on my dresser...

Ahhhh.. I'm in love. I could have spent all day just wandering around in there. I tend to get that same feeling when I'm looking through a Restoration Hardware, PB or Ballard Design catalog as well. It all works so well together and I want to bring it all into my home......but then reality hits and I have to talk myself out of spending a whole paycheck on things that we don't need! 

I think that's the big difference when it comes to buying things for the new house.....or for myself, for that matter.  I always try to ask myself, "do I REALLY need this."  Sarah over at Thrifty Decor Chick did a nice post today about accumulating "stuff" and it got me thinking about the whole concept of why we buy and keep certain things.  We are in the process now of unpacking all of our own "stuff" and its unbelievable the amount of crap that we have accumulated over the years.  All of his stuff from college and his condo and then all of my stuff from college and my apartments over the years....then combine that with all of our wedding stuff and the stuff that was handed down to us....and it's just a MESS of stuff everywhere!!!  We really need to weed everything out and donate it or have a yard sale in the fall.  It will definitely take time and be a pain in the butt, but the end result will be worth it!  One step closer to a simple, beautiful home. :)  [I initially wrote ..."to becoming America's Next Top Model" because I watched a marathon of that show last night from the DVR and my subconcious just took over...haha, weird!!]

To make a long story short...if you are even still with me...I think that my ultimate goal is to weed out all of the extra stuff in our lives over the next few months so that we can make room for a FEW nice coveted items here and there.  A few staples for our home and for my wardrobe....and then we can add on to those with IKEA and Target and thrift store/garage sale finds.  I will always love being thrifty, but its definitely nice to splurge on a dream item every once in a while!!!

What are some of your must-haves???

Photos all from here