Recent (Justifiable) Splurges

5:30:00 PM mandy 16 Comments

Before anyone moves forward with reading the rest of this post, I am fully aware of how much I spent on just these two items alone. But as the title says...I can justify them! Let me share...

I received an e-mail from Racked NY's report on the Rebecca Minkoff Sample Sale on Monday and thought nothing of it. I always wanted a cute designer bag that I could call my own, but I never actually looked into it any further because of their prices. You know, those "ah I wish I had that, but can't afford it" moments!

Out of curiosity I asked Bestie C (who is a huge coupon user and recently bought a Mini MAC on sale from Bloomies) how much she was able to get her bag for and also told her I wanted to go Friday (the second to last sale day) to just "see" for myself. But after she made a pitstop at the sale Tuesday and told me her report, I had a sudden urge to go ASAP. Which is exactly what I did.

I literally spent 2 hours (more or less) there Wednesday, pacing around the MAC area/samples area/one particular mirror trying to make up my mind. (Luckily I didn't have to wait on a line to get inside.) Right when I walked in, I was overwhelmed by all the colorful and different textured MAC's/MAC Daddy's/Mini MAC's. Yet nothing really caught my eye. There were a few purples that looked nice but nothing that I was really attached to. Nothing 'calling my name'. For now, my logic toward expensive bags is I'd prefer a safe colored (black, brown, tan, navy, etc.) bag that I can continue to use for a long time as opposed to a louder color and/or bolder design bag that can fall in/out of trends.


Maybe half an hour or so after I went inside, I held onto a magenta/purple MAC and dug around the samples table. (This was really one huge mess; at least the other tables were regularly reorganized.) I finally found a brown MAC! I was thrilled. I LOVED the studded look. But then I noticed the strap was a completely different color than the bag, it was missing a dust bag, and the strap's hardware was a shiny silver versus the bag's hardware which was more of a darker matte silver. EEKK! After some inquiring, I was told it's still being sold as is for $175 since it didn't have a pink sample tag on it. I didn't know what to do...If I was to spend $175 for a bag (even if it is heavily discounted), I should really love it. Plus, if I did get it and others do notice the discrepancies they would probably think I'm carry around a fake...no?

So I spent the next one and a half hours deciding. Pretending to look at things at the tables. Then walked back to the mirror to try to make a decision. I overheard one of the staff say he was going downstairs to check if there were more MACs, so I stuck around for a while longer. Every now and again, I saw a new color on the tables. I spotted and liked a mint colored M.A.C. that they put out (I only saw 1 of this) but again not the color I really wanted.

Rebecca Minkoff M.A.C. Clutch in brown with gold hardware
Then toward my second hour inside, I saw this! I don't think I could have been any happier...It was just sitting there, still with it's straps and hardware wrapped up. I immediately speed-walked (sped-walked?) to it and grabbed it. Being indecisive actually paid off for once...! That's a first and probably the last hah. I was still pretty conflicted though. But after bombarding Bestie C with texts and e-mails, her input steered me toward this one. I cannot thank her enough because secretly I thought this was the better choice...even if I did really like the studded detailing of the other.





This is the only flaw I found on it. I'm not even sure what it is. Perhaps a glue residue of some sort? Nothing too heartbreaking, of course.
Justification for the bag?

• Retail Price: $295
• Sample Sale Price: $175

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I ordered this lens from Best Buy the Wednesday (11/7) before the Big Bang concert with intentions of using it during the concert. I love that Best Buy has a pick-up option, which saves on shipping fees and time. But I was very disappointed by their service. I picked a store very close to where I live thinking I could pick the lens up the next day because that is what they had estimated on their website. However, I never received the "You can pick up your order now" e-mail the next day; only to later find out by myself through Google and Facebook that the location I chose was "closed indefinitely" due to Hurricane Sandy. I completely understand why they were closed and I guess I should have known better. But BestBuy.com could have at least said something on their website or stopped me from picking the store to begin with. Don't you think so?

Friday night (after the concert), I saw their 'Order Canceled' e-mail citing a system error. Since I was afraid that I would miss the sale and that I might lose the Rewards dollars my mom let me use toward this lens, I reordered it right away. (I was still at Penn Station!) Luckily, the price was the same, I still had the Rewards money, and I was able to get free expedited shipping (thanks to my parents and their big purchases at Best Buy). *Funny thing, the following Saturday night I checked the Facebook of the store and they said they were opening Sunday! I think the term 'trolled' seems appropriate here...*

Fast forward Wednesday evening (same day I went to the Minkoff sale), I had a huge panic/mental breakdown when I thought my package was lost or shipped to the wrong address. That would have been a huge disaster! Especially since UPS didn't require a signature for such a small package. Thankfully, I happened to run into the UPS delivery man for my neighborhood and he assured me it was where he (literally) dropped it off.

Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM Pancake Lens


It looked quite a bit of researching before I decided to buy this. The price just made the decision that much easier. The only thing I was afraid of was that this newly released lens wouldn't fit my 'old' DSLR (T1i). Luckily, it fits just fine. Unlike my basic beginner lenses, that came with the package I bought my camera with, I had to give this lens a good turn for it to click into place. It looks so delicate, I was almost afraid to do it. Have a fixed focal length is very new to me and the (relatively) quiet autofocusing blew my mind! I can't wait to play with this as soon as I have the chance to. It also makes it so much more compact and light. I think it would definitely be a great family vacation lens, especially since I don't use a point and shoot camera anymore.
Justification for the lens?

• Retail Price: $199.99
• Sale Price: $149.99
• After Additional Rewards Money: $119.99

Numbers speak for themselves, yeah?
Plus, I'm definitely going to get good usage out of both of these. I'll make sure of it! In the end it'll all be worth it. Needless to say, this is the last of my designer and big camera purchases for now. Must stop myself now before I really develop a problem and find myself in too much debt...heh :)

**I'm curious, do you guys mind reading these lengthy/wordy posts? and Does anyone find all these details unnecessary?**
***I'm still working on the Big Bang concert post! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it.***