February Budget

Oh hey guys, I'm back with another budget post.  In January I had a hard time sticking to my budget of $300, but in February I did it!  Even with the major purchase of some snazzy new emergency rain boots.  It helped that I've gotten totally sick of winter clothes, so even with sales I didn't really want anything.

Here's the damage for February:

Baublebar Arrow Cuff - Originally $28, on sale $10

Baublebar Double Strand Necklace - Originally $34.99, on sale $10

Gap Boyfriend Jeans - Originally $69.99, on sale $36.72

Baublebar Fuchsia Bib Necklace - Originally $46, used $14 in credits plus on sale for a total of $25.60

Hunter Rain Boots - $140

Not pictured:

Baublebar Pave Cuff - Originally $28, on sale $10

H&M Jersey Chiffon Tee - $12.95

H&M Studded Sweatshirt - $17.95

Total Spent: $263.22

Total Saved: $114.66

So this month went really well, but I'm a liiiiiiittle scared to see what happens when spring and summer clothes hit the stores!  

As a sidebar, is anyone excited to see me in a pair of jeans that aren't dark wash and skinny??

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Wine Red

Blouse and Skirt (similar) - Loft / Flats - Payless / Necklace - F21 (similar)

Black and white blouses - I just can't get enough of them apparently.  There are at least five in my closet right now.  They're a great staple - classic but with a little personality, and easy to dress up or down.  I dressed down this particular blouse a couple of weeks ago with leggings here.  It also works well with this pretty red skirt.

I wore this last week to what I thought was going to be a nice dinner out with my coworkers, which quickly dissolved to me singing "Since U Been Gone" at the top of my lungs at a karaoke bar.  You know.  Things happen.


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Slightly Creepy Olympic Rice Krispie Treats

I was trying to think of what I could make for my Olympic theme party last weekend, and came up with the idea of Olympic ring rice krispie treats.  They didn't turn out quiiiiite like I hoped, but so few things do.

I made the recipe as usual (except I use a much higher marshmallow to cereal ratio) and then split it between several cupcake pans to make circles.  You have to do this really quickly, because as it cools the marshmallow hardens, and then it's impossible to work with (I mayyyy have broken a wooden spoon on these).  Then once they cooled, I popped them out of the pan.  Using a clean paintbrush, I painted the edges with food color gel.  A couple of my gels were old so the colors didn't come out as strong as they usually do.

Warning:  Eating anything with food color gel may make your mouth look like this:

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It's my birthday!

Oh hey, it's my birthday!  Instead of writing an "It's my birthday" post, here's a few photos from the medal stand photo booth from my Olympics theme party this weekend:

 

I made the stands out of some plastic step stools I found at Home Goods and some metallic poster board from Michael's.  The poster board was double sided: gold and silver.  Since there was no bronze, I painted one of the gold sheets.  Then I cut out pieces of poster board and used some spray glue to attach them to the step stools.  I printed out the numbers and used them as stencils on the scrap pieces of poster board, then attached them using some more spray glue.  And voila!  Quick and cheap medal stand.

Tonight Jeff and I are going to RPM to celebrate some more.  I've never been so I'm super excited.  Yaaaaaaaay birthday!




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This weekend...

This weekend I...

... Dressed up as 2010 Shaun White for my Olympics birthday party.  It.was.so.fun.  We had a torch relay/opening ceremonies (that maaaay have set off the fire alarm), lots of games and medals, all of the jock jams, a medal stand photo booth, some super amusing costumes (including a curling team complete with working props), and of course, Cool Runnings on repeat.  Seriously, best birthday ever.
... Aaaaaaand that's about it.  Cooked, cleaned, got ready for the party, cleaned up afterwards, and took a serious Sunday afternoon nap.  Oh, and watched Ender's Game, which frankly was a poor choice since I'm such a fan of the book.

I hope you had a good one!



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Birthday Wishlist

Oh hey you guys, I'm turning 27 next week!! Which means my (hopefully) amazing Olympics birthday extravaganza is this weekend.  I.am.so.excited.  Some people are always birthday people, but I tend to go back and forth. Last year I didn't do anything for my birthday, just a quiet dinner with Jeff.  The year before I went crazy and hit the town with 50 of my closest friends.  For my 21st, which should have been crazy, I stayed in and studied (I had a midterm the next day).  This year though, I'm going big.

My mom has been on me since about two days after Christmas to come up with a birthday wishlist.  I've been having a hard time coming up with these lately, which you would think would be the opposite since I'm always posting about things I want on here.  I think the issue is that if I really want something, unless it's really expensive, I'll just buy it myself.  I've been consciously holding back a little this month so as to leave something on my wishlist.  Here are a couple of the things in my brain right now:

Pretty Print / Utility Vest / Heart Necklace / Scarf / Flower Necklace / Statement Earrings / Olive Pants / Ampersand / Vie Tee

Do you have the same problem coming up with gift ideas for yourself?  

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I did not wear this for Valentine's Day

But maybe I should have.  For some reason I thought blush was a good idea for February the 13th.  Then Friday morning rolled around and I said "Ohhhhhhhhhh crap."  I'm pretty sure I wore pink every day last week so I was literally out of pink things to wear.  Silly me.  It was a happy February 13th though!

Sweater and Skirt (similar) - Loft / Flats - Payless / Necklace - JCrew Factory / Bracelet and Watch - Michael Kors / Bag - Coach Factory (similar)

Also I found this sweater at Loft, thought it was adorable, and brought it home.  Then I tried it on again and started having flashbacks.  I'm pretty sure I owned the exact same sweater in high school.  If it's the sweater I'm thinking of, I'm pretty sure I wore it in my senior photos and may be able to find photographic evidence when I'm at my parents' house this weekend.  We shall see blogland, we shall see.




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The Powder Room

I finally got around to finishing the powder room on our main floor after considering it for the past couple of months.  Doesn't the name "powder room" just sound a bit pretentious?  It turns out, it is pretentious: the name come from the 18th century when people had a tiny room to go and re-powder their wigs in.

Our tiny little powder room was in serious need of a facelift.  All boys lived in our house before I moved in, and for some reason decorating the bathroom was not a major priority for them.  I decided to tackle it partly because it's something everyone sees when they come over and partly because it was much less daunting than trying to do something with our manly bedroom.

 

There's no storage in the bathroom and no space to add anything, so this basket on the floor is for extra toilet paper, soaps, and candles.  I may just put a towel on the top of the stuff inside to make it a little prettier.

 

The rug, towels, basket, and trash can are from Target.  The mirror and frames are from Michaels.  The prints are from Eye Poetry Photography (cut from a 2011 calendar).  The candles are from Ikea.

Bedroom, I'm coming at you next!  Or maybe I'll be easier on myself and tackle the other bathroom :)



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Lace & a little snow

I may be way over the snow, but it still does make for a pretty picture.  At least it does when it's currently falling, not two days later after the dogs have had their way with it.  

Top - JCrew Factory / Jeans - Gap / Necklace - YuniKelley (similar) / Boots - Hunter

As you can see, I ended up getting a pair of Hunters, mainly real snow boots are sold out everywhere and the leak in my boots got so bad that I was squishing around with an inch of water in there.  So one day during my lunch break I ran to Nordstrom and made off with the only waterproof boots they had that didn't have a wedge heel, which just happened to be Hunters.  Do some people really want to wear wedges when they're slipping around in the snow?  Either way, not for me.  So far, these guys seem to be working out for me.  And apparently all of the snow is going to melt today and flood everywhere, so I'm guessing rain boots are going to come in handy.

You can see how else I've worn this tee here.

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This weekend...

This weekend I...

... Got to wear my pretty new Sole Society heels for a Valentine's day dinner with the fiance (or as I've been calling him lately, "The Beyonce."  For some reason he isn't amused).  Don't let the color Sole Society calls them confuse you, they are definitely more a "true orange" than "true red" - just like my hair ;)

... Finally watched Captain Phillips, and let me tell you, even though I knew exactly how the story ended I was still on the edge of my seat the entire time.

... Had dessert out two nights in a row, sorry I'm not sorry diet ;) 

... Held a training session for volunteers for Destination Imagination, which really means I got to hang out with some of my best friends and giggle a lot.

... Went to Michael's not once but twice.  I believe they now possess all of my money, and I possess a lot of gold poster board and god knows what else.

... Had dinner at a newish restaurant in our neighborhood, Asian Outpost, and despite the name, somehow managed to eat fried chicken, cornbread, and potato salad.

... Tried standing on all kinds of objects in my house to see if they were stable enough to be used as a medal stand for our Olympics theme party next weekend, almost fell, and then went out shopping to find something a liiiiiittle sturdier.

I hope you had a good one!




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