Thank you fashion pundits for making this seasons HOTTEST trend, totally affordable!! One little detail was seen from runway to runway, did you catch it? Embellished bobby pins and barrettes! As a mom of two daughters, I have always had a weakness for cute hair ties and clips, but these accessories made me do a double take.
See Ways To Style on Instagram #BobbyPin
Check out these super affordable affordable sets from $3-$20, how can you go wrong?
Dress them up or dress them down- this easy little touch can elevate your #OOTD!
Ahhh, Amazon. When you used to think about the word “Amazon” you probably thought about the rain forest. Now when you say the word you’ll likely think about the online shopping site. I have been a prime member since it’s inception. I can’t even tell you how much I love Amazon and their 2 day prime shipping! Hallelujah.
As a mom, I frequently put my family first. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that Amazon had an Amazon Fashion Store. As an avid Nordstrom shopper, I was leery about purchasing anything on Amazon. I started my first purchase with an off the shoulder white dress for a boat party that I was hosting. I spent $30 on this beauty and it did not disappoint! Thank goodness my first purchase was good, it set me on 2 day prime shopping journey that has taught me so many things about how to navigate Amazon fashion that I want to share with you today!
#1. Check if it is a prime item. For a nominal annual fee ($99) you can become a prime member and it will give you free shipping on anything that comes from Amazon. It saves time and $ depending on how often you plan to use the site for shopping.
#2. Make sure you look at reviews. Chicksandsalsa is in the top 1% of reviewers on TripAdvisor, so you know we love our reviews! Shoppers (and ChicksAndSalsa) will help you determine quality, sizing and durability
#3. Know where the items are coming from. Often times I have ordered in haste and not paid attention…items that ship from international locations take much longer than something that is shipping domestic.
#4. In complete honesty, only about 4 of 12 items will be keepers. I have not had full success in my shopping with Amazon. However, with free shipping back, I’m always willing to take a risk in the comfort of my own home to try clothes on and send them back as needed.
The Finds
Here are a few of my favorite Amazon Fashion purchases.
We named our first furry baby, Peanut. To be honest, before he arrived I had put him on a one week trial….if it didn’t work out, we were going to send him back. Peanut was born in Texas and arrived via American Airlines where we met for the first time. He was 8 weeks old. Tiny, like a Peanut, with white curly hair. He was terrified. When I reached for him I immediately panicked because I didn’t know what to do next. Once I got hold of him from the back of his crate, he curled into the palm of my hand and calmed the nerves we both had and we both immediately felt a sense of relief. It was clear, I was consumed with so much love for this little animal. It hit me in that moment that we had just become family. It didn’t take more than 5 minutes for me to make my decision that he was staying with us forever!
Most valuable lesson as a dog owner:
Unconditional love. Peanut gave me the gift of friendship with no strings attached. He grew to love me and my husband as his furry parents and we loved him as our furry baby. He journeyed with us through two pregnancies and babies and accepted and protected our kids with every bone in his body. We tragically lost Peanut to a coyote attack shortly after his 7th birthday and it felt just as tragic as the loss of any family member. There were days Peanut and I were besties and days we were frenemies, but we were family. In his absence I learned that he taught me to be more kind, more compassionate and more forgiving.
Today we have Coco another adorable maltipoo. He is everything Peanut was and continues to be for us. While having a dog can sometimes feel like work, there isn’t a moment that goes by that I’m not reminded of Peanut and how his legacy serves as a reminder to not take the human and dog relationship for granted. I can definitely say I am a better person because of my furry babies and will be forever indebted to my dogs for the lessons they teach me everyday!
Your chick,
Sonia
Chick Picks:
There are so many versions of this sweatshirt! The one I am wearing is linked here | A slightly higher end version of it is linked here | Revolve has a distressed version here | Jeans are linked here | Booties are sold out, but I have linked something similar here |Check out the necklace that we all have here see it on me here
Ok, don’t judge me- but I really wanted to know exactly how much time I was spending on my phone so I measured it using the Moments App (ioS 12 also has a built in feature to help you keep track as well). I was introduced to the app a while ago and I have been documenting my usage and time for the past few weeks. I thought I was going to feel bad about the amount of time I spent, but I found something even more interesting and awesome instead!
If you have an iPhone here is how your can check your usage now!
Launch Settings from your Home screen. > Tap on Battery. > Wait a moment for Battery Usage to populate. > Tap on the Show Detailed Usage button to get a breakdown of foreground and background power usage. > Tap on Last 7 Days to get a broader look at power consumption over time.
**First pic is from one day, second pic is from seven day summary**
1 Day
7 Day
Screenshots from Moments App:
iOS Stats
My Results
It turns out I get plenty of sleep – averaging 7-8 hours a night – awesome right!?! It also turns out that I spend almost 5 hours a day on my phone…I thought I would have negative feelings about this, but it turns out I don’t. Let me explain. I work at home and with my time divided between Digital Chicks Media and our blog, it makes sense to me that I would be spending the equivalent of a day’s work on my phone, aka my computer on the go. With social media and engagement at the core of what I do, I guess it is not surprising, but there is a silver lining to all this information.
I am living day-to-day moments for most of my day – that is time that I am spending with my family, at the gym, cooking, driving, etc. That is a nice find that somehow I can’t ignore. I actually felt good about that, is that weird? My kids get home from school around 3:30PM and go to bed around 8PM. The main thing I try hard to work on is the amount of time I spend on my phone while they are home. I want to make sure that those 8 hours of living are happening sans my phone while my family is together.
Something my husband and I try to do walk away from our devices to resist the temptation to not be present in the moment while the kids are home. While work can sometimes creep in trying to move to another room to finish out an email or call is a helpful way to recenter and be present in the time you are away from your phone.
The Takeaway
In life we have to strike a balance between the things that we do and find a place in our day to day lives for all of it. Smartphones are a necessary evil that really are not that bad, they have enhanced our lives by so much. So, next time you resent the amount of time you may be spending on your phone, find out how much time you are actually spending and let that knowledge either empower you or help you create changes you wish to see to make being in the moment more meaningful.
