For those of you looking for a classic color combo for Valentine’s there are SO many good pink and red dresses out there! I personally am partial to pink (can you tell by my selection?).

1. If you are looking for a classic sexy silhouette that also gives some 70’s vibes and something you will likely wear time and time again, this Silk Halter Dress is for you! This Valentine’s dress is perfect for dinner adn drinks and you can definitely use it for your next Bachelorette party too!
2. For my glitter girls we have this amazing sequin wrap dress. The one shown above is for my curvy girls but if you are a straight size gal here is another option for you!
3. For a dress you can wear to the office but still feel sexy enough for a date, I love this collared option with a ruched skirt. It is flattering but colorful and you can take it from day to night with some fun accessories (try these bow earrings for a girly night look!)
4. This pleated dress has a silhouette that is flattering on so many body types and is a dress that you can wear time and time again. The classic cut and color will make this a wardrobe staple you’ll be reaching for time and time again!
5. This red and pink wrap dress is classic Valentines Day vibes. You will look like a whole bowl of Valentines M&Ms wearing this! It comes in both straight and curve sizes!
6. Another Red & Pink number that scream valentines day is this classic silhouette dress with red leopard print that gives classic glam vibes. Just imagine it with your hair in a low bun & a fabulous pair of earrings.
7. If red and pink isnt your vibe and you want something a little different try this groovy pink and blue print dress with a ruched skirt. The print is vibrant and fun for a fun little date night where you can stand out in a crowd!
8. If you want something a little more subtle this baby pink babydoll dress is for you. Not too electric pink but still girly and festive.
9. Now for those of you still looking for you lobster a la Friends, this purpley-pink & orange lobster print dress is equal parts unique, fun, and festive.

10. If you want a subtle sexy look try this trendy cut out dress in a classic black satin. This is a dress you’ll get a ton of use out!

11. If you want a sexy silhouette and fabric go for this lace dress with little peekaboos!

12. This black wrap dress is one of the most flattering dresses I have ever worn. It is a staple for any closet and a cute little flirty look!

13. I am OBSESSED with the silhouette of this square neck dress and the velvet?! LOVE. Simple, classic, and a little unique with the fabric choice.

14. If you are looking for sexy sexy sexy vibes THIS DRESS IS HOT. Its beautiful, flattering, covers a little belly if you are worried about that and shows leg for days! I love it so much and it is PERFECT for Valentine’s Day!

15. Okay this black dress is SO beautiful and has a great little kind of corseting around the stomach. This maxi dress is flowy and flattering and beautiful. The dress has an open back as well for a sexy little surprise. Perfect for the cold weather too with a pair of knee high black boots!

16. If you want a casual dress that you’ll keep in your closet for years to come try this one! Even if youre feeling bloated but you have to dress up this is it!

The post 16 Classic LBD’s and Colorful Dresses For Valentine’s Day appeared first on Alex Schin.

I have truly never been a morning person. This is a little embarrassing but my parents woke me up every morning til I graduated high school because I could not be trusted to wake up on my own. But this year I have really been focusing on how I can be more intentional with my life to be the most effective, best version of me because ya girl have a lot of goals she wants to achieve this year! Part of that was not just waking up, rushing to pour a cup of coffee and get to my closet office to start work on time. So using the techniques I learned from Atomic Habits (which if you have not read and you dont even know where to start to get your life together – you MUST read!!).

Here is the thing (you may have heard it before): Rome wasnt built in a day. Well – neither is a morning routine. 99% of us wont wake up one morning with a fully formed morning routine full of journaling, meditating, lemon water, coffee, exercise, a smoothie, and all the fixins’. But every 4 days we can add another habit and then another and another until we have a full morning routine.

Now listen – this is what I like to do. Maybe you prefer tea. Maybe you don’t love journaling and you would rather read (though journaling has really been transformative for me and I used to find it incredibly embarrassing and unattainable – but thats another blog post). Adjust accordingly! Im not here to tell you how to live your life but I would love to give you access to a little habit building routine to hopefully better your life.

OKAY now to the good stuff…

Here is what we are going to do. Every 4 days we are going to add a small little habit to stack on top of one another that will ultimately help us to develop a full well rounded morning routine.

Days 1-4: Set coffee pot to brew with your alarm. Wake up with your alarm (no snoozing if you can!). Write down 3 Gratitudes.

I love that in our little loft I can smell the coffee brewing and it motivates me to get out of bed and grab a cup to bring back to bed while I journal. It helps me not to snooze & helps me to set my intentions to wake up by setting up the coffee pot the night before. Here is the coffee pot that we have! I also use the 5 minute journal for my gratitudes!

Days 5-8: Add one page of stream on consciousness journaling.

I used to be mortified to read back my journals and what I wrote so I would never do it. But the practice of journaling has been such a great way for me to keep myself on track and focus on what I am working towards. Check out my top 3 journaling tips for new journalers on the blog for some prompts & what my morning journaling looks like!

Days 9-12: Add 15 minutes of movement!

We have the Peloton and absolutely love it. If you aren’t ready to bite the bullet on the physical bike I would highly recommend still using the Peloton app – they have the best instructors and you can filter down their workouts by type of music, length, target area, etc. If you don’t know where to start with your fitness look up a 15 minute yoga flow or go for a little walk around the block to get some fresh air! If you’re worried about how you look throw on some sunglasses and no one will know the difference!

Days 13-16: Add 15 more minutes of movement (total 30 minutes)

Almost every morning I am on the treadmill in our building doing a 12-30-3 (12 incline, 30 minutes, 3 speed). It warms up my body and wakes me up. My body responds really well to fasted cardio and so getting this in first thing is so good for me!

Days 17-20: Up your journaling to 2 pages OR keep it to one pages & red or meditate.

Some of you might feel tapped out at 1 page of journaling so feel free to add a few pages of a self help book (here are some of my favorite life-changing books!). Or listen to some guided meditations – also available on the Peloton app but I also love meditations from Amanda Frances!

Days 21-24: Add a Fab 4 Smoothie

Fab 4 Smoothies are a token of Kelly Leveque’s nutrition practices and they have made a world of difference for me. Protein + greens + fat + fiber make up a perfect meal. I personally use and love this paleo protein that is gluten and dairy free and leaves me with no bloat. I use the chocolate almost every morning with almond milk, spinach, 1/3 banana, chia seeds, and peanut butter!

Days 25-28: Keep it up, friend!

You’re doing great! Now that you have stacked all these habits you have a fully formed morning routine! Add and subtract as you figure out what works best for you!

The post How to Build Your Best Morning Routine in 28 Days appeared first on Alex Schin.

Scott and I have been living in the heart of Pittsburgh for over 2 years now. We absolutely LOVE our neighborhood and our apartment however everyone knows downtown living = less space. Usually that wouldnt be a big deal – it’s just the two of us & we have a great sized apartment for a one bedroom – but recently I had a change of career and I am working from home 90%+ of the time (like most of us during COVID) and there wasn’t a space for separating work & play at home.

I wanted to make sure I had a specific place where I knew work would get done and I wouldn’t be distracted & I would be able to remove myself from the hustle and bustle of work life to hang out with Scott at the end of the day.

But where do I put this WFH office?

Like I said, space is at a premium in our 1000 sq foot apartment so I had to get creative. We have a small linen closet at the front of our apartment, away from the living space, that I always felt looked messy anyways – kind of an eyesore – and this was the perfect way to make it into something fabulous that I wouldnt hate looking at.

So I took to the internet to see what other people had done and also to see if maybe I was just absolutely insane to think this little closet would look anything like an office space. And while I wasnt the genius I thought I was for inventing the cloffice, it gave me plenty of inspo to turn this tiny closet into an office. See the ideas and products I pulled above!

Color scheme

Like the rest of our house – shades of pink & blue and accents of gold were the color scheme I landed on. I think it really helps to keep the color palette consistent in a small space for continuity of aesthetic. This is the same palette we have used throughout our house (and at our wedding so I guess I am sensing a theme here but I am nothing if not on brand). The blue wall paper, pink chair, and gold desk accessories tie into the rest of our house (thank G for a husband who lets me decorate everything in pink & blue!)

What we did: Shelves & wallpaper

This has your standard built in track shelves before. We removed those so that we could wallpaper the back wall. I found this wallpaper from Amazon. I measured and found out the square footage I needed with the help of Google and needed 2 rolls.

In all honesty, this wallpaper was really inexpensive and you could tell by the quality. It was very thin and stretched easily making it a little difficult to hang. If this were a long term space for us & something that wasnt going to be covered by shelves and computer screens, I might have bought better quality wallpaper. There are lots of imperfections that show if you look closely. Also – this is the last time I hang wallpaper myself…

What we did: Lighting & electric

This little corner of the apartment is blocked from our natural light so we knew to brighten it us we needed lighting. Once the wallpaper was up, we had a friend install this little chandelier and add an outlet inside the closet for my monitors & a power strip. I also added this awesome gold desk lamp that has a built in phone charging pad & a USB port. This is perfect for any desk! Gives off so much light & it never hurts to have a phone charger around.

Accessories & Decor: Gold & pink

With the blue wallpaper being a focal point I needed to tie in the pink and gold with all of the accessories.

The chair is SO comfortable and really beautiful. A coral-y pink velvet – it brightens up the space a lot. My chair is sold out but here is a similar option. Because it is somewhere I will be sitting a majority of my day I decided to splurge on one that was comfortable and supportive.

I ordered this set of desk accessories to go with the gold aesthetic. It came with a magazine organizer, hanging folder file, sticky note holder, pen cup, & letter sorter. All the things I need!

You’ve seen me use this gold grid as a sunglass organizer but I also use it as a pseudo-bulletin board. I ordered these mini gold binder clips to hang little notes to myself on there!

To pull in even more pink I added this desk pad in a pale pink to match the chair. I use the desk pad & my favorite weekly to do list pad as a mouse pad on the desk (I featured it in my weekly 10 post from a few weeks back and I really do use it every single week!)

I ordered a white & gold cordless mouse to go with me when I travel or move around the apartment.

Other Paper goods: hanging folders, pastel legal pads.

The post The Cloffice (Closet-Office): Converting the closet in our apartment to a full-time work from home office appeared first on Alex Schin.