Black Friday Haul!

If you know me, you know I love when there are good deals. Don't get me wrong, I know when a deal is not good and Black Friday deals are not the best. Yes, there are deals that are good, but it's definitely not the time to start splurging all your money because to be honest, there are other times of the year where sales are actually much better. For example, winter coats are on sale during the beginning of summer; Companies are trying to get rid of their old seasoned clothes and making room for the new season ones, so the old clothes go on sale. I assure you, if you're in need of a winter jacket, Black Friday is not the time to get one. It is, however, time to browse around and see what is on sale. Many department stores are putting discounts on certain items and some of them are worth having.

For example, the navy Lace-Up Tunic Sweater I mentioned in my sweater post, I initially paid $17.99 for it, yet I saw it on sale for $9.99 for Black Friday. I ended up purchasing another one in another color, called Dark Gray Heather.

I also bought Sonoma Goods for Life™ Women's Knit Shaft Boot Slippers in the color Gray. These are meant to be used as slippers but I think I will wear them to the office because they are just so cute (& my job is pretty laid back with what we wear). I would say these look like the Ugg boots, just a different company. I wanted to get a pair ever since I saw my coworker wear hers with her gray leggings. I think they would match up perfectly. I also sprayed them with Scotchgard Suede & Nubuck Protector that I had used with my Ugg boots back in 2015 so they don't get soaked if it rains. I ended up paying $9.99 for these.

I was also able to get my boyfriend some really cute clothes. I love when he wears dark (black) and light (white) colors. I think I've bought him enough dark colors that I chose to get one of each this time. I also bought him a Calvin Klein cologne set, which all together, with my coupons and discounts ended up being under $50 (without discounts, it would have been over $150). P.S. He loves that I have my coupons & discounts and thinks I'm cute for saving money... I love that guy!

JcPenney also ended up being on the list and I was able to find more deals there. Well, my mom was. I didn't really shop much and it's only because I didn't really find a lot of clothes that stuck out to me. There were more deals at JCP than at Kohls and everywhere you turn, there was some discount to some clothes that was applied. I found 2 nice blouses and a sweater for myself. The blouses will look good for work or some kind of job interview if I were to stumble upon one. Yes, they are sleeveless, however, paired with a nice blazer, that won't even be noticeable. Oh also, we were each able to get an in-store coupon for $10 off of a $10 purchase.

I love this green blouse I found because the shade of green really caught my eye. The patterns on the sleeves and on the shirt really stood out to me. It is more of an emerald color and for some reason, I told myself I had to get it. I also wanted to get this Worthington Volume Sleeve Shirt, but I ended up not. If I could go back in time, I would have gotten it. I went back and forth because I love the color but I wasn't so sure about the thickness and texture of the shirt, so I ultimately decided not to get it. I think if I didn't have as many shirts as I do, I would have bought it. There are currently 14 reviews on their website with a full 5 star rating, so I say it's worth getting. The one I chose to get, pictured below, is the Worthington Pleated Velvet Top in the color Bold Emerald. Like I said, the patterns and color stood out to me the most. I think this would be a great shirt to wear to an interview, over the summer, or even during a vacation.

I also got this light pink sleeveless blouse. I think it's absolutely adorable and professional. If I had to go to an interview, I would chose this one with a black blazer. They didn't have my size, medium, so I had to go up a size, large, and I think it still looks cute. I am going to be honest and say that it is quite bigger on me, but I still chose to get it because I liked it so much. It was on sale for about $11 so I chose to buy it. If you would like to see it, it's the Worthington Woven Tank Top in the color Blush. It's really thin material, despite the name of it. There is a very thin, almost sparkly layer, a more thicker liner shirt, and then the same sparkly thin layer on top. I would absolutely also wear this in the summer time, as it is quite thin material.

Finally, I got the St. John's Bay Long Sleeve Crew Neck Pullover Sweater. I saw it because it was on sale for only $9!! There were many colors to chose from but I wanted the Ivory Lurex one. It does have sparkles in it, but I'm totally okay with that. They have 19 colors to chose from and are currently on sale for $9. I would pair this with some leggings and cute boots. I recently went on a date with my boyfriend downtown and paired this with leggings and the boots mentioned above (The picture is below). I know they are slippers, however, I am using them as outdoor shoes because they're really comfy. I think they would be great to wear when it's a little bit chilly, but not wet. Even though I sprayed them, I won't be wearing them when it's wet so they can last longer.

I also purchased a couple matte lipsticks from KylieCosmetics.com, but I will do a separate post when those get shipped in. :)

Hope your Black Friday was awesome!!! :)

November

AH!! It's been a few weeks since I last posted and I do want to apologize. I've been busy with life that I haven't had time to post. I just wanted to have a heart to heart post about how thankful I am for everybody in my life. If a year ago, you told me I would be where I am, I would not believe you. I have found the love of my life (finally!) and am very thankful for him. He has been my rock and I knew from when I met him that he is my soulmate. I know it's really cliche and people have all these cheesy sayings but I can assure you that all of them, every single one, is 100% true. When you find the right person, you will just know. It's like my soul finally found the soul I've been searching for. I feel like I've known him my entire life. He understands me in a way that no other person has and would do anything for me. I know that if I'm going through something, I can talk to him about it. I know that whenever I see him, I will be showered with lots of love. Relationships are never easy but when you find that person that you know you're meant to be together, your relationship is worth more than anything. I love him with every bit in my heart and I can't wait for our future together.

I also am very thankful for my family. They are always constantly supportive of me and whatever decisions I make. If I want to go on a sail boat to Iceland, they will strap on their life jackets and go with me (metaphorically speaking).

I am thankful for my health. This year has been a lot of ups and downs but I am thankful to finally overcome it all and be healthy. I am able to wake up every day and live another day and for that, I am truly thankful and blessed.

I am thankful for people in my life that are able to help me and just be there for me. Whether it's advice about my job or life in general, there are those people that will guide me and help me whenever I may need it. I believe that everything happens for a reason and there are certain people that are put in my life. I am thankful for all the friendships and lessons that I have been given.

I am also thankful for all my readers! I have been doing this blog for almost a year now and my heart is ecstatic that I did!! I find that this is a great space for me to express my thoughts and my interests and I'm just happy people are willing to read them. Thank you.

I've also shared my green bean casserole down below. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans of 14.5 oz cut green beans
1 can of 10.5 of cream of chicken soup
2/3 cups of whole milk
1 container of 6 oz French's french fried onions
1 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain your green beans and put them in a casserole dish.
3. Add in your cream of chicken soup and 2/3 cups of whole milk.
4. Continue to mix in onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
5. Add in half of the french fried onions.
6. Put it in the oven for 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
7. After the 30 minutes has passed, sprinkle the rest of the french fried onions on top and put it back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Enjoy :)

This was my plate this year. I ate the whole thing and lost a pound...
not sure how that happened but I'll take it! :)

Sweater Weather!

The days are starting to get colder and all the leaves on the trees have pretty much fallen off. In Colorado, the weather is odd because one day we will get snow along with cold weather and the next day, it's 80 degrees and all the snow has melted. It's very beautiful on the warm days because it's the essence of a perfect fall day. When it's cold, I like to bundle up and wear my favorite sweaters. I decided to do a post on a few sweaters that I've recently purchased, so for those cold days, I have something cute to wear. Click on the pictures to be directed to the sites I bought them from. Not all sweaters are available, so some may not have links.... Enjoy! :)

This first sweater I recently bought from Rue21 is called the Laced Sleeve Rib Knit Sweater. I am absolutely in LOVE and had to get it because of the details on the sleeves. I am a sucker for bows and ribbons and when I saw this, I had to immediately put it in my basket. The only available color is black and it's a pretty thick sweater. The sides of the arms are laced in ribbon in a cute pattern and meet up at the bottom to form a bow. The bow does hang beyond my hands but in a way, it hugs it and just looks adorable. The sleeves are longer than the actual sweater. I ended up going a size up for this and it ended up fitting me perfectly!The only thing that was a downside is that I ended up wearing this sweater for the first time to Olive Garden with my boyfriend, and my sleeves kept getting dipped in the Chicken Alfredo sauce so I had to pull up my sleeves while I ate.

This gray sweater is also from Rue21, however unfortunately, it's no longer available. I bought it over the summer when it was on sale and I'm glad I did because I absolutely love this sweater. I went a size up on this one as well, just because I love my sweaters to be big on me. The side detail is what drew me in because it has the cross stitching that is really in this year. This sweater is big enough that I consider it a tunic sweater because it does go down fairly low when I wear it. It's super warm and a medium size thickness.

I ended up getting this Ivory Lace Up Grommet Sweater from Rue21 as well. (sorry, they had a sale!!) This is available in the color Ivory or the color Pink. I chose to go with Ivory. This sweater is a thick, chunky sweater. The details on the arms really drew my eye. It has four rings with string going through it. I chose this picture so you can see the detail at the end. I love the detail at the top, also, because it matches the arms but doesn't over-do it. The sleeves look shorter here, but I assure you that they are not. They fit me perfectly. This sweater was very warm to swear at the office. I had a jacket over it, since it was snowing that day, but quickly took it off and wore just this. It kept me warm and stylish throughout the whole day. They also have a dress version of this sweater and I think it may be my next purchase!

This last Rue21 purchase is one that I've talked about in a previous post. I decided to finally purchase it and I love it. It's unfortunately unavailable on the Rue21 website. :( I don't know how I would feel about this whole 'cold shoulder' on sweaters thing, but I guess you can say I'm still getting use to it. I'm someone who's always cold. Wearing this, I'm not gonna lie, it made me cold at the beginning of the day so I had to wear a light sweater over it. As the day went on, I began feeling warmer so I took my sweater off and it was the perfect temperature to wear it. I think when we have those warm days in November, this would be perfect to wear; Maybe around 60 degrees or so. The ruffles across the chest area and below shoulders is my favorite part because it brings detail to the sweater, but not too much that it's overpowering it. The color is a blush pink so it's not drawing too much attention and I love that.

This sweater (SO® Lace-Up Tunic Sweater) is from Kohl's. I purposefully scrunched up the ends to show you the details. This sweater I ended up buying in store because I had Kohl's cash. It's a very light-weight sweater and to be honest, it's very see-though. I bought the sweater in the color 'Blue Crest' and I noticed when I wore a white tank top underneath, that you could see the entire tank top, so I ended up switching it to a black tank top and it was not noticeable at all. It's very cozy but not as thick as other sweaters. Since I was in store, I was able to see the sweater and it's fairly large. I usually wear a size medium so I bought it in medium and I thought it fit perfectly. If you like your sweaters to be tighter, I suggest getting a size down. It is a tunic sweater, so it will be longer than regular sized sweaters, which I prefer because I usually like to wear leggings with my sweaters. The details on the side show that it's a laced. Unlike the gray one, this one is laced on both sides, however, there are no rings, it's laced just with string. I think it's absolutely soft and warm and can't wait to wear it again!

This final one is my most recent purchase. The picture makes the sweater look odd, but trust me, it's super cute. I found it at Marshall's for $16.99!! They only had size small left in this color so I decided to get it. (It was either this or black and I have too many black sweaters as it is! lol) The details on the sleeves is what really drew me to it. it's three little half-pearl-like studs that are sown into the sides of the sleeves. This goes all the way from the top to the bottom of each side. The sweater is fairly thick so I would wear it if it's cold outside. This is not a tunic sweater, so it will be regular sized. I'm a total grandma and love wearing sweaters but I also want to be fancy so this sweater is what represents me. lol. I love that it's purple because I don't have many purple clothes so I decided to step outside my comfort box for this one.

Do you know of any cute sweaters and where we can find the best deals!?!?