Since the last time I posted, I’ve changed jobs, moving from magazines into the travel industry. It’s no coincidence that my Shopping for Happiness experiment culminated in a new job (more on that later), but it’s also fitting that I now spend my days helping people find and afford their dream trips. Travel, it turns out, would be the splurge most-often chosen by Shopping for Happiness readers if they suddenly had an extra $1000. I recently wrapped up a reader poll, and that was one of several fascinating findings. Have a look ..read more

My mom died two years ago this month. It’s hard to take in and easy to believe at the same time. The main reason her death feels distant, oddly enough, is because it’s been a long time – months – since I’ve had to deal with any of the stressful paperwork related to her estate. It’s been more than a year since I finished the gruelling and mundane work of emptying and selling my mom’s house. The post office notified me that my second year of mail-forwarding from her old address to mine was about to expire, and I realized I hadn’t received any mail in her name for months, and even the junk mail h ..read more

Giorgio Armani Weekend Saffiano Leather Top Handle Bag I confess, I bought a really expensive, really beautiful purse, the kind of handbag I never thought I’d own, the essence of a Shopping for Happiness purchase, and I didn’t write about it.At first I didn’t write because I was more excited about the other thing I’d bought the same day – my pinstriped jumpsuit of delight. And I also didn’t write because I’d actually jumped the gun on the following month’s spending allotment – which is to say, I spent two months Shopping for Happiness money in ONE NIGHT ..read more

It's been a great summer for Shopping for Happiness. I mean, I've personally had a great summer (though between work, family trips and weekends dedicated to buying a dog, I haven't been posting as much as I'd like). But my blog had a good summer too, catching the eye of several journalists who thought its messages about mindful spending and self-care would resonate with their readers. I'm really delighted to be featured in the October issue of Red, one of the U.K.'s top women's magazines. Writer and editor Rosie Green ..read more

My glorious guides: Heidi and Deja There we were, dripping in diamonds. There must have been 100 tiny diamonds on each of my gold earrings, and another 150 on the matching bar necklace. My sister-in-law Heidi took the luxury even further, showcasing a movie-star-worthy ring with a giant rare pink diamond surrounded by smaller gems, plus a few ravishing diamond and emerald bracelets. Pink diamond ring. We loved it all. Could we buy it? No. That pink diamond rin ..read more

It’s a Shopping for Happiness first! This week, someone stopped me on the sidewalk to tell me she loved my outfit. This has never happened to me before, but I wasn’t entirely shocked – because the planets aligned, I hit the sweet spot, my number came up on the lottery. In other words, I found my ultimate outfit. You know what I’m talking about – that outfit that is perfectly “you,” something that's not only awesome, but exactly suited to your specific taste, figure and style. The outfit that makes you feel like your best self every time you put it on. This is it: A Maison Margiela pinstripe ju ..read more

Yesssss! I am now the proud owner of a knife that looks like a watermelon and is designed to...cut watermelon! That is all.(Addendum: I figure I should share details because I know you will want a watermelon knife of your own. It's Kuhn Rikon and has a matching red sheath. This knife will make you smile every time you see it and it cuts watermelon better than anything I've tried. It's perfect for those moments when you really need lots watermelon IMMEDIATELY, with no futzing about looking for the right knife or sawing through the skin with a dull blade. If you like watermelon, you don't want t ..read more

This happy party moment was made possible by outsourcing.  “I’m just not the kind of person who spends money on that."When it comes to spending, we all have some kind of baseline for what we think is normal. And when we see someone spending in a way that doesn’t fit our “normal,” it can cause surprise, envy or condemnation.The scariest part of going public with my Shopping for Happiness project was knowing that I was inviting friends, family and strangers to judge my spending. Why shouldn’t they? I’ve done it myself, shaking my head at other people’s sp ..read more

This past winter, when I was already starting to suspect that spending money on experiences would be more rewarding than buying new clothes, I spent my Shopping for Happiness money for the month on a future trip: an airline ticket to Venice. I couldn't believe it was really going to happen– but last month, the day arrived, I got on the plane, and off I went.The holiday represented something my mom really wanted for me: good times with friends who live far away. Joining me were Catherine and Emma, whom I met back in the 1990s when we all studied 18th-century literature in Oxford. Both kindly in ..read more

If you click over to my "I bought this" page, I've put up some pictures of my Shopping for Happiness purchases for March. Clothes will come and go but by far the best thing I bought was my ticket to the surprise Piano and a Microphone show Prince performed in Toronto on Good Friday, April 25, 2016.   Before Shopping for Happiness, I wouldn't have gone to this concert. For one thing, I would have assumed we'd never get through to Ticketmaster in time to score seats. Then there was the price: tickets were $125 to $325 each. Yet when my husban ..read more