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! 

A Thankful Heart + Inspiration Monday Link Up

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas in full swing, my heart is just so full. I'm thankful for so much in my life that it's hard to express in words. I'm so thankful for this life I've been given and the countless blessings in it. I'm so glad for the tradition to set this day aside and just rest (although some of us have to cook all day long which takes some work;-). It is so good to get together with family, eat lots of deliciousness, see all the children run around (and get a little bit cranky) then take a nap (or two). The best part is sharing it with the ones we love, focusing more on meaningful things in life and less on materialistic.

In the spirit of thankfulness, I challenge you to an attitude of gratitude. Each day from now until the end of the year, choose one specific thing to be thankful for every day, write it down and thank God for it. Make it a priority to be grateful wherever you are, no matter what the circumstances may bring. Live it everyday, choosing not to worry and stress out, instead focus on the good things in life, Count your blessings and as a result you will gain a thankful heart.

Winter Essentials

1/2/3/4/5

(From left to right starting at left corner)
1/2/3/4/5/6

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

I'm going to be taking the rest of the week off to focus on family and friends, to give God thanks for all that we have! Honestly, Thanksgiving is such an understated holiday (except the food gorging, of course) in a way that we really don't take the time to be thankful. Running errands, doing black Friday shopping, cooking the bird and entertaining guests all gets in a way of the true meaning of this day. So when you are enjoying your time with your family and having an abundance of food, remember to be thankful from the bottom of your heart and let everyone know. Go around the table and say one thing you are thankful for, I'm sure it will bring more holiday cheer and leave you with awesome memories.

With the holidays approaching and the temperatures dropping into single digits, the clothes have switched from glam to cozy and warm. Let's face it, in winter the outfit details aren't very obvious because we are bundled up under layers of coats, scarves and gloves. So the main outfit details for the winter are a coat, great looking booties and a killer handbag. These are some my favorites, raging in prices from bargain to expensive. Beat the crowds by doing some online shopping earlier in the week and have fun with it, don't stress because it's not worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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! 

Priorities + Inspiration Monday Link Up

We all have priorities in life and it's really easy to determine what they are. Just take a look at your life and examine it. What do you do everyday? What do you spend the most amount of time on? That's it. That's your priorities. I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Frankly, I'm trying to get better at time management, and that's where knowing my priorities comes in handy. 

I've been focusing on the baby, then my blog, then the church ministries, then the house, then my DIY projects, then myself, then my family, then my friends... and then my husband. And that's just not right. In the very beginning of our relationship, there was this unsaid feeling of high importance. We were important. He was (very) important to me. And although I'm doing all these things (supposedly for him) like cooking, cleaning the house, taking care of our child, spending time on a date night (maybe once a week), really I have put him last in my train of thought (sorry babe). I've made excuses; I got angry, blaming him for our relationship's pitfalls. 

Yes, I know he's a grown man and very capable of taking care of himself. But it's not about fear of spoiling my man, it's about the love I want to nourish and keep for years to come. He is the most important person, my best friend and the love of my life, so it's only logical that in order for me to keep the fire burning and have a lasting relationship with my other half, I need to put more effort into our relationship. 

The lesson of the day is, that if you think something is important, you will find time, money and opportunity to get it done. That's just a fact. So if there is anything in your life that you let take a back seat and haven't paid so much attention to, listing countless excuses - stop it. Decide today and make a conscientious effort to improve things, figure out what will get you (and keep you) motivated... and then make things happen.