★ Bargain Christmas Décor Haul ★


Last year, I really slacked on the holiday décor (and apartment decorating in general) because I didn't see the point in decorating my home if I was just going to move in less than a year! At the time, we were subletting a small apartment and planning on moving to a more permanent place in a couple of months. Fast forward another 6 months and we've moved twice! This year? I've decided to just go for it! I've realized how much a personalized home means to me and what a huge impact it has on my mood.

This is the first year that my boyfriend and I will be having our own little Christmas set up and while it's nothing big, I love that it's playful, filled with different colors, and really a mishmash of random little bits and pieces. One of my favorite things about decorating a space is that you can truly infuse your personality into the space. While our little apartment set-up may seem a little messy and all over the place, I think it's a nice reflection of all the random little things that make up our little family.

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Since holiday décor usually only lasts a month or so, I find this to be a great area to save a little money. Although the tree was a gift to us, everything else was found at either Target or the dollar store with a grand total of $26 for all of it. Yep, you read that correctly. I successfully christmasified my house with a little more than twenty bucks. I love a good deal and my first go-to place for all things décor is my local dollar store. It might not be the most glamorous place in the world but you would not believe some of the stuff that I've stumbled upon in there! As long as my holiday decorations are colorful, fun, and festive, I'm happy! :) What are your favorite ways to decorate for the holiday season? I'd love to see your ideas!

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November in Photos


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Photos are everything to me. I love how they can capture a moment, trigger a memory, and lift my spirits. Granted, most of the photos on my phone are of my cat (oops!) - but when I do decide to take photos of things other than my cat, I end up with the prettiest collection of colors. It's crazy. This world is beautiful. I'm looking forward to taking some beautiful snow-filled photos in December and I hope you all had a wonderful November!

The Happy Budget: November Finds!

If you've been following my blog - you'll know that I recently decided to ditch my subscription box addiction!  This is a bittersweet decision for me because I love subscription boxes with all of my heart, however, I really couldn't justify the cost of subscription boxes when I didn't feel like they were truly giving me the value that I was paying for them. Instead, I've decided to try re-budgeting the money I used to spend on subscription boxes towards a guilt-free happy shopping budget where I'm letting myself buy home, style, or beauty items that simply make me happy!

With this new plan in place, I'm hoping to find a lot more new products that I love and essentially create my own collection of fun lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and home items that make me just as happyas subscription boxes do! Except, this time, I get to pick products I 100% want and a greater value and feeling like I spent my money in the right place! So without further ado, here are my November finds! 

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Elf Matte Lipstick in Wine - Elf Matte Lipstick in Praline - Elf Matte Lipstick in Natural - Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry - Home Scents Candle in Tahitian Vanilla - Harvest Decorative Pumpkins - Elegant Writer Calligraphy Markers - Target Mondays Mug

Total Spent: $52

 

Most of the items from this month are finds from Target because conveniently, I live right next to a Target and go there whenever I'm in need of a little happy boost! All of those memes about how you go into Target to buy toothpaste and come out with $100 worth of random junk you don't need? Guilty. Target is awesome

                                   Picture Source: Media Cache

                                   Picture Source: Media Cache

The most surprising find of this month was the Tahitian Vanilla Candle! I don't normally think of Target as a place to buy candles (I'm a Bath & Body Works kind of gal through and through) but ever since I picked it up, both my boyfriend and I have been in love with it! It was only $7 and fills the room with the most amazing vanilla smell - without being too overpowering. I actually ended up buying a second one because we burned through the first one so quickly! 

Since I've budgeted about $100 towards my happy budget each month, I'm satisfied with what I've spent this month! Christmas shopping is going to get crazy so it's probably best that I went under budget for November! Plus, I may have done a little bit of a shop here and there for Black Friday, but I'll be counting that in my December Finds instead - shhhh! What are your favorite finds of the past month? :)