Thoughtless spending. I do it all of the time. Grabbing a coffee on my way to work when I have a perfectly good Keurig at home AND at work. Getting groceries (that I actually need) at Target and adding on a pair of jeans and a cute mug. Stopping for food on the way home from spin class when I have a refrigerator at home filled with healthy, yummy food. Watching a YouTube video and buying some beauty gadget that I REALLY don’t need from Amazon just because it is the latest and greatest.
Any of this ring a bell? Just me?
I have decided to put a hold on my spending for the month of February. I have recently noticed myself being extra caught up in the more, more, more atmosphere that can come from social media, our culture, and being inundated with ads and products all day long. Never being satisfied. Always needing something NEW.
The second I decided to really monitor and diminish thoughtless spending, I realized how many parts of my day were consumed by thoughtless spending, that I wasn’t even aware of. The worst part of it all is that I already have so much STUFF. Stuff that I don’t use. Clothes that I fold up and forget about. Beauty products that I push to the back of my shelves underneath my counter. And I still want more.
It’s Friday Eve! Isn’t that the best feeling ever? Thanks for popping into V&L. Hope ya like it. Explore around, search some terms, read up on who I am. I am always ready to chat so DM me on Insta ( @MadisonCrowley ) if you feel like being bffs.
This was a post that I randomly thought about one night as I was closing multiple tabs before ending my work for the day night. I realized there were so many that I keep open and frequently use so I wanted to give those a shoutout. I am going to start polling about blog posts because I want to know what YOU guys want to read about. Have any questions or topics that you want me to research? Please let me know so I can write about them!
Most of these tabs are super useful!! I keep a lot open so y’all may be slightly stressed by this. BUT I have most of them “pinned” so that they don’t take up alllllll of the room on my browser.
Let’s jump in.
☆ Google Docs: I am always thinking, writing, and brainstorming so I always have a Google doc up. I categorize with a few different keywords like V&L | Brand or V&L | Blog Ideas and then if I am doing work for my internships I will do C&C | Partnerships or if I am researching a new oil I will do YL | Notes. So you get the idea. Everything in its place! And Google docs are perfect because I can be typing up a post on my computer and then have to run out the door and can finish on my phone. I love that I never have to worry about losing my work and I can always share the docs with someone if I want to collaborate or share what I have been working on.
☆Coolors: This website is way too exciting if you are a blogger or into branding. I could spend hours on this site going through color palettes and finding new tones of blush to fawn over. You can also install a coolors plugin onto your bookmark bar and go through with a “picker” that allows you to pick the colors from your favorites brands and websites to see just what colors they are using to define their brand.
☆ Virtual Office: I always have VO up so that I can check on what my business babes are up to or look up an oil to see what it’s benefits are and what it does. I am constantly finding new Young Living products that I want to add to my home or oil collection. There is really an oil for everything and I love finding them. Virtual Office keeps track of how big my paychecks are going to be!
☆ V&L Stats: Alllllways using this! I love to see where people come to my blog from and what they click on after they get there. A lot of people use Google Analytics, I need to start using it as well. But for now, I just use the stats that come with WordPress and I devour them. I like to see what people search and what items they click because that really helps me write content that not only I like but what YOU guys like.
☆ Facebook: Let’s be real, I find myself scrolling waaaaaay too often. I normally catch myself doing it and then close FB and then go right back when I remember that there is something I need to do. FB holds all of my Bachelor groups and secret oily groups filled with my gfs who I use oils with so I am always finding inspo from them or a new recipe that I want to try, hence what always pulls me back to Facebook. I am working on sharing more of my life on FB as well, I just want to connect with you people!!!
☆ Back & forth between H+H and TSC ‘Relentless‘ post: As all of you guys know, I finally made the move to start a blog in 2016 after reading Hustle + Halcyon for the first time!!! Payton is my fave and every time I need inspo or need to remember why I started blogging I head to hers and am instantly inspired by her realness. That’s exactly what I want to be for my followers – real. No bs over here. Life can be hard and life can be wonderful. I want to share it alllll. I also fell in love with the word relentless from Lauryn Evart’s post on The Skinny Confidential. I’ve linked it here so you can read and I am writing up my own post with info on the word that moves me. It may be a long time coming since I want it to be perfect. #perfectionistbloggerprobs
☆ Canva: Being a blogger means making tonnnnns of graphics! I love making graphics and making my blog posts pop. It’s super fun for me. I make all kinds of things on Canva. Social media posts, labels, my media kit, you name it and it has probably come from Canva. I made the pic at the top of this post with Canva!
Honorable Mentions:
V&L Email / Yahoo Mail / Intern Email: Emails, emails, and more emails. Never a day where I’m not constantly checking my email. Personal, work, internship. There is always something going on!
Instagram: Engaging on Insta is SO much easier on a desktop. I like typing on my computer so much more than on my phone. I actually hate typing on my phone LOL.
Amazon: I am always popping things into my cart. Prime is life.
Nordstrom: Allllllways browsing as a blogger. And a gal who likes to window shop.
Well, there ya have it! My most frequently used / always open tabs on my browser! Hope you guys got a glimpse into my world and what I do on the daily. I am always googling and researching and looking things up so this definitely isn’t all that I use but it sums it up super well. What tabs do you always have open? AM I MISSING SOMETHING? I need to know. Share your tabs with me by commenting or whatever way you like to share.
I hope you all had a wonderful day/week with the people that you love, celebrating all that  you have to be thankful for.
In the spirit of the holidays that comes with Thanksgiving for my family and I, my brain is now fixed on the people that I want to buy to buy Christmas gifts for! And also for some super sweet deals on items that I have been eyeing for a while…
In order to help with your shoppings lists, for others and just to treat yourself, I thought I would compile a list of my favorite Cyber Monday stops. And also throw in some Black Friday deals that have lasted throughout the weekend.
*Click the capitalized name of each shop for a link to their main website.
