{Style}

Look Book: Polka Dots & Faux Fur

Polka Dots & Faux Fur

This socialite hates the cold. The only silver-lining that I can come up with is cold weather layering! Here’s a few of my favorite pieces for winter: polka dots & faux fur! Pair that those with skinny jeans either a motorcycle boot or a ballet flat and some classic red lips. You’re good to go for any casual outing. None of the items are over 100 smackeroos, lest you forget we are budget socialites.

Disclaimer: The Tory Burch Flat is actually $106.26 but 106 doesn’t have the same ring to it. My Bad.

[1] Eddie Flat [2] Ruby Woo [3] Mink Think [4] Simply Vera [5] ReRock

 

{Food & Entertaining}

3 Bean Chili Soup


Today’s lunch is a 3 bean chili soup with ripe avocado on the side. Chili is one of my favorite dishes for the winter time. It’s nice and hearty and makes the perfect comfort food. As a vegetarian, I would substitute meat for protein crumblies. But, for this recipe – and smoothie lifestyle – I opted to not add the protein crumblies. Below, please find the recipe.

1 Can Garbanzo Beans
1 Can Seasoned Black Beans
1 Pack Pre-cooked Lentil Beans
1 Can RoTel tomatos
1 serving of baby food vegetables (left over from a business trip…more on that later)
4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 Chili Packet
Dried Onion & more Chili for taste

Add all the ingredients into the blender and pulse until smooth. This made about 5-6 servings and tastes best after a day to let all the flavors mix. Eat with a ripe avocado on the side.

{Commandments}

Thou shall seek true love – when shopping!

So much shopping, so little time...

It’s not easy being a budget socialite. There are so many things to do, places to be and shoes to buy, that things can get a tad bit overwhelming. But have no fear! To make life a little easier, we’ve come up with the budget socialite commandments.  Use these guidelines to aid you on your fun, fabulous and well heeled journey. We wouldn’t steer you wrong.

Thou shall seek true love – when shopping!

First and foremost, we believe in seeking true love…when shopping. The things you do should bring you joy and making a purchase is no exception. If you are going to spend money on an article of clothing, shoes and/or something for your home, you should LOVE IT! Not just kinda like it. Not feel okay about it. You should be in love with it.  Yes, fellow socialites, we mean giddy, silly, punch drunk school girl love! A friend of mine once picked up a purse in the store, looked at herself in the mirror and exclaimed, “I love myself!” Now that’s true love.

Often, we get caught up while shopping and feel like we spent so much time at the store that we have to buy something. Or something is on sale and seems too good of deal to pass up. Other times, we can’t tell if we truly love it or not, so we just buy it. How do you know if you’ve fallen victim to loveless shopping? Here are a few good indicators:

  • You have a closet stuffed with clothes but nothing to wear.
  • You have clothing that still has the tags on it…months later.
  • You end up wearing the same things over and over again, because those are your favorites.
  • Every time an occasion comes, you have buy something new.
  • You haven’t worn an item in a year and it’s still sitting in your closet.

Step Away From the Register

People, people, people, these are tell tale signs that you haven’t been buying things that you adore. When you find yourself trying to figure out whether or not to make a purchase, ask yourself one question: Is this going to be the next favorite thing in my closet? If the answer is no, put that item down! This is my mantra when shopping, but sometimes even this is not enough. If you need to gauge whether an item is the real deal, or just mere retail infatuation there are few warning signs.

  • If the main reason you are buying it is because it’s on sale, you don’t love it.
  • If you have to ask yourself if you love it, you probably don’t love it.
  • If you are in the dressing room, wrinkling your nose, turning side to side, telling yourself how cute it would be if you just added this, sewed that or clinched this, then you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY DON’T LOVE IT!
  • The goal is find things that are on sale, but that you’d be willing to pay full price for.

If you truly are in doubt, there is one more tactic you can employ: Sleep on it. If you are still thinking about it the next day, CONGRATULATIONS, you’ve found love! Happy Shopping!

 

{Living}

Smoothie Lifestyle!

smoothie lifestyle

Happy New Year! Every year we come up with our resolutions and promise to keep those resolutions. Well, this year, we plan to take our healthy living to the next level…smoothies!
We went with smoothies vs juicing because:

  1. Fiber. When you use a juicer, it removes all of the fiber out of the fruits and vegetables. Fiber is necessary for digestion and it keeps your intestines moving (literally).
  2. Variety. Another reason for making smoothies is it offers a ton of variety. Good fat is key for the absorption of vitamins and minerals, and we can make yummy avocado smoothies and sherberts using nuts to make sure we get enough.

This isn’t a cleanse.

There is misinformation out there about going on a ‘juicing cleanse’ and that it removes toxins…your body does a great job of this on its own. As long as you’re getting your daily servings of fruits and vegetables, your liver, kidney and intestines will work the way they should. To learn more about why juice cleanses don’t work, read here.

This isn’t a diet. It’s a lifestyle.

We strive to incorporate as much local fruits and vegetables as possible. We are very lucky that we live near working farms here in NJ, but if you don’t have farmer’s markets near you, you can purchase frozen fruits & vegetables. The benefit is that they are Grade A and picked at their peak. It’s best to get them fresh, but this is a good alternative.

Try this at home, but check with your doc first.

We are delivering all of our vitamins, mineral and good fats into our bodies through smoothies: which helps with fast absorption of the raw foods. It’s best to start these types of programs under the supervision of a doctor, so please check in with your doctor before starting this or any diet. In our case, Scarlett’s eldest sister is a board-certified doctor who specializes in Internal Medicine. She also has a holistic approach to medicine and well-being. We will be under her supervision, she’s a pescatarian (eats fish, no meat) and riding this smoothie train with us.

Ready, set, GO!

We hope you are as excited about this as we are. It will be a challenge to drink all our calories for 10 days, but we can do it! Join us on this journey by starting your own smoothie lifestyle or just checking in on how things are going. If we do this together, we hold each other accountable.
Want to learn more about healthy living? Visit the sites we’ve found below for some information:

{Living}

We’re Back!

We are sorry we’ve been away for so long. It’s not that we haven’t forgotten you, it’s just that things got so hectic and well, we had to leave for a little bit. But we’ve missed you OH SO MUCH and we’re back…better than ever and we’re bringing some friends with us to give you the best Budget Socialite experience.

XOXO
Trinidad & Scarlett