My Adult Life

The last four days of my life have been crazy. For starters, I got a new car! My beautiful, dark grey Toyota Corolla is a huge step up from my falling-apart Jeep Cherokee. Matt and I drove the new car to Houston on Friday to test it out over the weekend. To be truthful, he drove and I sat in the passenger seat almost the entire trip. I like being chauffeured.

We went to Houston to hang out with some good friends as well as check out potential neighborhoods for our future move. Neither of us know the area that well, so we wanted to drive around and see if anything caught our eye. We really liked the Museum District, Downtown, Montrose, and even Midtown. It's going to be a seriously hard decision choosing a place to live. It looks like we'll be going back a couple of times over the next few months to decide. Wish us luck!

New Routine

Forever 21 dress and earrings, Banana Republic heels

I'm making some big changes in my life right now. Along with not shopping, I've decided to start exercising again. I even went on my first jog with Matt yesterday after work. I'm not going to lie; it was tough. It's been awhile since I did any form of exercise and running is pretty much my least favorite thing to do. I'd pick up yoga again if I had the funds, but I really shouldn't be spending any extra money. Running around the neighborhood for 30 minutes three times a week seems like the easiest, cheapest way to be healthy right now. I'm hoping that I'll even start to like running. Everyone always talks about how great it makes them feel, but all I felt last night was tired. I'm going to stick with it, though!

A Change for the Better

Gap blouse & jeans, Banana Republic wedges, Forever 21 earrings 

Now that I work in an office, I have a reason to dress for "casual Friday". I don't normally wear jeans, but it was definitely a good decision because it was super windy last week. In fact, I probably would have flashed everyone had I been wearing my usual skirt or dress. It was hard enough just taking these pictures because my hair kept getting blown all over the place. Oh, the things I do for this blog. Which brings me to my next topic...

I mentioned it briefly in my last post, but I've decided to go on a shopping hiatus. I feel like I've been justifying my clothing purchases by saying I don't want to bore my readers with the same outfits. But seriously, who am I kidding? My closet is filled with clothes that can be mixed and matched in ways I've never worn, but I just haven't forced myself to do so. Instead, I've been willing to shell out cash, or worse, charge a new purchase to make me feel like I have a whole new outfit. It's time to stop.

I've got too many bills to pay (thanks for maxing out my credit card, Macbook...just kidding, I love you), not to mention that I need to save for all my upcoming expenses. I'm hoping to buy a new car this week (yay!) and Matt and I are heading to Houston for a mini-vacation this weekend (double yay!). I can't think of a better time to cut out shopping than now. It's going to be hard, but I think it will be a good challenge for myself.

Wish me luck!

Instagram Obsessed

I've become kind of obsessed with Instagram lately. Ever since I got my new iPhone, I've been amazed at the quality of my photos. Plus, Instagram makes them look even better! Here's a quick recap of the photos I've snapped this week:

As you can tell, I've also become obsessed with painting my nails. It's a new hobby I've developed to help me cut down on shopping. Everytime I get an urge to shop, I buy a bottle of nail polish. It's probably not the healthiest/smartest way to cut down on shopping, but it's definitely cheaper.

Don't forget to follow me @nataliebgarza on Instagram!

Blast from the Past

dress from Langford Market, Gap cardigan,
Forever 21 earrings, Banana Republic heels

It's hard for me to wear red and black together without being reminded of high school. I was a Cardinal, which meant I wore red and black almost every Friday for football games, on my letterman jacket, at graduation, etc. Since I left high school, I consciously tried not to wear this color combination. I must be falling out of the habit because I put this outfit together earlier this week without even realizing I was wearing Cardinal colors. I guess I kind of miss being a care-free high school student.

Thinking about high school always reminds me of Matt. We've been together for over six years and it just keeps getting better. Sometimes, I can't believe how lucky I am.

Happy birthday, Matt! I love you!

A Slight Hiccup

Gap jeans, Forever 21 shirt and earrings, Banana Republic heels 

How come when everything in my life is going wonderfully, BAM, something messes it all up? I had a great (although exhausting) weekend, but then I noticed that my car was making a weird noise as I was driving home from work Sunday evening. It was a harsh, crunching sound coming from my front right tire. I even pulled over just to make sure I wasn't getting a flat. Of course, I had no idea what it was, but I knew I just couldn't ignore it. It was so loud! I ended up taking my car to Sears after work on Monday to have them take a look at it. Of course, I was that girl. The one who walks in and says, "My car is making a weird noise and I don't know what it is." I tried to throw in some car lingo like suspension and rotating, but the problem was something I never could have guessed. Apparently, I was missing a shock absorber, which didn't mean much to me except that I'd have to pay $100+ to fix it. It's all taken care of, but let's hope nothing else goes wrong this week!

Weekend Recap

thrifted Izaac Mizrahi for Target dress, Old Navy trench coat,
Forever 21 necklace, Gap wedges

Oh boy, what a weekend. Instead of relaxing like everybody else did, I worked my butt off at the bridal salon. We were understaffed and overbooked on Saturday, so I spent most of the day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. On top of that, I had to work all day Sunday. Even though I worked both days, I still managed to have some fun in the evenings.

Matt and I hung out with my best friend, Jackie, and her awesome family on Saturday night. It reminded me of the get-togethers we used to have when Jackie and I lived together. Then on Sunday evening, we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with Matt's family. It's one of their favorite places to go and I always get the same thing--the Chicken Madeira. It's freaking delicious and there's always half left to take home. Basically, it was a long weekend full of working and a whole lotta eating. Here's to a new workweek! I'm definitely looking forward to sitting at a desk for a few days.

Fancy Pants

American Apparel t-shirt, thrifted pants and flats,
Gap denim jacket, Forever 21 earrings

I like to think of these as my "Audrey Hepburn" pants. I feel dressed up and glamourous even I wear them with a t-shirt and denim jacket. Red shoes and elegant earrings definitely help, too. I'd been searching for the perfect pair of black high-waisted crop pants for awhile and was so happy to find a perfect-fitting pair at Savers for $7. Come to think of it, these flats are from Savers, too. If you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it. I usually recommend Savers to new thrifters here in Austin because it's so organized and clean. Some people even consider it to be the department store of thrift stores. I don't know how much I agree with that, but just know that it's almost always my first stop when I thrift. If you're interested in checking it out, read my post about thrifting at Savers that I wrote a couple of months ago.

Free Time

thrifted dress, Old Navy sleeveless trench coat,
vintage necklace from Buffalo Exchange, Banana Republic wedges

I've already seen a huge difference in the amount of time I have to myself with this new job. I'm done by 5 p.m. four times out of the week, which leaves me with plenty of time to run errands and get things done. I've been really wanting to update my Etsy store, but I didn't have time when I was working retail hours. With all my free time, I should be able to get a couple of items posted over the next few days.

I have a decent pile of vintage clothes in really good condition (mostly thrifted) and I wasn't sure if I should just try to sell them to Buffalo Exchange or a local vintage store for quick cash. I've been making pretty steady money on Etsy, so I think it's worth the extra effort to sell them on my own. After I get the store up-to-date, I'll start working on all the other things I haven't had time for. I have a huge pile of clothes that need to be hemmed or mended, not to mention that I haven't worked out since 2011. One thing at a time...

Back to the Grind

thrifted top, skirt, and necklace, Gap denim jacket, Banana Republic wedges,

This post disappeared and deleted what I'd written. Here it is again!

A Very Good Friday

Old Navy shirt, Gap jeans and wedges, Forever 21 earrings

I haven't worn these pants since last summer and I was pleased that they still fit. Not that I really thought they wouldn't, but it was definitely reassuring. I really wanted to showcase my awesome floral wedges and figured white jeans would do the trick.

I'm so excited about this weekend because I finally have a day off! I've been working every weekend at the bridal salon since I started in January (minus the weekend I took off for the Texas Style Council during SXSW). I'm so ready for a weekend day off and it's finally arrived! Now all I need is a whole weekend off, but that's probably not happening anytime soon.

Have a happy Friday and enjoy your weekend, everyone!

First Day

vintage men's button up from Goodwill, Old Navy pants (zipper replaced by me),
Banana Republic heels, Forever 21 earrings, vintage bracelets

This was what I wore for my first day of work at Texas Monthly on Tuesday. I thrifted this top the day before, but didn't have any intention of wearing it the next day. I just thought it was a great top for $5, especially because it's vintage and such a great color. I guess I subconsciously reached for it when I was getting dressed and decided to go with it. Combined with basic black pants and color-blocked shoes, I thought the outfit looked put-together and professional without looking too prissy. Even better, I fit right in with the rest of the Texas Monthly crew. Like I mentioned before, everyone dresses really casual, so I need to remember to not overdress. I don't want to overshadow any of my co-workers...for now.

Stripes & Florals

Gap tank top, thrifted skirt, Bakers sandals, Forever 21 necklace

This outfit is my second attempt at dressing in patterns rather than my usual solids. The tank top was one of my final purchases with my Gap discount and I can definitely see myself remixing it a lot this summer. It's a basic and neutral piece, but the stripes make it a little more interesting. This was the perfect, comfortable outfit for a day off before I started my new job.

My first day at Texas Monthly was awesome. It was pretty short, but I spent the few hours that I was there organizing and getting ready to actually start fact-checking today. I was so excited to find out that I have my own office with a desk, computer and phone. I'm super pumped to decorate! I'm taking a couple of things to spruce up my office and I'll be sure to post pictures soon. In the meantime, here's a quick peek at the project I'll be working on for the next two months.

 I'll be sure to post outfit photos from my first day of work tomorrow!