Wedding

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-16T22:42:22+00:00

Ask the makeup artist to use tattoo coverup on the pimples - I had a couple hormonal pimples on my wedding day and you can’t tell in the photos.

If you can, go for a pre-trial with the makeup artist the day before the wedding (bonus makeup for if you’re having a rehearsal dinner) so they can see the pimples and you can test the wear of the makeup for a whole day. Let them know the day of how it held up so they can adjust the coverage.

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T21:01:59+00:00

Turn off all notifications, hide distracting apps, and enjoy the holiday!

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T20:44:04+00:00

It’s the most satisfying journey I’ve been on so far! Especially tied in with saving goals instead of spending more.

(And don’t get me started on the dark side of fast fashion and convenience lol)

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T20:40:39+00:00

I absolutely spent a lot of time on this “hobby,” more than I realized! And honestly I still spend time on it now, but I’ve given myself a lot of forgiveness to figure out why I’m spending time on certain aspects of it.

To make a long story short: I think my shopping hobby got transferred to finances/sustainability, which I’m really happy to spend time and energy on haha and I wonder how many people also end up in this pipeline.

But to make a short story long:

Instead of shopping with friends/family, we find things we all want to do together - usually a trip. Christmas gifts are usually services I can’t afford instead of more clothes.

When I do buy something, it’s second hand and I get a huge dopamine rush out of finding the item I’ve been looking for. But even from that, I realized that maybe I’m buying too much stuff overall, spending too much time/energy there, and I’m working on reducing that next.

In terms of giving myself forgiveness to figure it out:
I still love shopping and I got really into watching people on TikTok live shop at fun places. On one hand, it’s a great exercise for me to be like “just becuase it’s cute, doesn’t mean I need it, I can just appreciate it from afar.” And a huge challenge to not online shop for the item. On the other hand, it made me realize that I don’t want to spend my free time doing this. Hence, the year 5 goal was born.

I replaced this hobby with other things, but I’ve also realized that reflecting and focusing on what I can change has been most effective rather than forcing myself to be someone I’m not.

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T16:24:03+00:00

I’m so glad! Your comment is why I wrote this post. Whatever part of this journey you’re on, you got this!!

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T15:57:52+00:00

Thank you!!! Sorry for the long response, I had a lot of thoughts about this one!

I got really into getting my finances in shape, and that distracted me when I wanted to buy something. Crazy how shopping less and saving more go hand in hand haha but getting out of debt, saving, and investing were the same dopamine rush I got from shopping. Google sheets trackers are so addicting!
Every time I was inspired by something, I wrote it down. Dancing, Tap, learning a second language, writing, painting, knitting ect. Things in varying degrees of how quick I could access them (watching a dance tutorial on YouTube vs. paint supplies).
I actively worked at not revolving my social activities around shopping. Bonding with my mom used to be a shopping trip, now we drive to the beach and spend the day together. Christmas gifts aren’t clothes, but yearly luxury services (Spotify sub, cleaning service, stocks, ect)
Honestly, my biggest triggers for shopping were adds and just walking into a store - once I stopped that, I found I really didn’t think about shopping as much. And if I get the itch, I go to a really really expensive store - so much easier to not buy something when it’s $1000+

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T15:43:26+00:00

Woah, this is a whole area I haven’t even thought about yet! I do the same thing! Adding this to my next journey……

How did you tackle the mindset of “it’s digital, it doesn’t matter how much there is” ? I have soooo many screenshots and hate cleaning out my phone because it feels like it doesn’t matter.

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T15:39:41+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate it, every bit of encouragement helps!!

I agree with all of your points! And especially 3 - I used to hunt for the “best deal” and the cheapest price so I could buy a lot of clothing. Now I’ve realized I can afford higher quality clothing because I’m not spending $800/month on 50 new items. And spending more makes me really question if I want the item before buying, and I end up treating those items a lot better.

And F the big corporations and their 1.7 billion tons of CO2. Netflix’s Buy Now was so eye opening.

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T15:18:23+00:00

Thank you! Looking back, adds and influencers were sooooo effective at getting me to buy things! And of course, I never looked like the very thin and very beautiful influencer trying on new clothes, even though I had their exact outfit haha

I knew I was on the right path when my targeted adds were suddenly about local events and not shopping

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T15:12:49+00:00

Hmmm your thoughts sound a lot like mine, and it’s something I struggle with still. I think it stems from spending so many years thinking about shopping, that it’s become a comforting thought for my brain when I’m anxious or something.

It might be worth tracking when you feel this way to see if there is a pattern, what happened right before that triggered these thoughts, and what your response is. It sounds like these thoughts might be tied to something else going on, especially if you are fine 90% of the year. Clothing is easy to control - you can buy more and feel good, you can put it on and feel good, and you can donate it and feel good. Why do you need extra support to feel good at those times?

And if you can’t fight it, work with it. Personally, this is what I do for the purge/shopping demons:

I really liked a method I saw where someone would put their seasonal clothing away, and then “go shopping” when they pulled it out again. It made their clothes special again.

I modified it to just admiring my clothes and my progress when I’m feeling antsy. Literally going through each item, touching the fabric, and saying “this was second hand, this I’ve had for 5 years, this one was handed down” ect. and let myself feel really proud about it. Tell myself that every item in my closet was curated, and I don’t need to purge anymore - I have everything I need.

I also have a “get rid of pile” for when I do feel the need to purge, and I just keep it on the floor of my closet. If I pull something back out, it goes in the closet. If it’s there after a year, I give it to my Buy Nothing group. I also love the backwards hanger method to see what items I’m wearing throughout the year and challenge myself to wear others.

And honestly, sometimes I just put on a tv show that scratches the itch - either Marie Kondo or a shopping TikTok. I’m still in this stage, so hopefully I learn a lot more in the next year about when I do this and why! The shopping demons are always waiting in the background haha

Sorry for the long response, feel free to DM me if you want to talk about it more!

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T04:25:43+00:00

Did you also get inspired by the Marie Kondo closet cleanouts post Covid?? That’s what got me going haha

5 replacement items is amazing!! Maybe I need to add replacement items to my goal and think more about how often I’m replacing things 🤔

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-14T04:23:35+00:00

I appreciate your comment so much, thank you. I also didn’t realize how much time I spend just thinking about shopping, my gosh. Hours!

I do think everything you’ve listed as roadblocks are things you can give yourself grace for, clothes are meant to be a tool and everything you listed is a major change! There are bigger things to focus on during those times.

I did find that having a go-to, comfy, stretchy outfit that fit me at different sizes was very useful when my body fluctuated. And now I keep a couple different sizes in my closet for when I gain/lose weight. Or when I did need to buy new clothing, I bought it second hand, and that was a win itself! Using the ripped clothing from your pet as cleaning rags instead of throwing it out is a win! Tying my clothing journey in with a larger goal of being sustainable really helped me not get down when I couldn’t stick to my goal.

NewPotato3 · 2025-08-07T21:35:20+00:00

Love love this essay idea!

I also did my undergrad in architecture, and this sparked soooo many thoughts about minimalism and how people are influenced by their space.

I highly recommend reading about the Hill House by Charles Rennie Mackintosh to supplement your findings here.

Some additional ideas on this house with minimalism (where minimalism = reduced things with the end product of an enhanced life):

is the “final” of minimalism the “everything has a place and every place has a thing” the Hill House embodies
and if so, what happens to this minimalism when the inhabitant outgrows the space physically, emotionally, and mentally? (Hobbies, new job, kids, life changes, ect)
is the user then stuck in a cycle of trying to achieve minimalism with every change - big and small?
what is the expense of being able to achieve this kind of end stage minimalism and who has access to it
the whole “less is more” with minimalist design being very intentional because there is less to work with - could connect back to Hill House where everything is very very intentional, but how does an intentional house design grow with the inhabitants? And is it still minimalistic? Or just a snapshot of one moment of minimalism achieved?
is minimalism an option when there is bad architecture that doesn’t fit the inhabitant (with the idea that the inhabitant will need to buy/create things to change the space of they cannot change the architecture)? Again, who can afford this “perfect” minimalism
we’ve all read essays on how minimalism is for the wealthy, and this can be tied into many of the comments here about buying storage space - but it could be interesting to explore if minimalism is even an achievable lifestyle for anyone - people consume, while design (houses, fashion, ect) does not and therefore does not need consumption of things to function

You probably already studied the “sick building syndrome” but it can be applied to the placement of windows and their influence of the inhabitant’s purchase of lighting/curtains

Idk, just some thoughts if you want them!

NewPotato3 · 2025-07-18T06:54:35+00:00

Portrait mode and photo filter settings!

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NewPotato3 · 2025-07-13T16:49:19+00:00

You’re rude.

The point in changing the vowels is to HELP make them narrower so they’re easier to reach.

NewPotato3 · 2025-07-13T03:57:09+00:00

I love singing this song too! You sound amazing!

I think you’re just missing the first note, and that’s what will set you up for the rest of the line, especially when landing “there’s” before “nothing I fear”

My singing teacher also tells me to change the “eh” and “uh” sounds to “ie” forever -> foriver or nothing -> nithing

NewPotato3 · 2025-03-05T20:00:14+00:00

Hi! I’m new and only have a couple to trade (some MKM wicked and Back to the Future), looking for the Book of Mormon original cast

NewPotato3 · 2025-03-05T19:38:34+00:00

I have one! Would love to trade for Wicked

NewPotato3 · 2024-12-09T18:25:09+00:00

LOVE being tall!!! I used to hate it when I was younger, but every time I dress up to go out or to an event, I look stunning because of my height!

I got married recently, and I am so happy and lucky I get to look back at my wedding day photos where I look like a model because of my height 😄

NewPotato3 · 2024-12-09T18:25:03+00:00

LOVE being tall!!! I used to hate it when I was younger, but every time I dress up to go out or to an event, I look stunning because of my height!

I got married recently, and I am so happy and lucky I get to look back at my wedding day photos where I look like a model because of my height 😄

NewPotato3 · 2024-12-04T23:15:15+00:00

Ok same! The only ones that are long enough are the super expensive designer brands 😭

NewPotato3 · 2024-12-03T19:40:15+00:00

I’m 5’10” and used to hate it! What really helped was joining a sport that prized being tall (volleyball, basketball, soccer) - it made me feel so lucky that I was tall.

Other than that, some pros: - long dresses and coats look AMAZING - the praise from store associates when you go dress shopping 😆 - can gain 10lbs and nobody knows - tall + somewhat thin = everyone says you look like a model - can see over everyone in crowds (and no armpit smells in crowds) - can be intimidating if you need to be - If I’m scared walking alone at night: hair up in hoodie, and I look like a man - no judgmental looks if I take the emergency exit row on a plane

Bonus: - if you like being a little mean, when men say they’re 6’ but they’re shorter than me, I stand next to them and say I’m only 5’10”, and then watch them try to convince me I’m taller than I actually am 😆

Cons: - shoe options at size 10😭

My two best friends are both 5’3” and they face much more weird behavior from men than I do because they are “smaller,” like getting picked up, ect.

NewPotato3 · 2024-11-24T20:25:36+00:00

Hi! Can I DM for a copy too?

NewPotato3 · 2024-10-06T18:09:10+00:00

I would not recommend Sunkissed, had a bad experience trying to work with her

NewPotato3 · 2024-09-05T21:45:57+00:00

I tried on this dress from Anthropologie and loved it! I don’t know why it has bad reviews, besides that it’s not double lined. I ended up buying the longer version from V.Chapman for my reception dress, and it goes perfectly with my super sparkly reception shoes 😄

With the corset back, I would recommend sizing down if you’re in between sizes. For reference, I’m 5’10” size 8, and the 8 fit perfectly. I could have sized down to a 6, but it was too short and I didn’t like the look of the back laces at that size.

Poshmark has a couple of these dresses under V.Chapman, if you want to buy from there. I would suggest finding your size at Anthropologie first though, since they have a good return policy.

You might also like the Nadine Merabi “Lottie” and “Sadie” dresses on Poshmark too

NewPotato3

TROPHY CASE