Peonies & Pearls: Lazy Day Sunday

Little was accomplished in my household today. After getting in a little after 2am then heading to bed a bit after 3, I didn't roll out of bed until 11:00ish when Travis woke me up out of boredom.

In recent news, we cancelled our cable this week and have yet to sign up with another company so we are cable-less as of now. I never realized how much I watched it until going without. I guess it is a good thing that it is gone temporarily. It might help foster a little creativity in my life and force me to get more artistic in my boredom.

As far as today goes Travis and I started our series of Friends for the 3rd time. We are a bit obsessed with the show. It never seems to get old. So we popped in the first disc after watching the gag reel for the first time and started season one all over again. Of course it was almost lunch time at this point, and we both admitted to craving a Works pizza from Donato's. We then noticed that whenever we get Donato's we typically watch Friends. It seems to be a bit like Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning! Now whenever we watch Friends we crave Donato's. Hmm this could get expensive and fattening!

We were able to knock out most of our wedding thank you cards today. They are a little later than I would prefer, but still within the range of etiquette so that makes me feel better. I went over to my parent's house tonight for a visit while Travis was at band practice. Something you should know about my parents is that they are avid thrifters, meaning they go to thrift stores about once a week or more. My family is bargain savvy. My dad is a cheapo, in the nicest way possible! He loves to save money. He is one of those people that sees a dollar's worth! My mom on the other hand loves to spend money, but not just for the heck of it. She is a crafter and loves to remake things that she finds and resell them in her store. She is great with seeing the potential in things. She usually picks up little knick-knacks that she thinks I would like. her latest trip included finding me a cereal storage container and a new pair of Delia's cropped skinnies that she got for $1.50. I love it when she surprises me with things I like! :) The last time I went with her I found two new sweaters and a new polka dotted slub blouse that I will have to post pictures of once they come out of the wash! I am quite fond of all 3 pieces I found that day! I really should make a habit out of visiting the thrift store more often- especially for my furniture needs! I would love to find a piece for my kitchen that I could remake and personalize.

Travis has decided after reworking our budget that I can start budgeting $100 a month for whatever I want! I can shop with it, save it, go out to eat with friends, anything! Not that I couldn't do these things before, but I would always have to okay with him first. He is not a financial dictator or anything of that sort. He is just very responsible when it comes to money and crunching numbers. Therefore, he assumes the task of financial advisor/ budgeter in our household. I am not particularly good with the whole budgeting thing. I can't think it those terms for some reason. I need someone to tell me how much I can spend and how much I should save and yada yada yada. I guess we make a good team :)

Speaking of spending money, here are a few things I would like to spend some money on and some things I couldn't pass up!

The first few are from Forever 21:

While innocently browsing ;) the Forever 21 website I found this royal blue button skirt for only $8.00 on a yellow tag deal! Of course I couldn't pass such a great deal up! With some black or even yellow tights, this would look perfect with my new fall jacket [pictures soon to come!]

I also found this Sequin Applique Headwrap for only $4.80 and thought it was adorable! I've been meaning to get one of these for awhile now. My sister has one that I love. Since she lives in Pennsylvania I can't just run over and borrow hers' so I suppose it was just time for me to invest in my own!

I've been trying to add more patterns to my wardrobe and decided this Floral Field Tunic would be a nice top to layer things with, it was the most expensive thing I bought at $17.80, but still a steal!

I love this Wild Garden Tunic from Forever 21 only $15.80! I thought it would be adorable with some tights and boots under my new jacket this fall so I gave in to temptation and ordered it as well!

Love the floral pattern and the detailed back!

This is a classy top from Forever 21... the Satin Big Bow Top $22.80, I did not, however, purchase this one! I figure I have already done enough damage for one night!

These items to follow I found at one of my favorite clothing wishlist websites, Ruche. Surprisingly, I have yet to order anything from them. I guess I am hesitant because I can get so much more for my money at Forever 21, which has many comparable items. For instance, I got all 4 items that I bought tonight for the price of one Ruche piece of clothing... I guess I prefer bargains! Not to mention, since I spent over $40 I received free standard shipping using the code STANDOUT [expires 8/13]. Nonetheless, I love to browse and wish at RUCHE, so here are my recent finds:

Ruche's current theme is taking ruffled fabrics and making them look like cupcakes. I thought this idea was super cute! Above is a preview of it.

This tank is called Lace Is For Lovers $35

This "It Began With A Bow" belt is only $11

I thought it was interesting that this fabric was on the Ruche site because I have a relaxed trapeze tank from Forever 21 with the exact same fabric that I got for only $15.80! I loved the print and couldn't resist!