Another month, another Budgeting Bloggers linkup! This month was more or less on target, though considering how underbudget I was last month, a little wiggle room is fair to me. Shall we, then?
1 & 2. Forever 21 sweatshirts. Why yes, those are identical to the sweatshirt I bought back in August. It was just so comfy and all-purpose, I had to have more colors. I like dressing them up with a pretty, delicate necklace and skinny jeans (outfit post to come, whenever I get around to taking some photos). | $10.90 each {exact}
3. Hunter fleece boot socks via Nordstrom. I wound up replacing the Original Tall Hunter boots I bought back in September with a pair of Huntress boots, which are made for gals with wider calves. Turns out that rock climbing gives me big calves in addition to big biceps. Who knew. Anyway, these Original Tall socks should still do the trick this winter. | $30 {exact}
4. Target sunnies. Because I love my cat-eye sunglasses so much that I'm constantly losing/breaking them. | $16.99 {exact}
Not pictured: I hit up the "seven for $27.50" table at Victoria's Secret, but no one needs to see that. I also bought a $5 pair of yoga pants at Forever 21, which promptly ripped on the side seam. I'm still wearing them, because the hole is small and I'm lazy, but it was annoying nonetheless.
Grand total this month: $108.24, just a few dollars over my $100 budget.
Usually, I end these posts with a "So how did you do on your budget this month?" thing, but today I'm going with a different question. Do you guys enjoy these posts, or are they kinda boring? I'm not sure if I feel like keeping up the series in 2016, though if you all find them interesting I'll obviously do so. Let me know :)
Well howdy. How's everyone doing this lovely (extremely warm) holiday season? Life has been super crazy these past two weeks, of course. Between Christmas shopping, making and sending our cards, a freelance assignment, making props for a newborn shoot and actually conducting a few photo shoots, this winter is shaping up to be anything but the hibernation period that winter usually is for me.
Still, I wanted to drop in and wish everyone a merry Christmas, happy (belated) Hanukkah, joyous Kwanzaa, pleasant solstice and just general peace and love to all!
I hope you all have safe travels and lots of great times with family! And happy new year if I don't pop in around these parts before then :)
dress/belt and heels: Target
cardigan: thrifted
necklace: Jane
watch: secondhand (Coach)
Do you guys remember when pattern mixing was A Thing? A few years ago, it was all the rage with bloggers, right up there with color blocking and arm parties. I personally wasn't disappointed to see color blocking go the way of the dodo, as they say, but I think pattern mixing is a fairly classic trend.
I bought this dress back in early summer when it became apparent that I had five weddings on my calendar for 2015 and no appropriate dresses that hadn't already been seen by those particular social crowds. It's great for work too, though, and in the winter it's perfect with a pair of black tights. Although we're still facing unseasonably warm temps, so I feel like I could still get away with wearing this with nude hose if I wanted to. Craziness!
In other news, I now have a second blog (because maintaining one lately isn't enough). You can follow my adventures in portrait photography over at Elfie Photography, my business site. And hey, if you're looking for a newborn or family photographer in Columbus, Ohio, I'm your gal! Mention this blog to get 20% off your first session :)
November has been nuts, and it really reflects in my spending habits for the month. Usually this would be a really negative statement, but today I'm happy to say that it only means I didn't have much time to shop this month!
1. Mossimo flannel shirt from Target. I was in the store to buy dog food or something and I mysteriously wound up in the clothes section. Funny how that happens, isn't it? Anyway, I saw that the plaid shirt I bought last month was back in stock in other colors, so I snagged a blue one too. The Cartwheel app gave me an extra discount so I felt a little less guilty about the impulse buy. | $18.53 {exact}
2. Merona messenger bag from Target. I carry a messenger bag to work with a few notebooks, my iPad, my lunch and sometimes my laptop in it. My old one finally gave out, so I snagged this one online with a $10 off coupon. | $15.31 {exact}
Grand total for the month: a whopping $33.84! I did want to pick up a pair of boot socks for my Hunter boots, but since my car is in the garage (again), I guess I'll just put that on the list for December.
How did you guys do on your clothes budgets this month? Find any great deals?
sleeveless button-up: New York & Company
pants: secondhand
heels: Target
necklace: gifted (Kate Spade)
bracelets: don't remember :(
I've been a bad blogger lately; these photos have been sitting in my queue since late July. July! Now they just look ridiculous. I mean, no one would be wearing flowy pants and a sleeveless shirt this time of year...unless they lived in California or something. Can we just pretend I live in California? Ok. Thanks.
Ah, if only that were true. But alas, I live in central Ohio, where this time of year I only get to see the sun through the window of the office that's next to my cubicle. Maybe if I'm lucky, it won't be overcast on my commute in to work and I'll get a tiny bit of vitamin D, but it's always dusk as I'm heading home. It's been a struggle, mood-wise, since daylight savings time, so I bought a lightbox to help offset the worst of it.
The upside to the lightbox (aside from its mood- and energy-boosting properties) is that it forces me to sit still for an extra 30 minutes in the morning. It's too bright to do my makeup by, so I can use that time to sip some coffee and cuddle under a blanket with Cam while I work on blog posts, or edit photos, or research for freelance stories...Thank goodness Cam (like me) isn't a morning person, haha.
I'm also making sure to carve out time in the evening for the gym to help combat the dreary Ohio winters. I never really WANT to go to the gym when it's gross out, but if I can force myself to get there I always end up feeling a hundred times better.
Do you have any go-to methods to beat the winter blues?
t-shirt: secondhand
capris: Target
sneaks: Converse via Famous Footwear
necklace, bracelet: Etsy
watch: secondhand Coach
You guys, I've only done two style posts since the beginning of June. TWO! I have no real excuse for June or July, but I will say that it can be a bit difficult to do outfit photos when you have a puppy running around the backyard, so that's my excuse for August, September and October. Actually, these photos are, in fact, from June...I just never got around to posting them. But we've had a pretty warm November so far, so maybe we can just pretend I wore this semi-recently?
Actually, if we're being honest, I kind of lived in outfits like this over the summer. A casual tee, a nice pair of denim and some comfy Converses...what more could you want?
I haven't taken any great outfit photos since July, really, partially because I've gotten into a groove (NOT a rut!) in my wardrobe and as a result, I'm not wearing a whole lot of "new" outfits. And partially because of aforementioned puppy running around-ness. Not sure if I'll keep up with outfit photos, especially in the winter when taking them indoors with a backdrop is even harder than taking them outside, but who knows. This blog has been a little outfit-heavy in the past few years, mostly because those were the easiest posts for me to do. But I really want to bring the "mélange" back into Verbal Mélange, so expect more variety in content moving forward :)
Similarly, I'm going through a lot of other changes in my day-to-day lately, which is to blame for my lack of posting frequency. Not 100% ready to announce anything yet, but I stay tuned! (And no, Matt and I are not expecting a baby. Just gonna clear that one up right away, haha.)
How about you guys? Anything new and noteworthy going on, or are you all (like me) hunkering down and bracing for winter?
Back again with another link-up to Fran's Budgeting Bloggers. I stayed pretty well within budget this month, but that's mostly because I couldn't find the time to go out and shop for much on my list. October was a month of weddings and photo shoots, trips and networking. But I did find time for a Target run, where I picked up a few basics.
1. Mossimo flannel shirt. I have no idea why it took me so long to get a nice flannel, but I've been wearing this one constantly. Obviously I'll need to get more. | $15 {exact}
2. Denizen jeans. I've had a great pair of Denizen boot-cut jeans for a while now — the fit is perfect and they come in a long inseam option. They started wearing out, so I picked up a new pair (on sale thanks to the Cartwheel app). | $20.99 {exact}
3. Denizen jeans. While looking for a pair of medium-wash every day perfect-fitting jeans, I saw this dark wash too and totally caved. Fortunately this, too, was on sale with the app! | $20.99 {exact}
Grand total, with tax: $61.48...nearly $40 under budget. It's been a while since I could say that, haha!
