Tag: budget

My Week of Vegging: What I Watched, Read, and Made

Photo by Andres Ayrton on Pexels.com

The week between Christmas and New Years is like…my favorite. I absolutely just let myself BE this week. I did not have anything planned, I didn’t force myself to do any work outside of “work” work, though I took off most of the week so that I could use up leave that I was about to lose. I just did whatever I felt like doing when I felt like doing it, and I REFUSED to let myself feel bad for sitting on my sofa vegging out when there are plenty of things I “should” have been doing. Here’s what I got up to during my winter break.

What I watched:

  • Loot with Mya Rudolph (Apple+); Season 1, Ep. 1 – Cute first eppy about an uber rich woman and the charity organization that she didn’t know she ran. Definitely made me chuckle
  • White Lotus (HBOMax); Season 2, Ep. 1-3 – Such a strange, odd, slow-moving show that I can’t stop watching, just like Season 1, which shows that misery comes in all tax brackets
  • True Believers (Hulu); Season 1, Ep. 5 and 6 – It is fascinating to me how people get sucked into cults
  • Love, Victor (Hulu); Season 3, Ep. 5 and 6 – Adorable LGBTQ show about high school love and relationships
  • The Thing About Harry (Hulu) – Perfect feel-good LGBTQ love story about high school enemies that meet in college, and then again as adults
  • The China Hu$tle (Hulu) – A Wall Street heist documentary about Chinese companies and the U.S. stock market. The rich get richer…what’s new…
  • Blood & Water (Netflix); Season 1, Ep. 1-3 – A mystery show set in a prep school in South Africa. So cool and refreshing seeing a show set in Africa, and the plot sucked me in
  • Sex Lives of College Girls (HBOMax), Season 1, Ep. 1-4 -Funny show about dorm mates that makes me kinda wish I was back in college
  • The Big Conn (Apple+) – Gotta stay on top of all the scams, and there are a-plenty
  • Radio Christmas with Keisha Knight Pulliam (Hulu) – So incredibly cheesy. I don’t know what else to say lol
  • Baking Spirits Bright (Hulu) – A movie about fruitcake and Christmas. It is so hard to believe people really eat fruitcake
  • A Majestic Christmas (Hulu) – An architect goes to her hometown to save the town theater that’s being torn down by new owner who hates Christmas
  • A Picture Perfect Holiday with Tatyana Ali (Hulu) – A cabin is double booked by two photographers for the town’s Christmas photography retreat so…you know…will they fall in love or won’t they? Hmmm…

Apparently, I love watching Christmas movies while commenting indignantly about how unrealistic and cheesy they are, and about logical solutions that made way more sense than what the characters decided to do. Oh, and about the flaws in the plot…because they are so realistic. But I also love them so much, so I just keep watching them. Even if they are cringeworthy.

What I Read

  • The Weight of Your Wishes by Bailey Nicole – an age gap, MM, happily ever after story.

My sweet bestie bought me a Kindle last year, but my whole reading game changed when I broke down and got Kindle Unlimited a few months ago. I am now reading one to two books per week. I have never been a big reader, but when I can easily access books that are of interest to me, I just roll right from one book to the next without blinking. And my interests don’t have to be everybody else’s interests for me to enjoy my reading time. So I read whatever makes me happy.

What I organized

  • Shoes at the entryway – It’s amazing what a stylish box stored in a bookcase can do. I had been searching for shoe storage cabinets that would fit into the small space that I had by my doorway and I just could not find something that fit my needs.
  • My payment and budget calendar for the year – It’s never too soon to plan out your pay days and holidays.
  • My finances spreadsheet for the year – Updated all of my balances, due dates, and amounts due. Gotta know your numbers.
  • My old email mailbox that is completely full – Started purging and deleting messages and I finally have one percent of free space.

What I crafted

  • Pom poms (I’m obsessed!) – It became my mindless, soothing thing to do while I watch tv. There’s something calming about snipping yarn. I plan to add these to some baskets and to make some garland.
  • My first latchhook – I thought I may like this as a craft but I don’t think it’s for me. I didn’t complete my project but I got far enough to realize I don’t think it’s my cup of tea. I may revisit it down the road.
  • Finished off wreath for a friend – I made a wreath for myself using pinterest tutorials, and a friend asked me to make one for them. It took me a while to figure out the right technique and to get things arranged just right. I am still learning and figuring things out, but I like the end result.

How did you spend your week between holidays? Hopefully you rested and relaxed and recharged. Let me know what you got up to during Veg Week. And definitely let me know if you’re watching or reading anything that I need to check out. Sometimes I feel like I have reached the end of everything on the streaming services.

Chat soon!

justamarylandgirlLeave a comment

DIY Mockups for My Business

From the “spring gone get whatever body I give it” files…

Happy Wednesday!

What’s the weather where you are? Yesterday in Maryland was hot and today is going to be even hotter! So ummm…about all that chocolate I’ve been eating lately…

I experimented a little more with taking pics for my tshirt mockups yesterday. And though I wasn’t spring-ready, I still knotted that shirt up and struck a pose…because who gone check me??

Do you use mockups for your tshirt brand? I do love the convenience of the etsy mockups, however I’ve noticed that there are very few that have people of color as models. And I feel as though my brand is too diverse for one model type. And hello…I’m black and I want black representation for my products.

So…what’s a girl to do? I pulled out my tripod and got to work! Because sometimes you just gotta do it yourself, amiright?? I think I got a few good shots. Can’t wait to share them!

Here’s a little sneak peek of my mock-ups in action.

I still have some work to do to perfect the pics and poses. I need to work on being conscious of light, shadows, and backgrounds. And I definitely need to work on facial expressions lol. But it’s been fun doing this and I feel like every time I try it, I get a little better. And even though this is the free method of acquiring mockups, and that’s hella dope, the best takeaway is that I have pics that I feel represent me and my brand without spending hours on etsy. And I just love that!

#diymockups #pocmodels #diversitymatters #repesentationmatters #minoritybusinessowner #etsyowner #etsygrammer #dropshipper #diyphotoshoot #smallbusiness #entrepreneurlife #blackblogger #blackentrepreneurs #marylandgirl #blacketsyshop #loveyourbody #tshirtbrand #shopifyseller

justamarylandgirl

Simple DIY Photo Frame Upgrade

Me and my spraypaint were at it again this week. This time I did a super easy, super cute upgrade to some basic silver frames that I got from the Dollar Tree.

As is, these frames were cute and inexpensive but I thought adding a gold dipped corner may add a little umph to them.

I started with these two basic silver frames. I really liked that they came with a matte border if you choose to use it…which I did.

Using blue painters tape, I taped around the frame, leaving one corner exposed to be painted. I did two really light coats of spray paint for each frame, letting the first layer dry about an hour before putting on the second coat.

Then using my canva app/website (if you don’t use this, and you do a lot of design work or social media graphics, I suggest trying it), I created some simple text for my frames.

I printed them, cut them to size and popped them into the frames super easy!

I love how they came out! They look super cute on my entry way shelf!

Let me know if you like this and try something similar. I love Dollar Tree (or budget) DIY’s! Especially when they are easy.

Like my “Hello” and “Goodbye” signs?? Subscribe to my email list and I’ll send you the “Hello” and “Goodbye” sign downloadables as my way of saying thank you! Who doesn’t love a free printable??

justamarylandgirl

Buying Cute Affordable Glasses Online

Have you ever ordered glasses online?

For years, my annual trip to the eye doctor was always an ordeal. Because of the insurance I had, I was able to get a new pair of glasses each year, and I loved it. I love having different styles and colors and brands. And I love having glasses already planted in every space I need them without having to worry about toting them around. I keep pairs at the office, sunglasses in my car, and pairs of glasses in my nightstand, in the living room, etc. Any place I frequent, where I may also need to see something clearly, I keep glasses there.

I hated making appointments to get glasses. Going in seemed like such a hassle and it was always a numbers game with what insurance covers and what I like. And several times, I almost flipped the table over out of frustration with the whole process.

Over the years, I have accumulated quite a stash of glasses. I had several pairs of regular glasses and sunglasses. Eventually after assessing my insurance needs, I revised my vision plan, and opted to stop getting an annual pair. It just didn’t make sense to deduct money from my paycheck each pay period for something I really didn’t need.

But I still LOVE eyeglasses and occasionally I want a new pair just because.  So I found a place online, Eye Buy Direct, that has cute, budget-friendly glasses. They are quick with turnaround and the glasses are good quality. They have a few name brands, but they don’t really carry the Coach, Michael Kors, Gucci, etc. brands. But they do have Ray Ban and Oakley. Which is fine by me. I want something fun, colorful, trendy without paying a ton of money. When I want my expensive name brand frames, which I do still purchase occasionally, I can go elsewhere. For my play glasses and fun frames, this suits me perfectly!

For example, this cute fun red pair cost me less than $35 with prescription and shipping! Seriously…can you beat that??

What has your online glasses experience been? Have you tried it? If not, would you?

justamarylandgirl

DIY BUDGET SUNBURST MIRRORS

I am in love with the boho basket wall and sunburst mirror trend. It’s such a soothing and simple aesthetic, and even better, it’s quite budget friendly to create!

You can easily find cute baskets in your local thrift store. You can incorporate some fun touches like paint or tassels and effortlessly design a personal piece that suits your specific space.

Due to COVID-19, shopping and browsing and thrifting has been off the table for me for the most part. I have allowed myself an occasional dash through the dollar store. And I have definitely placed SEVERAL curbside or delivery orders from Michael’s, Target, and Walmart over the past few months.

So I decided to try my hand at creating sunburst mirrors to go with the existing rattan mirrors I had on my living room wall, and I love the way they turned out!

With a few clicks of the mouse, I had all of my materials acquired. And with a few squirts of the glue gun, my mirrors were all assembled. Here’s what I did!

I gathered my materials.

For the small sunburst, I used two packs of wooden dowels from dollar tree and a 5″ mirror from Michael’s.

For the large sunburst, I used 1.25 packs of bamboo skewers from Walmart and a 10″ mirror from Michael’s.

Using my glue gun, I glued the sticks around the back of the mirrors. Space the sticks however you’d like. There’s really no wrong or right…it will all look cute! Notice that the glue job is not super perfect. Trust me, that’s ok. The impefections kinda just add to the boho aesthetic.

Then I cut a circle out of cardboard. I just used the box from some of the packages I’ve had delivered…use whatever you have lying around, and if you don’t have cardboard, improvise. I’m sure there are many things laying around the house that would work just as well.

So…I adhered the cardboard to the back of the mirror with my glue gun. I layered additional smaller pieces of cardboard on top of each other to create a reinforced area to insert the hook that I’m going to use for hanging. Because these mirrors are so lightweight, even with the sticks, the backing doesn’t have to be super heavy duty.

Once the backing was glued on, I twisted my hook into the cardboard. No tools were required …I just twisted it by hand. Super simple!

And then my mirrors were all ready to hang! Joila!

Is this something you would try? Have you created any home decor pieces lately? I’d love to hear about them!

justamarylandgirl