Gift Guide For Her: the Gap edition

Still working on your holiday shopping list? I'm here to help! Here's a Gap edition of the gift guide for her. All regular priced items are 30% off their website and stores right now!

1- Love love love these boots. Black, leather, low heeled, and practical. Wear them with EVERYTHING!

2- Burgundy calf hair tech gloves are perfect for the busy career women on the go.

3-Festive pom-pom honeycomb beanie. I own this hat and it keeps my head and ears super warm.

4- Chunky Fair Isle Scarf

5- Calf Hair Wristlet Clutch. I saw the black version of this clutch on a heightened display shelf and couldn't find it in on the sales floor. But a salesperson found the burgundy version, and let me tell you, I SWOONED when I saw it. Burgundy calf hair on one side, black leather on the other, strap for your wrist, pocket and card slots on the inside. SOLD.

6- Quilted slippers to keep those tootsies warm.

7-Every woman needs a leather tote bag. This Gap one is lightweight and come in a variety of colors.

8- These Maximum Heat Tights are a must have! They will save your legs from the frigid temperature when wearing skirts and dresses. I wore these tights today in 30 degree weather, and barely felt the cold.

All regular priced items are 30% off on the website and in stores. Happy Shopping!

This is not a sponsored post.

Rich Hues

Loft Trousers   |   Loft Top  |   Nine West Flats  |  Target Clutch  |   J Crew Bracelet |   Random Necklace

If plaid, tweed, and red velvet flats with bows doesn't scream preppy office attire, I don't know what does. I purchased the top I'm wearing over a year ago from Loft, and never wore it till now. I forgot that I even owned it till I found it when I was cleaning my closet one day. Ten points to Gryffindor for rediscovering clothing in your closet! And let's face it, dress pants can be boring sometimes. Try a pair of printed pants with festive, textured flats for a spin on your office look. Check out my previous posts here and here to see how I wore my plaid pants.

The Five Dollar Top

Hey there! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent my Thanksgiving eating too much food, catching up on The Walking Dead and making Chocolate Cornflake cookies. I found the recipe in Saveur Magazine. Apparently, chocolate cornflake cookies are popular in Iceland during the Christmas season. They didn't turn out how I expected them to, but everyone enjoyed them and they sure were crunchy, chewy and sweet.

I wore this Free People Tunic on Thanksgiving. I scored it for FIVE DOLLARS at Marshalls during their Labor Day clearance. When I saw the price tag, I thought I was reading it incorrectly. FIVE DOLLARS! WHOOO!

Free People Tunic    | Gap Hat    |  Apri Boots

Leather you will or leather you won't

gifted Bebe Jacket    |  Gap Dress    |  Apri Boots  |   Top necklace:DIY  |   Bottom Necklace: Lucky Brand

Last week, you could still get away with rocking bare legs, but now all I can say is brrrr! You'll freeze your tootsies off.

Every woman should own a black leather jacket. They make you look instantly cool and chic. But owning a light colored leather jacket was something I never gave a second thought to. My friend had this jacket that I'm wearing in these pictures. I thought it was kind of cheesy when she showed it to me, but after some convincing I thought "why not? There's no harm in just trying it on." I was sold! It fits well, it's real leather, and surprisingly, I reach for this jacket more than my black one. Moral of the story: Step outside of your comfort zone because sometimes your friends know best. Happy Monday ya'll!

Balancing Act

As I type this post, I'm making dinner, wearing a face mask, munching on torrone, sipping on green tea, and making a list. This is my downtime on a Sunday night. Maintaining a work life balance has been difficult lately, so I took a few days off to de-stress. Unfortunately, I'm not completely MIA because I've been checking and responding to work emails.

It's often hard for people to step back and realize that they're pushing themselves too hard mentally and physically. We work ourselves this hard because we feel we have to, and hard work is necessary in order to strive towards a goal. But at some point it begins to feel burdensome and you start to feel worn out. There comes a point when you have to set personal boundaries and take a step back. It can't be "go go go" all the time or else your mind will get overworked and shut down.

Overworking yourself physically is also detrimental. You have to know your physical and mental limits. I started indoor bouldering two months ago. Since then, I've made great progress without realizing until someone pointed it out. I'm able to master bouldering problems that take some people almost a year to figure it out, which is pretty amazing. But in pushing myself so hard, I've put a strain on the pulleys in my fingers. It's an uncomfortable sensation and hurts when I press on my fingers. No matter how many times I fell off the wall, I kept going and would tell myself that I could do it, and that I was going to dominate this climb. The problem was that I was approaching bouldering as if it was just like any other exercise, but it isn't. If you put stress on your muscles in weight lifting, your muscles will grow, but it doesn't work that way with bouldering. The tendons in your hands strengthen at a much slower rate than the rest of the muscles in your body which was something I didn't realize.

It sucks because now I have to slow down and climb easier bouldering problems. But it's okay though because I need to work on my technique anyway. And I'm doing other exercises to train my body so I can become a better climber. Patience is key. I was reading a climbing blog the other day, and I started laughing when I read "There is only one way around it; stand back and realise that you are just training. You are just pulling on plastic blobs. Who cares what the number is? If you think other people do, you’re kidding yourself." Plastic blobs are exactly what they are. All of this physical and mental stress has taught me that I need to recognize when my body and mind is telling me to slow down.

Step back and breathe. Pace yourself. Take care of yourself. Eat better and sleep better.

Sweater Weather

Gap Cardigan    |  Gap Tee   |  Lucky Brand Jeans  |   Random Scarf   |   Gap Girls Hat (on sale for $10)   |   Gap Boots

I have always preferred wearing knits over chunky wool sweaters. There's something about the bulkiness, the weight, the heat trapping material that has always made me uncomfortable, so I'd say that sweater cardigans are a compromise. This one from Gap is soft and cozy, and since it's a cardigan, I don't have to worry about getting too hot since it's open.

This picture makes me think of TLC's song "Creep."

Ombre + Knits: The Gap Edition

Gap Cardigan (similar)   |  Gap Girls Dress (cute one here)   |  Gap Boots   |   Free People Belt worn as necklace

TGIF! It's been a long week, and I can't wait to unwind with some tea and catch up on episodes of Californication. You know how most people dress down on Friday's? Well, I do the opposite. Friday's are the day I put in a little more effort and finally put on some makeup. It helps to lighten my mood and makes me look forward to the weekend.

Simple pieces like this Gap Kid's ombre dress I'm wearing can be dressed up or down. Since my black booties and awesome statement necklace add a little bit of edge to the outfit, I threw this cream colored cardigan on to soften up the whole look. Also, my necklace is actually a belt from Free People.

Remember to always accessorize and have a terrific weekend folks! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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This post is not sponsored by Gap. I am just obsessed with their clothing.