Strange & Charmed

The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Promotion Online

#1. You don’t have a website: For businesses and individuals that want to promote themselves online, having a dedicated website is a must! You need to have a place online that can act as a landing page for all your business and important information so that people who search for you can find you! Now, this can be as simple as a Facebook page or as complicated as a full featured website, but carving out a little piece of the internet for yourself or your business is a must! Oh, and social media accounts don’t count as websites, sorry!

#2. You’re not covering all social media: So you’re online and testing the waters with social media but you aren’t yet comfortable with all the platforms. That’s understandable, but you need to at least have an account set up for your business in each and every major social network, which means Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and if you are selling things online, Pinterest! If you’re not ready to use the account yet, don’t start until you are ready to commit to it, but at least have the basic profile information filled out as well as an icon picture set in place that is something you already use on other platforms!

#3. You’re misusing social media: The beauty of the various social media platforms is that you use each platform for different purposes. They are not one size fits all! What works on Twitter does not work on Instagram, and what works on Instagram, doesn’t work on Facebook. You need to understand how best to use each media to their maximum potential! A great book that covers this is Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk! If you’re looking to promote online and you are confused about how to properly market and grow an audience across the various social media platforms, you need to read that book.

#4. You post too often: Most people consider personalities and businesses that post too frequently on social media spammers. Even if you are putting out completely unique information with each tweet or Facebook post, too many posts in a short amount of time annoy people and they will just end up unfollowing you! Stop posting on social media every 5 minutes, and bring it down to a manageable number. Tweet up to 3 times an hour (not including retweets or replies), Post on Instagram 1-3 times per day max and stick to about the same number of Facebook posts during peak traffic times!

#5. You don’t post enough: So you have these accounts and you post on them once a week or worse, once a month! Well that is a sure-fire way to get nowhere fast with your business! Like I said before, if you aren’t ready to start using a social media platform, don’t use, just leave your profile set with a message that says “coming soon” to give your followers a reason to subscribe even if you aren’t currently posting. Once you are ready to use the platform to it’s full potential, make a plan and stick to a regular posting schedule!

#6. You’re not providing value to your audience: How would you feel if Starbucks started posting pictures on Instagram of shoes? You would probably be confused as to why a major coffee company is suddenly interested in footwear! If you follow Starbucks in social media, you probably follow them to see what’s new in store or when your favorite seasonal drink becomes available, right? So, the shoes really don’t provide any value to you. If you wanted to look at shoes, you’d follow DSW or Payless! Well, the same goes for you and your audience. Make sure you are posting things that apply to the people who are following you so they get value out of the experience. If your posts are all over the place, it will confuse your online presence and you won’t be able to establish a firm following.

#7. You’re ignoring video: For some reason, I have noticed that many business and personalities on the internet are apparently afraid of video, although video sharing sites like YouTube and Twitch are gaining ridiculous amounts of success and every other day I feel like new video capture apps and features are being added to our current social media feeds. There is a clear trend here, video is happening and its big! So, you really need to get over the fact that the camera adds 10 lbs and start bringing your message to the video sphere. YouTube is a great way to share quick messages with your followers and share important or helpful information with others, but it’s not the only way! I already wrote about ways to add video to your website, but even creating videos for places like Instagram and Facebook will really help to establish your footing with video and bring added value to your followers!

I hope this post helps you to identify areas in your online marketing plan that may be preventing you from reaching your fullest potential online! If you have any additional no-no’s for self-promotion online, let me know in the comments!

xoxo,

Solutions

How to Save Money on Pricey Items

With Black Friday just short of two weeks away, I thought now was the perfect time to discuss my favorite ways to get deals and save money, especially on pricier items. I am definitely the type of person who has slightly more expensive tastes, but I am also a complete cheap-skate! I hate spending more money than I have to on an item (who doesn’t, really?) and I will go out of my way and spend extra time price checking and scouring clearance racks to get a deal on an item I want. I realize, however, that not everyone always has the time to comparison shop and price check, so I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of a few tried and true methods I use to find deals quickly, when I need to make a purchase!

1. Take advantage of Black Friday Deals: Now, although Black Friday only happens once a year, it’s one of those events that we all know is coming. So, throughout the year, I will hold off on buying certain items for myself, my family and my home if I can wait until November 30^th to grab them at a great price. With Black Friday around the corner, I suggest giving good thought to items in your home that may need replacing, upcoming gifts you may need to buy within the next year, and any wish list items you have been pondering. Decide if its worth it to upgrade that aging tv now, to buy your nieces graduation gift a few months early, or to pick up that high-end bag you have been eyeing, taking advantage of seasonal sales for purchases you know are coming down the line anyway!

2. Shop Designer Outlets: I think you can tell from watching a few of my youtube videos that I am something of a designer handbag and accessory nut! I love having quality staples in my wardrobe, but I don’t like to pay full price! I don’t even like to buy bags and accessories from designers when they have sales or provide me with a 25% off coupon (I feel like they send those to me every week)! No, I pretty much never buy a designer item from their retail stores, instead I shop their outlets or larger department store outlets and take advantage of real savings and price cuts! Outlets are great because their items are always significantly marked down in comparison to what you would pay for an item in a designer retail store, and on top of that they are always running at least one sale on any given day. If you shop around holidays (any holiday really, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day- not just Christmas) they often have sales on top of sales! If you ever wondered how it is that I own multiple bags that retail for a few hundred dollars each, it’s because when I want a $500 bag, I go to the outlet where they sell it for $350 and then take advantage of their 40% off with an additional 30% because it’s a holiday. So that $500 bag ends up being less than $150 dollars!

3. Sign up for store mailing lists: Now, you and I both know that it isn’t the occasional splurge purchase on a handbag that kills your budget, but rather it’s those daily expenses on pricey necessities that add up quicker than anything! Clothing, home supplies, or car repairs are much more dangerous to our finances than we give them credit for and on a daily basis, I don’t think enough of us are taking advantage of sales and discounts in these areas. Make sure to sign up for store mailing lists and email marketing lists to the places you shop at most often, and even a few you may only occasionally visit. Why? Because most stores send out weekly coupons and flyers that outline sales on specific items, and if you just spend a few minutes checking out what is on offer and making your shopping decisions based on the stores advertising coupons or running sales across specific departments, you will save loads of money for sure!

4. Price check through Amazon: Whenever you are questioning whether or not you are getting a deal on an item, the best thing to do is to price check through Amazon.com. Why? Because Amazon is all about making sure they price match even the best published deals. So, if you are looking for an item and you think you are getting a deal in store, Amazon will be able to accurately tell you what the lowest advertised price is for that item, because they automatically lower their prices to match deals found elsewhere in store and online! So, if you have the time to do one quick little price check, use Amazon and feel confident that it was time well spent!

5. Check Clearance and As Is sections: For some pricey items, especially home goods, appliances and furniture, many stores keep a clearance/as is section where you can find great deals on new items that may be older or slightly damaged. With many large items, even the smallest dent or scratch means the store can’t sell the item at full price because it’s not in perfect condition. If you don’t mind a little superficial marking or buying an item that is maybe a model year older than current offerings, make sure to check for Clearance and As Is sections in your favorite stores because you can save a lot of money this way!

I hope these tips help save you some time and money, not just during the holiday season, but year round! There are plenty of great deals out there, you just need to know a few little retail secrets to find them sometimes! If you score some big deals this Black Friday, make sure to let me know about it in the comments or send me a tweet!

xoxo,

Filofax

10 Ways to Personalize Your Planner

The great thing about planners is that there are nearly an endless amount of ways to customize them and add personality to keep you motivated with your daily goals and to-dos! I am asked all the time about my planner personalizations and so I thought it would be fun and helpful if I gave you a run down of 10 Ways to Personalize Your Planner! Although I use a Filofax Original Planner in Fluoro Pink, you can use most of these customizations in any planner you own and use, from a Kate Spade, to an Erin Condren and even a Sugar Paper planner!

#1 Pens

A really cute and coordinating pen is must have item in my planner that I think adds a lot of personality to it. There are quite a variety of pens out there in planner world, and among them multipens like the Pilot Hi-Tech C Coletto are very popular because they give you the ability to write in a variety of colors! Friction pens as well are very popular because they are erasable and as a planner person, you know how scary it can be to write in an appointment and then have things change!

#2 Charms

Planner charms are a very fun way to add personality to your planner because you can literally use a wide variety of charms to coordinate with your interests. Although many sellers on Easy make custom charms in fun shapes like coffee cups, cute animals and even desserts, you can find charms at your local craft store or use ones off a keychain!

#3 Custom Dashboard

As one of the first pages in your planner, a custom dashboard can do a lot to help motivate and inspire you whenever you open it up! It’s simple enough to make your own dashboard by laminating pretty scrapbook paper or cutting down an acrylic screen print to size. I recommend using acrylic prints or laminating regular paper so your dashboard is coated and more durable- it also works well for holding and removing sticky notes!

#4 Custom Dividers

Custom dividers are an excellent way to create a theme for your planner. You can purchase sets of themed dividers on Etsy, but I like to make mine by printing out images and pictures, adding tabs and then laminating everything so it’s nice and sealed! Use your own pictures, quotes, and snippets from magazines to create a collage for your dividers or stick to pretty scrapbook papers if you like a simpler look!

#5 Page Markers

I love to use page markers to help me quickly locate important notes and pages in my planner. There are lots of different varieties of page markers; magnetic ones, paper clips, and even adhesive tabs. They are a great way to add color and style to your planner that you can appreciate even when your planner is closed!

#6 Printable Inserts

Although your planner may come with a set of dedicated inserts, there is always room for more, specifically, for fun and inspirational inserts that help to add personality to your planner and keep you on track with more than just your to-dos and schedule! The insert above is actually a free printable checklist titled 30 Days of Thankfulness that is available through my shop! Inserts like this are a great way to add inspiration to your planner and to add a little fun to your days!

#7 Stickers & Washi

Although planner decoration isn’t for everyone, if you do want to add a little fun and interest to your planner pages, using stickers and washi tape is a fun way to do it! I have quite the collection of washi tape and I always have more than enough stickers around because I usually make my own and print them onto full sheet labels! The sets shown above are currently for sale on my shop, so if you want to print your own stickers at home and like these designs, feel free to check them out!

#8 DIY Folder

Not all planners are created with equal amounts of pockets and storage, so if you need an extra space to store stickers and notecards or whatever else you need to keep inside your planner, check out my easy DIY Folder Tutorial that shows you how to turn a regular file folder into the perfect little storage solution for your planner!

#9 Journaling Cards

Journaling cards are a great way to add instant decor and inspiration to your planner. They can even act as page markers, dashboards and even dividers! This #INSTALOVE card comes from my personal collection of printable journaling cards and is designed to be a frame for square, Instagram style pictures. This is a great way to keep photos of your friends and family with you in your planner! You can also use project life cards and MAMBI pocket pages like this striped card above!

#10 Colorful Paper

Why use plain old white paper in your planner when you can quickly add interest to your pages by using rainbow-colored copy paper? I keep a stack of colorful papers around and cut them down to size and punch them in my planner. They are great for color coding notes or visually dividing up sections or just adding a little fun to your pages!

Of course, this wouldn’t be a complete planner post from me without a fun video to go along with it! If you would like more details on some of the items I have shown in this post, feel free to check out this video!

As always, I hope this post (and video) were helpful for you and gave you some ideas for your own planner! If you have other planner personalizations that I missed, please let me know about them in the comments. I’d also love to see pictures of your planners and how you customize, so please feel free to tag me @MissTrenchcoat in your Instagram pics!

xoxo,

lifestyle

Tips for Wearing Makeup with Glasses!

My glasses are by far one of the most defining characteristic of my style! I don’t think its possible for anyone to actually think of me without thinking of my glasses because they are so bold and unique no one can miss them! Although there is a terrible stereotype out there in the world that girls that wear glasses are not attractive (one that thank heavens is being countered left and right with the increase in popularity of horn-rimmed glasses among women!) I am definitely here to prove that you can wear glasses and be super cute at the same time! No need to hold back on your makeup just because you have a pair of glasses balancing off your nose!

If you wear glasses and think you need to step up your makeup game to help your face shine with frames or without, these easy tips will help you let your natural beauty shine through your lenses!

Tip #1. Define the brow: Because glasses tend to interact with your face shape giving it definition, its important for your eyebrows to be visible and strong so that the frames of your glasses aren’t taking over your face! Make sure your eyebrows are properly shaped for your face (tutorial in video linked below!), well-groomed and filled in so that they are clearly visible behind your frames!

Tip #2. Brighten under the eye: Glasses often cast a shadow right under your eyes in an area that already tends to be dark on most of us, so make sure to add an extra concealer or brightener right where your frames hit under your eyes so that you are drawing in more light to that area of your skin!

Tip #3. Use a base on your eye lids: Make sure your eyelid is like a blank canvas before you begin to apply eyeshadows for color and contrast. Choose a color that works with your natural skin tone and apply it all over your lid up to your eyebrows!

Tip #4. Define the crease: From behind the lens of your glasses, your eyes can begin to look flat and one-dimensional, so make sure to use a contrasting color in your crease to give your eyes added depth. I suggest choosing a color that is a few shades darker than your natural skin tone if you want to go for a natural day look! Once your crease is defined you can use other colors to highlight your eyelid and create a smokey eye shadow look if that is what you prefer!

Tip #5. Define the lash line: Again, it’s all about creating contrast around your eye and using an eyeliner to darken your lash line will help your eyes stand out behind the lenses of your glasses! It’s up to you which type of product you use, from a dark shadow, to a gel liner, pencil liner or liquid, but find something that works for your needs and skill level!

Tip #6. Make your eyes POP: Apply a few coats of mascara to your eye lashes to thicken them up and help to open up the look of your eyes! One big NO-NO if you are wearing glasses is using full sets of false lashes because they can hit your lenses and cause you discomfort throughout the day. If you find that your natural eye lashes need a bit of enhancing, try accent lashes that are just applies to the outer edge of your eyes to help give a fuller affect to your lashes! The Ardell accent lashes are perfect for this!

Of course, there is one last thing! I get asked all the time where I get my glasses from since they are rather unique! I purchased these glasses pictured above from Warby Parker! They are an awesome online retailer of fashionable designer quality frames and lenses that I would highly recommend, so check them out if you are looking for new glasses! My frames are called the Thatcher (similar)! And, also pictured above is my new Naked2 Basics palette that I have been loving! It’s not the palette I use in the video, but I have been using this everyday since I purchased it because it is fabulous and a very reasonable price!

If you’d like to see a tutorial of this look, check out my video below!

I hope you all liked this tutorial and the video as well! Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

xoxo,

Productivity

Preparing for a Stress Free Holiday!

Now that we are firmly into November and the holiday season is nearly upon us, I wanted to spend a little time talking about holiday stress and how to manage it! The end of November thru December is often a very exciting and busy time due to the multitude of holidays scattered throughout the season. With busy times often comes stress, and I for one am definitely someone who feels it this time of year. Sometimes the pressure of wanting to please large numbers of people, mostly friends and family, can just build up. This time of year isn’t cheap, we all want to buy presents for our loved ones and the purchases add up causing mental strain and stress on our purses. Then there are the gatherings, and I don’t know about you, but if you get more than two members of my family together at a time, conflict often arrises over the silliest issues! It’s my ongoing mission every year to manage this stress the best that I can, so that I can enjoy the season instead of stressing about things beyond my control! So, I put together some easy steps, tips really on how to manage the holiday stress before it begins and during the thick of it! Hope these tips help you as much as they help me!

#1 Have an Attitude of Gratitude

Get your head in the right place before the stress begins!
Make your gratitude list and keep it with you!
Focus on what the season is really about- being grateful for your life, your family and friends and celebrating that together!

#2 Have a Plan

Know what is going on when it comes to events, parties, obligations etc
Don’t assume someone is going to tell you, make an effort to find information (people are busy after all, especially now!)
Know who is doing what and what you are expected to be doing for certain events.
Make lists for everything so you don’t forget anything.
Review your recipes (if you’re cooking) and make a schedule for when you will start them!

#3 Be Flexible

When it comes to getting large numbers of people together during the wintery months, understand that plans often change at the last-minute, so don’t get worked up about it if that happens to you!
Don’t fight the change, just roll with it!

#4 Prepare Yourself

If you know there are people, events or situations that will stress you out, avoid them or be prepared for them.
Try to enter tough situations with a positive mindset, often your negative thoughts going into these situations can blow things out of proportion and stress you out much more than the situation itself.
Don’t let anyone rain on your parade- these are your holidays too and you have a right to enjoy them!

#5 Spread Happiness

Go out of your way to help others and make them happy.
This sort of behavior will catch on and put those around you at ease as well.
Pay it forward as much as possible!

I sincerely hope that these tips help you to manage your stress during this wonderful time of year! If you have any additional tips or tricks you think I missed, please let me know in the comments below! I need all the help I can get- that’s for sure!

xoxo,

Photography

{Picture Perfect} Selective Focus on your Smartphone

With holidays quickly approaching, I know that a top priority for many of us is creating memories with our friends and families. Whether it is over a delicious meal, a fun outing or some extra special gift exchanging, there are plenty of special moments ahead for us in the next few weeks, and many of us are going to want to capture as many of them as possible. I know not all of you own DSLR cameras, and that’s certainly okay! I have been making a point with this series to also include options for those of us who may be using compact cameras or even smartphones as our primary means to capture images. Well, todays topic is all about smartphones, specifically the Lensbaby LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens for Mobile! I’ve shown you DSLR lenses in the past, and now I thought it was time to talk about mobile lenses!

Now, in all fairness, I don’t necessarily believe that you need lenses for your smartphone in order to take nice pictures, but I think they are one of those things that you can use to really achieve interesting effects that aren’t really possible or at least, aren’t really authentic looking when you use an app! The Lensbaby Sweet Spot Lens for Mobile devices is a “selective focus” lens that works in conjunction with their app that is available for iOS & Android devices, and in my opinion, helps to give smartphone photos that interesting blur and depth of field that we normally see on DSLRs (see my guide to Bokeh for more info on blur and depth of field).

So, what exactly is “Selective Focus”? It is basically when a lens allows a camera to choose an area of the image to stay in focus, while the rest of the image is dramatically blurred out! As you can see from the image above, one area of the photo, the area around the flower, is in focus, and then the rest of the picture fades into a lovely blur. The effect is very strong and really helps you to assign priority in your image for where the action is, or where the important element is, and then everything else is just a haze of colors.

Now, here is more of that same flower bush, now with the focus shifted to the upper left on a cluster of flowers, as opposed to the lower right in the previous photo. How did I achieve this? Well, the Lensbaby LM-10 works in conjunction with the Lensbaby for Mobile app, and within that app, you can actually move around the “sweet spot” or the center of focus, across the plain of your image. So you have control over what is in focus and where in the image that focus lies.

Here you can see what the app looks like in action. You may be able to see the faint circle with cross hairs towards the center of the app that you can move and control with the touch screen. The app is actually a pretty crucial part of using the lens, because without it, the lens actually ends up flipping your image upside down, so the app actually reorients the images properly and also adds extra functionality with the focusing options. You can also see, the app includes a few different features for controlling color balance and such- all are pretty standard, but good to have in-app while you’re shooting!

Here are some more shots I took while taking a walk recently. I really love the way you can change the focus and really allow objects to pop. Literally, pop, because I feel like the lens gives this sort of starburst shaped blur, which I really like!

Okay, so lets talk about the lens itself, pro’s and cons style! The LM-10 isn’t your average smartphone lens. It’s actually quite unique in my opinion which is its major pro! First of all, it connects to your smartphone via a secure connection made with a magnetic anchor that you actually have to attach to your phone. It’s just a magnetic metal ring that goes around the lens of your smartphone upon which your lens will sit and attach firmly! The ring itself is quite slim and does remove easily. Lensbaby even includes duplicates of the rings in case you have multiple devices or if you find that you need another (I was quite glad to see that because you do need the ring to really make this function and having spares is important)!

Obviously you can tell from these images that the LM-10 is a large lens! I will say it’s very heavy-duty and well-built, but still relatively light. It comes with a nice lens cover connected to a mini lanyard so you can attach it to a keychain or whatnot and easily take it with you. My only drawback with this lens is that in order to use it, I had to remove my iPhone from its case. For some people this won’t be an issue, and for me it was only a slight issue, but it was a con in my mind! Now, this lens is actually pretty pricey for a smartphone lens, coming in at $69.95. You have to keep in mind that this lens is a very well-built little tool, but I know for some of you, that price is going to be a deal breaker, but I do believe there are some of you that will actually find this lens to be a pretty good value, especially if you are someone who does not own a DSLR and has no intentions of purchasing one anytime soon. For those of you who do really use your smartphone as a primary means to take photos, either of your family and friends to document life for project life, or as a means of artistic expression to share on your social media, this is something I would put on my wish list this holiday season because it really is so unlike anything else and creates images that are pretty breathtaking in my opinion!

Thank you so much to Lensbaby for providing this lens for me to review! Please help to support the brands that help make content like this possible by checking out their site for more photo examples and their blog for more awesome photography tips! You can also purchase this lens directly from their online store as well!

So, what do you guys think? Would you ever use a dedicated iPhone lens to take pictures? Did you like the pictures I took with the LM-10 Lens? Let me know what you think the in comments below and if you have any other products you would like me to review for this series!

xoxo,

organization tech

6 Must Have Holiday Shopping Apps to Save your Cash and Sanity!

Holiday shopping, for many of us, can be something of a complicated process. If you have a large family or many people to buy for, purchases can start to add up quickly and keeping track of what you have purchased for whom can become really tricky when you are busy hiding boxes of presents in remote hidey holes in your home! You’ve probably asked yourself a time or two, is there a better way to manage all this? Well, yes, glad you asked, because I have assembled a list of 6 must have apps to help with your holiday shopping. Apps to help you save some cash, apps to help you keep track of what you are buying for whom and apps to help you have a little fun while you’re making those few hundreds of stops to the mall in the next few weeks! And best of all? All these apps are absolutely free!

1. Shopkick: I have written about Shopkick before, so I will try to keep this short and sweet, but basically, Shopkick is an app that you can use to help you earn rewards just for shopping and visiting your favorite stores. Through Shopkick, retailers market and promote their stores and products and offer Shopkick users “kicks” for various activities, like making a purchase, going to check out a specific product, and even just for walking into the store! These kicks add up and then you can redeem them for gift cards to a variety of different stores! So, with Shopkick, you can turn all those last-minute errands and repeat visits into real rewards for you!

2. Price Scan: Ever find an item in a store and then wonder if there was a better price at a competitive retailer or online? Well, with Price Scan you can scan a barcode with your phone and instantly find the best deals available for the product! Simple as that! This is a great resource to use if you are like me and enjoy “browsing” for gifts before you actually intend on making purchases because you can keep track of the gifts and products in the app and come back to them over time to see if prices have changed, making sure you are getting the best deal possible!

3. Wunderlist: If you have a long list of friends and family to buy for, keep your thoughts and purchases in order with Wunderlist. Touted as being one of the best list making apps available, Wunderlist has a simple and clean interface with just the essential list making necessities to help you keep your list in order. Use the app to keep track of who you are purchasing for, gift ideas and even budgets for each present. Now you have no excuse for purchasing duplicate gifts or going over budget!

4. Cartwheel: If you are already a frequent Target customer, you may already be familiar with the Cartwheel app. It is a dedicated app for Target shoppers to find instant savings on items in their cart while they are shopping. Simply scan the barcode of your item while shopping to find any extra deals or instant coupons that you can apply to the item. Once you go to checkout, give your phone to the associate at checkout and they will scan the custom barcode in your app and apply all the discounts and coupons you found while shopping! It’s pretty easy and can save you some extra money, especially if you are like me and bad about using coupons!

5. My Package: Online shopping for the holidays has grown exponentially over the past few years, so chances are you are going to have more than a few items coming in via the mail! Keep track of these packages to make sure you don’t loose anything but entering your tracking number and an item description into the app. The app will then begin to track your package with its geographic location and alert you as it makes its way to you! You can even set up delivery alerts, so you can be sure to check the mail before anyone else at home and tuck away any important packages like the gift giving ninja you are!

6. Retail Me Not: You may have already heard of or used the coupon site, Retail Me Not, but they also have a great app that can help find you coupons and deals for both in-store and online purchases! Add your favorite stores to the app or let the app track your location to find great deals near you at a wide variety of retailers. Again, this is an awesome app, especially for people who like to hunt for great deals or are always forgetting about coupons!

I hope you found this list of apps helpful as you proceed with your holiday shopping! I know we are all trying to save extra money where possible and make this stressful time of year a little easier and especially more enjoyable! If you have any other must have shopping apps that you think I need to know about, please let me know in the comments! Of course, don’t be stingy- go ahead and share this post in your social media feeds so your friends and family can make use of these great apps as well. I’m sure they will be very thankful you did!

xoxo,

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor: Thankfulness

A Note on Thankfulness and the Holiday Season

Well, well, November is here and I have to say, I wasn’t really wasn’t expecting it this soon! This is an important month for me and my family. For one, my wedding anniversary is in November, the 10^th to be more specific, and I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was sitting around watching TV with my husband the other day when we got on the topic of upcoming holidays and events and totally forgot that our wedding anniversary was around the corner. It’s not that I forgot the date of the anniversary, but more like I failed to realize that it was not months away as I had been thinking, but just a few short weeks away. For the past few years, my husband and I have gone on vacation to celebrate the day, but this year we were rather late to the game when scheduling our vacation and instead of going away in November, we are going away in December, so that may have something to do with the whole not remembering thing. November also happens to contain a heck of a lot of birthdays. My husbands for one and then a handful of other miscellaneous family members. For a few years, November was also very important to me as I had regularly participated in Nanowrimo, so I still get anxious at the end of October in anticipation for that, even though I skipped Nano last year and may very well do so again this year. Of course, last but certainly not least, November means Thanksgiving and Black Friday, at least it does in the U.S. I love Thanksgiving because I love to cook, and for the past few years I have been happily preparing Thanksgiving dinners for my family. This year, I am even hosting my first Thanksgiving at my apartment for part of my family, so this will be a pretty important holiday for me this year! Then of course, the next day, all bloated and hungover from food, I will partake in a mini shopping spree and then come home to set up my Christmas Tree!

So, this month I have a good many fun and exciting things planned for the blog and for my YouTube channel as well! First of all, I have put together a collection of must have apps to make your holiday shopping much easier, more organized and hopefully, save you some serious cash! I’m also going to give you all a run down of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and the menu that I am planning on for my holiday party! If talk of menus and shopping is already giving you anxiety, I’ve got that covered too with a little pep talk about how to manage stress during this highly stressful time of year! Don’t worry, planner folks! I also have some wonderful plans in the works for you and your filofax! I’ve got some ideas for planner personalization and a number of new printables on the way! Excited yet? I know I am!

For now, take a moment to just savor this early November feeling. Maybe take some time to write down a few goals for how you can enjoy this time of year and also manage the daily mess of life in a reasonable balance! Go ahead, just write down three little goals you have for this month. Here, I’ll go first!

Goal 1: To create content of substance and of value to my readers to help them through the end of the year!

Goal 2: To find something good in everyday, no matter how crazy it gets and to reflect on how Thankful I am for my life!

Goal 3: To make reasonably healthy food choices during a time when I normally feel food takes control of me!

See, that wasn’t too bad? Now, if you would like to share your 3 goals in the comments below, feel free! I would love to see what you’re priorities are for this month and it may even inspire and influence some of the content I create for you all! Oh, one more thing I want to mention is that you can still download my free 30 Days of Thankfulness printable to help motivate you to live with more gratefulness in your heart during this special time of year! So make sure to hop on over to my shop and check it out!

Thank you all so much for reading and I wish you all the best of luck this month as you prepare with family and friends for what I hope will be a wonderful holiday season!

xoxo,

lifestyle

Editor’s Fave’s {October 2014}

October was a really great month! I have to say, although I believe the days passed much too quickly, I feel like I have never had a more wonderful or productive month. I know I have said this before and I think I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but I really think that my 31 Things to Do in October printable was a major reason I was able to fit so much into my month and almost stay on track making sure that I was constantly in the fall spirit enjoying my days, the change in weather, and making special memories with friends and family! I am so pleased to know that so many of you also downloaded this printable and have also been enjoying it in your planner, utilizing it as a tool to also help you make similar memories and enjoy the little things that make the month of October special.

As you may have already seen, I posted my November printable, 30 Days of Thankfulness, yesterday, and I am hoping that this new printable also helps to keep me in a positive and grateful mindset during the month of November. I am already overwhelmed with gratefulness by the response from members of the planner community who have already gone ahead and downloaded this new printable. I know gratitude is a topic that comes up often in the planner community, and I think this printable will be a wonderful way to help us all take a moment to see what’s truly important in life and show our gratitude for our lives through thoughtful, well intentioned actions!

So, you are probably wondering what else I have been loving this month, product-wise? Well, to be completely honest, there really have only been a handful of items that I have been obsessed with this month since my main priority has been focusing on experiences and not “stuff” this month.

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My first monthly favorite has been my Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes, yet again. I have been loving wearing a combination of three of my fall favorites, Pat on the Black, Almost Almond, and Jungle Gem. Next up is the lipstick I have been loving. Since it’s fall I have been all about a purple lip, and I picked up the Milani Violet Volt lipstick this month and have been loving the color! I also picked up a new drugstore foundation this month, after my long time favorite, the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, ran out. I ended up choosing the L’Oreal Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age Reversing Makeup, which is a total mouthful, but has been working wonderfully for my dry skin! My last beauty related favorite has been a perfume, my Dior Addict Eau Fraiche, which I nearly complete forgot I owned because it had been tucked away in the back of my beauty closet for months!

As for non beauty favorites, this month I purchased my first fur vest after deciding that I really wanted one this year to add to my wardrobe! I did some research on different options, decided on the quality I wanted and the price range I was willing to spend within and then found this beautiful black fur vest at Neiman’s! It’s currently on sale as well, so if you are in the market for a high quality fur vest, I do recommend this one! Also, this month I was lucky enough to receive a Fluoro Pink Original Filofax in personal size to review from Filofax! I’m not sure if its too early to say, but I have to admit, I think I may have found planner peace with this beauty! Keep an eye out on my YouTube channel for a set up video coming soon! Finally, my last favorite for this month has been my macaron planner charms that I purchased from an Etsy Shop called Mahal Made! If you love macarons or sweets in general and would like to purchase some cute little charms for your planner, I highly recommend this shop!

Of course, it wouldn’t me a monthly favorites without a video, so in case you would prefer to see me do a little show and tell, here is my October Favorites video linked above for your viewing pleasure!

Now, it’s your turn. Let me know what made your October favorites list! Do you have any suggestions for me of products I should try? Oh, also, if you were one of the members of the planner community who downloaded my 31 Things to Do in October Printable, let me know how you enjoyed it this month? How many of the items were you able to check off? I’d love to know, so leave me a comment or send me a tweet or Instagram picture!

I hope you all have a great Halloween tomorrow!

xoxo,

On my iPhone

On My iPhone {October 2014}

On my iPhone is a new monthly feature on Strange & Charmed where I give you a peak into what I have been loving on my iPhone for the month! Covering topics like apps, games, podcasts, music, websites, books and more, I hope this series helps you all discover new and exciting content out there that can be enjoyed from your iPhone! To stay up to date with this series, make sure to follow the On My iPhone tag!

So, it’s officially fall and now, one of the best months of the year is coming to a close. I know I have already waxed poetic about how much I love October, and although I am very sad to see it go, I know that it was a very fun-filled month for me! I made sure to pack a lot of fun fall and Halloween activities into the month and I have plenty of memories to look back on and to celebrate! I, of course, made sure to collect a few awesome internet favorites on my iPhone this month, some of them were old favorites rediscovered, and others were some new releases that I am excited to share with you!

Currently Playing, Snapchat: At about mid-month, I finally jumped on the bandwagon and created a snapchat account. I have been loving sharing impromptu photos and little behind the scenes glimpses of my life on my snapchat story! If you have snapchat, make sure to follow me and I will add you back. My username is MissTrenchcoat, of course!

Currently Reading, The Brief: I know I have mentioned my love for Levo League in the past, but they have recently released a daily e-newsletter that shares a dose of news and pop culture fun to act as a pick me up to your workday, Monday thru Friday! If you could use a simple and short little workday email to help brighten the day or help entertain you during your commute home, feel free to check out The Brief for yourself!

Currently Watching, Gilmore Girls: This month has been an epic TV month for me, ever since I discovered that all the seasons of Gilmore Girls are now available on Netflix! I loved Gilmore Girls when I was younger and I am very excited to be catching up on one of my favorite shows. So, if you were a big fan of Gilmore Girls in high school and college, definitely add the show to your instant queue!

Currently Surfing: Facebook Groups: Specifically, I have been getting back into the Filofax and Planner groups on Facebook ever since my love and obsession with my planners was reignited with a few new planners I was sent to review! If you are interested in joining any of these groups, I will go ahead and link a few of my favorites below, but I must warn you that these groups are incredibly addictive and I suggest you don’t join any of these groups unless you are super serious about participating!

Currently Listening, The Raven: One of my favorite October and Halloween themed activities is listening to the audio recording of The Raven, narrated by Christopher Walken. It’s available via YouTube and I love spending a quiet fall evening at home listening to Walken’s creepy but festive voice, reciting this creepy yet festive literary classic!

On My iPhone Kate Spade Case and Filofax Planner — My new Kate Spade iPhone case as pictured with my awesome Fluoro Pink Filofax!

Oh and of course, one final little thing on my iPhone… my new Kate Spade iPhone case! I picked this up at the outlet the other week and I think it’s absolutely adorable for fall!

Don’t miss my On My iPhone video for this month as well! I know I missed making a video last month due to scheduling issues, but I do go into greater detail during my videos than I do on my blog posts, so if you want to know more, click through to the video!

So, now it’s your turn! What have you been loving on your iPhone or iPad this month? Any great new apps that have caught your attention? Let me know in the comments or better yet, send me a tweet to let me know!