Outfit Inspiration: Neutral Colors

White + Gray 

For a simple look this week, I had chosen a flowy white Mango Longsleeves and a pair of ankle length Grayish striped trousers from Uniqlo. 

I normally wear it with white flats. 

It may also go with white, gray or black pumps for added height. 

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

Lately, I am in a calm mood. 

Am not denying the fact that often times I do have emotional and mood outbursts (yes, my hubby can also attest to that).

Name it: mood swings, irritable feeling, that moment when you feel like punching someone on the face.

There are lots of things that trigger these feelings: negativity, complaints, annoying people, things that you don’t have control of.

And then I realize. That’s it.

There are things that I don’t have and won’t have control off so I told myself, “Hey, don’t waste your time on being annoyed but instead think of things that you can do enjoy”.

So am bouncing back and avoiding all the negativity.

Once I can sense them closing in, well, am breathing in, breathing out.

Repeat 10 times.

Choose Less. Choose Wisely. Live Life Simply.

The long Eid Holidays may have prompted me to do a lot of rethinking and decluttering.

I am currently doing Project 333, The Minimalist Game and The Shopping Ban.

Don’t worry am still here, surviving.

Since we have done a lot of cleaning up and have thrown a lot of trash, I realized that we had accumulated a lot of stuffs over the years and most of them were thrown away because we don’t need them.

Come to think of it, we have a lot of things that are just there, collecting dusts, taking my much needed space.

From then on, I promised myself, I won’t be adding any more stuff that I know will bid goodbye later.

I already forgot from where I had read this: “Choose Less. Choose Wisely”.

And it really makes sense – and applies not only to material, physical things.

I’ve almost cleared my closet.

I’ve cleared most of my emails.

I’ve unfriended a lot in Facebook.

I’ve unsubscribed to other email alerts mostly from shopping websites (sigh).

I’ve thrown a lot of papers, newspapers (am still thinking about my books and magazines).

I’ll have my Social Media Days Off.

What else? Hmmm. That’s all for now.

Well, am giving myself a pat on the back and a big hug for a great start!

Outfit Inspiration: Jeans! Jeans! Jeans!

Manjo Jeans is LOVE. 

A distressed pair of jeans is great with a simple tee or a girly top. 

Wear it with a pair of Chucks or Stan Smith for that relaxed feel or a nice heeled sandals for a more formal, classy look. 

DIY: Revived Lip Balm

Lip Balm. Revived. 

I had bought this Wild Argan Lip Balm from The Body Shop hoping that it would help soothe my wind burn. 

It did not end well: the result was even tragic. 

My lips chapped and became very dry and flaky. 

I cannot resist not removing the skin and there I was with a bloody upper lip, literally. 

I had been using the moisturizing balm from them and it was great so I think this Wild Argan thing is not really meant for me. 

Since I had decluttered my makeup bag/box, I don't want to have this almost full balm away. 

Thanks to Pinterest I found a way to at least "revive" it. 

I emptied it out in a glass jar, added a table spoon of petroleum jelly in cocoa, a few drops of olive oil and a generous amount of almond oil. 

I chopped off a bit of my fave pink lipstick to add a little tint. 

I placed the jar in a shallow pan with boiling water to melt and mix everything up.

Just after five minutes of stirring, everything have melted. 

Then, I had placed it back on the original tiny tin container and put it in the fridge to harden up for approximately 15 minutes. 

Tada! 

I have my lip balm once again. 

Surprisingly, it is now working well with my lips, so goodbye, wind burn! 

Bloom

Good morning! 

Sending you positive vibes today. 

Have a great day! 

Shopping Ban

Not my Photo though :) but still banning shopping, for the mean time. 

I have received numerous SMSs regarding sales, further discounts and promotions from different shops. 

It is quite tempting! 

Since I have started off with Project 333 and will soon commence with The Minimalist Game, I have decided to take on The Shopping Ban for the next six months: just at a perfect time with the remaining 6 months until the end of the year. 

Inspired by the email I got from Courtney, again from Be More With Less, I told myself that it would be the perfect time to halt shopping for awhile. 

It is not about completely not shopping, but shopping only for the really required ones, thus, preparing the Approved Shopping List is a must. 

I had just ordered some pieces from Mango online. 

At first, I have around QAR 2500 on my shopping cart and I was able to reduce it to a whopping QAR 347 to be exact! 

I have taken only the ones that I badly need at the moment: a pair of black trousers (QAR 75) since the one that I have is worn out and could use some rest; a black blazer (QAR 59); black and white long-sleeved shirt (QAR 55), a plain white long sleeves (QAR 75) and two casual shirts (QAR 39 and QAR 44 each). 

I prefer buying them online as it is difficult to find the styles and sizes that I like/have in here. It is only during the sale season that I do my shopping from Mango. I love the fit and the looks plus they always have great prices and offers free delivery for purchases of at least QAR 200. 

Since I already have what I only need, I can finally prepare my "Approved Shopping List":

Groceries but no junk food, no chocolates

Lunch at the cafeteria if and only if I don't have my packed lunch, should be at least once a week 

Cake at least twice a month 

Takeaway Food if and only if I fail to prepare dinner

Conditioner - once a month

Banned Stuffs: 

Make up 

Lotion 

Shampoo - I have stocks to last me until the end of the year 

Magazines, Books - I have loads of unread ebooks and books 

Again, chocolates and junk food 

Soda 
Coffee from Starbucks - We have one in our office building so it is really tempting 

Clothes, Shoes, Bags 

Takeaway food 

I have taken on this challenge to hopefully control my spending (I can imagine a large grin on my Hubby's face), get rid of the items that I still can, make my life easier and simpler and to top it all, save more and pay off my debts (bank loan). 

Are you up to the challenge? 

Common, give it a try. 

The Minimalist Game

Today marks my first day of my Minimalist Challenge and I launched it with a giant leap. 

I shall try my best to declutter in the next 3 months for a least 3 times a week, removing 1 item on the first day, 2 on the second and so on. 

So far, I've removed the old socks from our drawer and all the unnecessary stuffs from my mini stock room. 

I will do my closet first since I know that I still have a lot of things that I can let go of. 

Am hoping that I can keep it going. 

I have to. 

Make Up and Beauty Capsule

Maybe you have come across my post on Project 333 - a way on decluttering your closet and your life. 

While looking out for some cool new pins on Pinterest, I bumped into this pin on a Makeup Capsule. 

Yes, I am also guilty of having a lot of lipsticks, palettes, etc. - mostly drugstore make up though, but I have a lot. 

Sometimes, I have the urge to buy a lot of body butter, nail polish, a lot of lippies in different shades which had only expired and are barely used. 

Talk about a waste of money! 

A big sigh. 

Nonetheless, I am ready to move on. 

I had given away my barely used make up to my friends when I had gotten home a few months back; thrown all the expired ones and maintain only the basic ones that I think I really need. 

I have started off The Minimalism Game  with the Project 333, mainly with my closet (I don't have a Carry Bradshaw closet or that of Rebecca Bloomwood, but mine is almost bursting), and will move to the other parts of the house and my life soon, little by little, so I don't get overwhelmed. 

Parting with stuffs that you got attached to is hard at first: tossing out your worn out jeans or the bag that you really liked before, or the make up that you got during the yearend sale, and the list goes on. 

But believe me, it's going to be worth it, I believe so. 

After a few hours of sorting everything out, these are the only ones I had kept: 

- Garnier Facial Scrub 

- Olay Moisturizer - I've been using it for years 

- Clinique Mask - I am using it at least once a week 

- Garnier Micellar Water - a cleanser and makeup remover in one 

- Facial Cleanser 

- The Balm Voyage Palette - I loooveeee this palette. You can rock different looks with only this palette. 

- 3 Lippies: Pink Dior Lipstick, Happy Skin Shut Up and Kiss Me, Loreal Lipstick in Toasted Brown 

- The Body Shop Shea Butter Lipbalm 

- Loreal Eyeliner 

- Loreal Eyebrow Pencil 

- Loreal Powder Foundation 

- Loreal True Match Foundation 

- Maybelline BB Cream 

- Guerlain Blush On and Highlighter 

- Maybelline Mascara 

- a set of Royal Langnickel Make Up Brush 

- 2 Bottles of Lotion (I cannot live without this)

- a jar of Cocoa Vaseline Petroleum Jelly 

- Bench Body Spray and Colonges (am not really a big fan of perfumes)

That's basically it and am hoping that I can still reduce and not add more on this list. 

Am also thinking of using DIY products pretty soon. 

Wish me luck! 

Project 333 - July until September 2016

Photo is from Be More with Less. Thanks Courtney for coming up with such a fun and life-changing project. 

Hello there! 

Are you struggling to choose which ones to wear, trying on a few looks before finally deciding which one to step out into? 

We are lucky and thankful enough to have lots of options however, it would also be a whole lot easier to have a shorter list. 

My best friend had introduced me to the Project 333 and doing a capsule wardrobe. 

It is basically choosing 33 items for one's total look. 

To know the full details, you may check them here. 

Yes, you heard it right: only 33 key pieces. 

Come to think of it, it seems impossible, but I will tell you, it is a LOT already. 

I am one those who loves to shop: the sale season, the thrill of going from one shop to the other, ending up with a whole lot of stuffs which I don't practically need (imagining the first few scenes of Confessions of a Shopaholic). 

Then, it suddenly hit me: Is it really economical? Is it really what I want? Is it really what I need? 

I had taken on this challenge personally since I need to free up some space and need to save up for far more important things instead of spending on unimportant ones. 

Let me tell you what I have done to start off. 

1 - I had nearly emptied my closet. I live with 3 cats so I hope you can imagine that taking them all out is not that easy. 

2 - Donate, Keep, Toss. I made 3 piles of clothes: ones that I need, ones that I can give out and the ones that are very worn out. I ended up with 3 full bags of clothes which I had donated already. I had sold some pieces before as well: some with tags and some I had worn only once or twice. 

3 - Choose wisely. Like what Courtney said, it is a great chance to discover your personal style. I love simplicity. I sometimes love a pop of color especially when I do feel under the weather. 

4 - Mixing and Matching is the key. I had chosen pieces that I can easily wear with each other. I had chosen tops that I can wear with jeans, shirts that I can wear with a blazer and the like. 

5 - Choice of bags. I do love big bags so I had decided to include my favorites in my first 3 months. 

Below are the ones that I had included in my list:

Jeans and Trousers - a total of 7 which includes 4 office trousers and 3 pairs of jeans 

Footwear - a total of 7 which includes mostly of flats and only a pair of black heels 

Tops and Shirts - a total of 15 pieces. I have added a mix of long sleeves for work wear, a black blazer and some shirts for dress-down days 

Bags - I have chosen 4 bags for the office and for quick runs to the groceries or coffee break 

Are you up to the challenge?