The Weekly Essentials

Since it is Monday, I thought I'd share with yall what I consider to be absolutely Essential in my every day life & how I roll on a weekly basis!

In case yall havent guessed yet, I have a mild addiction to shopping.  However, the irony in my shopping addiction is that it honestly only applies to 2 things....
1) Make-up.  Duh.
AND
2) Clothes.  I am a clothing slut, plain & simple.  The amount of stuff I give away to goodwill on a yearly basis is borderline embarrassing.  Once I find something I like, I then feel the need to buy 2 or 3 of the same thing, except in different colors.  OR if I find something on SALE that I only kind of like, I compulsively purchase it.   Its so not normal. I guarantee if you went in my closet right now, you would find countless items with the tags still on them.  Jan (my momma) swears my closet is her favorite store on earth.
However, interestingly enough, I am a complete creature of habit when it comes to the few items I wear on a daily basis.  It seriously takes an act of congress to get me to change up my every day items.

Lemme show ya...

I'll decode the picture so it makes a bit more sense....

-Clearly, once Louis had recovered from his life-threatening burn incident, I never let him out of my sight.  He's my favorite staple.  Is it wrong I look at LV's as a lifelong investment?  I've tried to convince Kevin that I need a few more & they can be a family heirloom. Hasn't worked yet. Grrrr.

-So, the Tory Burch flats.... Being 5'2 (and that might be me being a tad generous) & one of the younger people in my field, I had completely decided that wearing flats just werent in the cards for me.  Truth be told, I still get witty questions asked to me while at work like- "So, are you sure you're old enough to have a real job?" or snarky comments from competitors, such as "You probably havent been doing this long, have you?"  However, when you combine the fact that I'm a runner AND I'm on my feet all day, every day- I finally caved.  I still wear heels 70% of the time to avoid any condescending age commentary, but believe you me, my feet are supppper happy on the days I wear my flats :)

- The Black & White shirt/Black watch- Yall, my wardrobe lacks color in a serious way, which I never really noticed before i color coded my closet.  I'm not kidding when I say 80% of my clothing is black, white, or gray.  There is very little ROY G BIV happening in my closet.  Wait, lemme go back for a sec....Ha- yes- I did say I  color-coded my closet, but before yall click the X box, don't let me confuse you- I am not in ANY WAY known for my home organization skills.  (Quite the opposite actually- I once lost my phone for 6 hours.  In.My.House.  Kevin finally found it.  In the cat condo. Normal, right?  I bet The Bargain Blonde has done that too.  Maybe while cuddly her cleverly named cat, Nicky (ask her about his namesake- you'll die.). )  The only  reason I color coded my stuff was so I could have a more accurate depiction of the clothes I actually owned.  Now I know where to look for certain clothes, and it compels me to actually hang up my stuff.  Anywho, why the obsession for black & white?  Because its timeless, does with everything, & can be dressed up or down.

I think I own about 7 dresses that look similar to this from WHBM, but hey- if it works for ya, work it hard :)  *Side note: Kevin's response when I buy something new from White House Black Market.. "Yeah babe, looks great. But um, don't you have that same (fill in blank) already?" Me: Ummm, no Kev. Don't you see the tiny subtle pattern difference?  Or the last one was short sleeve & this is 3/4 sleeves.  Come on, get in the game.

Kev: Ohhh, umm, right. I see.?) 

The man deserves a medal for dealing with me. And my shopping addiction. And the fact that hes okay w/ his wife dressing like shes fixing to go to a funeral or prepare for a move to NYC :)  

Continuing on to Jewelry:

I wear approximately 4 pieces of jewelry every single day. 

My 2 Yurman Bracelets- one from my dad, one from Kev.  Love them both, because (you guessed it!) they can go with EVERYTHING & can be dressed up or down.  **Side note- If you can't tell, I favor versatile items.  If I'm gonna spend a pretty penny on something as far as accessories or bags go, you can bet I have weighed every option incessantly & obsessed over it until I've proven to myself that I'll actually use that item on a consistent basis.  Neurotic much, right?  Can't help it- I'm 110% my father's daughter.  Sorry Big P- you know I'm right.)

Anyway, one of the other pieces of jewelry I wear should come as no surprise-- Obviously I'm gonna wear my Engagement ring & wedding bands. (That picture isn't exactly what my engagement ring & wedding bands look like, but it'll have to do the trick- it gives yall a good enough idea though, right?) I will tell you all that as much as I rag on Kev for losing his ring, it is a flippin miracle I haven't lost mine.  I literally take mine off the minute I come through the door- but luckily- I do have all 3 rings banded together to help prevent me from losing any of them (and one of our sweet cats is a huge klepto & kept taking one of the bands, but thats another story.) 

I absolute despise bulky or heavy jewelry, which is probably why I only ever wear studs in my ears.  And not real diamond studs, mind you- I go through faux diamond studs like Cameron Diaz goes through men.  It is a miracle if I hang on to a set for more than a month.

Now as for the few items that are not accessory category that are essential to my every day life.. I'll count them down for ya.

3) My Lilly Planner- This is my bible for work.  It spells out my schedule for the next 4 months, along with any other important dates.  I'm terrible when it comes to remembering bdays, so I have to write them down in the planner. (Yes- i realize they're posted on fb, but I always forget that tiny detail.)  Literally, chances are, if a specific date is not written down in the planner, I won't remember it.

2) iPhone- I've forgotten my phone maybe 3 times in my whole career, and the day was an epic disaster.  I basically go into a panic attack when I can't find my phone too- I act like I've lost a limb when I can't find it. **Side note: I hold onto my phone like it is my child, which is probably the reason I've only misplaced ONE phone in my life.  And when I say misplaced, I mean it was stolen.  At Pet Smart of all places.  I'm convinced that it was stolen by a dog who's owner taught them tricks centering around how to partake in criminal acts. Kevin thinks I'm a moron & asked me to not tell anyone I think that.  Seriously though- I thought people at Pet Smart were all nice, animal lovers like us? Sigh.)

 Since I don't report to a home office, it is my only life line to my customers, co-workers, friends, & fam.  Plus- all my music is on there, along with twitter, fb, pinterest, expedia, etc :)  It entertains me during the long days as well.  (Ps- that is not my current case.  I have a Lilly P one, but its falling apart.  Sooo if you're looking to get rid of that adorbs Kate Spade one, feel free to donate it to my sad iphone.)

1) Diet Coke- I swear I think I have diet coke running through my veins with as much as I drink of it.  I cannot live without it.  Its kind of like Kevin & Pizza- my addiction runs deep :) If I'm upset or moody, the FIRST thing my Dad always asks/tells me "Umm, have you had a diet coke yet?"  Sounds insane, but to his credit, an ice cold DC can completely turn my mood around- Plus, it is my only caffeine fix every day.  The Grays do not do coffee.  Hate the smell, hate the taste, hate everything about it.  To be honest, we don't even own a coffee pot.  To be even more honest, I don't actually have a clue how to make coffee.  Therefore, diet coke it is & always will be.  Morning, noon, and night.  As a tidbit- if you're meeting me in the morning & bring me a large diet coke from McDonalds, we will be best friends for life.  Just in case you were wondering :)

Helllooo Loverrrrrrr.

Anyway, that about does it for me today.  Gotta get in a workout before MY LAST MBA FINANCE CLASS!!!!  No more of the devil class! woooooo!!!!!!   I mean, its put me in the best mood alllll day!
Hahaha, hope yall had a good Monday!