Normally I start the month with a budget review, but I seriously could not wait to share what I experienced in my very first shopping ban! Very first….does this mean there will be a second or third or fourth shopping ban? You’ll just have to keep reading to find out!
Creating a Self-Care Ritual with Leahlani Skincare
One of the most important things I have learned on my journey towards clearer skin is that it is more important to follow a specific skin care ritual than it is to use a specific product. While using products with quality, safer ingredients that are beneficial for your skin type and skin concerns are important, there is no one product out there that will transform your skin overnight. It’s all about how you use the product. And thinking of your morning and evening skin regime as a ritual will help you see some changes if you’ve been struggling to maintain clear skin.
Et Cetera II
Reading…..various blogs on my Bloglovin’ feed. Mostly Truncation and Reading My Tea Leaves.
Listening…..to Ariana Grande’s a cappella rendition of “Dangerous Woman”, Nick Jonas’ “Close” and pretty much anything on Top 40 radio right now.
Watching…..Fixer Upper via Netflix. And when I’ve seen one too many shiplap walls, 30 Rock via Netflix.
Eating…..lots of fresh fruit. All of the stawberries, blackberries, mango, and kiwi I’ve picked up at the grocery store lately have been perfectly ripe.
Spring 2016 Capsule Wardrobe
I am SUPER excited to share my spring capsule with y’all. And I’m especially excited that I’m finally wearing it! Winter lasted a bit too long, in my book. Just when I thought I could pack away all my winter wear mid-March, we had freezing temperatures again. So for about 2 weeks I had an everything-I-own capsule. But things have been consistantly warm so I felt safe packing up all of my winter clothing last week. My spring capsule will officially run March 31, 2016 – June 30, 2016, and it is composed of the following items:
Fall/Winter 2015 Capsule Wrap Up
It’s been awhile since I talked to y’all about my capsule wardrobe. Even though I haven’t had a public conversation, there has been a lot of activity privately surrounding the whole process. I first introduced my Fall 2015 Capsule Wardrobe with the intention that I wear it from mid-October to mid-December, depending on the weather. Being on a tight budget and not truly needing a new winter clothing led me to decide to combine my Fall and Winter capsule wardrobes for 2015 (and into 2016). Most of the pieces were going to overlap so in December, I added in a couple sweaters and some snow boots I had been storing. Flash forward – it’s April and I am finally saying goodbye to the pieces in my F/W 15 capsule. It’s been 5 months of wearing about the same pieces every two weeks. That kind of redundancy definitely makes it easier to decide what you love and what you can do without. In early February, I decided it was time to really edit down the capsule even more. I removed a few blouses, pants, and a blazer. For the two months my capsule consisted of:
March 2016 Budget Review
Spring has officially sprung and with it comes rain, pollen, allergies, and home shopping! After YEARS of wanting to purchase our own slice of heaven and over a year “casually” browsing the MLS in our new town, Ryan and I decided to get serious about home buying. We became pre-approved for a mortgage, found a realtor, and started touring some potential homes. Making the decision to leap towards buying a home now wasn’t easy. If you’ve been following my blog for a bit, you know my husband I were both pretty adamant about waiting until we had 20% down plus closing costs before starting the home search. But despite having set this goal, we’ve found ourselves having the same conversation over and over.
Decorating with Purpose
The dining room in our apartment is probably one of my favorite areas in our home. It’s purpose is purely utility, yet is has taken on this relaxed, minimal look that I am really digging. Besides the kitchen countertops, the surfaces of the dining room receive the most cleaning of any area. 3 toddler meals + 1 toddler snack on a daily basis = a lot of wipe downs. So it makes sense for surfaces to stay clear. It also allows for the dining table to serve multiple purposes. Besides meals and snacks, it makes a great location for typing away at blog posts or rummaging through the mail. My husband has also commandeered the table on several occasions as a location to solder various projects for the truck.
February 2016 Budget Review
Lemme tell y’all, I have been trying to sit down to write this post for ages. Things have been so hectic around here for the past 2 weeks, I was afraid I was never going to get around to this post. But today, I finally have a nap time where the house isn’t a complete wreck and I don’t still need to eat lunch, so conditions are perfect! As always, the month flew by, but I’m not even going to try act sad about that fact because the month of March means spring is here! The cold weather was fun for a bit, but I think four months of coat weather is enough for me. As I write this, it’s sunny and in the low 70’s outside. I might actually start wearing shorts again this month!!! Y’all, I am seriously brimming with excitement.
Perfection is the Enemy of Progress
I recently started listening to The Minimalists’ podcast. They’ve only had six episodes so far, but I highly recommend you check it out. Actually, I highly recommend you just check out podcasts in general. I guarantee there is a podcast or two or three that will spark your interest and possibly replace an hour a week you might have spent browsing Instagram or watching reality TV. Not that I have anything against either of those activities. Both are pretty entertaining, in moderation, but let’s get back to The Minimalists. I was listening to their first episode, and early on Joshua Fields Millburn brings up how we allow perfection to prevent us from doing what we want to accomplish. Josh’s exact words were “our affinity for perfection or getting it just right, prohibits us from actually doing it….we have all these rules we set up that prevent us from accomplishing what we want to accomplish.”
January 2016 Budget Review
Spoiler alert, y’all, it was not a good month in the Hooper household, budget-wise. I was having trouble keeping track of our expenses via Mint because my Target card hadn’t synced for over a month (it was an issue for all Target REDcard users on Mint). When everything finally synced up, we were about halfway through the month, and we had already gone over budget in one expense category. I think I just felt completely hopeless so I stopped paying attention to our spending in this category for the remainder of the month. Obviously this is not the way to go, so I knew this month’s budget review was going to be painful. When you struggle with any issue in your life, it can be really disheartening to not see progress. Some days are good, some are bad, some days you wonder why you try so hard, only to end up failing. When you get to this point, you have to step back and take a hard look at your behavior. Are you setting yourself up for failure? Do you truly believe you can accomplish your goals? Are you putting the right systems, resources, and influences in place? These are all things I started to think about before I even took a look at my budget for the month. In 99.9% of situations, if you do not meet a goal, you have yourself and yourself only to blame. I’m about to go into my 29th year of life on this Earth; by now I should be aware that I should always have a plan B, plan C, plan D, and so on. I can’t just throw my hands up in the air and say “I’ll do better later”. There is no later. There is NOW and that’s what I should be focused on improving.
Lauren, Etc. 