Top right: Cold weather, brr! Clockwise: Delicious Greek yogurt from Pylos; Learning bharatnatyam (via); Getting ready for the Empire State Building Run-Up; Watching Cinderella on Broadway; Spicy and tangy papaya salad from SriPraPhai

Well folks…I can’t quite believe it but my 2-month shopping ban is over. Yes, 59 days of avoiding frivolous purchases, mostly staying away from my favorite stores, and willing myself to look the other way when I saw bloggers wearing cute outfits that made me want to run out and buy the same thing! (I know, I know…#FirstWorldProblems)

So how did it go? Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard. I stuck to the shopping ban tips that I created for myself (as shared here), and I did all sorts of other shenanigans. So much so that I barely had time to think about this shopping ban. Here’s a quick recap of the past 2 months and how I’ve been saving money and doing better things with my time!

I cannot believe that five weeks have passed since I started my shopping ban. That’s a long time to go without buying anything for yourself except basic necessities, like food and household essentials! (Somewhere a kid in Africa is listening to my first world problems with horror). Surprisingly, it hasn’t been as difficult as I expected! A huge reason for that is because I’ve been so preoccupied with stuff going on in my life. With my busy work schedule, training for the race, starting bharatnatyam dance classes, etc, I’ve barely had time to think about the fact that I can’t shop. And what helps is that I have avoided stepping inside stores and, on the rare occasions that I have, nothing has really tempted me. Stores are displaying clothes for the upcoming spring season but it certainly doesn’t feel like spring to me yet. For God’s sake, we just had a blizzard last night and I’m stuck indoors today! So thankfully, this shopping ban has been relatively easy to manage…and now I just have 3 more weeks to go!

First of all, we’re excited to say that today marks Urban Mantra's one year anniversary! A whole year of our random musings and ramblings on all matters, big and small, documented on a blog. It's been a fun journey (not without its challenges though). Thank you to all our family, friends, and blogger friends who read this blog and support us (all 10 of them...okay, maybe 15).

Second of all, I’m half way through my shopping ban! January down, February to go. And thank god February is a short month. The idea behind today’s post is on how to maximize your closet. This is something we can all do, shopping ban or no shopping ban. In this two-part series, we’ll be focusing on the scarf. Yes, that small piece of cloth that you use to keep warm or to spice up an outfit. It’s a surprisingly versatile piece that often gets overlooked. Here’s our take on how you can wear it in simple yet fun ways:

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A shopping ban? And tips on how to survive it? Gosh, it's as if we're talking about the apocalypse or something! While a shopping ban is nothing so serious, it should be taken seriously should you accept the challenge (read about it in the previous post here). And accept I did, along with a few other fellow bloggers who are in this  together. I'm proud to say that I have refrained from making any needless purchases since the start of the year and so far, it’s going well thanks to a few changes that I have adopted. To all of you who are doing the shopping ban or plan to do it in the future, here are a few tips that seem to be working for me. These tips can also be easily applied to those of you who simply want to curb shopaholic tendencies. :)