Post-Pregnancy Shopping

Most of you probably know that shopping isn't at the top of my favorite activities. Not even close. ESPECIALLY clothes shopping.... I don't know if it's the spending money, the fact I have a hard time finding clothes that fit and/or that I like the style of, or if it's the actual "hunting" part I hate.
Anyhow.
We don't have a scale, so I'm not sure where I am with my post-baby weight loss. Two weeks ago, I'd lost about half the weight I'd gained. I think I've lost a bit more, but I've been having major PMS-style munchie attacks, so I'm sure I'm not down to where I should be by now. I'm close to being able to fit back into my pre-preggers clothes, but not close enough to dare wearing them in public. (I'm definitely going to have to do some work on my abs this time around.)
I ruthlessly purged my closet this spring, shortly after breaking out the maternity clothes. Apparently at the time, I got rid of most of my good dress shirts (since I don't work anymore, the only thing I dress up for is church pretty much). (Hmm... I just thought about this.... Maybe I should check the ironing pile....) I have only two shirts that currently fit (and only a couple more that I'm not fitting into yet), and I've worn them both to church since having Jacob. So I decided to go buy a new shirt for Jacob's baby dedication.
Our town only has one clothing store - Maurice's - besides WalMart (I don't leave town to go shopping unless absolutely necessary). I quit shopping at WalMart during high school, due to their inability to carry clothes that fit me or that last. (I think they've gotten better, but I still don't shop there - at least not often, and definitely not for "nice" clothes.)
So last Friday, I headed out to Maurice's to find myself a top. I was excited, because they recently started carrying plus sizes, up to size 24, so I knew they'd have clothes in my size (instead of my size being the biggest they carry). (And by "recently" I mean "since last time I shopped there" which may very well have been before Nathan was born.)
This was such a frustrating experience on so many levels:

1. Instead of being one size larger than I was pre-babies, I am two sizes larger. (Blow to the ego.)
2. But not totally. Just enough bigger than an XL that it doesn't look good, but not big enough to get an XXL to hang right on me.
3. And add to that, I have to buy the larger size knowing (hoping) that in a couple months it won't fit me at all. I don't like spending money.
4. All styles aren't available in all sizes. The "plus-size" is a separate section, and I didn't like any of the styles they had. (Actually not the styles (cut) so much as the fabric designs/types they chose to use.)
5. Maurice's is a pretty trendy store. For the most part, the dressy tops tend to have random pieces of draping fabric, bangles, beads, straps or other oddities. Or one of those banded bottoms that I'm terrified to even try on, as I'm afraid it will make my backside look even larger.
6. There were a handful of tops that I liked, but they didn't have them in big enough sizes. Seriously - I've heard the average woman in America is size 14. So why don't they carry the MOST of that size (which would be an XL), instead of carrying two of XL (which immediately sell), and 40 of size medium?

I ended up with two tops I liked - a green satin one and a purple super-stretchy cowl-neck sweater. I did have a coupon for 20% off (that I'm pretty sure was about four years old, but it didn't have an expiration date).

It ended up being too cold (and windy and rainy) on Sunday for Jacob's dedication to wear the green shirt (it was short-sleeve). It was one of the ones I was in-between sizes, so I'm thinking I'll hold on to it for another month or two (leave the tags on), and by then I'll hopefully have lost enough weight to fit into the smaller size.

I guess I should be glad I wasn't shopping for pants. I don't even want to think about how many sizes larger my backside has gotten.