Heart and Habit

Heart and Habit | Cultivating A Simple, Stylish And Content Every Day

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Uniform | Perfect Pair + a giveaway!

jean machine #perfectpair jean machine #perfectpair jean machine #perfectpair Sweater: Vera Moda c/o Jean Machine – Jeans: Yoga Jeans c/o Jean Machine – Shoes: Zara

When it comes to clothes, I’m pretty minimal. Pretty much in all understandings of that statement, I buy what I need and only what I love. I pretty much only buy items I will wear ALL THE TIME. BUT, there is always a but (or a butt) isn’t there? There is one type of clothing I could have an 10 extra items of, 10 extra more than I need items of and that would be jeans. I am 100% a jeans girl, handbags shamandbags just give me all the jeans.

I mostly go to the same brands when it comes to jeans, my tried and true brands the ones I know pretty well. It’s not often that I try new brands, I’m a creature of denim habit. Jean Machine contacted me and invited me to go into one of their stores for a fitting/personal shopping/best shopping experience ever  appointment, as part of their Perfect Pair Promise. It was amazing, by far the best shopping experience I’ve ever had. The amazing lady/magician who helped me took me around the store and suggested I try different items she thought would work for me and my body. She basically put outfits together for me and I gladly accepted the suggestions, because why not! It’s always fun to step out of your comfort zone and try new things and hey you might as well try suggestions from an expert or maybe she was a magician? She knew my size from looking at me and my style just from our short 5 min small talk. The eye-opening thing about buying denim in this perfect way, is before I was purely focused on the brand and sometimes I would even buy jeans because of the brand (confessions) and maybe the fit wasn’t always bang on. Clearly I was shopping for my favorite clothing item, all wrong.
It’s also been a while since I’ve had a pair of jeans that both fit like a glove (LIKE A GLOVE), were actually made of denim not just stretchy cotton twill (I like my jeans to be actual jeans, thank you) and were crazy comfortable to boot, those things don’t always go together (and they should!).

Are you in need of a new pair of jeans? Head to Jean Machine and use the code: perfectpair to get yourself 20% off a perfect pair of jeans! They carry the full range of sizes, from petite through to plus sizes, perfect promises for every body! Or maybe use the code to get your loved one a nice Christmas present.

OR why not just enter to win a $100 gift card to shop Jean Machine that is right below (it’s really easy) — Merry Christmas to you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS. and as to what’s so funny in that picture? I don’t even know, someone probably farted clearly that equals photo magic.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Jean Machine. The opinions and text are 100% mine and authentic. Thank you for supporting the companies and brands that make this blog possible.

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Two Cup A Day Promise

Ever since my brand new (and totally amazing) coffee maker the De’Longhi MagnificaS Smart was adopted into our home, I’ve been going a little coffee crazy. It’s really (really) hard not to drink 5+ cups a day when you basically have a barista in your kitchen. A barista that you don’t have to make small talk with or tip (though I do love my local barista’s, also just love saying ‘barista’). I decided I was going a little too crazy on the coffee, literally it has been the only thing I want to drink — this happens when you have a coffee maker that makes pretty much any cup of jo at the touch of a button but also with the cooler temps and the holidays, a nice cup of coffee is just so darn comforting. I felt like I needed to dial it back, stop over indulging and just stick to the enjoying. Which is actually my living goal for the season as well, enjoy each busy moment as best I can — pretty much my coffee drinking is a metaphor for my days.

2 cup promise3 2 cup promise1 My morning cup (after my hot lemon water of course) is either a double Americano or a tall coffee (did I mention I just have to touch a button on my MagnificaS Smart and I can choose pretty much any type of coffee? It grinds my beans too!).
I’m try my best to have my morning cup a little later into the morning and sit back and enjoy it when I do, maybe I sit back and work on my to-do list for the day or just relax and take a breather before I dive into the day.

2 cup promise5 My afternoon cup is either a tall coffee or a cappuccino, but on the weekend I ramped it up and made an eggnog baileys latte (winning!) and actually got to read my book while I stopped and enjoyed it.
If I have a second cup later in the afternoon (if is always a for sure), it’s around the time I go to pick up the kids. Right when I need another breather, before I switch my gears.

I find the holidays so exciting, comforting and also super stressful (all at the same time). It’s super hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, but important to try to take a few moments here and there and just enjoy (whatever the moment is). Coffee breaks are a great time to just sit back and enjoy, maybe the only slow moment of your day so take advantage.

PS. I know the De’Longhi MagnificaS Smart is pricey ($1,299.95 to be exact), but my god is it amazing. If you have a coffee lover in your life maybe this would make a great gift, like everyone pitches a little and you make it a group gift — that sorta gift. You can get it from the De’Longhi website or Amazon (and other larger retailers).

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DELONGHI. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, sponsored

5 Ways To Treat Yourself During The Weekday

Since I work at home about 80% of the time, I try to get out and away from my glamorous kitchen table desk at least for 10 mins each day. Sometimes that means running errands (so glam), or maybe just leaving to get the kids 10 mins early to get a little breather in. But more often than not it means running to the local coffee shop across the street, just to treat myself and be around other humans before I switch between work and kid mode.

That was pretty much my routine and plan, until I got this fancy new coffee maker from DeLonghi, and when I say fancy I really (really) mean it. At first I didn’t think I’d even use the machine, since I swear by my little french press — but I was instantly converted. I also quite honestly had serious sticker shock from the price (Magnifica S Cappuccino Smart retails for $1,299.99) and even mentioned to my sister-in-law “who pays this much for a coffee maker!?”. Well, with both feet in my mouth I am now singing the tune “everyone needs this coffee maker!!”, it’s insanely amazing and I figure I’m actually even saving a ton of money by not spending $3 a day on a coffee ($3 a day times 365 days a year is tons more than $1299.99).
From the moment this beauty made its way into my house (clearly I’m in love with it), I’ve gone from having maybe two cups of coffee a day to like 5! It’s hard not to treat myself when I can make espressos, cappuccinos and lattes with just a touch of a button, I actually have to hold myself back a little. So instead of heading out into the world for a tiny portion of each work day I’ve been working right down until the last min and enjoying extra cups of coffee. It’s a nice treat, but not the best mental treat — especially since I’m vibrating a bit from all the caffeine. I clearly need a bit of a reminder of different things I can do to treat myself (mostly my brain) during the work day, so I put together a quick 5 tip list which is for you and also selfishly me.

Magnifica S Cappuccino Smart $1,299.99 - available at De’Longhi, Amazon or tons of other retailers.

5 Ways to Actually Treat Yourself (without the treats) During The Weekday

Get Up and Go For A Walk - Okay not the best treat when it’s minus whatever outside, but it’s a treat when you are cooped up or sitting all day. Force yourself to get up and go even just for 10 mins, ‘uncoop’ yourself.

Turn Off Your Phone - Or at least social media, give your mind a little break because goodness it works so hard. I know mine could use it.

Drink a Big Green Drink - Make yourself a smoothie or grab a pricey juice. Indulgent yes, but it’ll be a bit like you drank the entire garden and you’ll instantly breathe deeper breath of fresh air. Clearly I’m very serious about my green drinks.

Have An Afternoon Cup-a-Something - Probably coffee, but maybe tea? Whatever the pick me up drink of choice try to avoid the sugary drink (just say no to the afternoon pop or super sweet milkshake type drinky) and do your best to step away from your day (computer, desk or laundry) for the duration of the cup.

Dump Your Brain - Take a few moments and dump your thoughts, to do’s, want to do’s and whatever else onto paper. I have notebooks and journals galore and find a forced mental dump so unbelievably helpful, especially near the end of the day. If you are like me and you have like 10 life roles (you totally do) then dumping your brain will be uber helpful, it also helps you prioritize for the next day which isn’t a treat per say but tomorrow you’ll be happy you did (a delayed treat).

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DELONGHI. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, sponsored

4 More Ways to Improve Spending Habits

The best part about doing something for 21 days (give or take) is that you sort of start to forget you are trying to create a habit of “doing it” (no, not “it” head outta the gutter guys). That’s the beauty of doing something consistently for a period of time, experts say 21 days is the magic number for creating a new habit. Clearly they know a thing or two. Which something have I been doing for 21 days, you ask? I have in the past talked about starting new healthy habits a few times, so it’s a good fair question. But specifically, I am talking about money habits. Spending only my own money, using cash or my Interac® Debit card only, the Interac 21 Day Credit-Free Challenge.

In all honesty, it was super easy to not use my credit card, it wasn’t like I needed to wean off of spending money or stop drinking coffee for 21 days. Since I already had a pretty good set of money saving rules I live by, adding no credit card usage into the mix felt like the perfect addition to set me on an even better saving path.

Since it has become a habit to not use my credit card, the Interac 21 Days Credit-Free Challenge clearly worked and I plan to keep up with it. Over the course of the past 21 days, I learned a few more things about my habits that I plan to stick with. And what better way to remind myself of those things, then to write them down here, also as always they might be helpful for you too:

Credit cards are here, but for online necessity purchases only. NECESSITY, in all caps. Most stores accept Interac Debit cards, but there are still a few that don’t specifically, when I’m booking the kids activities and classes, so that credit card will stick around, for this purpose only. It will no longer be used for purchases of the everyday variety. It is not interchangeable with my hard-earned money.

Spending actual money does feel better, but not spending any money feels even better. I knew this before, but maybe forgot it a little bit. That scenario of wanting to buy something, then going through the “do I need it?” “do I love it?” steps I made for myself and realizing that, “nope” I don’t need to buy it, actually feels better than any purchasing retail “therapy”. I enjoy the feeling of either validating or invalidating a purchase, it’s similar to window shopping minus all the wanting, dreaming and contentment issues that follow later.

No more pre-planning the use of incoming money. Well, other than the use of it fitting into our everyday budget. Otherwise, the plan is to save extra money (I work freelance so there have been some months where things are better/extra) and no more thinking, “when that cheque comes in we will use that for vacation/a new couch/”. That preemptive allocating of money can pretty much fall under the same umbrella as using a credit card. Since I plan it away, it’s like I already spent it.

Have savings goals! Large goals and a few smaller ones, like say a 5 year plan and a 1 year plan. When there is a goal you have something to work towards. And you are 9 times out of 10 more likely to reach a savings goal quickly if you are focused on that sweet end goal.

Make sure you are using the Interac Debit card to access money from the account with low fees. One of your accounts has lower banking fees than the other, often it’s your chequing account. Check which one, maybe even go into the bank and get the setup with one account changed (we did a couple of years back). We make sure only to use that account (with the lowest fees) when accessing money, so by the end of the month our fees are lower and we saved money!

Did you take the Interac 21 Days Credit-Free Challenge? If so, what did you learn and how did it go? Do you have any ‘learnings’ to add to this list?

Disclosure: This post was part of a sponsored collaboration between Interac Association and SheKnows

Interac is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under licence.

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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, Daily, sponsored

Just Say No, To Credit Cards

Remember the Interac 21 Day Credit-Free Challenge I talked about? Did you take part/have you taken part? I don’t think there is an actual date set for a start time, so technically you can start tout suite if you like. Because I wrote about starting this whole, ‘only use my own money and no credit challenge’ I figured it only made sense to follow-up to let you know how it’s been going. Also so you know, that I am actually doing it that it wasn’t just a post for good looks and smiles (sponsors). So life without the use of credit cards, for the past few days (life is a bit of an overstatement) has been good and bad, here are a few points that have stood out so far.

THE HARD PARTS:

1. Online shopping - very very much a 1st world problem, so silly it feels silly to even mention. But I do about 80% of all our shopping, online. I prefer to not have to enter my petite feet into a shopping mall, and I prefer deal hunting from the comfort of my computer, than walking km’s around a mall. Online shopping is built for credit cards and it can be tricky to do so without one. But it’s not impossible! I have stuck to online stores that accept InteracDebit, some of them do. Luckily I haven’t had to do too much shopping, and really who needs to shop? Well other than necessities, and that is rarely ever online. (that picture up top? How I like to shop, comfortably).

2. Having to Really (actually) Stay on Top of my Budget - which is way easier said than done. I always thought I was pretty good at this, but it turns out I was a bit of a budget tracking slacker. This challenge has made me tighten my laces a little and be more focused on what’s coming out of our accounts.

THE GOOD PARTS:

1. Full Visibility of Spending - sure you get your credit card statements and can check those online with your bank if the two are connected, but FULL as in; full family visibility. Not that you or I need to be checking up on our spouses, or our spouses need to be checking up on our spending, right? But in the world of trying to stick to a budget, it’s really good to have visibility (for both people) on how that budget is going.

2. Stricter with Spending - I can’t be all relaxed with my spending, without having that credit card as a fall back. My eyes need to be on our spending and budget all the time. Which sounds like work, and it is ó but it’s a good thing. Which is why this point is in both the Hard and Good parts.

Otherwise everything is hunky dory, I try to live by these tips on a regular basis so the change hasn’t been gut wrenching or too difficult ó but it is always good to get a good kick in the butt when it comes to spending. Are you doing the Interac 21 Day Credit-Free Challenge?  And hey guys, if you aren’t from Canada, you could still go for a 21 day no credit, only your own money, challenge.

Disclosure: This post was part of a sponsored collaboration between Interac Association and SheKnows 

Interac is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under licence.

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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, sponsored

Best Ways To Save Money / Tips and Advice

I was asked to take part in the Interac 21 Days Credit-Free Challenge and I almost said no — because I often say no to most every sponsored post, it’s pretty rare when I accept one. But then I read through the 21DaysCreditFree.ca website and realized, this challenge is basically how I live my life. And thought it would be a great thing to take part in just on my own, a great prompt for me to share some of my best ways to save money that I’ve been wanting to share with you all for a while. And really, let’s be honest, what better way for ME to save money then to make money by sharing my money-saving tips — like it just makes sense, logically speaking.

But before I get to swear by ways I save money, let’s start by explaining this Interac 21 Days Credit-Free Challenge I was talking about.
The short explanation/the gist: It takes 21 days to change or create a new habit, so Interac Association is challenging you all to spend 21 days without using your credit card. To instead use only your own hard-earned money and live within your bank accounts means.
If you sign up to the challenge you will get daily emails, with tips, encouragement and prompts — really it’s a great (and free) way to jump-start some new (better) spending habits for fall. And it’s always easier when you do something new and challenging with someone else, why not do it with tons of someone else’s?
This is 21 days to set some new spending habits and try some of my favorite saving money tips out.

[Look at that, saving money and still happy (and wrinkled)]

 1. Live Below Your Means - generally the rule is to live within your means and spend only your money, not rented or credited money. After going through a lay off (a few years ago) and two kids later we realized the best way for us to live, is below our means. More specifically, if you have a partner keep your living expenses within one person’s salary. This gives you much more room for saving, paying things off (if that’s your current plan), vacationing, and just being prepared for anything life throws your way because you just never know (trust me).

2. Buy Only What You Need - Yes it’s awesome to get new stuff, and it feels great to have a closet full of trendy new duds. But do you actually NEED most or any of it? My number one shopping rule, is to only ever buy what I NEED and then I make sure it’s something I LOVE. If it doesn’t fit into both of those categorizes, it doesn’t come home with me.

3. Hunt Down Sales - After you figure out what you need, look around at sales for something you love. Now a days you can almost always find that pair of jeans, couch or whatever you need/love on sale somewhere or if not, something similar and just as great for a better price.
Tip: sign up for your favorite stores emails, often they will send out sales to their subscribers that you otherwise wouldn’t know about.

4. “Window” Shop - Okay this might be a bit nerdy. But one of my favorite things to do before I pull the trigger shopping is to fill up my shopping cart (when online shopping) with things I think I need and love and then let it sit there for a day or two, full. Usually when I go back to purchase, I realize there are a few things I didn’t actually need or even really want anymore. When shopping in real life, I often purchase what I think I need/love, bring it home (but keep the tags on) — try things on at home and if I’m not as excited with the things as I was in the store and I know I’m not going to wear it all the time, it goes back.

5. End of Season Sales - Take full advantage of these, especially if you have children. You can probably anticipate at the end of the season, what you will probably need to buy the following year (winter coat is looking a little ratty, boots are fitting a bit snug this year, etc) — do your best to buy something classic and buy ahead…on sale! You will be grateful come next year, especially when you see the same item being sold for full price and you can just go into your closet and finally tear off the tags from your sale item and wear it.

6. Meal Plan - Make a weekly meal plan, then use that to make your shopping list and set a grocery budget. Buy only what falls on that list, avoid all “oh that looks good” purchases. As you grab items to put into your shopping cart, write down the price beside the item on your list — this is a good way to keep your budget in check and also a good way to remember the prices of things, which will help when you shop around.

7. Shop Around - Same sorta thing as shopping for clothing sales. When you are food shopping, don’t just go to one grocery store and call it a day. I know it’s easier to do this, but you will most definitely miss out on deals. If you use your meal planned, shopping list and write down the prices for each item you will start to recognize when things are on sale. And you’ll know that your favorite Greek yogurt is cheaper at Sobey’s than it is at Loblaws, etc. Tip: in the spring and summer take full advantage of farmers markets and street markets - the prices for fruits and veggies are almost always drastically cheaper.

8. Be Loyal - Collect loyalty points, but not the credit card kind. I know it’s a huge marketing thing for the stores, but it’s good for you too. If you already shop at a store and they have a program that allows you to collect points that you can use down the road for purchases, get the card (if it’s totally free). I collect points at a few stores and then I use those points only when I need, like those months with things are tight and I’m near the end of my budget. Or my favorite way to use them, is as a Christmas gift to myself, I’ll keep my points and use them to cut down on our holiday shopping bills.

9. Don’t Eat Out - If you can help it, avoid it. But I know it’s hard, it’s nice to go out sometimes - especially nice to have a night off of cooking. So if you do go out, get out early (like pre-seniors hours) and have pre-dinner snacks. Cheaper and still just as enjoyable, then go home and make a really light dinner. Or eat dinner early, then go out for “snacks” — the act of going out is great, but even better when the bill isn’t super high. Also this is just a good way to eat out with kids, no more buying meals they won’t eat anyways!

Does the Interac 21 Days Credit-Free Challenge sound like something you’d be into? If you check out the site there are 21 videos filled with tips to help get you started. And if you aren’t from Canada, you could still go for a 21 days without using credit and only your own money, as a challenge. Do you have any really great tips for saving money that you can share?

Disclosure: This post was part of a sponsored collaboration between Interac Association and SheKnows 

Interac is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under license.

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