planning ahead

I don't like being caught in a tight spot. You know...like it's the first cold day and the kids don't have jeans that fit. Or you need to wear pantyhose with an outfit but every pair in your drawer has a run in them. Or do those situations not occur at your house?

They used to occur at my house. Regularly. Especially the kids not having jeans that fit and it's cold.

So to combat that from happening again I've tried to do better at planning ahead. Basically, thinking out of the box. Shopping sale racks -- out of season. Granted, that's a little easier to do if you're done growing or if you have a pretty good idea of the rate at which your kids grow. I used to be able to do that with the girls, when they were little, but somewhere along the way they would have 6" growth spurts over 9 months so I pretty much just bought what they needed at the time. Now that they're teenagers and seem to be relatively stable at maintaining their size it's a little easier to shop ahead.

I also try to buy basic pieces, not too trendy. I could live in denim, white cotton shirts and khaki pants. I'd also need yoga pants and a hoodie but that pretty much covers it.

On New Year's Day the girls and I went shopping to see what kind of bargains could be had. I found these.





Aren't they darling?

Regular price $40, sale price $12. They're not very practical to wear right now considering we've got snow drifts and puddles but they'll be perfect this spring and summer with skirts and capris.