JoaS

I love shoes. They are fun and the right pair can make the difference between feeling comfortable and confident or ready to just go barefoot. I've rounded up a few of my favorite shoes for Summer--the comfortable, the classic, the cute, and the easy. All are quite affordable and good quality for all your Summer shoe needs. Perhaps my favorite dress shoe, almost year-round, is a cute peep toe wedge. You'll probably notice that all of my choices are in a neutral, blush tone - it's my favorite and I won't apologize - but these are great in fun prints or a bright color for Summer, too. These have been my favorite, from Amazon, and only cost $25.99: OLIVIA K Women's Comfort Espadrille Platform Buckle Sandal My most worn shoe this Spring has been this classic sandal from G.H. Bass & Co. If I could only shop at one shoe store for the rest of my life, it would be Bass. It's always been my favorite, and they have great deals at their ...

I will be the first to admit that it is not always easy to stick to a budget, especially a really strict one. There are certain times of the year I can pretty much count on myself breaking our budget due to stressors or circumstance, like holidays or vacations. No matter how much planning or prep or saving I may do, it always seems to be just too tempting to spend more than anticipated. I've gathered a few of the tips I've picked up over the years of setting and breaking budgets to hopefully provide some encouragement to anyone who may find themselves in the same boat. Give yourself grace.  This has been a HUGE life lesson for me in general, but particularly when it comes to budgeting. I believe Dave Ramsey says that messing up with money doesn't make you bad with money, it just makes you human. Humans mess up. We can't help it. It happens. But every time I splurge a little or mess up with money, I make a plan to get back on track and I do my best to fol...

Redecorating, or decorating your home for the first time, can get very expensive very quickly. As a newlywed, I made the mistake of going crazy in Marshall's or IKEA and spending way too much on things we didn't even really need or appreciate. I just wanted our new home and life to come together quickly and perfectly. That approach really just leads to a lot of frustration and lack of funds for other things like vacations, date night, or gifts - things that actually contribute to your marriage in a more meaningful and long-term way. So over the years I have found that when I'm feeling the itch to redecorate my husband and I very much enjoy just locking ourselves in the house for a weekend and rearranging furniture or displaying things that hold a lot of meaning to one or both of us that maybe hadn't previously been visible to enjoy every day. Above, you'll see our wedding cake topper, our favorite wedding photo, and my grandparents' phone that h...

I've mentioned before that gifts is one of my love languages, and it's one of the ways I most like to love on others. I love finding the perfect gift that reminds me of a certain person and watching their face (hopefully) light up as they appreciate it. My husband's love language is not gifts and my brother is not very demonstrative upon opening presents, either, but the point of a gift is to convey my love to them and I believe it does just that. Some of my favorite gifts to put together are gifts for couples. It doesn't even have to be a wedding gift, though with wedding season upon us that was the inspiration for this post. The past few years I have loved getting to think about what the couple might be doing for their honeymoon, or what they might enjoy doing together on a regular basis as they begin their life together. Living at the beach, one of my absolute favorite gifts to give to new brides is a monogrammed baseball cap for her to wear on the boat...

I am very excited to announce that my Etsy shop, JacobJewelry , is officially up and running with many handmade earring designs to choose from and purchase! The Etsy shop has been a long time dream of mine, and I've attempted it in the past without success. It was not the right time and I was not doing it for the right reasons. I recently "retired" from Preschool Teaching Assistant and getting to be creative and offer fun products that can hopefully spark as much joy for others as they do for me in creating them is a dream come true. So if you're in the market for some new jewels for the Summer or for gifts or just because, check out my shop ! Best, Emily