Last Look at 2013

So many things have happened in 2013. We moved into a new house, we had our first baby and celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! I can't believe that this year is already over but I'm looking forward to what the new year has to bring.

Hope you have a happy and safe New Year.

November {Budgeting Series}

skirt / blouse / booties

I cannot believe that the year is almost over. I think 2013 was the most eventful and fastest year of my life. After my birthday (in October) I got some cash to spend and wasn't sure what I needed the most for this winter. Option1- colorful winter coat or Option2 - black booties. I ordered J.Crew Lady Day coat and was very disappointed when it arrived - the color was way off. I loved the color that was on the screen but it turned out to be a Christmas tree green and I didn't want to remind everyone of Christmas for the rest of the year. So I returned it. And then yelled at complained to costumer service about their color representation online. All they did is apologized and waived my return shipping fee.

The idea of Black Friday is becoming obsolete, as all the sales were in effect days before Thanksgiving and some stores were open Thanksgiving day. Lame! Who wants to go out in the freezing cold after a day of cooking, eating and then cleaning up? Not me! I was curled up under a blanket with hot tea and some chocolate, doing Christmas shopping online. That's the best way to do it without taking away from the family oriented day.

Technically my November spending is $0.00 as I used my birthday gift money to splurge a little. But I'm sure what I didn't spend will come in handy this month as I'm buying Christmas presents left and right. 

Let the holiday craziness begin. Hope you have a great day! 

Color Scheme

blouse: Vince Camuto
skirt: from Belarus
shoes: Guess
coat: DKNY

For different seasons I like to stick with a single color scheme. For summer it's pastels and whites and for fall it's deep reds and yellows. Now that we are in full swing winter here, I'm all about blacks and greens. But before Thanksgiving is over this is the last outfit in fall color scheme. Thank you for stopping by and have a great day! 

The One Where I Pretend To Look At My Watch

sweater, scarf: TJMaxx
  skirt: Banana Republic
booties: Old Navy
watch: Target

We've been enjoying such a perfect fall this year. All the warm, sunny days with cool crisp air and cold nights with frosty mornings. Hoping the snow will hold out until after Thanksgiving because Christmas is already taking over. Speaking of which, have you started your preparations for turkey day? Fortunately, I'm not spending it at home, so the heavy lifting and all the prep work isn't going to be done by me (yay). I still am going to be helping out, but mostly just eating and then hitting the sales. No, I'm not going there into the cold with the crazy crowds. Most of the retailers run the same sales online, so I will be snuggled up in my PJs, drinking hot tea and clicking away. Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Highs and Lows + Giveaway

pants, top, cardigan: Loft
booties: Old Navy
bag: Kate Spade
watch:Target

There are different types of purchases I make according to my closet needs (mostly wants).There are the very expensive articles (like this Kate Spade bag) and there are the bargain buys (like these Old Navy booties). The interesting thing is that both of them are very versatile and I love wearing them - bag is high quality and very durable, and the booties are perfect for my everyday mommy chores. I love designer pieces but at the same time, I don't shy away from bargain finds and thrift stores. It's all about combing different aspects of fashion to create great style, no matter how low or how high the price of an item is. Do you buy things at different price points? Or do you stick to one kind of product? 

Speaking of shopping, how would you like to owe this gorgeous flower necklace? I love statement jewelry and this one would be perfect addition to any closet! It will run until Tuesday and you can enter to win with the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What Would You Do For a Blog?

shirt: Loft
cardigan: J.Crew
skirt: Express
shoes: Guess
bag: Target

As the weather gets colder, it's a lot harder to take outfit pictures outside. The photographer is all bundled up in coat and I'm freezing my tail off for about ten minutes. Then I ask myself, why am I doing this?

Well, for one, I love doing it because blogging is my creative outlet, which doesn't let me get into mommy jeans rut at home.

Secondly, as I've mentioned before, my goal is to inspire people and show girls that you can dress fashionably yet modestly. 

I hope my efforts are not in vain.

Really, I will have to find a better location for outfit pictures this winter because I'm on the verge of giving up. The cold wind and snow will do that to ya. 

You can only go so far until you can't feel your toes and shivering from the icy chill.

What would you do for you blog? How far would you take your determination? 

Do share ladies! 

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Cheap 'n Good

dress: Target
sweater: Gap
shoes: Payless
bag: Target

Why is it when you shop at different stores, you judge the price point differently? If I'm in J.Crew and they have a dress on sale for $50 I will think it's a steal but then when I'm in Target and dress for $35 seems like a highway robbery.

The quality, for one, is definitely an issue and, although I do love boutique stores and designer apparel, nothing makes you feel better then knowing you scored a great buy for a low price.  

I've said it before and I will say it again - Target is my domain. I can rarely walk out of there without a sweater or pair of jeans. No, really, it's that bad.

Honestly, unless you are loaded (and I'm not) buying designer clothes for everyday wear seems ridiculous. Of course, every girl needs wants a designer handbag and a pair of statement shoes or jewelry, but for day to day wear, it's simply not practical. Geeesh, look who's talking about practical.

To sum it up, cheap 'n good is the stuff my closet is made off (with a few exceptions) but I still want a pair of booties and a handbag.

It's definitely a girl thing. And there is no stopping it.

Hope you have a great day!

October {Budgeting Series}

plaid shirt - $14.95 (H&M)
brown boots - $33.95 (DSW)
black booties - $24.95 (Old Navy)
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TOTAL: $73.85

I can't believe we are in November already... The cold weather is upon us and I'm not a fan already. Honestly, when I sat down to calculate my total for this month, I could not think of anything else I bought except these three items. 

Well, technically I bought more (it was my birthday month after all) but ended up returning most of it. Like these Coach booties that I found in TJMaxx were gorgeous and comfy but the soles seemed too thin for winter. Also, the J.Crew crossbody had so many scratches on it, I had to return it. It seemed to have a very poor quality leather material.

I'm so happy I stayed withing my budget ($100) and to be completely honest, it's getting easier to do so. I'm forcing myself to wear everything I have, remixing and styling in different ways. Also, controlling myself at every sale sign and especially in Target helps a lot. Thinking critically about every piece and 'do it NEED it' or 'do I WANT it' approach is helping me avoid unnecessary purchases.

This month I'm all about winter staples which are going to last me for years to come. Since I have some gifts from my birthday, this month's shopping should be really fun. Will report back after Thanksgiving. 

Hope you have a great day, be inspired to stay withing your budget and link up below! 

Statement

sweater: Gap
vest: Land's End
skirt: thrifted
boots: from Belarus
necklace: ILY Couture

Every outfit is just an outfit until you add accessories. A statement necklace and few bangles, a scarf and a designer handbag can really spice up a boring get up. 

There were times when I went overboard and piled on everything I could find; and then there were times when an outfit was just blah. But really knowing when to add and when not to add the right kind of  accessories is a skill.

Sometimes it's easy getting dressed and look stylish but others, not so much.

There is a reason why some bloggers are very successful and others are not; why some women look stylish and others look trashy. It takes some common sense and an eye for balance. Also it takes planning of the outfits and maybe tiny bit of pinning. 

In all seriousness, nobody has so much imagination and creative stride to put together a 'blog-worthy' outfit every time, but with planning and correct amount of accessories it really can happen. Probably not every time but often enough to make you feel like a fashionista. 

Hope you have a great day!

For Better and For Worse

When I go through perfectly edited blog posts and see nicely done family photos, I start to think that some couples have it all together. Their kids look great on Christmas cards and their Instagram accounts are just a mile-high pile of perfect corners of their house. How do they seem to have it all and I have a snotty infant and a messy kitchen? 

First I got jealous but then I got real. We only show what we want on this little space and paint the image we want others to see. It goes with everything from clothes to children to bedtime stands. Yes, great images and perfect posts help build following and people may PINterest the heck out of your images but that's not real you they see. They see a version of you, and usually it's the best version. 

I, for one, don't have it all together. There are times when I feel discouraged by the smallest following ever, feel angry at my husband for not being a bit more sensitive and run out of patience with my son. We are far from perfect and that's something I want to share

We started as any couple - full of dreams, hopes and aspirations. I really thought that we were different than everybody else, that our story was special and the love we had would keep the fire burning forever.          But I was naive, young and very wrong. 

Fire will not keep burning unless you keep putting firewood into it. If you keep burning on the first love logs, soon the fire will die and you will be left with nothing but cold coils. 

Behind every outfit, lovely smile, and baby picture there is always a story.

The cute pictures of Jonathan at the park have a less then perfect behind the scenes story. 

We started the day off with nice family breakfast and as I was cleaning up, hubby went outside to rake leaves. The weather was gorgeous and I thought we could go for a nice walk. I asked him, and he said, later. Fine. Later it is. (I probably had a little bit of attitude there)

I thought we would go the park near by, take some pictures of Jonathan, enjoy the warmth of the autumn sun and just hang out as a family. My husband on the other hand, thought that I meant walk around the neighborhood. So we were bickering and getting impatient about who said what, and in the process, I forgot to grab diapers and a bottle for Jonathan

Then, of course, I had to do my make-up and hair and was taking a little longer than he thought was appropriate amount of time to get ready to go to the park. 

(We have very different ideas about time limits, apparently)

As we got into the car and drove off, I realized that the stroller was still in the garage, as I took Jonathan for a walk the day before. We had to turn around and go back for the stroller, as husband reminded me about my absentmindedness yet again.

Needless to say, by the time we got to the park, we were in less than pleasant mood. 

But those are the times when it takes some work. 

It takes a calm and gentle voice of one person to bring the other one back into the good place. To remind yourselves, that everything is OK and the most important part is that you are together. 

I have to admit, it's not easy. Sometimes, I fail at being gentle and calm and blow up like a hot air balloon. Other times, I'm full of love and good intentions and nothing seems to bother me. 

Life is full of those moments. But it's the ability to learn, to moved passed it, to enjoy life in every way, to laugh at the weird parts and to forgive each other for the mistakes. I'm still working on that.

After all, we sighed up for better and for worse.

Currently

button-down, crossbody: TJMaxx
sweater: H&M
jeans: Target
booties: Old Navy

Currently I am ...

-  focusing more on my marriage. Let's face it once the baby is here, daddy takes the back burner and really that isn't right

- reading Russian books to my baby

- planning the holiday parties and dinner menues

- doing lots of shoes shopping looking for a perfect pair of riding boots. Any suggestions?

- realizing that at the quarter century mark in my life (next week. eeek!) I have so much to be thankful for

- making an effort to be friendly and make friends, putting extra thought and time to revive old friendships

- enjoying a Bible study class 

- praying for wisdom

- loving the perfect fall weather

- looking on the positive side and counting my blessings

- eating an entire box of candy. not even sorry

[Not] Copycat

top: H&M
cardi; Gap
skirt: J.Crew
shoes: Guess
bag: Nine West

First thing first, I did not copy color combo of this outfit. The above was my Sunday outfit and I was not anywhere close Kendi to even remotely think of stealing her idea. But I do love the mustard and plum-ish wine color together. It was not even that cold on Sunday but I pulled out all of my winter wool stuff (skirt and cardigan are pure wool). It's hard to to imagine what I'm going to be dressed like in winter now that I don't have the extra baby weight to keep me warm. 

Yesterday I started a link up party over here and haven't received many (well like none) submissions for the Inspiration Monday. Talk about discouraging. 

Ladies, link up your inspiration outfits, thoughts, pictures, DIYs and any other ideas you have so we all can be inspired by the creativity and words of wisdom. 

On the other hand, I've been working on so many different 'words of wisdom' posts lately that I'm running out of ideas. For a person who's not good horrible at creative writing and majored in mathematics in college, I sure picked a weird hobby. Ha!

 A fresh-off-the-boat immigrant is writing life advice and words of wisdom in a foreign language while taking outfit photos of church outfits. Are you still following?

Hope you are having a great week making leaf angels 

(like the snow angels but in the beautiful foliage. get it?)

Why Not

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top: Old Navy (DIY)
jacket: Loft
skirt: thifted
shoes: TJMaxx
purse: Old Navy 

Sometimes I find a piece of clothing that I wear all the time. It's comfortable, goes with lots of colors and can be dressed up or down. Case in point, this skirt.

Yes, I found this skirt for mere $4.99 but the quality of wool and lightness of the fabric, as well as the fit is just perfect. I've worn this skirt almost every day for the last two weeks. And why not? 

Sometimes, you put together a perfect outfit and who said that you can't wear it over and over again? The fashion police is not going to come knocking on your door if you wear the same outfit for a week. Because if it really works and makes you feel great, that's all that matters.

P.S Check back later today for the how-to on this jeweled top. I did do this myself.

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Enjoy that sunshine!

Linking up with Simply Lulu, Style Elixir, Her and Nicole, 
Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins, Simply Just Lovely and My Girlish Whims 

Thrifty Chic {Take Two}

shirt, skirt: thrifted
necklace: Forever 21
watch: target
glasses: DKNY
shoes: borrowed from sister

I get asked a lot about my thrift store finds and how do they don't look like second hand clothes at all. 

Well, that's the idea. 

Thrift store shopping is always an adventure in itself. Will you find a great buy or walk away empty handed? And when you do find that J.Crew cashmere sweater for mere four bucks, you feel like you just won a lottery.

So why not? 

Why not mix high end designer pieces with thrift store finds? 

Why not even go head-to-toe thrifted? 

It's not for everyone but it's sure rewarding when done right (I wrote a post about this earlier). Once you score some great finds, you will be asking yourself why you haven't done this earlier. 

Stop by your local thrift shop and see what you find. 

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with Inspiration Monday and Wordless Wednesdday