My Favorite Finds From This Weekend

I absolutely did not want to go out into the cold this weekend but after being trapped in the house this entire week, I knew I needed to brave the freezing temperatures and do something with my life! As a reward for getting off the couch, I bought myself some super cute things from some of my favorite stores!

I have a Saturday morning routine that I follow religiously. First, I head over to TJ Maxx because there seriously has only been like two times that I have ever been there and didn't find something that I absolutely "needed" for my house or life. They have everything and always when I "need" it! 

For instance,  I found the hot pink Kate Spade purse there. I absolutely love that color! I love a bright colored bag so much. I would wear this in any season when I need some color in my life. So often, I find myself only wearing/super bored with traditional fall/winter colors for those seasons. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them when the season starts, but I can only wear grey, black and burgundy so many times before I start to find myself in a mid-winter slump. Being able to throw some color in there makes me feel so inspired to get my life together. I have no idea why. It's like a red lipstick for me. It gives me an energy that I desperately need sometimes. So many times I have nowhere special to be, nothing exciting to do. Throw on a cute color and suddenly that boring day feels a lot more exciting. Maybe that's just me.

Kate Spade purse: TJMaxx $100     Nothing Is Impossible journal: TJMaxx $5.99   
The Beauty of Grace: TJMaxx $14.99   Essie Nail Polish in Jamaica Me Crazy: TJMaxx $3.99
Bracelet: Loft (I think I paid $14 for it)  Lorac lipstick in Show Girl : Ulta $16  

I found the "Nothing Is Impossible..." journal at TJMaxx too. That is going to be a gift for my sister because there is almost nothing that she loves more than inspirational quotes and journaling. So, whenever I see a cute journal with a good message, I pick it up for her and save it til I get to visit home or send her a package. 

 I also totally needed these super cute coffee Mugs from Nicole Miller. The picture doesn't show the color/texture very well. They are so much cuter in person. I had to get two sets of two because who has just two mugs? Lots of people! But, what if I have people over who want to drink something out of an adorable coffee mug? Now, I totally have that scenario under control! 

Nicole Miller coffee mugs: TJMaxx $5.99 (set of 2)

I found these L'oreal Revitalift face and eye creams too. I don't know much about face and eye creams but I wanted to get something to make me feel like I'm doing something to take care of my face as I get a little older. I'm not interested in spending an ungodly amount of money on that kind of thing at this point in my life. I'm not sure I ever will. Aging is something we all have to do. I plan on doing it gracefully. Though, a little anti-aging cream at a good price can't hurt. Even if all it does is keep my skin moisturized. 

L'oreal Revitalift Eye Cream: TJMaxx $12.99       L'oreal Revitalift Face Cream: TJMaxx $12.99 

Sallys Extreme Wear Nail Polish: Walmart (I think it was $3)

I also found the cute bathroom rug further down the page at TJMaxx that perfectly matches the towels and shower curtain in my spare bathroom. This is one thing I actually did need. The rug I had in there previously was made of a weird material that picked up dirt way too easily and just wouldn't wash back to it's original color. My dog unfortunately wasn't concerned with that when he decided to run in there immediately after coming in from a walk one day. Of course, that was a day when he also seemed to be looking for every muddy puddle he could possibly find. 

I found a few other things at TJMaxx, most of which I didn't take picture of because, well, they just weren't that interesting. I got a plain navy blue memory foam rug for my kitchen so my feet can hate me a little less when I have to stand there and do all of the dishes that seem to pile up no matter what I do! I bought a new cast iron skillet and something to put in the car when the dog rides with us that will hopefully keep him out of the front seat. I also bought my dog another bed because he ate the stuffing out of his previous one. He had this one for one full day before doing the same!

Burgundy Shirt: TJMaxx $19.99     Navy Sweater: TJMaxx $14.99 

(neither one of these looked cute on me so they're going back!)

Next store on my list is Michaels. I always head over there to see if they have any new crafting supplies that I absolutely have to have. I am forever stocking up on glitter (because that's so practical), more yarn (because I have knit exactly 2 1/2 scarves in the past two years) and holiday supplies for whatever the next one may be. Basically, I buy things to put in storage bins until I finally decide to start a new project. Far too often, I find those things AFTER I've repurchased them because I've managed to completely forget I ever purchased them.  This week, I managed to walk out with only the teal cake plate from their Vintage Blush line. With the 40% off coupon that they always give, it was such a deal. I don't think it was more than $10.

My final stop was a home decor store here, Kirklands, where I got the "Pray always..." picture above. Love it. Love even more that it was on clearance for about $5.  They had the cutest coat rack with these glass door knobs as hooks. I stood there, just staring at it for at least 15 minutes, trying desperately to rationalize getting a coat rack when I had just purchased one recently. In all fairness, the one I ended up with was super small and nowhere near as cute. I don't even know that it was intended to be coat rack, more of a utility rack of some sort. I ended up not the super cute one at Kirklands on this trip. I may have to go back for it though!

Soho Collection Rug: TJMaxx $14.99      Vintage Blush cake plate: Michaels $10.00 with coupon

Pray Always and Often picture: Kirkland $5    

I'm really happy with most of the things I found this weekend. I can't wait to do something fun with the teal cake plate and I can't wait to wear the hot pink purse somewhere! Mostly, I can't wait to see what I find next week!haha

2016...New Years Resolutions...To Thrive

New Years Eve Table Setting

Table cloth :TJ Maxx    Place Mats :At Home    Photo Props :Michaels (I added the glitter)  
Gold Rimmed Wine Glasses:At Home      Cheers Coasters: Pier 1     

Every holiday or beginning of a new season, I put together a table setting and we have a big dinner to celebrate being blessed enough to experience the joy each holiday/new season brings. I usually go overboard with the decorating, food and desserts, but it just brings me so much joy.  Going overboard is kind of my thing. Not because I need to have a perfect home, not because it makes for a really cute picture (I mean, look at that pic), but because I love to make friends and family feel special by doing it. I love seeing the faces of the people I love, just light up because they came over for brunch to find hand painted and cut paper flowers, or their favorite desserts piled to the sky on dozens of adorable cake plates. It makes me so happy to see other people happy. It's such a small thing to do it through decorations, but it's something I can do for others and I love it.

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For me, every new season is an opportunity to reevaluate my life, my outlook, my daily habits. The ending of a year and the beginning of a new one is the perfect opportunity to do that too. I have always tried to avoid the whole "new year, new me" thing that the world seems to do but this year I'm not. For the past year, I have really been thinking about the direction of my life as I move later into my 20's. A lot of big things have happen in the past couple years. I moved to Tulsa after living in Chicago for over 4 years. Moving here came with a series of ups and downs. Seemed like a lot more downs than anything. This year, I am making a promise to myself to do what I need to in order to make my life meaningful, to make myself happy. It's not enough to go to work and merely exist. I want to live. So in 2016 I'm going to do more of what I love, I'm going to push myself to do things that scare me. I'm going to challenge myself to do things when I would rather sit in the house and just watch a movie. I won't let my life just pass me by.  I've already started thinking of what my next move will be. Maybe I'll move to Dallas, maybe I'll buy a home and redo it. I don't know what's next but I promise that I'll keep dreaming and I'll do more to make those dreams become a reality.