Updates: financial diet and kitty's name

Well, I'm a week into my first phase of the Financial Diet, the part where I only spend $20 a week on food, clothes, drinks, whatever. And I have to admit, I'm not doing so well. Since I get paid on a bi-weekly basis, I just withdrew $40 when I got paid last week, to last me until my next paycheck next week.

I have nine dollars left.

So I'm not doing so well. But it's a learning curve. I mean, going from spending money whenever I had it to spending it in a very restricted way is a hell of a change to accomplish overnight. But I've definitely spent far less than I normally do, so I think I can still file this under "semi-success."

Today, instead of an outfit, I thought I'd share this Polyvore set that I found on Pinterest. (I'm new to Polyvore. I love it.) This outfit was put together by LLWolf.

Source: polyvore.com via Emma on Pinterest

I pretty much love everything about this outfit. The colors, the gorgeous grey blazer, the chic casual look of it all. I don't often copy or re-create outfits, but I think I may have to hunt down bargain/thrift versions of every single item in this set. So in love.

Also, just wanted to say a quick "thanks" to everyone who's been commenting these past few weeks. Your support, suggestions and feedback always bring me joy. And, thanks to you guys, we've come up with a name for the kitty! Cat of BrideBlu said she likes to use historic names, and she mentioned Franklin. I immediately fell in love, and Matt agreed that it was a good name. (We can call her Frankie for short!) In retrospect, I realize that Cat might have mentioned Franklin because she has a pet named Franklin. If so, I'm sorry for stealing your name, Cat! In any case, thank you for the suggestion :) I love giving boys' names to girls, haha. She arrives later tonight! (Expect many kitty pictures on the blog in the next few days.)

Suggestions?

Here's the last of my pre-30x30 challenge outfits! I actually really liked this one. Pairing yellow with gray has to be one of my favorite color combinations! My taste for colors runs towards neutral most of the time, whether it's in my wardrobe or my home décor. Fun fact I learned about myself since I started style blogging :)

shirt: thrifted
skirt: H&M
shoes: Target
necklace: street vendor at the Short North Gallery Hop

Something else I've learned? Playing with curves in Photoshop can make you look a lot tanner than you actually are (and without the cancer risk, no less).

Well, I haven't mentioned this on the blog yet, but on Friday Matt and I are getting a kitten. She's a calico, the last one from a litter that a stray had near my friend Emily's house. She's about three months old, and is currently named Squeak. I'm think Matt and I are going to rename her, just to kind of make her "ours" I guess, so I've been calling her Kitty in the meantime. As in, "Look at all this stuff I got for Kitty!" (Don't worry, I kept to the basics and stayed within my budget. Not cheating on my Financial Diet!)

Anyway, last night I made a bed for her, instead of dropping $20 on a store-bought one. I used an old file storage milk crate thing that I had, and cut up/resewed an old comforter I had from college. It's pretty rudimentary, and she'll probably outgrow it, but I think it's kind of cute. (Like Kitty, haha)

Okay, seriously. I'm terrible at naming things...can't ever decide on one! Any suggestions?