Shopping Finds~ LC Lauren Conrad

I always get excited when I find a great deal, so I have to share my findings. I usually like to try to hold off until after Christmas to do most of my shopping for myself, but sometimes there are such great deals you can't pass them up. 

Lately, I have really been liking LC Lauren Conrad's line at Kohl's. First of all, I have always loved Lauren Conrad's style. I used to watch the Hills when I was in college. My favorite part of that show was seeing what LC was wearing. When I saw that she came out with a line at Kohl's I was very excited, because Kohl's is a great place to shop if your on a budget. The store is very affordable. They always have sales along with great coupons.

http://www.thegloss.com/2010/02/15/fashion/kohls-spring-2010-lauren-conrad-line/

Before Christmas, I got a ton of store coupons in the mail. Most of them were Kohl's coupons, so naturally I had to just stop in and see if they had anything I liked. I was thrilled when I found a blazer that I had tried on months before, when it was on sale for $50, now on sale for $24.99. I had a coupon for $10 off and a Friends and Family coupon for 20% off. I was so excited when they told me I could use both coupons at the same time. I ended up getting the blazer for $12.71. It was originally $70. I can justify this purchase, because I know it's something I will get good use out of it. I'm kind of obsessed with blazers lately.

Jeans are also from Kohls LC collection. Clearance find from September

A few days later I went back to Kohls, with another coupon, and found another LC Lauren Conrad find. I was looking in the clearance racks for something to wear to work. I ended up finding a blouse for $13.20, originally $44. I used a 20% off coupon and paid $11.19. 

I would for sure check out LC Lauren Conrad at Kohls! I really love her clothes and accessories, plus it's affordable! Now that Christmas is over I'm sure there will be some great sales. The next couple months are a great time to stock up on all those winter clothes. 

My Closet~ What I Wore Wednesday

I haven't posted anything for "What I Wore Wednesday" in a while. This has been for 2 reasons. First of all, I've been really busy and second of all, I haven't really loved what I've been wearing. I guess I really haven't felt that I've worn anything that special to work lately. I tend to repeat the outfits I like and I just don't feel that there always worth sharing.

Well, I'm excited to say that I just got a promotion at work and I'm now the assistant director. This is something I've wanted for a long time. I really love working with children and I want to advance as much as I can in my career. This is just another step in accomplishing my career goals. There is a lot to learn in the position, but one thing that I feel is helpful in keeping my confidence up, is to look the part. I like to wear something that I feel good in. Like I've said before, looking good and feeling good go hand and hand. When I'm at work I like to feel professional and cute at the same time.

Here's what I wore this week.

Black long sweater- Macy's

Black and white stripe shirt- Target

Black Jeggings- TJ Maxx

Brown boots- DSW

Red Bead necklace- Aldo 

Hopefully, I'll have more outfits to share in the future. Babies won't be spitting up on my clothes as much anymore, so it should be easier to find cute outfits for work now.

Vacationing on a budget

One thing that my husband and I have always had in common is that we love going on vacations. Who doesn't? We love going to new places, especially when it's a warm tropical place. In the past 5 years we have been together, we have gone on a lot of really nice vacations together. We really value that time away, so we plan and save for trips. Our goal is to go on a big trip twice a year. Since we are always looking for ways to save money, we of course plan our vacations around a budget.

For example, we just got back from a 4 night cruise in the Caribbean to Key West and Cozumel. It was relaxing and fun, everything a vacation should be. We had a budget of $1,000, which is not an easy number to stick to. We had a lot of unexpected expense pop up on the trip, but we still ended up staying within our budget when everything was all said and done. Here's how we did it...

Cruise- Cruises are the best vacation for the money in my opinion. Personally, I like to know that all my meals are already paid for when I go on a vacation. I don't like that feeling of not knowing how much I will be spending on food when I'm on vacation. Cruise ships are great because your food is included. I also love how there is entertainment every night and through out the day. The best part of a cruise ship is that you get to go to a new place everyday. I want to be able to go to as many places in my life as I can, so for me a cruise is perfect for that. The price you pay for a cruise vacation is well worth it. Like I said, we had a $1,000 budget to stick to, so we had to chose to go on a sorter cruise this time to save on money. We paid $139 per person. After taxes and gratuity it came out to be somewhere around $518 for the both of us. You really can't beat that price!

Cruise ship from one of our Bahama cruises

Flights- I can't really help out that much in this category, because we fly for free :) This helps out tremendously, because flying is such a huge expense when you go on vacations. I can, however, say that one of our extra expenses on this trip was due to flying. We fly standby, so we had to leave 2 days before our cruise, because the flight loads were so high all weekend. It forced us to have to pay for 2 nights in a hotel. We weren't thinking when we were planning our vacation week that we would be traveling the weekend after Thanksgiving. We were only looking at the cruise prices. Plane tickets are higher and also, as we found out, hotel prices are higher too. We both agreed that flying anytime around a holiday is not a good idea. If your looking to save money on a vacation, do not go during a holiday! I wish I could offer more help with finding deals on flying, but at the same time I know that there are lots of great ways that you can find airline deals. Everyone is looking to save money when it comes to flying. My best advise is just to shop around and look for the best times, be flexible with your schedule and plan ahead.

Alcohol- One thing I enjoy on vacation is sitting in the sun with a cold beer in my hand, just like the Corona commercials. The problem on a cruise ship is that alcohol is not included, but this has never been a problem for us. We always plan and set a limit for how many drinks we can have on the entire trip. This works well for us. You can spread them out however you want. On the ship, I would advise staying away from the Pina Caladas or fancy mixed drinks. Stick to beer and wine on the boat and you can stay around $5 per drink. When your off the ship at port, there are always local places you can try that offer specials. We always like to try a local beer from the area we are in.

Port Activities- One of my favorite parts of a cruise is stopping at new ports. I love getting off the boat and seeing a new place. The cruise lines will try to sell you all sorts of excursions. They all look great, but they are usually very pricy. Our favorite thing to do when we are at a new port is to get a cheap taxi ride to the nearest beach. Not all ports have this available, so it doesn't hurt to do some research before you book a cruise to find out what cheap options the ports have to offer. One of our favorite stops so far on our cruise vacations has been Nassau, Bahamas. You can take a taxi or boat over to Paradise Island for only a few bucks and the beach is beautiful! We found a little beach bar there that sells Kalik beer, The Bahamas beer, and conch fritters. 

The view from Beach Bar on Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas

The one thing that you have to remember is that, just because you set a budget, doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice anything. You can still have a very fun and relaxing vacation without breaking your wallet. Pick a vacation that is affordable for you and set a realistic budget that you can stick to. Remember to do your research for the best deals and plan ahead. Have a great trip!

Baby it's Cold Outside❄️

It was the perfect Friday night after a long week at work. Nothing sounded better to me then a night at home in my pajamas. The weather forecast for this weekend says snow and temperatures in the low 20's. This time of the year I love to be inside my warm little apartment, cuddled up with my husband. That is where I spent my evening. It was supposed to be our night out, but it turned into a night in. My husband ordered a dominos pizza online for 1/2 off, that I picked up on my way home from work. (Dominos website has great deals for ordering online.) I also stopped for a 6 pack of beer. I ended up finding a good 6 pack at Kroger for $6.99. Our night activities coasted us about $14.00. It was well worth it. We didn't have to leave a tip and we have left over beer and pizza for lunch tomorrow. 

Winterizing your Wardrob

 I think that it's safe to say that the cold weather is officially here and it's not going away anytime soon. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the cold weather, but I do like season changes. The thing that I appreciate most about the season changes are the wardrobe changes. I love switching up my clothes. I get excited for the first cold day when I can pull out my favorite coats and boots, the same way I get excited to feel that first warm day after a long cold winter, when I can take my coat off and put my sandals on. It's nice to switch up your wardrobe every few months.  

This is the time of year when everyone is buying all their winter clothes. I sometimes look for sales before Christmas, but I like to try to wait until January to do my major winter shopping. There are always great deals after Christmas, you just need to hold out until then. One thing I like to do, that helps me wait for the sales and get my full use out of my clothes, is to winterize what I already have from the warm weather.

Here are a few examples

This black and white dress is one of my favorite summer dresses. It was my go to summer dress this past summer. I didn't want to stop wearing it just because it got cold out. So, I put some black tights on, black boots, black long sweater and a teal scarf with the dress to make it into a winter outfit. 

 

I love this little pink skirt. I got it from Express a few years ago. I've always thought of it as only a spring or summer skirt because of the color. Well I decided to try it on with some black tight, black blazer, white sparkly tank top and black ankle boots. I think it's a cute outfit for a Christmas party.

This green polka-a-dot blouse is from target. I found it at the end of the summer in the clearance rack. I thought it was really cute, but very summery. I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it this year, but I have. I decided to wear it with black. I paired it here with my black jeggings, black blazer and black flats.

I also bought a pair of white pants at the end of the summer this year on clearance. I have always been afraid of white pants, because 1.) I spill a lot of coffee and 2.) They are very summery. After looking around on Pinterest, I have found some ways to wear them with my winter clothes. I really like wearing them with my brown boots.

Winterizing your summer clothes is really easy. It is basically just accessorizing your summer clothes with winter accessories. Boots, tights, jackets, sweaters and scarves are really all you need to have. Before you head out to the store this holiday season, look through some of your summer clothes and you might just find something that you can winterize!