Christmastime

This year has been the most challenging we have had in a while. As I reflect on it, I am looking for ways to keep my family and friends as comfortable and stress free as I possible can. That includes sharing ideas on how to unwind and to get to know yourself better. 

This is what I have been doing to help my every day routine be smoother, and to move away from worrying and stressing what I cannot fix.

One thing I have recently taken up and am loving, is Kabbalah studies and meditation. I am learning a lot about about myself, others, and about the way we evolve as living beings. It's beyond fascinating!

I also continue to meditate with healing crystals and jewelry. It honestly takes me to another level. Just putting them on makes me feel hopeful and optimistic.

Another way to travel - in my mind - is lighting candles and reading my favorite books, which are too many to list.... So comforting. Caution, though, you might fall asleep.

Now, my favorite time of the year is from the first day of fall to the last day of winter and I am just enjoying the changes that are coming this new year with the Covid-19 vaccine, the elections outcome, among other things. After a year of doubt and uncertainty, it's nice to finally be able to fully enjoy the season.

I am not done with my Christmas shopping, which is shameful, as we are only 10 days away, but I will get there. The best gifts for me are the ones I cannot see. 

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!

Much love and many blessings,

Kate

 

Fall and Scary Season

Fall begins next week and scary movies come with it.

I became curious about the paranormal when I saw my great-grandmother staring at me from the dining room table, while I was sleeping on the sofa at my grandma's with my cousin when I was 10 years old. She lived in another town and we woke up to hear that she had passed in the middle of the night.

Since then, I love learning about the unknown and supernatural, so I am always looking for a good movie or show to watch. I thought I would share my top 5 below and I explain why.

1. The Exorcist

The first time I saw this movie I was 16-year-old. It scared me so much that I spent the night sleepwalking because I was dreaming my family took off, and left me alone in the house. I still love this movie because it felt authentic to me. As a matter of fact, we had something similar (no dead people, though) happen in our family when I was a little girl. Not a pleasant experience from what I can remember and from what I have been told, but we experienced it all the same. 

    2. The conjuring

That movie is, to me, almost as terrifying as The Exorcist. Not only because it is a true story, but also the fear you feel for the kids throughout the whole thing. And why do they always have to kill the family pet in these movies? As an animal lover, I highly dislike that part, not sure why they make it so.

    3. Paranormal Witness and A Haunting

These two are my favorite shows just because they are based off true stories, which thrills and terrifies me. I do not even want to imagine what those people go through. I am amazed at how some people stay and live through some of that stuff. These play on SYFY and on The Travel Channel.

    4. Paranormal Activity 

Only the very first movie for this one. I went to see it at the theater by myself, it was the last show, which started around 10:30 pm. At the time, I thought this was a true story and I drove home terrified looking in the rearview mirror and at the back seat all the way home. I also slept with the lights on the first couple of nights until I decided to look it up to see if it was real. 

     5. Dracula

I know... there are so many! However, there are some good ones. My favorites are the older ones from the late 50s and the 70s. Dracula just looked more real and mysterious back then. I never look out a dark window in the middle of the night, especially if it is foggy or stormy outside. 

My fascination with vampires and ghosts started when I was very little. My much older siblings would watch the shows and movies when our parents were not around.

Those are my top 5. 

I feel like not many scary movies are really scary anymore. The effects seem exaggerated and the stories too fake. Sadly.

Let's hope for better scary movies going forward.

Much love and many blessings,

Kate

Almost Autumn

This has definitely been an interesting year!

I am pretty sure I had COVID-19 and my doctor is 99% positive I had it, too.

Since early April, I have had symptoms on and off that will just not go away. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, extreme fatigue, body aches, inability to taste food, fever and pressure in the chest that goes through the back.

I am lucky because I have not had any trouble breathing like some other people do, but having these symptoms return right when I start feeling back to normal does not help.

We are struggling with that and so many other things right now making every day a challenge. 

Throughout all this, I find comfort in my favorite things or what I call my addictions, the things that make me happy or bring me joy.

My addicitons are the fall season, books, fishnets, chocolate, candles, the mountains, crystals, my son, my pets, my husband, not necessarily in that order.

How are you doing amid COVID-19? 

What comforts you? I would really like to know.

Much love and many blessings!

~Kate

Skin Care

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 I never paid too much attention to my skin before now.
Now that I am home more and not wearing makeup, I have become really obsessed with taking care of it.
Is it late to start now? Ideally, I would have started in my 20's, but since I did not, now will have to do.

My mother always used Lancome products, so I thought I would start there.
I started watching the Lancome Facebook page and one of its Ambassadors, Ricardo Costales, is my favorite. He has a great sense of humor and his skin glows!
So I thought I would go to their site and try some of their most popular, but affordable products.

I needed a few things anyway, I was out of foundation and needed face powder, and theirs are my favorite. I just purchased what I needed and they had a promo for a 7-piece gift that allowed me to get some samples of Genifique and Lancome Hydra Zen, Renergie Lift Multi-action and some other goodies. I also purchased a Genifique Starter kit and a few face masks to try. I love Visionnaire, too.

I tried my first face mask today and it felt amazing! SO nourishing. See pictures above.
I left it on for 20 minutes and my skin already feels different. I am confident it will also start looking smoother and clearer after a month of doing my routine. I will keep you posted.
In the meantime, check out Ricardo's Facebook for skin care and make up tips.

What your skincare routine?

Be safe. Much love and many blessings,

Kate                                                                                                                                    

Working From Home

Given all the people that have lost their jobs during this pandemic, I am grateful to have a job.
Our bosses are generous, loving people and I am grateful to them.
That being said, I can be a perfectionist when it comes to my job, and doing a job well done is a priority to me.

I have been sick on and off for the past three weeks, so it has been challenging to complete all the projects while being sick just because I spend a lot of time on the phone, and my throat has not allowed it for me to do that. And no, I do not have Covid-19, thankfully.
I have been working on weekends to compensate for the things I did not complete during the week and I have come to find out that working from home is, indeed, more work than working at the office.
I eat at my desk and I do chores during my 30 minute "lunch," which I do not really take most of the time.

The other thing I have realized is that I do not necessarily keep track of what day of the week it is. For whatever reason, I am very clear about Sundays, but not really any other day.
When I work Sundays, I usually listen to 80's love songs that I remember my sisters listening to growing up. I am also pleased to find out that I know most of the songs.

I am discovering other things during this quarantine and I will share some as I go, but other than that, back to reading my books and watching my shows when off work, whether it's Tuesday or Sunday.

What have you discovered lately?

Stay safe. Much love and many blessings,

Kate

Personal Style Radiates Personal Happiness

A wise man once told me, “As a woman, you hold more power than you think you do.”

     We live in a constantly-changing world. It’s a world where we are allowed to wear whatever we want, regardless of our gender or sexuality. We are no longer frowned upon expressing our own unique, individual style. Women are beginning to feel recognized as an independent force in every industry and aspect of society. We can do anything, and fashion is no exception.

     As a woman, I have always dressed for myself and other women. It is very important to that I feel comfortable with what I am wearing.

     I have experienced bullying my entire life because of my size and let it affect me up until 5 years ago, when I arrived at a point where I decided I had enough, and learned to ignore it.

     My style has always been complimented. One thing I learned through my years of changing things up and adapting to trends (not necessarily following them) is you cannot make everybody happy. Focus on simply making yourself happy.  That’s all that matters.

     But how do you do that?

     Think about what makes you smile or brings you confidence. Start there.

     Personally, I always wear a piece of jewelry, a jacket, a scarf, a brooch, fishnets and a hair pin or bow, something that makes me feel unique and tells the world, this is me.

     I recently became fascinated with stones and crystals, so I began educating myself on their properties and on what nature already does for us. I will tell you a secret; I never leave the house without one of my stone bracelets. They might not mean anything to other people, but they mean something to me. They bring me confidence and change my attitude for the entire day. At times when I hit a rough patch on any given day, they bring me back to a place of love and positivity, because they represent my personal style, which is unique to me. Believing in myself in that way makes me feel powerful, like I can take on the world.

You can do the same. Find something that brings you back to your happy place, even if it’s not visible, and embrace it. Don’t look for acceptance from others. Look from acceptance from yourself. We all have the power. It’s up to you to find it within you. Your style represents you. Find it, show it to the world and be comfortable with who you are. You’ll find much happiness once you get to that place, your own personal style happy place.

-          ~ Katherine

I Love the Holidays but...

Well, the holiday season has been over for a couple of weeks and I want to say that shopping has never been more frustrating.
People drive more distracted than ever always looking at their phones and rushing everywhere, so I thought that shopping online this past season would be easier.

And it was, except that some stores like Nordstrom Rack, one of my favorite stores, do not hold your items when you put them in your cart while you shop. It does not help if you are getting popular sizes, either. 

Above are some of the items I was trying to purchase and ended up buying a size up or not buying at all because I would put something in my cart and click on 'continue shopping'  to come back to pay and my size would be gone in the shade I wanted.
I really hope they can figure it out by Christmas this year, but I am just going to do my shopping throughout the year the old fashioned way. Just in case.
Other than that, my holiday season was pretty great. I love my life.

How was your season?

Much love,

Kate

Button Earrings

If you follow the Duchess of Cambridge's style or if you followed Princess Diana's, you are most likely familiar with button earrings.

Both ladies are the epitome of class and you can never go wrong with these, whether you have short, medium length, or long hair. I remember my mom wearing them as well, and my mom was a distinguished lady involved in politics, always helping the less fortunate.

These photos above are some from my collection. These earrings definitely make us look polished and sophisticated.

If you are looking for vintage, ebay.com is a good place to find them. If not, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdales are good places to look as well. Whether you are wearing a suit or dressing up jeans, these will upgrade your outfit and the holiday season is the perfect time to look classy with those Christmas parties and church gatherings coming up!

Thank you as always for stopping by!

Much love,

Kate

Weight... Gain or Lose?

                                                                                                                                                                   
Hello everyone!

Fall is around the corner, so here I am. I do not love summer much, but I've missed you guys!
Before I start blogging about fall, though, I'd like to share a discussion I had with my husband the other day about weight gain.

I was complaining about not feeling like I used to a few years ago, and I know I am getting older and all, but I told him that I will start walking a couple of miles a day as I used to do and he said that I sound like I am mentally unstable because I tell him that I feel overweight.
He says that most women my age (early forties) are chubbier than me. (In two years, I have gone from a size 0, previously 00, to a size 2 and still some 0s. Overall, all my clothes still fit me comfortably.), so obviously, he says I still look very thin.

However, what I was trying to explain to him was that I do not, and really, I do not compare myself to other people. It's more about the way I feel than the way I look. So now he understands my point ( I think.)
I just want to say that I love how all of us women are so different, and then the same. Different, beautiful shapes.

This discussion was about how I feel physically. I was injured in a car accident and after putting on a few pounds, I can definitely feel more pain.

Please tell me if you can relate and share your story.

P.S. SO excited about sweater weather!! I'm baaaaaaaaack!!!!!

Much love,

Kate

Hunter at Target

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Hello lovelies,

I stayed up until past 2 am lastnight watching "Bridget Jones' Diary" on BBC, which I had never seen. As I checked my email before going to sleep, I noticed an email from Target about the Hunter + Target collaboration.

If you like Hunter and you are looking forward to it, some of it is available to RedCard holders online.Those above are my favorite.
Not everything was available today, so just keep an eye out for a week from today on April 14th when everything will be released.

If you have not done this before and you really want options for this stuff, I would recommend looking after midnight Friday night on the Target website.
It's crazy how quick everything goes, and then you see some of the items on eBay for twice as much!

Good luck and please share how it goes!

Thanks for stopping by and much love,

Kate
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Beauty Favorites

Beauty Favorites by itsurluckycharm featuring Estée Lauder

Palette eyeshadow
$58 - spacenk.com

Estée Lauder lip treatment
lordandtaylor.com

While in Denver

While in Denver by itsurluckycharm featuring wide leg pants

Chicwish white turtleneck
chicwish.com

Valentino wide leg pants
$1,220 - harveynichols.com

Senso burgundy bootie
$130 - brandoutlet.borderfree.com

Mulberry genuine leather handbag
$1,755 - mulberry.com

David Yurman gold jewelry
$2,535 - neimanmarcus.com

BaubleBar hoop earrings
$38 - bloomingdales.com

Hello Spring! Time to Rock 'n' Roll

Hello Spring! Time to Rock 'n' Roll by itsurluckycharm featuring print shirts

Gucci print shirt
gucci.com

Motorcycle jacket
$61 - zara.com

Carven stripe skirt
ifchic.com

Converse shoes
$91 - coggles.com

MANGO genuine leather handbag
$50 - mango.com

Chanel earrings
1stdibs.com

Zara

Hello lovelies!

If you are into affordable fashion, you are probably into Zara!

I love Zara and they obviously do not need any promotion, but I thought I would share my favorite pieces right now. They go fast!

My frustration is that when they run out of sizes for items still available online and in the store, a lot of times, we can find them on eBay, but they cost us more. We will see one item listed by one seller in different sizes and just wonder if they bulk shop at Zara to sell them online more expensive and make a profit.

One place you can find them lower than eBay's prices would be Amazon. I actually have a list of my favorites on Amazon if you go here https://www.amazon.com/shop/stylishluckycharm

People compliment my style a lot and many of the items I own are from Zara. Sometimes I would get comments that I like/wear expensive stuff. Not true. Mostly Zara, The Real Real, and Nordstrom Rack items. I learned from my sister to walk into a store and instantly know what I want.

Any thoughts you would like to share? Please leave your comments below.

Thank you for stopping by!

Much love,

Kate

*Photos by Zara