#CoffeeTalk

I’m attending a couple Galas this Winter. Do you have any suggestions on cute evening gowns that aren’t too expensive?

You know I do! If I’m only going to wear it once I hate to spend too much on it. Here are some evening gown options that won’t break the bank –

Have you ever had to deal with friendships falling apart? If so, how did you deal with it? I’ve noticed as I’m getting older, I feel like I’m slowly growing apart from a couple of my friends that I care about but I’m not sure how to fix it.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s fallen apart, but I’ve definitely had friendships that drifted to the point of us just moving on with our lives. I personally feel like we will have both friends who will be with us throughout our lifetimes, as well as friends that are only meant to be connected to us for certain seasons. I’ve outgrown many of my friendships, where our values, goals or interests just weren’t the same and life took us down different paths. If you’re wanting to make sure that the friendships that you have stay strong, you should be able to communicate that with those friends. Reach out to them and let them know what your friendship means to you and how you want to make an effort to make sure it’s maintained throughout busy schedules and life changes. I’ve had to have many heartfelt convos with my close friends about how they’ve made me feel or how I’ve felt left out or hurt by something they’ve done. If they’re real friends, they’ll be open and accepting to hearing what you have to say and will take it into account.

I am an upcoming university graduate that is trying to get prepared for my senior portrait session. I have no idea what to wear for the pictures or for graduation itself. I keep seeing people in these cute fitted ruffle dresses (on Instagram of course), but I have no idea how/where to find anything like them. Any advice on where to look or ideas on any outfits would be greatly appreciated!

Congratulations! Graduation is such an exciting time. A ruffle dress would be such a pretty and timeless item to wear for graduation photos. If that’s what you’re wanting, you should go with that! I found some gorgeous options for you that you won’t regret when you look back at these photos. For actual graduation, stick to a simple dress that your gown comfortably fits over like this, or this, so there aren’t any weird bulges or bumps in your photos.

How do you force yourself to push through the moments of self doubt and no motivation?

I really, really believe in myself. I know that I’m capable of great things and I know that limits aren’t really for me. I will always want more, want to do more and want to be more. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my moments of doubt, or even pure exhaustion. I’ve seen myself excel too many times to sit on my hands for too long and even when I’ve doubted what I could do, I’ve done it anyway only to be surprised at the results. I’ve forced myself to do so much the last couple of years. I’ve forced myself to learn how to exercise and get fit, forced myself to start a blog and keep it consistent for almost 4 years. I’ve forced myself to create workbooks and courses that could’ve potentially flopped, and they ended up being a lucrative source of income for me. I’ve forced myself to take things on at work that I didn’t feel 100% ready for so that I could prove I was an asset. Any time I doubt myself or have no motivation, I give myself a small grace period to catch my breath and then remember all that I’ve done this far, then hit the ground running once again.

My girlfriend is wanting a designer bag for Christmas. Can you suggest any under $1500?

Be a sweet boyfriend and make sure she gets exactly what she wants! 😉 Here are some bags under $1500 that I know I’d love to open up on Christmas day. Also, there’s a huge designer bag sale here so you may be able to score one even cheaper!

Do you have any recommendations for a dress or outfit for a pinning ceremony?

A nice blazer dress would be my go to, or even a pair of high waisted trousers and a nice blazer. I’ve linked some options below!

I’m looking to plan a trip to Mexico. Playa Del Carmen or Tulum?

Nate and I went to Tulum (here’s the travel guide) on our first vacation as a couple and while we thoroughly enjoyed it, I wouldn’t go again. I’ve been to Playa Del Carmen almost 10 times and it’s still one of my favorite places on earth, if not #1. So go to Playa Del Carmen. You can always take a day trip to Tulum, or drive and spend a day there if you have a rental car. I prefer for the majority of my time to be spent in Playa.

How many days a week do you workout? Do you mix up your workouts?

I workout between 3-6 times a week, depending on my schedule and what we have going on. I force morning workouts so that I can have free evenings to cook, grab dinner, or do whatever else I want. When I first started working out, I’d only work the areas I wanted to improve – my butt and stomach. Over time, I’ve realized every part of my body needs to be worked, so now my workouts vary from muscle group to muscle group. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be working out my chest and shoulders, but yes, it’s necessary.

I’m looking for some large wall art for above my couch and bed. Any ideas? Budget under $300.

My favorites for wall art are Minted, World Market, Wayfair and surprisingly Anthropology.  Etsy has some really amazing and inexpensive art as well! You can always check your local Home Goods or Marshalls, but it’s really hit or miss and you may not be able to find two of the same pieces.

Any wedding planning advice? I just got engaged and I’m SCRESSED! It’s so expensive!

Whew! I truly don’t know where to start, but the first things that come to mind are to 1) decide on what’s really important 2) wrap your head around a lot of money if that’s the route you decide to go and 3) always consider what will really matter. Our first wedding venue tour quote was $52,000 for 150 guest….. and that only included the venue, food and alcohol. No decor, no cake, no nothin’. That slice of reality really made us rethink what we thought wedding planning was going to be like. We had to wrap our heads around a number and move forward if we were wanting to have a wedding, because EVERYTHING costs. Once we realized how expensive everything was, I began to focus only on what I felt like we MUST have, instead of having everything I said I wanted. Yes we want our wedding to be special and a reflection of us, but it is one evening that will be gone with the blink of an eye so we’ve agreed not to be ridiculous. Investing in a wedding planner that we trusted has also been something that has been well worth it! Ask around for suggestions for the best planners in your area. Give them a number and expect them to stick to it.

How did you get past placing expectations that are realistic on men that ultimately lead to them not meeting them and leaving you upset or frustrated?

Expectations period can cause harm in any relationship, whether new or old, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re wrong for having them. Us as women, need to be realistic with ourselves when it comes to dating. Yes, ideally every man we meet would do exactly what we wanted them to do exactly how we want them to do it but that’s just not real life. I taught myself to let men be who they are, while I observe. If they did well without me having to verbally express what I wanted, then that was a good thing. If they did things I wasn’t too fond of or that didn’t make me feel good, it was noted and would likely mean they weren’t going to be the men for me. Putting pressure on people to behave a certain way is easily one of the best ways to run them off. So let people be who they are, then you decide if you want to deal with them or not.

I’m going to a big new years eve celebration with a guy I’ve been dating for a few months and want to look extra cute! What do you suggest? I’m open to dresses and jumpsuits.

Ooweeee, I hope that you two have the best time partying together! Here are some celebration worthy outfits that would be perfect for the occasion –

Thank you all for all of these questions! I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve done one of these. Please leave questions for the next go ’round below in the comments or send ’em over via DM or email (info@thebwerd.com). I’m planning on getting up some more gift guides and weekend deals for you all over the weekend. Enjoy yours! xx