July Budget

When I first started following blogs on the regular, I was in search of sites that shared fashionable looks at a budget-friendly prices. Through various web searches, I eventually stumbled upon Franish and her "Monthly Budget Link-Up". This link-up was one of those threads that I made note of as a “definite” for when I began my own blog. And now, 4 months into blogging, I am finally joining in on the fun. After thinking long and hard about a reasonable budget and keeping in mind what I typically spend on clothes each month, I have decided to allow myself $100-150 per month on clothing and accessories.  I fully anticipate that there will be months where extra funds roll over,...

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A Weekend in Santo Stefano

Last weekend, my Italian family took me to their flat in Santo Stefano d'Aveto for a weekend getaway. Santo Stefano is about an hour drive from their home and the whole way is through the mountains. It was glorious! Santo Stefano is an adorable little town of only around 1,200 people. It looks like something straight out of a story book with it's cobblestone roads lined with bakeries and pastry shops. I tend to prefer visiting smaller towns when I travel because a) I'm an introverted, country kinda gal and b) I find them so much more authentic. I am all for getting out of the tourist traps and diving into the culture of a country! That being said, there is definitely culture...

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Simple Thoughts vol. 2

Another summer week come and gone... can you believe it?! I know they say time flies when you're having fun, but this is ridiculous. Cheers to a fresh week - because someone needs to be an optimist :) As you may have seen on my Instagram, I spent this past weekend wandering around Cinque Terre and oh boy was it beautiful! I will definitely be posting soon about the "5 Lands", so keep a look out! --On a side note: I'm not entirely sure where in Italy I plan to visit this coming weekend, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know! This week my host mom taught me how to make pesto! I took took some notes and snapped some photos (shocking, I know), so there will be an Italian version...

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The Countdown vol. 1

Combining a love for fashion with a grad student budget is no bueno. But if there is something I have learned from a lot of the blogs that I follow (and from my mother's bargain-finding-shopping-super-powers), it is that you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to be fashionable. Are there some staple pieces you should consider investing in? Certainly. But you don't have to shell out mountains of cash on everything you wear.  In addition to my usual "Save or Splurge" fashion posts I am beginning a new thread of pages sharing a series of five items with prices in the 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s and 10s - hence titling it "The Countdown". I will definitely continue on with "Save or Splurge"...

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Maxin' and Relaxin' All Cool

I've had this outfit post sitting in my drafts for some time now. I wore the outfit and my roommate took the photos at the very end of May, but between packing for Europe, going home to Ohio for a week, working like crazy to save up for Europe, etc... time slipped away and thus this guy waited in the queue. You may recognize the clothes from my guest post on Roxi's blog. I referenced it as an outfit I would wear to go grocery shopping and if I recall correctly, that is exactly what I did on the day these photos were taken. (I had also gone to Bay Street for some clothes shopping, but shhh, don't tell.) I picked up this sweater at the Banana Republic Outlet this fall for $7...

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Simple Thoughts vol. 1

Happy Tuesday everyone! We’re nearly through the hardest day of the week and can keep pushing on until it’s the weekend again – one day at a time… I’ve been brainstorming some blogging ideas while the little one naps in the afternoon and have decided to begin a sort of weekly round-up of thoughts and interests that accumulate throughout the week and weekend. (Normally I plan to post these on Monday, but Ema did not want to sleep yesterday. What can you do?) As many of you know, I am spending the summer as an au pair for a family in Italy (near Genoa). I’m entering into my second week of the job and wanted to share a few random facts I’ve gathered along the way: 1)  On...

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