I love the start of a new year

Even though it's only symbolic, I love the fresh start that it symbolizes.

I should have a fresh start every month. A time to take stock of everything and make small/big adjustments.

One of my goals is to get through the belly dance DVD that I bought last year.
I haven't done anything yet - I'm not sure why. I'll go to the onsen tonight, hit the grocery store for some chicken to pan-fry, and put on the dvd while the chicken cooks.

I also took serious advantage of the New Year sales in Tokyo. However, I haven't the patience to look at everything on sale (every store has a sale - I literally can't visit every store!) so I've just hit the GAP, Zara, Banana Republic, and Uniqlo. I wish I took more advantage of the Japanese brands, but the shoulder sizing and arm sizing tends to be too short for me, even at Uniqlo which has more forgiving sizing than the smaller boutique brands. So it's more efficient for me to stick to the western brands. Pants fit nicely though and it's hard to beat Uniqlo prices! I try not to convert prices to USD though.

I have to characterize my spree as a binge; over the holidays I got:
GAP: a light brown down jacket
GAP: a thin tan cashmere/wool turtleneck
GAP: a workout tank in a blue-purple
GAP: a long-sleeved workout top in black
GAP: a black and white boxy short-sleeved cardigan
GAP: a black zip up knit vest trimmed with soft fake fur
Banana Republic: A soft blue cropped suit jacket
Uniqlo: warmup pants in dark blue
Uniqlo: Dark regular boot cut jeans
Uniqlo: pink wool turtleneck
UnderArmour: two sports bras
UnderArmour: pink heatgear v-neck top - super comfy

In retrospect, I should have passed on the tan turtleneck and the soft blue suit jacket, but I will definitely wear everything. The jacket will look nice with my tweed brown skirt. Anyway, that's my winter shopping for the year! Urgh.