Before I get into writing a few posts I have planned, I wanted to write something personal to keep everyone updated. After all, isn’t this a personal blog? I haven’t done a truly personal entry in a while!

On September 8, about two weeks ago, I flew to New Orleans because Josh’s cousin was getting married and we were invited. I thought it would be a break from all that I have going on here in California, because being around the dogs 24/7 and worrying about future work was getting to me.

The day before we were set to fly out, Josh got a phone call that his grandfather had a massive heart attack and was in the hospital. The doctors said he had heart failure and it was only a matter of time. It was horrible news and Josh didn’t take it well. I felt horrible for Josh’s cousin, who I’m sure felt it on his shoulders during his wedding. It put a heavy curtain over our trip.

We arrived and our first stop was the hospital, where we met with Josh’s grandfather. He was still charming, even in the hospital bed, and it was good seeing him joke around. Doctors said he was stabilized at the time so we drove to Josh’s mom’s place to unpack. As I brought my carryon into the white house I was met with these:

Image source: Orangejack on Flickr

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Wow! This month has already been a whirlwind. Right after finishing this blog redesign I finished up with my current freelance client. After many phone calls and late night emails, I’m so glad that’s done… I’ve also been running around like a crazy person because I’m going to New Orleans with my fiancé Josh this week. It’s been so stressful to get our dogs’ paperwork current and transferred, since we’re still new to the state but had to get them boarded. Phew! I’m glad to say that all of this is done. I’m having a final lunch with that client tomorrow and dropping the dogs off tomorrow night. Thursday morning I’ll be off to New Orleans for five days! We’re going for his cousin’s wedding but in all honesty, I really needed a getaway vacation. All this moving stuff and job stress has gotten to me.

Even through all the stress I’ve been having lately, I’ve been trying to stay in the moment. So I figured I’d blog about a few things that made me happy lately!

• Web design: I’ve been spending hours and hours designing and coding these past few weeks. At the moment I’m working on redesigning my portfolio, which is sorely outdated. Throughout all the stress and glitches I always get overwhelmed with how happy web design makes me. Just yesterday I had to take a break and look at what I made. I love that I improve every year and always learn new things. I’m glad I stumbled upon this hobby eight years ago.
• Lip balms: I don’t know what caused my recent love of lip balms. I’m already at the bottom of my pink EOS lip balm. They just make me happy. I also really like my pineapple flavored one from Alba.
• Vegetables: I’m usually a decent vegetarian at best… Meaning I prefer to eat pizza and spaghetti and just take vitamins for everything else. Every once in a while I hit a veggie loving phase and I’m glad I’ve hit one again. I love that my favorite lunch doesn’t even have to be cooked. Some persian cucumbers with a dash of salt and a side of avocado… YUM! Super healthy and fills me up until dinner. Once you find your favorite veggies, eating them is easy.
• Walks: I’ve had to switch to walking my dogs at sundown, because LA started its heat spell and walking in the morning is just out of the question. I’ve been loving the transition though. It just feels peaceful and most people are inside eating dinner, so it’s really quiet. The temperature is absolutely perfect. I’ve been loving my walks! I like to think enjoying them is beneficial to my health.
• Blushing Eyes: I usually keep my eyes neutral with just mascara or brown liner, but lately I’ve really been loving the “blushing eye” look. It’s really simple, every day smokey eye with browns and a hint of pink. I think the colors are great for fall. I had to pick up a cheap, small eyeshadow pallet at Target today. (I’ve been super tight on money lately, but I am so not bringing my huge E.L.F. pallet in my suitcase. I can spare some change for something portable.) I picked up one from Revlon called Blush Wine for about $5. I usually always go for Revlon when I’m choosing a drugstore make-up because they’re one of the very few drugstore companies that don’t do animal testing. The pallet is perfect for this look and will be thrown into my suitcase!

I’m going to schedule a post or two for when I’m gone, so that the blog won’t seem abandoned. Look out for those and I’ll be back next week to read up on your comments!

Image credits: Family Fresh Cooking, Mommy Goggles, Bringing Up Learners

I’m not a fashionable person. I wasn’t the girl in high school who had a new, inspiring outfit nearly every day of the week. (Though how I admired her…) I don’t set trends. I only catch the obvious ones just in time before they’re gone. I buy what the mannequins in the store are wearing because I am brainless when it comes to matching articles of clothing.

So it’s not a surprise that I often wake up in the morning, look at all of my clothing options, sigh, scratch my head, and decide to go make coffee in my underwear. Are any of you as overwhelmed with your wardrobe as I am? I can’t be alone!

My wardrobe is fairly small compared to most girls my age. Even so, today I looked in my drawers and I felt hatred towards:

• The cute ruffly shorts I bought and had great ideas for but never wore.
• That shirt I only got to wear a few weeks before a seam ripped.
• Those skirts from my floral phase that lasted a month.
• That one striped shirt that somehow just doesn’t feel comfortable.
• The expensive shirt my mom bought me that had beading…which fell off.

Today I just go so fed up that I dragged out a trash bag and started throwing clothing into it. (It didn’t help that I ran out of coffee this morning either.) It made me realize that we hang on to a lot of clothing we never wear just for silly reasons. That ripped shirt is a shame, but it’s not going to fix itself. Those ruffly shorts don’t go with anything. I’m over my floral phase. I’m never going to wear that uncomfortable shirt even if it’s cute. So I finally tossed them all in a bag, after months of them sitting in the back of my dresser drawer, and they’re heading down to a donations drop-off this weekend. Now that I’ve gotten rid of everything ripped, unwearable, and uncomfortable I don’t have much left. My plan is to slowly build a workable  wardrobe. It also helps to put a limit on how many articles of clothing you should have, so you don’t go over. We always end up wearing our favorites clothes over and over again anyway, right? It’s a waste to keep buying more.

 Benefits of a Small Wardrobe

• You don’t have to do loads and loads of endless laundry.
• You only have things in your closet you actually wear.
• Choosing an outfit is easy because everything is wearable and matches.
• There are limited options, so picking an outfit is easy.
• You don’t have to feel guilty when you buy an article of clothing you actually need.
• You’re wearing what you like and feel comfortable in, so you feel better.
• You don’t have to worry about trends so much.
• You can pick out better quality of clothing. Quality over quantity!
• Everything you clean out can be donated to someone who needs it.

How to Clean Your Closet

• Make three piles: yes, maybe, no. The yes pile is going back into your closet. The maybe pile is for anything you have to even think about keeping.
• Donate. Do some good with those old clothes. Donate the no pile if it’s in good shape.
• Get the maybe pile out of sight. When you’re done, put the maybe pile in a black trash bag or box and put it somewhere you won’t see it every day. Wait about a month and if you end up never going in that maybe pile to grab something then get rid of it all. The trick is not opening it to check “one last time” before saying goodbye. You didn’t need those clothes!
• Organize the closet. When you put everything back try to keep everything neat. If it still looks crammed, you may want to throw some things into the maybe pile.
• Keep it smaller! To keep your closet clutter-free it takes effort. For every one thing you bring in, one thing must go. Otherwise it will snowball and you’ll have to do this all over again!

Going Minimalist

Some people take closet cleaning to extremes by eliminating everything as I have explained but deciding to keep only a tiny amount of clothes. Take a look at Project 333 for example, a group of people who pledge to only wear 33 different articles of clothing for three months. The funny part is that no one is realizing these people are wearing the same 33 things for three months… So really, your fashion choices aren’t really getting as much attention as you think.

Of course, just because you have less clothes doesn’t mean you have to dress boring. There are many fashionable minimalists out there. I love looking around Lookbook and getting inspired. Personally, I think it’s best to have a few good quality clothes and spend your time collecting fun accessories!

Image Credit: ELFA by The Container Store

My days of college classes are over (for now) but many of you are heading back to college this semester and I’m actually jealous! I always used to get so excited every fall semester because it meant new professors, new people, new planners and books, and just a general air of change from a long summer. I can remember last fall semester when I was thrilled about organizing my planner, setting up my books, and running off to class on a crisp morning with Starbucks in hand. Call me crazy, but I miss it!

Here are some things I would usually be obsessing over this time of year.

Braids

When I think of braids I think of Lauren Conrad. She helped put braids back into the spotlight as something chic and (seemingly) simple. Instead of spending a lot of time straightening or curling your hair before class like everyone else, braids are a lot faster to do once you get the routine down and stand out more.

Look at this beautiful braid on the left! From the looks of it, it seems to be a half-french braid that goes along the side of the head into a side-pony tail. I love the idea of tying it off with a ribbon that’s also used as a headband. For more ideas like this one and step-by-step guides you can check out The Beauty Department, a blog run by Lauren Conrad and other stylists. This is my personal favorite that I’ve been wearing.

 Pencil Cases

When I was little I’d always carry one of those huge plastic boxes that had all my pencils in them. Then all the cool kids just started throwing pencils in their backpacks so I followed along. When I got to college I decided to rebel against everyone who just brought a pen to class by purchasing a pencil bag. I still have it to this day. Someone in class was always looking for scissors, a highlighter, a Sharpie, etc. and I was the one who pulled out her pencil bag and loaned it to everyone. Hello, conversation starter!

Gim Carry makes little bags and keychain holders. One of her pencil cases are pictured on the left. She’s truly gifted and makes each of these herself. I’ve been dying to purchase one!

Fresh Nails

I would always paint my nails the night before my first class. My favorite polish brand is OPI because of the vast color options, the solution of the polish isn’t hard to apply (unlike others that can be sticky or runny), the shape of the brush is flat which is the only way I can get a smooth coat, and the handle feels comfortable. For that I am willing to pay more!

Pictured on the left is Privacy Please by OPI, a really delicate pink color, and my personal favorite nude Dulce de Leche by OPI. I recommend turning to nudes and light pinks for first day of classes. It will match everything you’re wearing that first week and won’t make an loud statement. Your nails will look fresh!

Cute Outfits

Doesn’t nearly every girl get excited about their “first day” outfit? This was always a big deal in my house growing up. I think it’s funny looking back as an adult… We used to spend so much time preparing the outfit for that very first day yet the rest of the year usually fell flat because we didn’t care anymore.

Now that I have the blessings of adult wisdom, I suggest that if you really need to go out and buy new clothes this year look for things you can see yourself wearing for a long period of time. I personally go for nude minimalistic looks. The key is to look for staples in your wardrobe and go from there. That way you know you’ll be able to rock the outfit all year and mix & match! Don’t go out and buy that cute hot pink shirt if you’ll get sick of it after the first week. We’ve all been there.