Still me... only more simple

Last night Al and I were chit chatting about how interesting it is to see how people choose to spend their money. I have been pondering about it all dang day. And it is the predecessor conversation behind this random posting.

So, for those of you who may have met in, say, the last 5 or so years, you may not believe this, but, once-upon-a-time I was HIGH MAINTENANCE. Not emotionally high maintenance. Materially high maintenance. My dear friend who set up Al and I on our first date warned him before hand that I was high maintenance. Al's cousin who I knew when I worked in Washington DC, gave him a similar warning. These gals weren't being jerks, I really was a high maintenance girl. Let me illustrate: My hair was cut and colored on cue, exactly every 9 weeks. I had a standing appointment with my nail girl twice a month. I had enough high end cosmetics to open my very own counter. The vast majority of my wardrobe was purchased at Nordstrom, J. Crew, Ann Taylor and Banana Republic. I had a SUBSCRIPTION to InStyle magazine. Please, pick yourselves up off the floor now. I know, it's hard to believe.

So, I got married. We bought our first house. I became frugal by circumstances. I was faced with the choice of buying paint, appliances and furniture or maintaining my high maintenance lifestyle. I gladly chose my house. And then I had a baby and became a stay-at-home mom. My clothes were spit up upon and I chose play doh over my high profile consulting job. Suddenly, dry clean only made no sense at all. So now, a few years later, we're in a position where I could technically reintroduce some of my HM tendencies. But it has become so unimportant to me. Frugality by choice, rather than by circumstance. Sure, I'm still into fashion and like to look nice. I do my hair and makeup every day. I love the show "What not to Wear" (but you'll never see me in the grocery store wearing stilletos with my jeans, sorry Stacy London). The three people who matter the most to me don't really care that my wardrobe comes from Gap, Target and occassionally Ann Taylor Loft instead of higher end stores. They don't care that I wear drugstore cosmetics and don't have the worlds most stylish haircut. Why should I care either? One day very soon my gray will take over my head and I'll have to dye my hair again, but until then, I'm happy being the more simple me.