Perfect Pants

When it comes to my work wardrobe, I'm a dresses kind of girl. They are so much easier than separates. However, I never realized that my co-workers noticed this. Until I wore pants to work during our most recent bout of cooler weather. No less than 7 co-workers remarked "Wow, you are wearing pants!".

Last fall, in a panic because I had to wear black pants to a Junior League volunteer event, I finally found a pair of pants that fit me well.  I now own 2 black pairs and a grey pair.

Why do I love these pants?

1. Heavier material with good stretch.
2. Ankle pants for normal people = perfect length regular pants for 5'2" me.
3. Price point - I can't see paying J Crew prices when it comes to pants.
4. They work both for work and weekend wear.

Great job, Target!

This is not a sponsored post. I have no clue how to even post affiliate links, so no worries if you click on the link. I won't get a thing ;)

Sunday Drive

When I was growing up, my family loved to take drives together. We would drive down the roads with the stately homes and quaint drawbridges. Sometimes, we'd end up in St. Augustine! We would always listen to the soft pop/60's/70's station. This probably explains my love of Chicago, the Carpenters, and Fleetwood Mac.

This weekend, my little family went on a Sunday drive. We had just finished a walk through a nature preserve near our home. Instead of making the turn to head back home, J drove us all over the beaches. We admired all of the beach homes, picking out our favorites. Jack "read" his books and made animal sounds at his leisure. We listened to the 90's station and had fun reminiscing and singing along. We even found a "new to us" pie shop and Greek restaurant that are now on our list of places to try.

It was low-tech. It was relaxing. It was a Sunday drive.

The Power of Influence

Influence is such a funny thing. Prior to social media, we would be influenced by traditional media like television (ie. The Rachel haircut), music, movies, and magazines. However, I find social media influence to be unintentional a lot of times. Someone may tweet about a certain product because they just happen to like the product. Another person may be a have a good deal of knowledge about a topic, so people may approach them for recommendations. 

Yes, there are sponsored posts, which can be great ways to market items. Someone may be buying a vacuum and may actually consider a product because they read about it in a sponsored post.They may not buy it, but they at least consider it (or perhaps this makes them want to avoid it--either way--they think about it!)

Anyways, because I love to survey people. I posed the question on my Twitter and IG to ask...

Thinking of the power of social media. Pl share the biggest purchase you have made based on a recommendation from someone from SM (blog etc)

Here are the answers provided. I've italicized the ones that I have purchased after I became aware though social media:


Clarisonic

Makeup brush
Lip Gloss
Beauty Products
Naked 2 Palette
Ergo
Britax Car Seat
Bumbleride Stroller
Handbag
Light fixture
Camera
City Mini Double Stroller
City Select Stroller
Erin Condren Planner
Diono RXT car seat
Trader Joe's Cookie Butter
J Crew Knockoff necklace - Not sure if it is the bubble or another statement necklace
Books
Tria Laser Hair Removal

Pretty interesting, in my opinion. I'm sure it has to do with my timeline/who I follow as many of these items are baby related. I'm sure if a fashion blogger did this survey, the answers would contain answers like a certain dress or shoes.

If you'd like to share your answer, please feel free to comment!

Fiscal Friday: Credit Karma

It'’s Fiscal Responsibility Friday! Today, I wanted to share a website that has been wonderful in supporting my quest to be fiscally responsible.

J told me about Credit Karma after seeing a feature on MSNBC about the site. Credit Karma is a website where you can monitor your credit score.  I usually check mine once every couple of months, but you can check it more frequently (once a month). Seeing my credit score is not the only benefit of this website. I also like seeing a summary of my/our credit cards and student loans. Even those credit cards that do not have a current balance are listed as long as they are still active accounts. 

**On a side note, writing out my debt (credit cards, school and at that time, my car loan) was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Seeing all your burden written out is very sobering.

Back to Credit Karma, since facing my debts head on, I like having a way that I can monitor my progress. The graph that represents the movement of my credit score is incredibly encouraging. Watching the total debt amount reduce is also a great motivator.

Here is a picture of my actual Credit Karma page (with the numbers blurred out as I’m not THAT brave yet!)

Please note that I am not a financial professional and this post is merely to share my personal experience with Credit Karma. This is not a sponsored post. I am just a happy user of the site!

Make sure to visit my friends Katie and Christina as they will be sharing their thoughts on fiscal responsibility. Join in the conversation by using the hashtag #fiscalresponsibility on Twitter!