Like all things in life, landing my new gig at M3 required a lot of shopping

I’m pretty sure I could find just about any excuse to shop, but there is hardly a better reason to shop than a new job.

So, as soon as word hit that I would be working for M3 and Capital Area Women’s Lifestyle Magazine, I hit the streets, I mean stores.

I love all kinds of shopping – minus grocery shopping – and lucky for me, this new job called for all sorts of shopping.

• First of all, and my favorite – CLOTHES!

I’ve been in the workforce awhile and thanks to many marathons of What Not to Wear, I have a nice collection of business casual attire – the standard A-line skirt, the black dress and so on. But if you’ve ever met me, you know standard isn’t exactly my thing. I like to take it up a notch. And lucky for me, new job time arrived with fall – my favorite season to shop in.

In the past few weeks I’ve added some trendy piece (jeggings and oxford shoes anyone?) along with a few more dresses and, of course, a new bag to my wardrobe.

• Next up, the living quarters!

The new job meant I got to relocated to Lansing (YES!) which meant a new home to decorate, paint and accessorize. I decided to go along with the 1950s feel of my new living space and have been on the hunt for colored glass pieces to put above my cupboards. I’m also on the lookout for interesting window treatments and space savers like unique baskets since I’m downsizing a bit with this move—all of it very fun to shop for.

• And lastly I got to shop for my NEW OFFICE!

Coming from the newspaper world, my box of tricks didn’t exactly include anything … nice. Newspaper rule: if you don’t want it ink-stained than don’t have it on your desk. And so my old “offices” included bulletin board filled with post cards and photos. Walk into the M3 or CAWLM office you you’ll quickly notice messy bulletin boards don’t quite fit the décor.

Not a problem for me. I picked up a few frames, a candle and a candy dish to accent my new work space. And since my family loves me so much, my desk is also adorned with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which I plan to keep up because I really love how it looks.

All of this shopping really has me on a roll (and I’m sure is making my hubby a bit nervous). Still, I have no plans of stopping anytime soon, because the first greatest excuse ever to shop is just around the corner – the holidays.