Alrighty, the consensus last month was … mostly pro-recaps, which I took for encouragement, so y’all are getting another monthly update. And it is a doozy. I mean, more so than an average month. A real doozy, then.

Truth time: I wrote last month’s update before the actual, you know, month end – which is very proactive of me, but also far too optimistic, it turns out. May had one last purchase in store for me. An expensive one. Naturally. It comes with a story, so grab the beverage of your choice and settle in. But before I get to that story, let’s get the less important stuff out of the way first. Counting May’s late extravagance, I bought 6 things this month for a total of $480 (original retail approx. $2,673). (Yeah, I know that’s some funky, multi-month accounting, but let’s roll with it).

The also-rans this month were a couple of cute impulse buys. I was supposed to be on a month-long shopping ban, but hahahaha!

I also bought a necklace and a pair of earrings at RW&Co for $19 in a 2-for-1 deal. Sorry, I can’t find pics online, but trust they are cute. And I got this top as a “just because” gift from my husband. (I think it happened the week I had the plague. Or, you know, a nasty cold. Hyperbole, shmyperbole!)

OK, story time.

Remember that Marc Jacobs Blake bag I kept nattering about? This one:

Yeah, I couldn’t find it on eBay, in the right colour or for the right price. Instead, I found this bag:

It was a total fluke. I have exactly one seller saved in my favourites folder on eBay, and for some reason it’s the Seattle Goodwill. I don’t even know why, because I’ve never bought anything from them before. I was actually looking for another seller I thought I had saved in my list (I hadn’t because my name is Adina and I’m technological incompetent), and decided to browse their listings instead. And that’s when I saw the Fitzrovia.

I didn’t know it was called that, of course. The listing was super generic, and it took a day’s worth of kids’ naps to track down the details. The bag is from 2007, and it was a one-season deal. Inside, it’s laid out in pretty much the same way as the Blake, which means it has awesome bag feng shui (according to moi, anyway). The detailing is gorgeous … as it should be, considering the bag originally retailed for somewhere around $1,800. Oh-em-gee. The eBay listing had a starting bid price of US$250. I bid, 100% convinced I would get out-bid. And … I wasn’t.

I mean, I’m still in disbelief over that.

The bag arrived, and it is a real beauty. Almost mint condition. (Who donates stuff like this to Goodwill? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they do; I just … don’t get it.) Mine is a rich, chocolate brown (not black, as pictured). It’s the perfect size and style for work, but I have a feeling you’ll be seeing it on this here blog sooner rather than September.

(PSA: it almost goes without saying, but always do your homework when buying designer bags on eBay, even from reputable sellers. In my case, the Fitzrovia is not one of Mulberry’s more famous designs, so the likelihood of it being knocked-off is lower than, say, for the Alexa … but you never know. I did my due diligence prior to bidding, and you should too. There are tons of great resources for that on the web, starting with The Purse Forum.)

Oh, and that last item? Remember my other MbMJ obsession? Yep, she is fiiiiiiinally mine.

She also came with a story, but it’ll have to wait for another post. (I forgot to add the graphic, but the bag was $119, shipped, on eBay).

This month, I thought it might be fun to also show you what I didn’t buy (and tell you why). (Yes, I sometimes don’t buy things. Admit it, you didn’t see that coming.) And you can tell me that I make really terrible buying decisions. Or amazing ones. Varying mileage and all that.

I adored the print, but 100% polyester … no, thanks. I’m surprised this originally retailed for over $200. Really, Ted Baker?

Loved the print (see a theme developing here?) but the fit was weird. And I freaking hate elasticized hems. I would love to get my hands on the schoolboy blazer in this print.

This Joe Fresh skirt was super cute, but … I guess I wasn’t feeling it for $29. It was just ever so slightly too puffy on me, and I wasn’t sure I’d get a ton of wear out of a white skirt. Worst of all, it was a little bit too sheer for my taste. But the eyelet detail on the hem was lovely. Sigh!

This Gap shirt dress was on sale, and quite lovely. Too bad I happened to see it early in the month when I was still serious about that shopping ban. To be honest, if I didn’t already have this shirt dress (and if the armholes of the Gap one weren’t oddly ginormous), I would have probably bought it, shopping ban or no. It looked pretty cute:

What did your June shopping look like? Linking up with Franish and the other budgeting bloggers, so if you’re in the mood for more shopping voyeurism, head on over there.

I haven’t done one of these shopping recaps/breakdowns in aaaages. Did you miss them? I enjoy reading other bloggers’ posts about their shopping budgets and choices (hello, Franish and her fellow budgeting bloggers) because I’m incurably nosy, but I shouldn’t assume that y’all don’t have better things to do with your blog reading time. So, let me know: yay, or no1curr?

I’m going to go ahead and talk about this month’s shopping anyway, because – stop the presses – I actually made a shopping list this month. And – stop the presses again – I managed to stick to it. Well, mostly. Here’s the score: I bought 11 items for a total of $272 (retail value approx. $1063). I also got a couple of gifts for Mother’s Day:

From my shopping list, I got these:

“Pants” are a perennial item on my shopping list; I’m still searching high and low for work-appropriate ones (and running out of time) but I found these instead and couldn’t resist. I would happily buy them in every colour of the rainbow at that price:

I also bought the Old Navy blue top I talked about here ($15), and this ring ($9) which was a total impulse buy. Mea culpa and all that.

I included 2 wildcard spots on my shopping list, because I know my Achilles heel, and its name is “impulse buy” (see above, and below). I set a $40 limit for each of these items, because otherwise there would be a strong possibility that my handbag collection would gain a couple more pretties – this month, any month. But I was good; I bought these instead:

And then, right around the end of the month, I went off the rails a bit. I bought another pair of my fave J. Crew Factory Anya flats, because they were burgundy and a hella sale:

This blue was just too gorgeous to pass up:

And so was this print:

And I bought this, because … I couldn’t not. The red/blue combo gets me every time.

Things I didn’t find, and I’m still looking for: Marc Jacobs Blake bag or MbMJ Mag bag (come on, eBay!), yellow sandals (utterly impossible quest, I’m convinced), and cropped cigarette pants a la Audrey Hepburn (might as well be hunting unicorns). And another magical thrifting find would be nice too. Mayhap a Burberry trench coat? Well, a girl can have her midsummer dream, yes?