A New Trend for the Rich and Famous

Hi Everyone,

Today we went on a sight seeing cruise along the Florida keys, between Siesta Key and Longboat Key. We saw some of the most beautiful beach front properties, different species of birds and a family of dolphins.

According to our tour guide, only 3% of the people living in these beautiful homes, all of which are 10 times bigger than mine, are living there full time. The other 97% are just vacation homes for the winter months. Another fun fact I was amazed to hear was that there is a trend in new homes being built on the coast. The rich and famous are finally thinking about their environment when building these homes and adding solar panels to the roof. These are the two of the hundreds of homes we saw:

In the heat of the summer, there is almost 15 hours of sun in a day. They can generate enough electricity to power their home appliances each day. I am hoping that next time I come up here there will be even more homes adopting this eco power. 

Are there any neighborhoods you travel to annually and are starting to see more environmentally friendly changes taking place?

Beach Fashion Change Up

Hello from Florida!

We have had nothing but beautiful sunny days here, sorry to rub it in! On the downside, I am starting to resemble a lobster. You really underestimate the strength of the sun... Trust me I have been slathering on the sunscreen.

Today is the start to a new feature of the blog. It was inspired by those days when you look into your full closet and say "I don't have anything to wear." I read a lot of magazines and browse pinterest quite often, only to feel like my closet is inadequate. Keeping up on all of these fashion trends is not budget friendly. So I have set out to try and make my closet the closet of my dreams with minimal purchases. It’s all about looking at what is in your closet in a different way and buying the right multi-use items.

I started with a $15 Walmart dress, shown below (similar here):

Make sure the dress is an elastic top so you can make it a skirt, as show below. This way, when you don't have a lot of time to change, or want to pack a little lighter on vacation, you just need a couple of accessories to change it up and you have this:

I added a white tank top and a belt around the top of the skirt. This way I got two outfits out of three items (dress, belt, tank top), and it looks like a whole new outfit. 

In the coming months, I will also add some photos of cheaper designer outfits from items that are probably in your closet. 

Do you have any items that are dual purpose? Send me a picture and we can share the inspiration. 

Fun in the Sun!

Hi Everyone! I am writing from Long Boat Key, Florida today. I am on vacation for the next 10 days with some ladies for some much needed rest and relaxation.. I know it’s back to reality all too soon so I will be enjoying everything Florida has to offer while I am here.

So far the travel has been good. We had a 40 minute layover in New York City so Becky and I went on a little walk through the JetBlue terminal. What did we find? A 7-foot NBA player.. at least we know he was famous because there was people taking pictures of him. If you were in the airport around 7AM this morning and you saw a 7-foot guy in red basketball shorts, a white t-shirt and basketball shoes.. maybe you can let us know who it was!

Oh, and I also managed to find an office supply store. I know.. sometimes I think Staples is my candy store. It was a cute little store called ‘Muji to Go.’ They had a lot of travel accessories but the other side of the store was full of pens, brief cases, report covers, note pads and so much more. Yes, that was the highlight of our short visit to the JFK airport.

That all being said, I figured while I am in Florida, it would be a good time to start another ‘shade of green’ on the blog which I am hoping will be a monthly feature. Sorry gentleman.. it is all about fashion!

I read a lot of magazines and browse pinterest quite often, only to feel like my closet is inadequate. Keeping up on all of these fashion trends is not budget friendly. So I have set out to try and make my closet the closet of my dreams with minimal purchases. It’s all about looking at what is in your closet in a different way and buying the right multi-use items.

I am a little tired from our 5am airport adventures this morning so look for tomorrow’s finance friendly fashion ideas.