Things I Want (But Cannot Have) #5

Yes, I’m still on my budget. In theory. Somehow, I’ve still managed to – and you’ll know this if you read my money diaries – spend a zillion dollars a week. Which really makes me feel like… why bother?! If the money gets spent either way, shouldn’t I just be buying all the things I want to buy?!?! (The answer is no.) Anyway, here are the things I’m not buying lately (although I really want to).Anchor Baby is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This Yellow Top by Essentiel Antwerp (€135 €94.50)Luckily, this one isn’t just hampered by my financial inadequacies; it’s sold out in all but size S, and though she be designed to be oversized, I always like to wear my oversized things as they are designed to be worn; that is to say, GIANT. Still, the colour of this top calls to me, as does almost everything on the Essentiel Antwerp site. Case in point: this incredible cardigan, reduced from €245 to €196. (Buy the yellow top in the US here.) Damson Madder’s Multi-Wear Myrtle Trench (€200 €83)If there’s one thing I can’t resist, it’s a bargain, and this is less than half-price! And if there’s a second thing I can’t resist, it’s an interesting / fun coat, and this is an interesting / fun coat! Still, the truth of the matter is, I very rarely wear coats here, except in the depths of winter, and then they must be down-lined winter coats. The in-between seasons – the time when the weather is cool enough for you to wear a coat like this – are just too short, and the rest of the time it’s either too hot or too cold for it. But if you live in Ireland, I feel like you’d get loads of wear out of this (and you’d look cool doing it…). I also love their Liu raincoat, but I truly can’t remember the last time I got caught in the rain here, so there would be no justifying that purchase whatsoever.Seminal x Lauren Emmet Dogs PJ set from Next (€34.50)Yes, these are described as PJs but honestly, ever since I started wearing my Hanna Anderssoon x Oeuf pyjamas (currently reduced from $150 to $51.79!!!) around the place, I’ve finally accepted the delightful truth: you can wear whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, no matter what that item was originally intended to be worn as. I would be slightly worried about the (very short) length of these shorts, but I’d be willing to give it a go if I wasn’t on a strict budget. You know yourself. (Buy them in the US here.)Faherty’s Laidback Linen Pants from Evereve ($168 $134.99) I lately scratched my itch for a pair of dopamine-laden linen drawstring trousers when I found the Rails pants I’d been coveting in a downtown Fort Wayne boutique’s moving sale, but if I hadn’t, I would be seriously considering investing in these Faherty pants. They’re 100% linen, which means they’d be borderline sweat-proof, and even though I tend to avoid clothes I can’t throw in the dryer, I think I’d make an exception for these! Long-Sleeved Boat-Neck Top from H&M ($19.99)I can’t find this top on the Irish H&M site, but it’s probably just as well cos I’d be raging if you all got it and I didn’t. Do I think I’d also have to buy the blue shirt to go underneath it? Yes. Do I think I’d never ever wear that shirt except with that top? No, I don’t. Would that stop me?! NO IT WOULD NOT. Thanks for reading Anchor Baby! This post is public so feel free to share it.Toddler Balloon Pants from Hanna Andersson ($45 $31.50)More stripes – and more Hanna Andersson – here in the form of these adorable trousers, which I would absolutely love to buy for Roman, but won’t, because (a) he has more clothes than the rest of the family combined but also (b) he won’t be wearing trousers again until October. But if I lived in a more temperate climate I would be seriously considering buying these. Any Hanna Andersson stuff I’ve bought has lasted so well, and Roman is currently wearing several pairs of pyjamas that Atlas wore (a lot!) at his age, so I do feel like it’s a good brand to buy if you have a few kids you can hand things down to.Caroline Hirons’ Firm and Glow Kit ($160)Late last year, I invested in Caroline Hirons’ Kitmas kit; it cost £140, contained skincare worth £488, and while I have no idea whether or not it made any real difference to my skin, I do know that having this little twice-daily skincare routine just felt like a lovely way to spoil myself. Now, she’s come out with her latest drop, right as I’ve drained the last bit of my eye cream, and I’m very tempted… This latest kit is aimed at people who are worried about dehydration, loss of firmness (who isn’t!) and tired-looking skin, and contains five cult skincare products with a combined value of £324, being sold together – with a cute little kit bag – for £120. (My one complaint would be that not every kit needs an eye cream because, in my experience at least, any eye cream I’ve ever owned has lasted at least twice as long as any other product! Maybe I’m not using enough, I don’t know.) Ruggable x Jonathan Adler Venom Sapphire Rug ($299 $239.20)I want a cool runner for our entryway, and while I do – of course – need this runner to be cool and colourful and spark joy (lol), I also need it to be washable. Which is why I’ve been looking at Ruggable. Their Jonathan Adler collaboration is very much up my street – snakes! tigers! colour! – and this runner is seriously tempting me, especially as they’ve recently reconfigured their rugs so that you no longer need a rug pad + rug. This is an all-in-one machine washable runner that would look so cute in our house… (This may also be the ADHD talking but that picture above is making me think I should take a paintbrush and some black paint and start splashing it at my wall…)Varley’s Half-Zip Sweat ($148) and Matching Shorts ($98)Okay, I know these are a million dollars, but I’m here to give you some terrible news: Varley’s Doublesoft fabric is worth every single cent. I was recently at The Find downtown in Fort Wayne, a boutique that was having a massive moving sale (yes, that’s where I found my beloved Rails trousers), and I tried on some Varley stuff and when I tell you it felt like butter… I’m not exaggerating. They didn’t have the right sizes for me (these run small!), but if they had I’m almost positive I would have indulged. I’ll be keeping an eye on any and all chances to buy Varley on sale from now until the day I die.And that’s all, folks! Am I getting less covetous? Have I just stumbled upon fewer cute things? (Could it be both?!) Anchor Baby is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rosemarymaccabe.substack.com/subscribe