Happy Friyay! I’m so glad this week is over. As per usual, I’m tired and ready for some rest and relaxation. Last night, I had an amazing time at the Rachel Zoe “Box of Style” event in Dallas and I wanted to share some photos and a few fun things from the event! The best part about being a blogger is getting invited to events like these. Seriously, it’s one of the biggest perks!

The Box of Style event was part of Dallas Startup Week, a conference full of amazing panels of speakers and great informational sessions. My friend Laila and I only attended this event but it was as fabulous as we thought it would be. There was even an adorable little photo booth area with fun props to take photos with, of which we took many!

A party is only as good as what it serves! They had a rooftop patio with a little mini bar full of cute craft cocktails and cake pops for everyone to munch on and sip while they mingled or waited to get their hair and makeup done. Blushington provided complimentary mini makeovers for everyone and several hair stylists were doing hair (my hair is by Larry Trae ‘Von, see his Instagram here!) These people seriously know how to make a girl feel beautiful!

Bloggers, fashion designers, and other pretty people chatted and enjoyed the cocktails together while several photographers were buzzing around snapping photos. I met up with a few blogger friends and we compared notes on our fantastic swag bags gifted to us from Box of Style. Even at 24 years old there’s nothing I love more than a goody bag and these ones did not disappoint! Check my Instastory to see what was inside! Btw, these shoes are my new favorites and there’s free shipping on them link here!

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ranch style home decor

texas hill country ranches

vacation ranch

horses in a green pasture

If you read my last blog post (link here!) then you’d know I got to spend the weekend on a beautiful ranch in East Texas for my birthday!! My super thoughtful boyfriend David rented a guest house on the 4D Guest Ranch with his sisters and a few friends for the weekend and we all got to stay and relax in Texas Hill Country!

Texas Hill Country Ranch

To say that we enjoyed our time is an understatement. We got to the guest house and it was a horse barn converted into a luxury getaway place. The main area had pretty chandeliers, cozy couches, and soft blankets to snuggle under as well as a huge projection screen to watch TV on. Our bedrooms were old horse stalls with the original sliding doors attached for privacy! Seriously, it was the neatest thing I’ve ever seen! Texas ranch style decor took on a whole new meaning for me.

We wandered around the ranch a bit admiring the rolling green hills and abundance of animals when we came across some cattle grazing in one of the fields. The neat part about the 4D Ranch is that the animals all roam free on the 900 acre property. Several horses and donkeys wandered right up to us and wanted a pet, which we gladly gave!

The rest of our time their was spent eating, sitting by a campfire, and just enjoying each other’s company. Usually I’m the kind of gal that has to be moving around, constantly doing things. This was the first time in years that I felt relaxed! It was the perfect spot to unwind and spend time with family. Be sure to check out the 4D Guest Ranch on Facebook to see more beautiful pictures!

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red dress in a field

cruise style

red floral print dress

blue statement earrings

mud pie red floral dress

Cattle ranch in Texas

floor length red tropical dress

I’ll be candid and say that normally, Mondays give me the blues and I wake up with an overwhelming sense of “oh no another work week.” But today, I woke up with peace in my heart and joy on my face. Today is my 24th birthday! I take for granted that I can walk, run (though I do very little of that) and that my heart beats everyday. But on your birthday, it’s easy to remember how big of blessing all of those things are.

Over the past weekend, I got to spend time celebrating my 24th birthday with family and friends on a ranch in east Texas! You truly don’t know how loved you are until your boyfriend’s sisters go all out decorating and making a delicious meal for everyone to share in honor of your birthday. Seriously, I feel so loved! I’ll be sharing more about the east Texas ranch we were staying at later this week, so be on the look out for that blog post!

What to Wish for On Your Birthday

I wanted to share with you a few of my hopes and wishes for this next year of my life. Time is not guaranteed but making goals and having dreams are some of the best things in life! For my 24th year of life, I hope to make my blog work for me and increase my traffic, turning it into a more profitable hobby/business. I love style blogging and sharing things with you all but running a blog can get expensive and certainly induce major anxiety!

My other hope for this year is that I learn to be more positive. I’m so terrible with negative thoughts and having an overall melancholy mood. Frankly, it gets tiring and really wears down your body. Having a more positive and peaceful mindset would be amazing and something I’m really trying to work on.

Share with me your hopes and dreams for this next year in the comments below! Hearing what other people hope to do is really inspiring to me!

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decorating for cheap

Happy Friday! It’s been a long week but luckily today, I’m headed out to a ranch near San Antonio, Texas for a weekend getaway with my boyfriend and his family (look for pictures next week!) I’ve been looking forward to this for the last month. Before leaving on my vacation though, I wanted to share a little tour of my apartment’s living room that I designed and styled on a budget! Living rooms should be cozy without sacrificing style, which is what I’m always trying to accomplish in mine. Keep scrolling for my DIY and home decor on a budget tips!

diy home decor

Ok first of all, if you haven’t embraced the tassel trend in your life, then you’re doing everything wrong. Tassel garlands are my favorite thing to decorate with and I have them all over my house. They’re inexpensive and can’t easily be destroyed by kids or pets. Or by boyfriends in my case. I found this adorable tassel garland at TJ Maxx for $5!

If you love pretty artwork on your wall like I do but don’t want to pay a pretty penny for it, then you’ll love this next DIY! If you notice in the pictures above, I have 3 framed quotes on my wall. Would you believe that each one cost me less than $7? Here’s how I did it- I bought the pretty gold frames from Michael’s on sale for $6 each and found the artwork for $1 on Etsy! I printed each quote out and put it in a frame for a cheap home decor DIY. Frankly, no matter how much money I make someday, this will be my go-to living room decor!

dallas home decor style

framed marie antoinette quote

thrift store diy ideas

political books on a bookshelf

When you’re just starting out and have no furniture, it can be really difficult to get everything you need to make your apartment into a home. Furniture is pricey! Knowing that we needed something to put underneath our TV that we hung on the wall, I went out in search of a cabinet or something that would make the space look less empty and provide storage. I went to Nebraska Furniture Mart in Kansas City and came across this pretty gray hutch left over from a couple who only wanted the bottom half. The best part was that it was only $50! Needless to say, I put it in the back of my boyfriend’s truck and headed home.

Styling this was so much fun because it gave me lots of room to play around with accessories! My boyfriend, David, has loads of books so obviously the shelf quickly turned into a bookshelf. I placed little decorative items on the shelf with the books to give it a personal touch and then a little wicker basket to conceal David’s remote controls and video games.

The “eat cake for breakfast” sign has a broken hook from our move so I couldn’t hang it but also couldn’t bare to part with it mostly because I found it at Marshall’s for $9. Having extra pillows that came with our couch, I put them in the empty space underneath the shelf and added the frame for some added interest.

Styling a coffee table is no simple thing I’ve found. Particularly because my coffee table is an awkward shape. To add some height and interest to my coffee table, I placed a candelabra and stack of marble “Don’t Mess With Texas” Coasters on it. Frankly, I love how it turned out. It’s simple and still functional. When You have a boyfriend and kitty cat around you realize how quickly those two things become important.

styling an arm chair

Ok this is my favorite part! My adorable little chair by the window! David’s parents got me this turquoise chair for Christmas and then I added the soft blanket and little floral pillow, which you can find in the Target Dollar Spot for $3!

Home decor on a budget can be difficult but frankly, it gives me the opportunity to be creative and hunt around for great deals. I adore my living room and how well it suits my style! A beautiful space shouldn’t mean a big price tag and my space certainly didn’t come with one. Leave me a comment with your favorite ways to style your home on a budget!

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tassel trend 
So in case you haven’t noticed, tassels are really on trend for the spring and summer! Although in Dallas, both of those seasons kind of run together because it’s already in the 80s everyday, but nonetheless tassels are popular for the foreseeable future! I’m a style blogger who prefers classic styles to trendy fashions, however even I can get on board with the tassel trend.

One thing I always like to keep in mind when shopping for trendy items is the price and how much use I’ll get out of it. Seeing as how tassels may not be in style next year, I’m keeping my “tassel shopping budget” low and dropping into stores like Forever21 and Target to find a few seasonal favorites! Everything you see here is under $50!

My most recent find is that adorable pink tassel bikini I featured above! Seriously, oh my goodness it’s adorable. The bottoms have tassels the tie on the hips and the top has tassels that tie in the back. The best part is, I found it on clearance too! Browse through some of the links above and leave me a comment with your favorite tasseled item!

*this post contains affiliate links

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dallas style blogger

Being a blogger starting out is the worst. It’s like taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps backward constantly. I mean it when I say the struggle is real. Fashion blogging can be lots of fun at times. When I get the perfect shot of my outfit or a brand wants to send free product to me, it’s like Christmas day! I honestly love doing it and wouldn’t dream of giving it up. However, there are days when style blogging gets me down in the dumps and just puts me in a bad mood. Here are 4 of the worst things you can do to yourself as a blogger.

Play the Comparison Game

Oh. My. Goodness. This is the worst and I do it all the time. I’ll start out having a good day and pop over to one of my favorite blogs and think to myself “wow, why can’t I be like her?” BOOM. My whole day was just ruined. I always end up trying to convince myself that if I had been “born into money” or if I had “better luck” I’d be just as successful as the blogger I’m comparing myself to. As any blogger knows though, it’s a lot of work no matter how much money or luck you have.

Doubt Your Own Beauty

Similar to the point above, being a style blogger involves pretty pictures and makeup that looks just right. I keep my face and hair pretty natural. I don’t do fake eyelashes or hair and I definitely don’t edit my photos to look thinner. However, the camera is so deceiving to the naked eye. One of my favorite bloggers has been honest about her false eyelashes and hair but every time I see her gorgeous photos, I start feeling bad about myself and how I look! That’s a terrible thing to do myself and I know I’m not the only one who does it!

Place Your Value in How Many Followers You Have

Growing your following is so important to your success as a blogger. If you’ve ever experienced slow growth though, then you know how frustrating it can be. When I go to check how many Instagram followers I have, I’m hoping to have gained some and not lost any. Unfortunately, often enough I’ll have lost 15 or so overnight. My heart sinks a little and so does my self-worth. Placing your value in how many people follow you on Instagram is detrimental to your mental health and it’s sadly something I find myself doing all the time.

Wonder What the Point Is

During the regular work week, I have my 9-5 job that keeps me busy 40 hours a week. My 2nd part-time job is my fashion blog, Witty n Pretty, which keeps me busy pretty much every evening and weekend. Needless to say, I’m pretty booked up all the time. When I find myself running around like crazy trying to get pictures taken, a blog post written, and social media posts posted, then I want something to show for it. That can be in the form of traffic, social shares, or something else. Often enough, I find that I don’t have much to show for my efforts and I begin to wonder “is this worth my time?” Obviously, it is if I’m writing this blog post! But believe me, I have those dramatic moments when I question everything.

Please, please leave me a comment if you’ve ever experienced any of these thoughts! I find that it’s so much better to be honest with ourselves and others and say “yeah, sometimes this really sucks!” It’s nice to know you aren’t alone in your blogging journey!

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