Simplygailg

Old Navy Chambray Dress

May 2, 2016

It’s Monday again so that means it’s time to get moving and get into work mode, right? How was everyone’s weekend? Personally, I had a pretty low-key weekend. I took Thursday and Friday off from work since the kids had spring break and I spent as much time with them as possible. The weather has been so strange lately though. I was hoping to have fun with them outdoors but the only nice day we had was Saturday. The kids had their soccer games and I had a nice brunch with a girlfriend and then I was totally wiped. Useless for the rest of the day! Then Sunday was a wash since it rained all day and I did what I usually do on rainy days…relax.

So, do you guys have this one friend who will bring the devil out of you or get you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do? I don’t mean like committing a felony (heaven forbid) but just bringing you out of your shell. Well, I have a friend like that. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Haha. She took the photos of me below and you’ll see what I mean about bringing me out of my shell – just keep scrolling down.

Pretty normal so far, right? Keep going. Umm, wow, my necklaces are all tangled in that third pic.

Yup, she told me to jump on a fire truck to take pics which is something I never would have done. But I gotta tell you, it was the most fun I’ve had while doing a photoshoot. I laughed so hard that day and it felt so good! The last photo was me running away before someone could tell me to get off the truck. Lol

The dress that I’m wearing is from Old Navy (currently on sale) and I’ve been dying to wear it. Of course, it has spaghetti straps so I had to put something over it for work and my Gap denim jacket was perfect. I paired it with my Steve Madden booties (on sale as well) for a chic casual look. I’ve tagged the exact items below plus some similar items.

Wishing you all a fabulous Monday. Remember to breathe and not stress the small stuff.

How To Stay Motivated As A Blogger

April 29, 2016

Hey Lovelies, I hope everyone has had a great week so far. This post is a little different for me and a little more personal.

Lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed on the border of burned out. I’ve been second guessing myself and haven’t been posting as much as usual because I’m just tired and unmotivated which takes me to what I want to talk about today.

How many times have you said, “I really should be working on a blog post right now?” but then procrastination sets in and 1 hour passes, then 2 hours turn into 3 until you’ve wasted a whole day and haven’t written one word. Then there’s the other side of the coin where you’re so tired that your mind is a total blank and no ideas will come to life. The creative vault is just…empty. No matter how hard you try you cannot come up with a post idea; nothing comes to mind.

Today, I’m going to give you some tips on how to get out of the creative rut and out of your own way. These methods have been helping me lately and although I’m still not blogging my usual three days a week, it’s helped keeps me consistently putting out content every week. No one said blogging was easy.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti

So you have the idea but lack the motivation to sit down and put thought to action. All you want to do is nothing. You’d rather sit on the couch and watch mindless television. I think we have all been there, haven’t we? What do you do?

Do Nothing

Seriously, do absolutely nothing. If you lack the motivation to write, then you probably shouldn’t. Because what will happen, you will write garbage and believe me, it will show that absolutely no effort went into what you wrote and you just posted it for the sake of posting. Don’t do it!

Rest

There are times when your body talks to you and says, “Girl, you need to sit down!” My advice is to listen. Procrastination can of course border on laziness but sometimes you just need to rest. With all the responsibilities of our daily lives (work, school, kids, family, etc), we need to take the time to recover and regroup. Blogging on top of our daily stresses can take a huge toll on our bodies not to mention our personal relationships. So shut down once in a while, meditate, go out on a date, sleep (yes, sleep!), listen to music, dance a little and then get back to it. You may feel revived and get your creative juices going again.

“Sleep is the best meditation.” – Dalai Lama

Now on to my next point.

The Internet

What happens when you can’t put the proverbial pen to paper (because we all type now, right?). Well, I still put pen to paper (I wrote this entire post, then typed it up).

Your brain isn’t working for you – your mind is completely blank. This is when I start looking for inspiration. There’s so much inspiration all around us, we just have to open our eyes and see. Not to mention, the internet. Instead of forcing a blog idea or getting an idea at midnight when it’s time to go to bed (yeah, that’s happened to me on numerous occasions), I will turn to the good old world wide web and social media. When I’m lost on ideas, Bloglovin’ is my #1 resource for inspiration. Do you realize how much of an asset Bloglovin’ is to bloggers? I don’t use it as often as I should but every time I scroll through the pages or visit blogs, I get so inspired that all I want to do is write. There are so many talented bloggers who use that platform and I love that Bloglovin’ gives you access to all that creativity. On the other hand, when I need outfit ideas, I turn to Instagram and Pinterest which in itself can become overwhelming at times and I have to remind myself to put my phone down.

Google Search

Performing a simple search on Google for blog ideas is helpful as well. It yields a ton of results. You just have to weed through the ones that interest you.

Additionally, when you need that extra push, blogging groups are a great way to go. Not only do they give you exposure but they motivate you to be your best blogging selves and encourage you to put out great content.

I belong to a blogging group called Style Collective and I can’t tell you what a blessing it has been for me. By joining this group, I have met an incredible group of inspiring women who are so supportive of each other and they make you feel like you’re a part of something larger. I’ve been blogging for 9 months now but I know that when I started out, I was lost with no clear direction of how to navigate the blogging world. Once I joined this group, all that changed for me. They made me want to succeed, not just be. Every few weeks, I second-guess myself and my ability to continue to put out good content, and there are times when I’m just exhausted and feel like giving up. But then I check in with my girls and all is right with the world again. The bloggers that make up Style Collective are all from different backgrounds and genres. Their blogs cover fashion, lifestyle, food, fitness, etc.

This group is the perfect platform for bloggers especially new bloggers who feel a little overwhelmed and lost in this saturated community of ours. I have increased engagement on my blog as well as my social media platforms (instagram, twitter, facebook) because of this group.

“Do what you love, love what you do.”

If you feel like you could use the extra support, Style Collective is a great place to start. Membership is only $10/month but it’s totally worth it in my opinion. There’s always someone to help with any questions you may have about blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace, etc) because we’ve all been there at some point. Our motto is “We rise by lifting others” and we do.

If you’d like to become a part of this amazing group or if you have any questions, please feel free to email me via my contact page. If you’d like a little more inspiration, check out #StyleCollective on instagram.

Let’s continue to support each other. Have a blessed day everyone.

Plaid and Stripes: Layering Made Easy

April 25, 2016

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. The weather here in NY was gorgeous…it was so nice to get out and enjoy it!

I love this time of year because I get the chance to play around with layering.

Layering allows me to:

Experiment with different patterns and colors
Keep warm in cool weather
Remove layers when the temperature rises later in the day

I feel my best when I’m wearing layers especially in the spring – there’s just something about introducing bright colors to an otherwise monochrome outfit or breaking up like colors. In the photos above, I took a basic white long-sleeved button down that I got from Banana Republic (currently sold-out but here’s something similar) and paired it with my H&M jeans, then layered it with this stripe sweater also from H&M. The wool-blend peacoat from Old Navy is currently on repeat right now. I love how lightweight it is but heavy enough for those cool spring mornings. It’s currently sold out at ON but I found it here. I used coupon codes and my rewards on this purchase and basically spent $7 which covered the shipping cost. Score! The purse is one of my favorites because of the vibrant blue color which is unfortunately no longer available but other colors like this blush pink is available in stores.

I’m wearing my yellow and taupe Calvin Klein flats to break up the all blue and I did wear a yellow scarf (not pictured) with the coat because of course I had to match the shoes with something. 🙂 I’m thinking of writing a letter to Calvin Klein to bring these shoes back. I’ve received so many compliments on them and I’ve basically worn them into the ground. They’re the most comfortable shoes ever! I own another pair in gray and pink but they don’t get as much love as this pair does. I will be sad to see them go. 🙁

I hope you all have a fabulous Monday. This week is spring break for the kids and I plan on taking a few days off to spend it with them so looking forward to that. Cheers!

Paisley Print Top + Thoughts On Time Management

April 20, 2016

So, last night the hubby and I watched this video by Brian Tracy about time management – How to Manage Your Time & Organize Your Life. It’s amazing how most of us complain about not having enough time. I’m notorious for that. I find myself saying all the time, “where did the time go?” or “I don’t have enough time to do this or to do that.”

A few important points Brian Tracy made in the video are that

A) Time is your most precious resource. Most people don’t take the time to plan how they will use their time.

B) Time is perishable; it cannot be saved so you need to make the most of it. You can’t save time, you can only spend time. It’s okay to say no to things that are not a good use of your time.

C) Time is irreplaceable – all work requires time.

D) Time is essential for achievement. How you manage your time determines your success in life.

E) Time management requires self-discipline, self-mastery and self-control.

One thing that’s important is to allocate time to different aspects of your life. Time for relationships, work, self-reflection, etc. The more time you put into a relationship, the greater the value of that relationship.

I’m definitely adapting some of the things that I’ve learned from this video into my personal life. I never seem to have enough time for anything but I’m slowly learning how to slow down and manage my time a bit more efficiently. Like making to-do lists for example. I do forget to do that some days but I’m trying to make it into regular practice. How do you all manage your time? Do you have any tips on how to effectively make the most of your time? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Now on to the outfit:

How pretty is this paisley print top? It was another one of my thrift finds along with the scarf from this post. The color and the print of this top are gorgeous! First of all, it’s from Banana Republic and I got it for a whopping $12! Can I get an amen? Everything I’m wearing is pretty much from my closet but I’ve linked paisely tops that I’m crushing on and similar items below. Have a happy Wednesday!

Birthday Musings + OOTD

April 18, 2016

By a show of hands, who still enjoys celebrating their birthday year after year? Well, I’m on the fence. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. But I’m a punk. Read on to find out why.

This year I proclaimed that I didn’t care about celebrating my birthday which is understandable because I was feeling under the weather and no one likes to be sick on their birthday. Not only that, I’m really not happy about getting older but that’s life, right? So, on the day of my birthday which was last Wednesday, 4/6, I was at work and feeling sick, but I tried to make the most of the day. My coworker was gracious enough to buy me this little mini strawberry shortcake.

Cute, isn’t it?

Now back to why I’m a punk. Though I said that I didn’t want to celebrate, days later I started thinking about it and I was like I want to celebrate! Nothing big, just a little something. So although I basically told everyone I didn’t care much, it turns out that I did care. Yep, punk!

So, my sister and I went out for a birthday brunch this past weekend. I had these complimentary corn muffins with cappuccino and a Peach Cobbler French Toast that you see below at my favorite brunch spot. My stomach basically did a happy dance while I was eating this. The french toast was delicious!!! It’s made with caramelized peaches, spiced brioche and graham cracker topping. Yum!!!

After that, we did a little shopping which is just what I needed. I’ll have a separate post on what I picked up later. Then yesterday, we celebrated at home with a lemon and coconut cake. Yum again! So all in all, it was a pretty good birthday and I feel…

Grateful that I’m alive to celebrate another birthday and grateful that I was able to celebrate with the people I love. 🙂

Below is what I wore on my actual birthday. I wanted to dress a little non-corporate that day so I went for a monochrome look where I could feel like I had something to celebrate and so that I could totally ignore the fact that I felt crappy. Most of these items are old pieces except for the jeans which I picked up from H&M recently. The cropped jacket is one of my very favorites that I got from Forever 21 a few years back along with the cowl neck shirt. I’ve linked the exact jeans and similar pieces below.