Like many people these days, I do A LOT of my shopping on Amazon. Having a new baby in the house makes it hard to get out and shop, so throwing stuff in my cart and having Prime really makes life that much easier. I mean if I am being honest, I don't like to go out and shop, so I have been shopping this way since wayyyyyy before the baby. #lazyshopper

Let's see what I bought in June... (This post does include affiliate links btw)

We have been trying REALLY hard not to buy new furniture until we buy a house next year. I purchased this H.VERSAILTEX slipcover in the pretty blue to keep things fresh (and cover the damage my cats cause from thinking the couch is a scratching post!)

I really like this cover. It was really easy to put on and the price was pretty sweet ($45.99 and Prime approved!). We bought a pretty expensive one after our wedding back in September of 2016 and this one is comparable, but it almost feels more durable. I am excited to see how it goes.


Now that I am getting more serious with my blog again (and I really like to take selfies) I decided to try out a ring light for my phone. We all know we use our phones WAY more then we want to admit when it comes to taking photos (and pretty much everything else in life). This light by QIAYA is pretty great. For $12.99 and Prime approved, it is worth the try. It has 3 different lighting options and easily clips onto your phone.

Happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend! What about you? I have a few things to chat about today as well as my next set of dreams for my 100 Dreams Project

1. 100 Dreams


41. Have my family be close again.
42. Have a space just for me dedicated to writing, yoga, meditation, etc.
43. Confidently promote myself.
44. Be a great parent.
45. Be a mentor.
46. Land a sponsorship that pays me to vacation.
47. Figure out what my "dream" job is.
48. Own a Range Rover Sport SVR in Estoril Blue.
49.Start a benefit/foundation that helps women with body image issues and mental health.
50. Dance like no one is watching. I need to get over the fear of people watching me.

2. Updates

Yay for blog updates! I am finally sprucing the place up a bit. New layout and nicer photos. I am actually taking time to either take my own photos or buy stock photos to make everything a little more clean around here. I can't believe how long it has been since I did any kid of housekeeping here. It is super exciting for me. Maybe not so much for you. Sorry about that.

I'm giddy about writing a new "about" page and adding some more focused topics here. This will always be a lifestyle page, but I truly believe if you write about what you love, it will be effortless and the passion will shine through to your readers. That is my main focus now. Write what makes me happy. If it goes viral great! If not, that's okay too.

3. Speaking of going viral..

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that a link from my blog was posted on a Reddit thread. Well it is apparently getting some hits because that post is now the top post on my blog. See exhibit A:



Not bad for a post I wrote in 2016.. Mind you this was the page views for one week.

Moving on.

4. Letter boards

Guys, I think I have found my new passion in life. Maybe even my "dream" job. Sorry dreams post, I think I just scratched one off the list before you were even published. So I got myself a letter board at Target (Also speaking of Target, I think I go there 900 times a week now that I'm a mom.. but that's a whole 'nother post) for a project and now I own 3. Mind you I went to Target on Sunday, like this past Sunday. Yeah I have a problem. Check out my 2 first masterpieces on Instagram. Follow me while you're there. I'm sure there will be MANY more great letter board works of art to come.

5.  Who likes it HOT HOT HOT?



If that's you, move to Central NY. It is going to be SO HOT this weekend. Like it's going from being in the upper 60's and rainy all week to the mid 90's this weekend with full humidity! Seriously! I am already roasting just thinking about it. I will NEVER complain about the heat after the winter we just had, but can we at least ease into the fires of Hell? Thanks!

How was your week? I hope it was fabulous! Have a great weekend! Stay hydrated!

The more I photograph these fixes, the more I realize I love fashion. I was never a "fashionista" growing up. I just wore what was comfortable. I don't think I had a specific style per say. Although I do specifically remember a moment in my early 20's when I got to a friends house and she made a comment that I always looked so put together. Her and her boyfriend had been discussing how nice I always looked.

That make me feel awkward at the time. I never thought about what I wore. I just put clothes on and went out. Thinking back, I think I was more fashionable than I gave myself credit for. I suppose that fits my personality though. I am always so naïve about my talents, or my looks, or anything about myself really.

I remember standing in front of my closet two years ago and the wheels started turning. I started seeing pieces of my clothing matched with each other. Pieces I would have never put together normally. I got excited. I was always the girl who did the awesome makeup. Not the girl who had awesome fashion sense.

I had thought about subscribing to Stitch Fix for awhile, but always thought it would be a waste of my time. I told myself I already knew what I liked to wear. I told myself it would be too expensive. I told myself I wouldn't like to wear clothes someone else picked out.

I was so wrong about all of those things. I finally bit the bullet early last year. I was going to try one box and then cancel. I was so sure I wasn't going to like it enough to keep it going. Now here we are at fix number 18.





Stitch Fix has allowed me to try on pieces that I would never have picked out on my own. I have found quality items to add to my closet that again can be mix and matched with my existing wardrobe. It makes it fun to get dressed.

It also makes it fun to photograph. I love modeling the clothes I get sent. Even if I don't keep the items, I still get to freeze them in a frame to post here for you to see. I have been inspired to do more and more fashion posts because of Stitch Fix.

Now on to the photos. It was such a bright and cheerful fix that popped to the backdrop of my backyard.

 For those of you unfamiliar with Stitch Fix, it is a monthly clothing subscription where you get a personal stylist to send you 5 pieces according to your profile. You have the opportunity to write your stylist a note each month further customizing your fix. You pay a $20 styling fee each month to receive the fix, which is then deducted from the cost of anything you keep from your fix. If you keep all 5 items you also receive a 25% discount. Pretty great right? If you have interest in trying out the fix, I would appreciate it greatly if you used my affiliate link.

First up is this Fortune + Ivy wrap dress. I have come to realize since I have given birth that wrap dresses just do not work for me. This one is also a bit too short for my liking. It is a pretty color, but not my style. This went back.







Not pictured because I some how forgot to photograph it is this pink Nine West Crossover.  I thought it was really cute, but was not in the need for a new bag right now.
All in all I loved this fix. There were pieces I would never had picked out myself (hello shorts!). When it first arrived I thought maybe they sent me someone else's fix because it was so out of my comfort zone. But this is why I keep getting Stitch Fix. It forces me out of my comfort zone.

I also realize I need to do better on my photos for these posts. I am just lucky I got it done while it was still daylight to be honest. I literally ran down from my office after work and did this before I went to the gym. I only have so much "me" time now with the baby. Oh well! I am just glad it got done.

Which piece is your favorite?

Hi there. Happy Monday. You may notice things are looking a little different around here today (Ahem, new layout). Over the next week you will see some more changes here. I am not completely done yet with the layout. This is just the barebones. I will put in time as I can to get my vision created. But now on to what has made me decide to put in the time to make the changes.

You may (or may not) remember me mentioning the book 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. (Just an FYI, I won't make any money off of that link if you click it, because even after 5 years of blogging, I have no idea how affiliate marketing works! Ooops!) If you don't remember, it is basically a book reminding you of how many hours in a day you waste on pointless shit.  That is pretty much the jist of it.

Now you may think I am not digging this book by that statement, but that's not true at all. The book has reminded me that I once had a passion and some real time put into this blog. This blog was my life at one point, in a good way.

I loved coming here each and every day to work on something new for you all to read and engage in with me. Over time a life thing happened that really left a bad taste in my mouth, and from that point on my time here became less and less. I was looking at my archive list earlier. My first year of blogging was in 2014. I wrote 137 posts and I started blogging in May.

In 2015 I wrote 156 posts and really started to get some notice. I had brands who reached out to me. I did some sponsored posts. It was great! I loved to write and I was getting asked to write. It made me happy. In July, the life thing happened. Things slowed down a bit, but I made a promise to myself that I would at least blog through the end of the year, plus I had some commitments already that I had to honor.

In 2016 I was down to 123 posts and by last year I only had 73 logged. Here we are in 2018 and this will only be my 22nd post of the year. A majority of these posts only happened over the last 2 months. It seems I have found my passion again with writing. It doesn't even have anything to do with being sponsored or making money.

I just love it. Signs have been pointing me back to writing for awhile now. It is something I never thought I would enjoy so much, yet here I am. Inspiration at it's finest.

 Now back to the book I mentioned and how it inspired me to change my path here on the blog.

It reminded me that if I am passionate enough about something, I will make time for it.  There is no longer an adequate excuse. It's either I want to do it or I don't. There really isn't any in between.

You carve out time where you can. For instance, I am typing this out while I pump for baby bloob. I have mastered doing this lately. I write and I create food for my child. I am making time for 2 things that are very important to me.

You use all of your free time efficiently. It works.

If I can hash out time and multitask for something I love, then so can you. You just have to make a choice.

I plan to finish this book today, as it is due back to the library tomorrow. I plan to write down my week in hours next week. I will share how it goes along the way. I am excited to see how I spend my time.

Who's going to do it with me?