Monthly Favorites: April

I was once again short on funds ($20 to last me 10 days sort of short…), so my monthly favorites are a bit meagre this month but no less awesome, promise. Without further ado…

Vince Camuto Snakeskin Heels –

I made a somewhat frivolous buy when I went to DSW a few weeks ago. I had intended to buy a pair of black ballet flats since mine are in disrepair but made a series of mistakes that led to my leaving DSW without them. First, I went into the clearance section and spied these gorgeous Vince Camuto heels, in my size no less. Second, I proceeded to try them on and they looked all sorts of gorgeous on my feet. Third, I noticed that they were 70% off. These black and white snakeskin heels with the ankle strap are normally $100, but at DSW they were $80 with an extra 70% off. I ended up getting these beauties for $24 when all was said and done. I really can’t resist a good bargain… I haven't worn them yet, but I’m going to love styling these. I can just as easily wear them with jeans as I can with a nice dress.

New York Color Nail Polish –

This wasn’t a new buy, but I rediscovered this NYC Tudor City Teal nail polish when I put it on for Easter. It seemed like a springy color (and matched my dress), and the rest is history, but I wore it so much that Dad started complaining about it! I Honestly, the polish doesn’t have the greatest staying power (it chipped something fierce by day 2), but the color is just so striking that I didn’t care. I got a ton of compliments on it too, so I might need to find a longer lasting version of it by another brand. Anyone have any ideas?

Special K Salted Caramel Chocolate Snack Bars –

I will eat just about anything if it’s covered in caramel, so this was the perfect snack for me. They fit easily into my bag when I’m running out the door in the morning to catch my train, and they’re great little pick-me-up snacks during the day. I’m not a huge fan of salty snacks, so this is the perfect balance of sweet and salty for me. Plus, at 100 calories a bar, what’s not to like?

Freesia –

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen the day I impulsively bought freesias instead of my typical bouquet of roses. They seemed spring-like to me, maybe because they remind me a bit of forsythias which are among the first flowers to bloom in spring by me. I loved the vibrant color of this bouquet but it’s the beautiful fragrance that has turned me into a freesia fan. I walk into my room after a long day of work and it smells like someone has just sprayed this subtle, sweet perfume. They’re a bit wild looking too which has made for a nice change.

Monthly Musings: April

Dad finally bought a New York Times subscription, and I may have gone a bit NY Times happy this month.  I felt very grown up reading the paper on my way to work though!

• The Duchess of Cambridge's Last Public Appearances Before Baby #2 - I've been a Kate watcher since the beginning, so as the birth of the second baby Cambridge approaches, I've been checking the Duchess Kate blog regularly.  Kate's style has always been inspiring to me, but I love how she dresses herself while pregnant.  She doesn't wear that frumpy, maternity clothes that we've come to expect of pregnant women; she's always fashionable. And the woman wore heels til the bitter end!
• Elle's "Do Unattached Women Have A Problem with Themselves?" -  An article on "what it's like to choose independence and a series of partners over becoming what [was] [...] once called 'that useful animal, a wife and mother',"  For someone who is determinedly single like me, this was really interesting!
• Medieval hospital burial ground discovered under Cambridge University - I happen to have a morbid fascinations with graveyards and cemeteries, but let's pretend I was only interested in this article for the historical stuff.
• What Bloggers Must Do to Follow FTC Disclosure Laws - Oddly Lovely breaks down the FTC Disclosure Laws in a way that actually made sense!
• NY Times' "A Century After the Armenian Genocide, Turkey's Denial Deepens" - I wrote a paper on the Armenian genocides for a history class, so I had a bit of background on this topic. I find it fascinating that the Turkish government is so resolute in its denial despite 1.5 million Armenians losing their lives and at least 15 countries recognizing the genocide (including the Council of Europe and the European Parliament).
• Buzzfeed's 34 of the Most Brilliant Shakespeare Quotes - The Bard's 451st birthday was yesterday, and I have always been a sucker for a great Shakespearean quote (especially the snarky ones)!  Fun fact: While I've grown to appreciate the beautiful language in Romeo & Juliet, I consider it one of Shakespeare's worst plays.  
• NY Times' "Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid" - Hillary 2016! Enough said.
• 9 Benefits of Warm Water and Lemon in the Morning - I found Because I'm Addicted's post really interesting.  I didn't know that lemon could do so much!

New Month, New Goals: April

March was busier than I had anticipated, which gave a new meaning to the term March Madness (since I would never be using the expression to talk about college basketball…). My Mom, my best friend, and my favorite Canadian all celebrated birthdays this month on the 5th, 17th, and 18th, respectively. I was yet again inundated with reading and an ambitious copy-editing project. I went out for drinks with a co-worker and suffered the nauseating effects of one too many margaritas but had a more responsible St. Patrick’s Day (and my liver is grateful for such small mercies). How was your month?

As for my March goals, I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, but maybe I’ll do better in April? Anyway, here’s my March in review:

Do some spring cleaning. I managed to accomplish nothing on this front thanks to weekends spent reading for work, blogging, baking, and binge-watching Netflix. I'm hoping to get around to some cleaning this month though—my bedroom has seen better days.

Book France.  Check! You can read all about how I booked my French vacation using Go-today.com here. There are only 113 days until I leave for Paris with my mother, and it’s about all we’ve been able to think about since we booked it. I’m already in the planning stages and my Fodor’s guide books have taken up residence in my bag.

Get Mom her birthday present. Check! She was more than a bit excited to receive her London in a Box for her birthday.

Read for fun. I failed at reading for fun this month and still have yet to finish Sex with Kings, which I started in February. Almost all of my reading was work related—I read and wrote reports on one 900 page behemoth and two others manuscripts, a handful of partials, and also copy-edited a 400 page novel. The only fun reading I managed to do was re-read my Fodor’s Paris 2015 and France 2015 guides. Do those count?

Bring lunch to work. Check! I brought lunch to work for all but 4 days in March.

APRIL GOALS

• Start booking French excursions. I like to buy my tickets to museums and book day-trips in advance of my trips, so I’m hoping to book the first of these in April. More on this later!
• Freshen my spring wardrobe. It occurred to me the other day that it has been a couple months since I’ve bought a new piece of clothing (what is wrong with me?), so I'd love to buy a few things to breathe new life into my closet. I’ve just had a lot of expenses in recent months that were more important than a new blouse (Christmas, France, paying to get my taxes done).
• Freshen up my make-up bag. Spring is the season of fresh starts and rejuvenation, and one thing I'd really love to rejuvenate is my make-up bag.  I'd love to try out some new products and maybe introduce them to my daily make-up routine which has been pretty much unchanged for the last 2-3 years.  Does anyone have make-up suggestions?
• Watch the new episodes of Outlander. Team Claire and Jamie! It’s been months since the first half of season one aired on Starz, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next eight having read Book One last summer. The new season starts on April 4th.
• Watch the new season of Game of Thrones. I honestly don’t know a single person apart from my father who doesn’t watch Game of Thrones. How many of you watch it? Season 5 starts on April 12th, so you’ll find me tuning in then.
• Start using MyFitnessPal again. I’ve slacked off on logging my food into the MyFitnessPal app, so I’d really like to start doing that more regularly. It helps me to keep track of the nutritional value of food, which is important on my quest to eat my way to a healthier year.

What are your April goals?

Lovely calendar by Rifle Paper Co.