By now, all of you who were interested in seeing Confessions of a Shopaholic have probably done so, which means I can finally write about it. I actually saw it last week Saturday and before seeing the movie I was in a great mood even though it was Valentine’s Day and I was technically without a Valetine (aside from my own charming son).

Three of us ate dinner at a cute Japanese place in the East Village called Cha An known for its tea selection and adorable desserts (although we had bowls of unagi and rice too) before picking up candy at m2m (a sort-of Asian convenient store with a bunch of yummy goodies and mochi) and heading up to Times Square. After scoring good seats, we giggled at the previews and behaved like a bunch of young girls before the movie began; we were definitely ready for a feel-good chick flick.

The movie begins all bubbly and as colorful as a bowl full of gumballs. Isla Fisher runs around in some of the most hideous outfits I’d ever seen (although she still managed to look adorable) avoiding her debt-collectors and falling head over heels for her sexy boss. Everything about the movie is exactly what you would expect…well, almost everything.

In essence, there is a lot of fluff I could comment on about this movie (especially all of that Henri Bendel store placement), but what was interesting is how incredibly un-feel-good it was when I was sure it would be almost as feel-goody as Legally Blond – you see, I was a real shopaholic and (unfortunately) did dig myself deep in debt. I’ve actually had many sleepless nights worrying about my debt and wondering how I ended up in such a financial mess. I’ve screened my phone calls and made only partial payments. I’ve looked at my closet full of Prada, Dior and Bottega while crying because I was actually hungry and couldn’t afford anything more than a single package of ramen a day (because it only cost twenty cents).

And although those days are now over, watching Rebecca Bloomwood avoid her own financial reality made me really depressed. I didn’t find it funny that she was avoiding her debt collectors, I found it painful and awful. I left the theatre with a knot in my stomach and didn’t want to talk with anyone at all.

Once I finally calmed my nerves down enough to fall asleep, I was woken up by strange stomach pains and ended up throwing up all of the delicious Japanese food I had eaten earlier. It was lovely, actually, just lovely.

Anyway, I’m still a shopaholic, but not like I was before. I haven’t used a credit card in over 5 years and recommend you all do the same. I have also trained myself to find an abundant amount of joy in small things like the toys at Kidrobot. A lot of it has to do with growing up I suppose, but I still get really weak in the knees when I walk past Prada. In fact, one really amazing piece each season in enough to keep my wardrobe evolving and my fashion cravings satisfied. It really is amazing how much pleasure and confidence I gain from an amazing pair of heels.