Day 10. 355 Days to go. 1 Vacation down.

Back from vacation.

Now you're all wondering how I dealt with my resolution. Cutting to the point. I did GREAT--as nothing new was a success in Tucson! The terms "great" and "success" are defined here as: nothing new was bought. That's not to go without saying it was damn well difficult. 

It's interesting though because I already I can see a difference in how I approach situations where I want to buy something-even though I cannot buy it anyway. There's more of a thought process (which should ALWAYS be the case, but it's not) as to what would go into purchasing this item if I could. 

Example:

I wanted to buy a Cork Cage (a decorative item to put wine corks in) for my kitchen, which was $24. Where would I put this Cork Cage? How long would I hang on to this item? How important will this item be to me? Why do I want to buy it-what's appealing about it?

While on vacation I often take time out specifically to do shopping. As if buying something (new) makes the vacation even better? It doesn't.  It just takes time out of exploring or enjoying the place where you're at and people you're with. Nonetheless I do it--a struggle yet to over come.  Graham and I stopped at the 4th Avenue shops near the University of Arizona-quite the hippy area (you could smell the patchouli in the air). 

Graham was not as into the 'shopping,' (though he did buy some lovely Guaybera shirts) claiming that I could be there "for hours" just walking around. Guilty. Whether I buy anything-I simply LOVE looking around. Especially in little shops and boutiques that carry unique items. 

I did find a pretty blue dress at the Tucson Thrift Shop.  The hand-written tag said it's from the 60s. Regardless of the decade-I loved it and saw the future with it:

Create an A-line bottom and open the neck up a bit. I've learned that lower necks look better on me...higher necks make certain "objects" look bigger than they already are...

This dress cost me $14. A little more pricey than I would have liked to have spent, but I figured this dress would go a long way depending on what I do with it. Summer with a pair of flats, winter with a cute cardigan, tights and boots? Sounds good to me!

There was more to this vacation than trying to find something USED to buy. Graham and I had a wonderful time exploring the southwest. We went to the Desert Museum- until this vacation, I had never seen a real cactus before. "Real" is defined here as: not in a pot. Whooeeee THEY'RE HUGGGGE. We did some minor hiking at Sabino Canyon, drove to Sonoita (south of Tucson) to do some wine tasting and went to the University of Arizona Wildcats basketball game. 

AND THE FOOD. We were sure to eat the famous Sonoran Dog and went to Mi Nidito- a very tasty Mexican food joint--both were featured on the show Man vs. Food (travel channel). Nom. Nom.

Overall, this vacation was FANTASTIC not because of the blue 60s dress, but because of the memories I created for myself and with someone I love.  Dare I be so-not-creative and quote MasterCard? 

 Priceless.