The Perfect Easter Basket // Gift Basket Giveaway!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter or Passover with their families! I was lucky enough to be asked by a client to create three extraordinary Easter baskets for their grandchildren. My assistant and I were so excited to tackle this project and it turned out so well!

We were shopping for a 3 month old baby girl, 3 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. So we couldn't simply buy three of the same things and call it a day. We spent a lot of time at Target trying to put together the perfect assortment for each kid. We spent close to $45 on each basket -- all supplies were purchased at Target and the Lil Lamb Shop in Annapolis. I used Nordstrom ribbons that I had left over from Christmas for an extra preppy touch.

Below are photos of each kids basket and all three of them together. I hope you love them as much as we all did! 

The baby's basket -- three dresses, a rubber ducky, hair ties, sunglasses, stickers, book and a chocolate bunny in the back just to keep things uniform. :)

The 3 year old boys basket. We have super hero pens, an etch a sketch, lollipops, chocolates, sweet tarts, bubbles, a chocolate rabbit and silly straws :)

The 7 year old girls basket. We have flower slippers, lollipops, silly straws, a chocolate bunny, two headbands, candies, glow sticks, etch a sketch, and stickers :)

All three baskets together.

Before I delivered these to my client I purchased three plush bunnies from Lil Lamb Shop Annapolis. These were so adorable and I was so excited to purchase them -- Jelly Cats makes the softest animals ever!

The kids loved their baskets and all the goodies inside! I was excited to fill them with more toys and accessories than candy. I wanted to avoid filling the kids with sugar and focus on fun easter baskets without all the fluff and candy. I also dropped of egg dying kits, plastic eggs to hide for an easter egg hunt and sidewalk chalk. My client had a wonderful Easter!

If you're interested in specialized gift packages/holiday gift packages send me an email at jessica@personalizedsolutionsllc.com! I love to make them, and one lucky reader who COMMENTS BELOW will win a free basket of their choice for the Fourth of July! So comment and let us know what you think!!

XOXO

Personalized Solutions

Men's Health Magazine // Hugo Boss Party at Neiman Marcus

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to attend a fantastic event at Neiman Marcus with Men's Health Magazine's Fashion director, Brian Boye and RAVEN, Matt Birk. The event showcased Hugo Boss's black line of menswear. The menswear looked fantastic, I always highly recommend Hugo Boss to all of my male clients -- they really do have a fit for every body type. After meeting Matt Birk (who is extremely down to earth, friendly and personable) I had a chance to speak with Brian Boye, the fashion director at Men's Health Magazine who informed me of some great menswear for taller/thinner men. He gave me some great tips and some fantastic new brands to check out, thank you Brian!

Revamp.com did a great story on the event which you all should check out! Matt Birk & Men's Health

Below are some photos from the event, graciously borrowed from Revamp.com -- Enjoy!!

Matt Birk & Brian Boye

Sarah & I

     

Chatting with Brian Boye

Messy purse? Clean it up!

A little organizing can go a long way for your purse, wallet, health — and your sanity.

Over time our purses and wallets accumulate enough stuff to make it look like a bomb went off, without us even realizing it! Most recently, mine's been filled with dozens of receipts, a smattering of cosmetics, loose change, bobby pins, tea bags and even random snacks. When you're out and about, you want to have the easiest access to the things you need and being unorganized doesn't help. 

An overstuffed purse can even lead to health problems. Your purse should weigh less than three pounds, according to The American Chiropractic Association. A lighter purse will help improve your balance and help you maintain healthy posture as well!

So where do you start?

First things first, dump out everything in your purse. I. mean. everything. I'm sure you clean the rooms in your home often, think of your purse as another little room that deserves to be cleaned and organized once a week. This way it'll help you stay on top of things so it never gets out of control messy again!

Turn your purse inside out over a trash can so any crumbs, random pieces of paper or plastic can fall out. Take a damp cloth or paper towel and wipe down the inside of your bag.

Next, throw away any odds and ends that shouldn't be in there or that you don't need. That means any old receipts, pieces of paper, expired coupons, old cosmetics, hair pins and anything along those lines. 

Go through your wallet and do the same. Also, do you have too many of those punch cards? I'm talking about the "Buy 10 and get one free!" ones from a variety of stores and restaurants. Think about if you've been to the establishment in the past three months. If not, and you don't plan on going, toss them! They just add more clutter to your wallet.

Organize the rest of the cards in your wallet. I've got a wallet that has several different slots for cards, and I like to organize mine by category. One slot holds my two credit cards. One holds my debit card. One holds my "bonus cards" for grocery stores. One holds my "bonus cards" for convenience stores/pharmacies. One holds credit cards or gift cards for clothing stores. One holds "bonus cards" or gift cards for restaurants. And one holds my "emergency essentials cards" — health insurance cards, AAA card, driver's license etc. By organizing these into categories, you'll always know where your things are when you need them!

Back to the purse. Collect any loose change and put it back in your change purse in your wallet or in a separate jar at home. 

Now when putting everything back, it's important to remember: Only add the essentials! Your wallet, checkbook, a pen, glasses and case (if you have them) and digital camera (if you use it often enough) are your main components. If you're adding extras, such as a few cosmetics, a brush, an emergency bottle of ibuprofen or feminine items, make sure they're travel size and can fit into a pocket in your purse. Or invest in a smaller bag or use a zipped plastic baggie to compartmentalize them. 

We love big purses because they can fit a lot of things, but that doesn't mean we always need to fill it to the brim. A less cluttered purse makes our lives easier and is one less thing for us to stress about. So try to take the time to organize your purse and wallet once a week so you can maintain a feeling of organization everywhere you go! 

XOXO, Erin

You won't believe how much money I didn't spend!

I love bargain shopping -- it is one of my guilty pleasures. I just love finding great things for amazing prices. I am a trend shopper, I am not supremely focused on finding pieces for a long lasting wardrobe. Styles are always changing so I don't see the point in purchasing expensive things and hoping that 1. they'll transcend seasonal trends for years to come and 2. that I will stay the EXACT same size as I was when I purchased it. Who isn't trying to drop a few pounds? Plus, I get bored of clothes fast because I am always out shopping for clients so I get to see the newest items every week. (It's bad news for my bank account!) BUT I thought it'd be fun to show you guys my great fashion finds and list the prices at the end. I am positive you'll be surprised!!

Awesome things for the spring/summer, right?! I can't wait to wear it all!

Prices:
Yellow denim: $35.00 - Oldnavy
Blue denim: $40.00 - Loehmanns
Pink denim: $18.00 - Nordstrom Rack
All three pairs of flats: $18.00 each, OldNavy
Black strappy sandals: $18.00 - Nordstrom Rack
Nude Guess Heels: $40.00 - Marshalls
Ivanka Trump Starfish flip-flops: $24.00 Each -- Loehmanns
Pink Clutch: $198.00 -- Neiman Marcus

The pink clutch I got as a gift from a client, so I know that's not exactly a thrifty buy but it is gorgeous and will transcend seasons -- so it's a win all around. Colored denim is one of my favorite things about this season -- I cannot get enough of it because I am addicted to color. That is not to say I don't appreciate a great black and white look, (which I will blog in the future) but color is such an eye catcher. I hope you all enjoyed! Please comment below and stay tuned for my spring/summer accessory blog!

XOX!

A Plastic Free Life

Life without plastic -- can you imagine it? Probably not because the hazardous material makes up almost everything we use on a daily basis. Trash bags, water bottles, sandwich bags, ice cube trays, grocery bags, the cup that holds your pens, hangers -- the list could go on forever! On a recent project we purged an entire kitchen of plastic products. You'd be shocked at how many bags we filled. Most plastic isn't BPA free and can insert chemicals into your foods and utensils. 

An easy way to rid plastic from your life is to make a weekly effort to replace something plastic you use with another material. If you enjoy water bottles, try a stainless steel canteen that you can reuse, rather than storing your baking goods in plastic containers, try wooden. Use cloth recyclable bags at the grocery store, switch to wooden hangers, drink out of glass cups. Every small change you make could improve your health drastically. You never know what the effects of plastic can do down the road. It's time to say adios to plastic and never look back!

Three Simple Ways to Refresh Your Life

Now that spring weather is in full effect, it's time to snap your mindset into gear and leave the winter blues behind. Here are three of our favorite easy spring fixes!

1. Flowers

They are the cheapest and easiest way to brighten up your day. Flowers in the bedroom are especially wonderful because they're the first thing you see. 

We love this odd yet innovative arrangement, a cheap yet eye catching way to create your own vase. 

 

 2. Cleanse yourself

No, we're not talking about a crazy cleanse that involves no food. Simply swap soda, coffee, sports drinks and alcohol for this combination and we promise you'll feel the difference.

1. Take pitcher & fill with water

2. Add three lemons cut and squeezed

3. Add three limes cut and squeezed

3. Sliced ginger root

4. Sliced cucumbers

5. Refrigerate & enjoy! 

This simple & inexpensive combination will keep your digestive tract clean and help rid any dependence you have on caffeine or sugar. 

3.Delete, Delete, Delete!

Email is something we cannot live without. Unfortunately, every company in the world somehow now knows our email address and enjoys flooding us with nonsense. Having a blackberry or inbox that is flooded with mail is so mentally draining we hardly even feel our mental clarity leave us as we click and scroll through unimportant nonsense. By dedicating five minutes a day per email account to unsubscribing, marking as spam, & deleting you are setting yourself up for a MUCH simpler life. We know it sounds silly but it really does make a huge difference. 

XO,

Personalized Solutions.

Welcome to the Personalized Solutions blog!

We're so happy you stopped by! 

Look out for great organization tips, fun, fashion tidbits, designs we love, and inspiration for a simplified life.

We love to hear your ideas and feedback so feel free to shoot us an email and let us know what you'd like to read about in the future! 

Have a gorgeous weekend everyone! 

XO,

The Personalized Solutions Team