Spending your days trying to find ways to save money is no easy task and for all our hard work I think we deserve a little private time of rest and relaxation! Of course, we can’t just head over to the local salon or spa, so in the nature of DIY we are going to make our own at home spa! At home spa days are easy enough and can still be super relaxing. First and foremost, you are going to need to carve out a bit of time for yourself. Whether you are going to do you at home spa after work or on a weekend, make sure to make it in your calendar and give yourself a good chunk of time to decompress! Turn off your cell phone, unplug your phone, just relax in this time you have set aside for yourself! Next, assemble your tools! All you need to turn your bathroom into your own personal spa are a few items that you most likely already have around the house.
1. Some soothing spa music on Pandora
2. A Lush Bath Bomb
3. A luscious facial scrub
4. A delightful bubble bath
5. A rejuvenating facial mask
6. A moisturizing body lotion
7. Nail polish remover
8. A sexy nail polish shade
9. A simple nail kit
Relax and enjoy!
Do you like to indulge yourself with at home spa day? What sorts of products or “treatments” do you like to use? Do you like listening to relaxing music or prefer watching a movie or tv show while you decompress? Let us know in the comments!
Cable television. Most people have it, but do you really need it? I can remember a time when TV was the major form of entertainment in my life. This was before the invention of DVDs and back when you rented VHS tapes from your local Blockbuster! Before computers and the internet could provide you with an endless stream of entertainment. Before cell phones played video. Before cell phones could fit in your pocket! At that time, TV was everything and the shows on TV weren’t half bad either! But times have changed, TV programming is not what it used to be (ahem, reality shows!) and although DVDs remain popular for watching shows and movies, you don’t actually need a DVD to watch a movie these days!
Of course, I am talking about services like Netflix, Hulu and even iTunes and Amazon Prime! Nowadays, you don’t even need cable to watch TV, its kinda crazy and a bargain for those who choose to make the switch from cable to Netflix. Think about how much you actually use your TV and what you use your TV for? Are you watching DVDs that you own or rent? Are you watching shows via DVR or On Demand services instead of watching them live? Do you like to go back and watch previous seasons of your favorite shows? Do you get your news and weather information from the internet or an app? If any of these questions sound like you most of the time, you may not need cable TV.
Let me give you some more food for thought! The average “triple play” bundle from your cable provider costs $100 a month and gives you TV, Internet and Phone service. Most people don’t even have a home phone anymore because they use their cell phones! Internet alone costs about $40 from a standard cable provider. So, let’s say that by switching from cable to Netflix you will save at least $50 a month ($60 from canceling cable – $10 for Netflix per month) and that is at the very least! If you also subscribe to extended cable or premium channels, you could be saving even more! So, how would you like an extra $600 in your pocket a year? What could you be doing with that extra $50 a month?
But wait, you say you really can’t live without TV because you have a few shows you are addicted to and you don’t want to cancel your premium channels because you like to watch new releases? There are plenty of alternate places to find movies and current TV shows. Services like RedBox allow you to rent new releases for just about a $1 a day! You can even subscribe to seasons of your favorite TV shows from iTunes and have unlimited access to episodes after they air live! If you are really looking to save some cash, Hulu has plenty of free TV shows available after they air, and if you use an iOS or android device, most television networks have a dedicated app where you can watch episodes the day after they air as well! If all else fails, your local library is a great resource for borrowing dvd’s of movies and TV shows, although you may not be able to find the new releases, you can definitely find a good flick for a quiet evening at home!
Do you currently subscribe to cable? Do you also use a subscription service like Netflix or Hulu Plus? Do you think you could make the switch from cable to Netflix? Are you really getting your money’s worth out of your cable tv? Is the money saved enough of a motivator, or do you need more convincing?
As you may or may not know (okay, you probably don’t know!) this month I am partaking in what I call a “Commercial Detox.” Basically, for the entire month of September I am exercising every ounce of self-control in my body to keep myself from making unnecessary or frivolous purchases. I have made it half way through this month, but now, I find myself cracking… because of you and the Beau bag! You have launched a very compelling marketing campaign for your new flagship bag. Not only is the bag attractive as f*@k, but you released an incredibly alluring video on your website in which a beautiful woman runs around NYC in search of her elusive Beau. On top of that, you went ahead and sent some of my favorite bloggers and internet personalities a complimentary Beau WITH a matching little USB version of the bag that is so darn adorable I CANNOT CONTAIN MYSELF! I literally cannot swing the proverbial dead cat without seeing your amazing new bag in one of my social media feeds! Its torture!
So, I began to cave. I started the “pre-purchase” stages of my mental preparation for buying an expensive bag. I checked the balance on my savings account every hour for two days… thinking. “I can afford this bag,” I told myself. “You can make this one exception to your spending freeze,” I negotiated in my mind. Then, I hit an almost miraculous road bump that had the power to completely derail me from this fashion obsession! I couldn’t decide which color Beau I would purchase! The pink and red was so bright and fun! The black so simple and chic! Even the black and tan caught my eye. “I could totally rock the black and tan,” I reasoned.
Aha! This was it, without a clear color choice, I wouldn’t be able to go through with the transaction… that was until I took a browsing around the Kate Spade website! You thought of everything, didn’t you, Kate, my dear! That’s why you included those lovely little vignettes in the rotating header for the Beau! Once I laid my eyes on that beautiful bag sitting beside a roman bust, some zebra’s and a paper fan, my heart melted and I knew my choice was made; it would be the all black bag for me!
Today I am probably going to take my SECOND trip to my local Kate Spade to oogle at the bag! My husband will have strict instructions to keep my wallet while I am in the store and not to return it to me until we leave the mall or I break out into uncontrollable sobbing! Please save me from myself and send ME a Beau! I promise to love it and cherish it all the days of my life! I’ll take pretty pictures of it and post them to instagram using your #meandmybeau tag! Think about it and I will leave you my email just in case you want my home address!
I know, we all get too many emails on a daily basis, but what if those emails you are getting were actually helping you out by keeping you informed, entertained and generally advancing your personal and professional knowledge? If that sounds interesting to you, you’re probably asking yourself how much something like that could cost you. Well, nothing! Except whatever time it takes you to read an email! Yep, that’s right! I have found three amazing and free subscription services that really help solve some of the major day-to-day issues facing busy professionals, students, and anyone else who is interested in learning and growing but can’t find the time to fit in long hours of personal development classes and self-help books! It’s about taking baby steps, and each day getting a little bit more news, information and advice
The Skimm
Who needs to pay for a newspaper when you can have the news delivered to your email inbox every morning, in a short but sweet summarized form that will help you to better understand the days events and discuss them competently? Busy professionals rejoice! The Skimm is just that! A daily dose of news (Monday-Friday) that tells you the need to know headlines, briefly explains the importance of the issues and helps you find ways to incorporate your news knowledge in day-to-day life to impress friends, family and coworkers!
DailyLit
Are you interested in reading more often but struggle to find the time to sit down and digest a complete novel? DailyLit is a free site that will send you short daily installments of books of your choosing that you can read on your computer or mobile device. Read via email or RSS anywhere you have an internet connection and leave you bulky paperback at home!
Netted
Do you enjoy hearing the latest news on awesome gadgets, technology, and apps but find it time-consuming searching through multiple popular technology and gadget websites each day? Try Netted by the Webby’s, a daily email subscription that keeps you up to date on the hottest new sites, apps and technology news. Short and sweet, this email promises its subscribers “better living through the internet” and if you’re reading this and are a fan of my blog I’m pretty sure this is right up your ally!
Do you currently use any email based subscription services? Do you like the opening your email inbox each morning to find something fun and useful instead of the day-to-day dregs of work emails and sale notifications? Which services do you subscribe to? Share them in the comments below!
As part of this month’s commercial detox, I have made it one of my goals not to purchase any unnecessary clothing. After all, I do have a wardrobe filled to the brim with clothes that I already own, most of them sitting unused at the backs of drawers or hidden between garments hanging in the closet. Since it’s now the end of summer as we head into fall, it’s about time to do a wardrobe change over anyhow, and in the process I plan to use the following tips to help me rediscover old pieces that have been hiding out of sight out of mind! The purpose of this exercise is not only to help me find existing items in my wardrobe that I haven’t been wearing, but to also help me create a “new” fall wardrobe by mixing and matching items I may not have normally thought to put together during that morning rush preparing for my work day! I suggest giving yourself a good amount of time dedicated to finishing this project, like two to four hours depending on the number of garments you own, so make sure to clear your schedule and your mind before you begin. I promise though, this will totally be worth it in the end and will almost be like a shopping experience except you’re using your own clothes and don’t even have to leave the house! Your credit card will thank you!
1. Prepare your space.
Before you begin this wardrobe transition, you will first need to have a good deal of space set out for yourself in your bedroom or living room where you can spread out your clothing and give good thought to how you want to style them for the fall season. Once you know the space you would like to use, I suggest cleaning it up a bit by sweeping or vacuuming the floor, making sure there are no other clothes or items that could get covered or lost during the process and generally make the space clear of any objects that might get in your way. This is an important step because your clothes are going to be everywhere during this process and getting them dirty or being too cramped will hinder your creative juices!
2. Grab your camera.
It doesn’t have to be a fancy DSLR, unless that’s what you want to use! Your cell phone’s camera , webcam or even a Polaroid will work fine! The point of the matter is that you need something to visually capture the outfits you are about to create. This is a very important step because you will need the visual reminder later on when you forget about your clothes and get back into your clothing rut!
3. Sort your clothing by color and type.
Now comes one of the hardest parts of this whole exercise. You will need to begin removing all the clothing from your closet, drawers, etc and start sorting them into piles laid out on your bed, the floor, etc. I suggest sorting clothing by the type of garment (blouse, long sleeve shirt, pants, etc) and then group them by color family the way you might do while washing them. I suggest the following color groupings, but yours may vary by the items in your closet: Darks (Black, Grey, Navy, Dark Greens, etc), Lights (White, cream, beige), and Brights (Colors of the rainbow). Once you have completed this step, all your clothing should be in piles around you. Don’t get overwhelmed! The next part can be super fun if you let it!
4. Start “shopping” your closet until you come up with at least 5 “new” outfits.
Go through your piles and take a good look at your clothes. Start putting together new outfits based on different combinations of clothing that you haven’t tried before. Try different techniques like layering blouses and sweaters, mix a few prints, imagine a dress or tunic as a top tucked in and belted! If you’re really lacking inspiration, pull our your laptop or iPad and start searching Pinterest for outfit inspiration. I bet you if you look hard enough at the clothing you have in front of you, you probably have items right in front of you that would create that ideal outfit you pinned last year! Don’t be afraid to swap garments out for one another. So, the look you want includes a henley, use a chambray instead. No short-sleeved blouse to go under your cardigan? Try a well fitted t-shirt instead! You don’t have to own every item you see on a model in order to capture her style. You just need an open mind to find the pieces in your own wardrobe that could act the same way to evoke the style!
5. Snap a quick pic of your “new” outfit.
Once you have an outfit put together, lay it out in front of you and photograph it. It would also help if you gave the outfit a name, like “Edgy Office Look” or “Casual Friday Polka Dots”. The image and name association are going to help you remember the outfit and what your thoughts were for wearing it later on when all your clothes have been put away. Another way to help you remember the outfit would be for you to hang it up as an outfit in your closet instead of separating the outfit into its pieces when you put it away.
6. Clean up and organization.
At this point, once you have all your new outfits photographed and planned out, you will need to start your clean up. If you change your clothing out for the season, proceed with putting last seasons clothing away and replacing the dominant spaces in your wardrobe with the current seasons clothing. Now is also a great time (since your clothing is in color coordinated piles) for you to look and see if you have any unnecessary duplicates, old, worn out or damaged pieces that need to be mended, discarded or donated to your local thrift shop! Slimming down your wardrobe is a great way to keep yourself motivated to wear all the pieces in your closet. Too often we get caught up wearing the same outfits repeatedly and when we get sick of them, the answer is shopping for new. Fight the urge to shop for new and shop your closet first!
Did this exercise inspire you to begin rediscovering your own wardrobe? Do you have more clothes than you actually wear on a regular basis but also find yourself constantly shopping for new? Think about your triggers for buying new clothing and let me know your plans to pare down your wardrobe or start wearing pieces that you had forgotten about! We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below!
Coffee house visits can be a major source of unnecessary, and usually avoidable, expense in the average professionals life. Don’t get me wrong, I love Starbucks and although spending $3-6 dollars on a gourmet beverage may seem like a minor thing if you are making these trips occasionally, daily visits can certainly become very costly. Think about it, visiting a Starbucks every work day can cost you $20 a week and $1,040 a year! That is rather much for a single beverage a day habit and that’s not even including weekends! So, what’s a girl to do if she wants to avoid this expense? Well, make it at home, of course! Most people do own a coffee machine, even if they get their coffee fix elsewhere, so put yours to good use with this simple recipe I have created at home using Starbucks coffee products! Hopefully, this will help you see that a delicious barista style drink doesn’t have to cost you much time or money, and you can still say your drinking Starbucks, because, well, you are! I will be using a Keurig to brew my coffee, but you can easily translate this to a standard coffee machine!
What You’ll Need
A Reusable Starbucks Cup: I bought this simple reusable Starbucks cup earlier this year when Starbucks was running a reusable cup promotion. I believe the cup only cost me $1 and it looks exactly like a regular Starbucks cup!
Starbucks Cafe Verona K-Cup: This coffee is also available in regular ground form, but I use this blend because it is actually made with chocolate in the brew so it is already a little sweet and mocha flavored.
Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa: I only use half of a packet in order to get that salted caramel flavor without my coffee tasting like hot chocolate.
Creamer: I use a lite non-dairy creamer, but milk, soy/almond/rice milk, or cream will do fine as well!
Whipped Cream: You don’t need this per se, but if you want to give yourself that extra special Starbucks feeling, its easy to add a but of whipped cream to the top of your drink before you lid it.
Sweetener: Although the coffee and the cocoa itself are sweet, you may want a bit of something extra. I use stevia to sweeten my coffee, but feel free to use whatever you’d like. Just make sure to go a little easier on the sweetener than you normally would because your drink is already slightly sweetened.
Garnish: I garnish this drink with just a pinch of the cocoa mix, some natural sea salt and some colorful pink sugar crystals, but you can top it or not top it however you would like!
Let’s start brewing!
The first thing you will need to do is brew your coffee. K-Cups are super simple, but they do cost a bit more than regular coffee grounds. Obviously, you will just use whatever method of brewing your coffee you have available to you! Once I have my coffee brewed, I transfer it to the reusable Starbucks cup and spoon in half a packet of the cocoa mix. I then add my creamer and sweetener to taste. If you plan to add whipped topping, make sure you leave a little room at the top of your cup for that. Next, add your desired amount of whipped topping and your garnish. I use a small wire sieve to distribute that pinch of cocoa mix evenly. I then add another pinch of sea salt and the pink sugar crystals for added color and general delightfulness!
Voila! Top your cup with its lid and take a sip! Delish right? Depending on the size you made, this recipe costs at least half of what you would pay at Starbucks, is significantly fewer calories, and is quicker than the Starbucks drive thru!
Has this recipe inspired you to start making your own coffee-house drinks at home? Would you be interested in more easy, at-home coffee recipes like this? Do you visit Starbucks or your local coffee-house as part of your daily commute to work? Or, perhaps you already brew your coffee at home? Let us know in the comments!
I had a great time this summer. I went on mini vacations, I visited other cities, I went out to dinner (a lot!) and in general, spoiled myself. But, now that fall is right around the corner, I have taken a look at my life and my wallet and decided I really need to take it easy on the spending. I have some big financial goals I want to hit this year and picking up a $35 YSL lipstick every week is really not a necessary expense. So, for the month of September I am going to partake in what I am calling a commercial detox! This means that during the month of September I am not going to spend any unnecessary money on clothing, food, makeup, whatever! This doesn’t mean I don’t spend any money at all on the extras, but it means that if I want a new tube of foundation, I have to use up my old one first. Or if I want a yummy gourmet diner, I am going to have to make one myself! I am going to write-up a list of rules for myself to follow with the specific parameters I have for myself and my expectations, but the point is to reduce my commercial wants!
Now, I am not just doing this for myself, but I hope that some of you may want to partake in this with me as well! So, to go along with this personal spending freeze, I am also going to spend the month of September writing articles for this site that will also hopefully encourage you to stop your excess spending as well and use the things you already have instead of buying new! That concept of using what you already have is going to be a major theme for my posts in September! I am going to show you how to make the most of the things you already have and show you that you don’t really need those shiny new objects you have been lusting over!
So, what do you say? Will you join me for a month-long commercial detox? Do you have financial goals that you are hoping to hit this year? Saving for a home or perhaps a vacation? Let me know in the comments, tweet or email me to let me know I am not going it alone this September in my attempt to detox myself from my bad spending habits!
With a fresh season about to start, I thought this was the perfect time to discuss my top 5 things that I believe a woman cannot live without. In this day and age it’s no surprise that a woman in her twenties or beyond should really have a few things settled in her life in order to start developing her career, life and future plans. Some of these things are tangible, others not, but they are all equally important for any woman to have in her life!
1. A College Degree
A college degree in this day and age is pretty much a must have for a woman to succeed in any traditional career path. I realize that there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, if you don’t have a college degree you can’t expect to develop a dynamic career in most industries. Even if you expect to start and run your own business, a formal education will help you develop those base skills and critical thinking techniques that will help you to build your business and your brand. And of course, in unstable economic circumstances where you may need to find employment the traditional route, a degree will help set you apart from other, less qualified candidates.
2. A Trusted Confidant
Everyone woman needs a friend that she can trust 100%! From sharing secrets, to having a shoulder to cry on or an ear to vent to, a trusted confidant is a necessity for a woman. It is very important, of course, that this confidant be someone you know personally and not just some anonymous friend on the internet. It’s important that your confidant really know you, nearly as well as you know yourself so that you can trust her opinions and value her advice.
3. A Signature Makeup Look
By the time you hit the workforce, it’s very important to have a signature makeup look established for yourself. I don’t necessarily mean that this look has to be incredibly unique, you just need to know how to apply a face of makeup that looks great on you. Nothing to heavy, just an everyday look that can carry you from day to-night with only the change of a lipstick or an extra bit of pizzaz to your eyes! If you are a working woman and you don’t feel like you have your makeup look established or struggle with application techniques, I highly suggest making an appointment at Sephora, Ulta, or your local department store to have your makeup done and to learn the basic techniques you need to know.
4. A Place to Call Your Own
Whether this is your own home or apartment, or just a room in your parents house while you get your life and plans in order, every woman should have a place to call their own, a retreat if you will! It’s no secret, as a woman you need your own private space to just be alone with your thoughts and feelings. It’s cathartic in a way to just be by yourself on a couch or on a bed, able to feel at ease and completely comfortable. This can be especially useful if you live with a significant other or roommates, because you need your own space to just chill out and be yourself. A woman without the ability to unwind in her own privacy will quickly buckle under the stressors of daily life.
5. A Can-Do Spirit
A can-do spirit is very necessary as a woman. Too often I see ladies who refuse to help themselves, get stuck in ruts and rely too often on others. A can-do spirit can benefit you at home and in your professional career. This can include things like a willingness to do home repairs, taking the initiative at work, and changing your own flat tires. It’s the twenty-first century after all, and there is really no excuse why you should be relying on others, particularly men, for anything you could do for yourself!
So, do you agree with my must have list? Is there something you would add or do you have your own list? More importantly, do you have all these things in the list or in your own must have list?
I know I rarely discuss personal topics here on Strange & Charmed, but I have really been wanting to talk to you, the internet and my readers, about a subject that has given me a little bit of grief over the past year. You probably don’t know many specifics of my life unless you are a friend of mine in real life or follow me on a few different social media feeds, but last November I got married and since then I have yet to change my last name to match my husbands. It wasn’t something I intended not to do, but the whole situation started out of necessity for me and has now turned into something else entirely. Let me tell you the story.
So, after I returned from my honeymoon at the end of November 2012, I was immediately informed that I had been given a promotion to a job I had applied and interviewed for a few months earlier. Initially, I was worried that if I changed my name right when I accepted my new position, that people within my company and clients that I had developed relationships with may not know who I was if they suddenly saw a new name and a different title on my email signature. So, I decided that it was best for my professional life if I kept my last name until everyone I worked with on a day-to-day basis and all my customers knew who I was and all about my new role.
Then of course, once I returned to work for a few weeks, I began to get questions from co workers and of course family members as to what my new last name was. “I don’t have a new last name,” I would respond, but their questions really bothered me. Why did people expect that a woman would just go ahead and change her name just because she got married. This is 2013 for heaven’s sake (or 2012 as the case may be!), a woman can be a single mother, have a professional career, go to space, why does she immediately have to change her name just because she got married. I was even accused by a co-worker of not being committed to my marriage because I wasn’t interested in changing my name. Seriously? I am pretty sure couples with the same last name get divorced all the time! What is with all this unnecessary pressure?
So, I started thinking about whether or not I was going to change my last name and when I would do it. I had a few friends who were also married around the same time as me and by the time they returned from their honeymoons they were already using a new surname. Why did these bright professional women want to give up their name so easily? Hadn’t they worked hard to give that name a good reputation? Wasn’t it the name that defined them for two to three decades? Once I started asking myself those questions, I found that I didn’t want to part with my last name, it was mine and I wanted to keep it!
I still get questions all the time as to when I am going to change my name as though I have been lazy and forgotten to do something very important. The truth is, I don’t know when I am going to change my name, and I still don’t know if I am going to change my name. I like my husband’s last name, it’s a nice name and I wouldn’t be opposed to taking it in theory, but I just feel like my name is me and I’m not ready to give it up. Oh, and you may be wondering what my husbands thinks about all this. At first, I think he wanted me to change my name so that we would feel more like a family, but after discussing it with him and being married for the last nine months without a name change, he says my last name doesn’t bother him. He says I can keep it or change it, whatever I want to do is okay with him.
So, what do you think? Should I change my name or should I stick with it for a while? Did you change your name when you got married or did you keep your own? Perhaps you changed your name because of a life event like the birth of a child or the purchase of a home with your spouse? Let me know what you think in the comments!
On a recent trip to T.J. Maxx I picked up this beautiful high backed winged settee in a gorgeous heather grey fabric. Although I didn’t have a space for the settee in mind when I bought it (it was one of those, I have to own this no matter what moments) by the time I had gotten it home I had thought of a handful of different uses for it. In case you are not familiar with the term settee, it is an upholstered chair with a back and arms that seats more than one. A traditional settee is something of a love seat sofa, but not as deep as a traditional sofa, they are more of a double wide arm chair! Now, because a settee is relatively small there is really no room in a house that couldn’t fit one! I, however, have boiled it down to five simple and elegant ways to style a settee with a few images courtesy of Pinterest to help me make my point!
1. Style a settee as luxe piece of office furniture.
2. Style a settee as an entranceway statement piece.
3. Style a settee as a dining room table bench or booth seat.
4. Style a settee as an elegant addition to the foot of a bed.
5. Style a settee as an upscale powder room seat.
So, you may be wondering, how then did I end up styling my settee? Well, after careful consideration I decided to do this!
Yep! My beautiful settee is now a bench seat for my dining table! I cannot be more thrilled about it! I have always been a fan of upholstered booth seating in the dining area and this was such a perfect fit for my apartment. I really like the way that the high back of the settee breaks up my great room into a clear living room and dining room area. Of course, the settee is all mine at the dining table and I have taken to bringing out my laptop and sitting at the dining table to write and surf the internet because I enjoy the piece so much!
I hope you enjoyed this post! As I said before the images I found came from Pinterest and you can find the exact links I used by heading over to my Pinterest page and taking a peak at my board called “Spaces.” There are even a few more examples that I pinned but did not use for this post in case you need some more ideas for how to style your settee!
