I feel like the winter season can be a stressful time. With the holidays, crazy work schedules and cold weather you can't help but feel overwhelmed sometimes. It's important to take care of yourself, so here are five ways I like to pamper myself after work this season. Also try turning off your phone when you do each of these. 

How else do you like to pamper yourself during the winter?

Xo, Alyssa

Happy Monday, everyone! I can't believe we're already only two weeks away from Christmas! This reminder of this year is just flying by. 

Today on the blog I wanted to share my easy DIY Stocking Mantle hack. Our apartment doesn't have a fireplace so when it came to deciding where I wanted to hang our stockings I had no clue. The tv stand was out of the question because the moment Stella saw the fur balls on our stockings she tried to attack them. So low and behold I went to Pinterest and that was hardly any help, for me personally. I didn't feel like buying a shelf to put up just to hang stockings, a wooden ladder was a cute idea but eh, we didn't have a staircase to put them on, I mean it was basically all of the same ideas just from different people. So I started looking around the apartment and grabbed the faux pine off the dining room table I was attempting to make a project out of (was never going to work out 😂) and started messing around with it. 

I started off with just mine and Tyler's stockings and left a spot in the middle for when Stella's came. I had them hanging on command hooks so I placed the branch of each bundle on each side of the hook. There was a lot to each bundle so clear tape came in handy for getting the perfect placement and making sure they don't fall down. I had some extra branches lying around that fell off in the process so I added them to the empty spots to get a fuller look, mainly in the center. I found the small silver ornaments with my old Christmas decorations and decided to dress it up a bit. 

Not only was this super easy to put together but it was inexpensive and goes perfectly with the rest of our Christmas decorations! It was the perfect way to fill some empty space on our walls. If you try this out, I'd love to see it!

Xo, Alyssa

What you'll need:

- Faux greenery of your choice

if you want to put ornaments on it I recommend pine branches, you can find them at Michael's for around $3 a branch.

- Clear tape

- Ornaments (optional)

- Command hooks

you can hang your stockings however you'd like, but I personally thought command hooks made a big difference with holding up the branches

If any of these looks inspired you be sure to share it and tag me so I can see! 

Xo, Alyssa

I'm sure we all know this by now but I LOVE Christmas time and any chance I get to be festive, I'm going to take it. Maybe you're the same way, who knows! But I do know everyone wouldn't mind being a little festive in the workplace from time to time and sometimes it can be hard distinguishing what would be considered too much.

Every workplace is different. While I have the ability to wear what I want to the office someone else reading this may have a strict dress code to follow, which is why I love this dress. It's perfect for all occasions, especially the office and you can style it multiple ways to best suit your personal style or work dress code while still looking festive. If your office has a more strict dress code you can easily throw on a blazer and add some black tights to tone the dress down and make it look more professional. My personal favorite is adding a velvet blazer! If you work in a more casual environment you can opt the heels for flats and throw on a black cardigan to dress it down a little. If you're feeling bold, try layering it with a flannel or adding some green earrings.

This truly is the perfect holiday dress for the workplace and it comes at a low price point! You can also reach for this dress again over Valentine's. Thinking ahead ;)
* I'm wearing an XS Petite for sizing reference.

Xo, Alyssa

Dress: Old Navy | Shoes: DSW | Purse: Express | Sunglasses: DIFF Eyewear

Happy Monday, everyone! It's officially December and I'm so excited to get into all of the Christmas posts I have scheduled. Decorating for Christmas is my all time favorite - I'm not ashamed to admit that I started decorating October 31st. Safe to say our apartment has been a work in progress ever since. This is Tyler and I's first place together and we had very little Christmas decor, which meant this year was going to be the year we splurged a little. I've been in and out of Michael's a million times 😂 However, I tried to save us as much money as possible throughout the way. Tyler swears we spent we a boatload on decorations, but when it boils down to it everything was purchased at a steal. If you're still in the process of decorating for Christmas, here are some tips on how to do it on a budget.

Pick a theme. Pinterest was my best friend a couple months ago. I had no idea where I wanted to go with Christmas decorations, did I want to do the traditional red and green theme? Blush tones? Blue? I mean, the options were endless. I recommend creating a Pinterest board with your ideas and creating a theme from there, it helps to know what colors you should be shopping for. 

Make a list. 100% make a list! After I finalized my theme I looked around our apartment and thought about what I would want/need. It also helps to take pictures of the space so you can look back while shopping. If it weren't for my list I probably would have purchased a bunch of unnecessary things.

Know when to splurge and when to save. I purchased a lot of Christmas decor this year but all of it, minus our tree, was purchased on sale. Obviously we won't keep our Christmas decorations forever, but I hope to get a few years, maybe more, out of this years selection. So of course splurging is ok, but I wouldn't so much spend $100 on that pink tree you're feeling so much this year. 

Neutrals. Tyler and I chose a neutral theme this year for our Christmas decor and while this may not necessarily save you money this year, it will in the upcoming years. Neutrals are your best friend. A neutral theme may not be everyones cup of tea but every theme uses those neutral elements. Next year if Tyler and I decide we want to go traditional red and green, we can use all of our current decorations and only buy a few pops of the red and green. 

DIY & Repurposing. Again, they will be your best friend if you're looking to save money. Looking around my apartment I repurposed half of the things in our place. A few money savers I did were:

- We created a hot cocoa bar and I reused jars I had other things in for the toppings, saving me a little money on jars.

- For a bar decoration I borrowed a vase from my mom and filled it with wine corks that I already had and purchased some $3 fake Christmas greenery from Michael's to put inside.

- Put leftover fake greenery I had in a vase for side table decor. 

- Purchased Christmas pillow covers (cheap) instead of actual Christmas pillows (expensive). 

- Used unused pillows and blankets as an alternative for a tree skirt. Not everyones cup of tea, but I love the cozy look.

I mean, I could go on and on..

Less is more. This is just a personal opinion. We may have a lot of decorations, but they are very minimal. I personally just hate a cluttered looking space, so I didn't want to keep buying things and placing them in random spots on the house. In my opinion, less is always better when decorating your first home. You get a feel for what worked, can make notes for what you want to do next year, things like that.

Xo, Alyssa