February 2020 Shopping Reflections

I've been too busy at the office to buy anything, but I still occasionally think about shiny, pretty things that have briefly caught my eye...

It's official, I've now been working at 3,000 billed hours/year pace for nearly two months straight. (Well, at 2,800 billed hours/year pace, after factoring in the standard four weeks of vacation.) Two months down, one to go. After that, K and I are going on vacation for a bit, and I'm really going to appreciate the break. 

One thing about being this relentlessly busy at work, I really don't have any time or mental energy left to think about shopping, or at least, not enough to actually make the decision to buy anything. So this month was a no-shopping month, only my third since I first started documenting all of my monthly shopping in January 2015. And at this rate, I'm fairly confident I won't be buying anything between now and my upcoming lengthy business trip to Paris next month. Though if I actually go through with that particular maybe-while-in-Paris purchase, I'll basically have done a whole year's worth of shopping - and then some - just in the first three months of 2020!

Please note that this post contains affiliate links that could result in a commission, typically a few cents, for me if you click. Thank you for your support!

That's not to say there haven't been any other new and shiny objects out there that have caught my eye. I've been thinking about getting a backpack, something slimmer, sleeker, and a bit more formal-looking for travel and work than my trusty ol' North Face Recon backpack (current edition), which I've been using since law school. Back in January, I thought I was sure about which style I wanted - probably the Knomo Beauchamp - but I've since found myself unable to commit. 

And I've also been intrigued by the  look of the newly released Cuyana Oversized Hobo, even though I don't think I'd ever actually buy it, it's too redundant of handbags I already own. But Cuyana's new "deep ocean" green-blue shade of leather that the Oversized Hobo (and certain other bags) comes in is exactly my kind of color. So the temptation could get stronger.

One other thing about being this intensely busy, I've somehow still managed to find a fair bit of time to read for fun, mostly late at night, right before bed. I've read a lot of enjoyable books so far this year, though nothing that stands out as a new favorite. Most recently, I finished Ann Patchett's The Dutch House (which I liked, but I found the ending a bit abrupt) and Karin Slaughter's The Last Widow (a very reliable author for mystery thrillers). 

I hope that everyone has been having a good start to 2020! Although I haven't been shopping, the beginning of the year has still been on the expensive side, as I needed to pay my taxes. I owed $3,000 to the IRS this year.