"To Do" List

Now that we are in the last days of Summer and headed into Fall, it is a good time for change. Let's all create a "To Do" list. Put things on your list that will help you to become a better you.

During the summer, I slacked off on doing my exercises and I allowed myself to eat a few more things that I wouldn't normally eat, like more sweets and eating out more frequently. So now that the temperature outside is dropping, I can get back outside and exercise. Walking outside is such a calming thing for me. I love just being one with nature and breathing in the fresh air. I have a treadmill, but it's just not the same.

I'm also making a commitment to get back to eating healthier. I was mindful of my eating habits all summer, but I did eat out a lot more than I had been. Traveling and spending time with family & friends will cause you to eat out more. Every one just seems to want to eat out all the time and because it is so hot in the summer, no one wants to cook (unless its a bar-b-que).  I'm proud to say that I've stayed away from eating pork and beef at the bar-b-ques this summer. Yay! No ribs for me and I didn't miss it at all.  Besides, I feel so much better when I prepare my own meals, because I know exactly what was put into them. When I cook/prepare, I eat a lot more veggies and I control the amount of sugar (if I even use sugar) and salt (I no longer use table salt, I use sea salt) that I put into my food.

I'm currently working on my "To Do" list for the Fall. Here is my list so far.
To Do List:
1. Exercise more
2. Cook most meals at home
3. Increase vegetable and fruit intake
4. Create a shopping budget
5. Get more sleep (i.e. go to bed earlier!)
6. Work on making the blog better
7. Go on a fast (juice or smoothie or master cleanse (I haven't decided yet. I may do a combo.))

I'm sure I have a few more things to add/change on there.  I'll be sure to share my completed list with you all when I'm done.  I'm gonna try to limit it to only 10 items so that it is manageable and I can complete everything listed.

What are some of the things you will be putting on your "To Do" List?

Fourth of July & Myrtle Beach

Hello Peaches,
I hope all of you had a great July 4th holiday weekend. I know I did. I went home to SC to visit my family & friends. I managed to spend a day on the beach with my best friend and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We went to an All-U-Can-Eat buffet that served all kinds of food, including seafood. I went straight for the crab legs, but I didn't take a picture. I just dove right in. I did manage to take a picture of the fruit platter I created for myself. It was so healthy & refreshing..

After eating lunch, we headed to the boardwalk to walk along the beach and pier.

I decided to wear a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt for our day trip so I would be comfortable. At first I put on a pair of wedges, but I knew I would need to switch out to flip flops after lunch once we started walking. Here's a picture of me with my wedges on. You can't really see them too well, but the heels are kinda high (at least for me). I've got to get used to them.

My best friend (left) and I (right)

SN: My best friend and I are both on a journey to live a Healthy Lifestyle. We are eating healthier and exercising. There will be more post about our Healthy Lifestyle Journey in the future.

What I'm wearing:
Camouflage Shorts - Wal-Mart
Tee - by Mossimo via Target
Shoes - DSW
Necklace & Bracelet - Khol's
Belt - Ross

After walking along the beach and on the pier, we strolled down the boardwalk and ventured into little shops. They had some really cute things there. I really wanted this cute purse I saw, but it wasn't in my budget. It was so hard leaving it there. :( However, I did purchase 3 necklaces that I will use as anklets by wrapping them around my ankle twice. I've been looking for these anklets (similar to the two I have on in the above center picture) for the past 2 or 3 years, and it finally hit me to try using a necklace and do a wrap-around. It worked and I'm so excited!  We also stopped by the outlet on our way home. We only had time to go into one store and that was the Forever 21 Outlet Store. They had some really cute things, but they didn't seem to be something that I would wear. I did end up purchasing a beautiful green & silver ring. I can't wait to wear it, but I will probably have to purchase something to style around the ring....yep, just an excuse to go shopping. :) Pictures of my purchases to come in future post.

Other than that, I went to a family BBQ and hung out with the rest of my family. The weekend was beautiful, but I'm glad to be back in Atlanta. I needed to catch up on my rest. :)

Interview Attire

Since I have to start going on interviews very soon...like right now...I decided to find some appropriate interview attire. I had a couple of navy pant suits in my closet, but I didn't like the way any of them fit and as you know, if you look good...you feel good. So since I want to feel good when on interviews I knew I needed to shop for a dress or pants suit or something that fit perfectly.

A few weeks ago I went to Ross and there on the rack was this classic navy dress. I knew it was meant for me to purchase. It was in my size and just what I needed. See how the universe is aligning things to help me find a job. :)

Navy dress: Ross Stores - $39.99
Shoes: Macy's - a few years ago
Jewelry: Circle necklace - gift

The dress came belted with a navy belt. In the above photo, I wore the dress to church so I put on a pair of taupe slingback shoes and simple jewelry.
I think the next time I wear this dress (hopefully on an interview), I will pair it with cognac shoes and a cognac belt and maybe some bulkier pieces of jewelry.

It's been a long time (over 13 years) since I've been on an interview so I'm not exactly sure how to dress. I just figured I can't go wrong with this simple dress. I did pick up a pair of navy and black slacks from Macy's over the weekend so I can style them with a nice blouse to create a decent interview outfit.
I just plan to keep it simple, look decent and professional without bringing to much attention to my clothes. I want the focus to be on me and the skills I have to offer.


Question of the Day
Do you have any advice or interview tips you can share with me? Please leave them in the comments section. Thanks in advance!

Sunday Brunch

Oops! This post didn't go out yesterday and it's all my fault, but here it is...

Yesterday was a very beautiful and easy-breezy day. The weather was nice. 
I woke up about 30 minutes late so I had to rush to get ready for church.
After pulling a few suits out of the closet, nothing seemed to feel right to me.  Eventually I settled on the Anne Klein jean skirt (read about my fabulous Mall Score here) I purchased at Macy's for under $12 and a top that I also purchased from Macy's for less than $15 back in December of last year. Yes...I love shopping at Macy's! The outfit was nothing special. Just a simple skirt & top that I felt very comfortable in. I wore a pair of neutral colored slingback shoes that were sort of a cross between taupe and cognac colors.

Blouse by Sunny Leigh

Anne Klein Jean Skirt

I didn't get a chance to take pictures of me wearing the outfit because right after church, we headed over to O'Charley's Restaurant for brunch and then to a couple of malls to do a little shopping.
For brunch, I decided to have a meatless meal of waffles with strawberries, whipped cream & syrup and a side order of brunch fries. Every thing was tasty. 

As you can see, my waffles does not have a dollop of whipped cream on them...yet. I ate half of them before I noticed something was missing. Yep, they were that good and to be honest I really didn't need the whipped cream...they tasted better without it.

waffles after adding whipped cream

Waffles with Strawberries & Syrup

Side order of Brunch Fries

After eating brunch, we headed over to the mall to shop for Mother's Day gifts. I ended up buying 3 pairs of pants (black, navy, gray) for myself and a shirt for my BF at the Northlake Mall Macy's store. Then we headed over to Perimeter Mall. There, I purchased a cute khaki colored Alfani belted blouse ($15.49) and a Rachel Roy cardigan ($11.25) from Macy's.  All of that shopping and I still have to do more shopping because I didn't get my Mom anything. :)
I'm very pleased that I lost weight, but trying to rebuild my wardrobe is costly. :( I'm not so happy with that. Just a few more key pieces and I'll be set for a while...anyway. Well, at least I'm having a lot of fun shopping, right? I can't wait to style the clothes and accessories that I've been buying. I'm trying to step out of the box when it comes to fashion. Look for future post as I share with you "What I'm Wearing". I'll be incorporating all of the tips I've been learning about fashion from other bloggers. I'll even share a few of my favorite Fashion Bloggers with you. They are awesome! Hopefully I'll have a new job soon and I'll be able to wear all of my new clothes to a new job.

After attending church, eating brunch and shopping, I headed home and took a nice long nap.
I later watched tv and ate a salad for dinner. Yes, it was a nice, easy, breezy day.


Question of the day
How do you normally spend your Sundays?

Easter Sunday

Hi There! I hope every one had a Happy Easter weekend.
My weekend was great...very low key with a lot of napping and a little shopping.
The weather was nice and church was so good.
I've been visiting a new church for the past few weeks and I am really enjoying the services. I normally don't like churches with big congregations, but I must say I feel really comfortable when visiting this particular church. Another plus is that it is right down the street from my house. This church has 3 services each Sunday so I have no excuses for not attending. Right? I've been going to the 9:30am service and that seems to be working out great. I love the fact that church is over around 11:15am each Sunday and I have the whole day to do other stuff and if I decide to go out to eat, the restaurants are not crowded. Plus, Plus, Plus, Plus!!!

Okay, so here is what I wore to church on Easter Sunday. I wanted to wear something with some springy colors so I chose this skirt that I picked up a few weeks ago. I was finally able to find a top to match on Saturday. I normally don't wear lots of patterned pieces, but I'm trying to step outside the box a little when it comes to fashion since I'm having to sort of rebuild my wardrobe (after dropping a few pounds). I decided to purchase this skirt because of all the colors in it. I can pair it with yellow, lavender, pink, white and this pinkish-purplish color top that I have on in the picture. So you see, I'll be able to get lots of wear out of this one skirt. The next time I wear this skirt, I think I will accessorize with a belt and more bulky pieces of jewelry.

For the shoes, I chose to go with these Cognac colored sandals that I've had in my closet for at least a couple of years. I'm really liking this Cognac color for my shoes and accessories because it is a neutral color that can be worn with so many different colors and the color won't take away from the outfit.

 Fashion Finds
Top: Macy's (clearance @ $11)
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft (clearance @ $17.90)
Shoes: purchased years ago
Charm: Stella & Dot (part of a 3-piece charm set @ $19 on sale)
Bracelets, Ring, Gold Chain - Gifts


*sorry about the poor picture quality. promise to do a better job in the future.

Question: Did you purchase a new dress, outfit or shoes for Easter?

Mall Score!

I had a lot of work I needed to do over the weekend. It was overwhelming...so instead I tagged along with E&K (my niece & nephew-her husband) to the mall. We ended up driving out to North Point Mall, about a 40 minute drive from Decatur. At first I didn't want to drive out there, especially since there are 4 malls within a 10 mile radius of my home, but I'm so glad I did.

You see, I had this Anne Klein denim pencil skirt on my wish list.  I saw the skirt online at Macys.com, but none of the stores in my area has an Anne Klein department. Online the skirt was $59, which was over my budget for a single piece of clothing, but I decided to take the plunge because of the versatility of the skirt. It can be dressed up or down; worn with heels or flats; sandals or shoes; jacket or no jacket. This skirt can be worn to work, church or just to hang out.  Switch out the top, shoes and jewelry and you can get lots of fashion combos with this denim pencil skirt. It's a classic signature piece to have in your wardrobe.

With my $10 Macy's Birthday Gift Card in hand, I went searching for the Anne Klein section. I found it, but no denim skirt. :( Okay. Don't give up. Just keep looking. I finally gave the clearance rack a really good look and guess what? I found the skirts. Oh no! They don't have my size! However, they had a size 4 and a size 8. So I'm looking at the skirts, feeling a little defeated. Not to worry...I go to the dressing room with the size 4 and 8. (I wear a size 6.) So I try on the size 4. Perfect fit around the waist; a little snug around the hips. I'm moving & bending & shaking. Okay. Maybe this will work. My niece agreed. I'm excited again.

So now I'm at the register ready to check out. The skirt is marked down to $29.50 on the clearance tag. I'm excited because I can use my $10 Gift Card and save some more money. I hand the clerk my gift card and she says "I'm sorry you can't use this card. Your purchase has to be at least $30." In my mind I'm thinking no problem, I will just add a bottle of water or a candy bar to take me over the $30 minimum. Then she says, "This skirt has been marked down to $14.50." What?!?!?! I'm about to jump out of my skin. I'm so happy! My niece hands me her 20% OFF coupon, which made the final price of the skirt $12!!!

So you see why I'm so excited, right? Mall Score!!! A $47 savings!!! I love shopping when things turn out this good. Oh and by the way, I checked online and the exact same skirt is still selling for $59.

Question(s) of the day: (Please leave a comment.)
What are some of the items on your wish list?
Have you had any recent Mall Scores? If so, tell us about them.

Birthday Celebrations!

Hello Smart Women (and Men)!
This weekend I'll be celebrating my birthday (actual day is Sunday)! To celebrate, I decided to do something I've never done before. Now, I have yet to make a bucket list, but if I did, this would have been one of the items on it.  What is it, you ask???
I'm going Horseback Riding! I'm so excited.

My dad (77years old) owns several horses and riding is his passion. So, since I've never been riding with him, I decided I would do that for my birthday. He is super excited. At first, I thought it would be just my parents and siblings and a few other close relatives...but somehow, it has turned into a party, which I'm dubbing my CowGirl Party. I've got the boots and the hat and I'm ready to ride! I just hope I don't chicken out. :)
Anyway, I'll be headed to South Carolina tomorrow for a fun-filled family weekend.
BTW, my Mom's birthday is 2 days after mine and my niece & nephew sorta hi-jacked my birthday and got married on it...Oh well, that just means we have lots of reasons to celebrate, right? It's a Family Affair.

I spent the week catching up on tasks that I've been neglecting and shopping. Gotta have a new birthday outfit, right? So next week, I'll really start blogging more (hopefully every day, but we'll see). I'll have lots to share with you: pictures of my birthday weekend and some spring outfits I found while shopping.

Question(s) of the day: How did/will you celebrate your birthday this year? Do you have a bucket list and if so, what's on it?

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday!