It's been three blogs since my last confession.

Or not.

It's Christmas WEEK. We're not sending cards or buying gifts for friends this year, because we simply can't afford it. We're doing some baking, buying little things for our siblings, and we've capped spending on each other to $40. So, it means I'm not holiday shopping, on top of already being (self-) banned from rest-of-the-year shopping. It sucks. 

But, I did desperately need a camera bag. And I finally found one - this baby cost me $29 on ebay. I love that it doesn't look like a camera bag. It's a perfect fit (I hope) and I'll just line it with some neoprene or foam for protection.  Whew - I just narrowly avoided a nasty case of ugly camera bag!

 [ Vintage Dooney and Burke crossbody bag, $29, ebay ]

OK, more confessions. I bought some tights at Winners. Three bucks each, though. Less than a take-out soy latte, right? A snagged a pair of Coral tights by Hue and a metallic damask pair by Emilio Cavallini.

 

I'm not done. While on the way to the cash, I spotted these. They were $30:

A steal, but yeah, just a little more than a coffee. Arg. I just need to steer clear of retail, and I'll be fine. Alex called me a hypocrite because I forced him to buy frozen concentrated orange juice that same day because "we're on a budget". I promise, I'm done. 

To make my life hell, I agreed to take on the gift guide for blogTO. OK, I really love the assignment, but yeah, let's put an alcoholic in a bar, shall we?

Now I'm off to do some appropriate shopping - baking ingredients! We're making matcha cookies, homemade Irish cream, peppermint meringues, biscotti and truffles this week. Just a tad ambitious, maybe?  That's the way I roll. It wouldn't be the holidays without self-created impossible deadlines and stress, right?

 [ photos via ebay.com, asos.com, annetaintor.com, Emilio Cavallini ]