Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Great American Apparel Diet

As a culture, we are addicted to buying new things.  Constantly.  And in excess. 

Some people have to have the newest electronics, but I am not often tempted by gadgets.  I do, however, love clothes. I love how we can express ourselves through clothing. I love beautiful fabrics.  I even love fashion trends. 

But I am trying to reduce extraneous purchases from my life, which is why the Great American Apparel Diet appeals to me. This is a group of individuals who have pledged to completely eliminate buying clothing for one year.  Check out http://www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/ to read their posts and anyone can join at anytime (I am considering joining, too).

Monday, February 22, 2010

oh sugar sugar...

Last Wednesday, I decided to give up sugar for a while; this is a huge challenge because I loooove desserts and they have become more of a habit than a treat lately.  A couple notable examples:


A red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles (soo good, I don't even usually like red velvet...)


White chocolate tart, nilla crust, brulee'd bananas from Bolsa (if you are in the Dallas area and haven't been to Bolsa yet, stop what you are doing and go immediately)

I think the photos above confirm my decision; I need a serious break from decadent desserts.  At first, I definitely felt withdrawl symptoms (and sugar has been shown to be addictive.)  I did slip on Saturday when I went to lunch with my family and chocolate chip cookies were passed around for dessert.  But, it is a new week and I am up for the challenge!  I am going to post weekly on my progress to help keep myself in line (and hopefully as motivation for others that are looking to give up desserts for a while!!).

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Monday, February 15, 2010

Back to Basics

image via design sponge

For the past six months, I have been trying to save money by only buying bare necesities because I have not had a steady income, partly due to the economy and I also am trying to follow my passions.  I love beautiful clothes and objects, so this has been and continues to be a struggle and a learning process.  As young women we are bombarded with messages to spend and buy, and are tempted at every turn to spend our hard-earned money, which makes it even more tempting to not save, and buying stuff brings instant gratification, and saving money is not as fun and is can be frustrating.  But, being frugal can be important for so many reasons... it is even better for the environment!  So, I would like to make this blog a safe haven where saving our money is actually encouraged!  I found this quote from design sponge really encouraging and inspiring:

"We tried to keep simple, basic colors to emphasize the simplicity of peasant life and our determination to take this journey and explore the times when life was simpler and maybe even more beautiful and healthier."
-iva and vanja via design sponge