Attention shoppers: I have bad news. I’m on a budget.

I’ve tried the whole budget thing in the past, and it usually lasts until I reach the Filene’s parking lot. But I mean it this time. I’ve been eating lunch at home. I haven’t quite stooped to the level of starting a savekristen.com Web site, but I’m close. And for the past two weeks, I’ve done my best to stay far, far away from any retail establishments.

It’s worked. Kind of.

OK, so I popped into Marden’s for a minute and tried on a great Kenneth Cole skirt, but I resisted. Ditto on wool pants from The Limited, a pair of much-needed living room chairs, and a pair of tall brown boots by Worthington. Neither the chairs nor the boots were leather anyway, and altogether, I saved myself a few hundred dollars. Not bad for the first week.

I went to T.J. Maxx ‘n More with ShopGirl Jr. one night and hardly batted an eyelash at the Anne Klein shoes I had lusted after for months. I resisted the gourmet condiments and spiced nuts. I steadfastly walked past the candle aisle. And I hardly even noticed the racks of absurdly affordable Christmas cards.

Things were going swell. Then the catalogs started to arrive.

First Sundance. Next Crate & Barrel. Then Pottery Barn.

“What strange hell is this?” I thought, as my magazine rack filled. Normally, I hate catalog shopping, but in this case, catalogs were like Nicorette. They weren’t the real thing, but they eased the craving. So there I sat, on my threadbare couch, wishing I had bought the chairs and flipping through page after page of Calphalon cookware, high-thread-count sheets, handmade jewelry and glittery pine-tree candles.

A velvet slipcover caught my eye. That would solve the couch problem, but for $299, it would not ease my budget deficit.

I grabbed a stack of Post-its and a pen. Hey, even if I’m broke, I can still start thinking about Christmas presents, right? Well, it ended up that most of the Christmas presents I found were for me. Though I did find the perfect gift in Pottery Barn for my sister, and a great Hanukkah gift for a friend in Crate & Barrel.

The real trouble began when Williams-Sonoma showed up in my mailbox. Not only did it have everything I wanted, but I realized that T.J. Maxx had most of it for a lot less. Which led me to rationalize. If I could buy that Le Creuset Dutch oven at T.J.’s, that’s a deal, right? And that cute little vial of lemon oil by Furst-McNess – I could have it for less. I was planning on making lemon-poppyseed muffins anyway. The plates, the cookware, the table linens. It was all too much for me.

I needed a vacation. From catalogs. From shopping. From my budget. I got $40 out of the bank, drove to see my grandmother in Massachusetts and resolved not to buy anything but gas. I saw the family, ate for free, and had a grand time. Until I decided to stop at my parents’ house on the way back to Bangor.

Mom fed me dinner, bought me breakfast, and sent me home with a bag full of cookies.

And a shopping bag full of catalogs.

ShopNotes

In response to L.R.’s request for cotton or natural-fiber undergarments, reader Rella Bezanilla wrote in to say that the Green Store in Belfast carries them. And you may also want to check out the Vermont Country Store (www.vermontcountrystore.com), which carries silk and cotton bras and panties.

ShopGirl would love to hear from you. Send questions, comments or suggestions by mail to: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329, or by e-mail to: kandresen@bangordailynews.net.